[sreader3]

I missed the REALLY early days of eBay, but even in the 2003-2008 time frame one could still find amazing raw cards on eBay that were not trimmed.

I would get burned occasionally, but overall the math worked well.

A couple examples of wins:

T206 Green Cobb SC 150/25. Purchased raw on eBay in 2005 for $2100 via Buy It Now. It’s now in a PSA 4 holder. A very nice crease-free example. I would not take a chance on a raw Green Cobb today, but 15 years ago it still made sense. Pulled the trigger and won.

1933 Goudey Gehrig #92. Purchased raw on eBay in 2006 for $788 via auction with $0.99 starting bid. It’s now a PSA 5. The seller had limited feedback and presented the full story--a “smoke-free home” yada yada. But it looked good to me. I would have second thoughts about pulling the trigger today. But back in 2006 it worked out.

The Piedmont Factory 42 Era

There was a time in fairly recent history when T206s with the Piedmont 42 back were underappreciated. Two examples:

T206 Leifieid (Batting) P42. I was working on the T206 set in PSA 4-6 back in the day. In 2005, a nice looking Leifield (Bat) PSA 4 popped up on eBay. No back scan. At $50, it was a decent if not great deal for a PSA 4 common so I pulled the trigger. The card shows up in the mail, I flip it over, and … it’s a P42! Big win! It’s so nice I crack and resubmit it to PSA and … PSA 5.

T206 Lajoie (With Bat) P42. It’s early 2004. My favorite card ever is Lajoie (With Bat). I see a nice PSA 5 copy listed BIN at $700, which is reasonable but no deal. I look at the back scan and it’s a P460. The factory designation is fuzzy but the script extends end-to-end which I know Factory 25’s don’t do. So I figure it’s a Factory 42. Trigger pulled.

I won’t bore anyone with the many occasions that I have been burned and lost money by "going for it." They are not nearly as fun.