Problems with VCP and the Hobby

[Exhibitman]

Sounds like the OP got crispy crittered on some buys.

I dropped pricing data from my latest book because of the shilling and the existence of real time price data. VCP is quite useful for mapping not just prices but also frequency of sales. That is often more important than price for vintage and regional cards.

Anyone who thinks postwar mainstream cards are not going to fluctuate is delusional. Too many examples exist for prices to just go up and up endlessly. I've been collecting since the 1970s. I've seen over and over how prices run up and then copies of the cards pour into the market. I know guys who had high end cards and who've dumped them and downgraded because the profit taking opportunity is too good to pass up.

The AHs have no duty to ferret out bad sales; I am not sure they could even do so without going in and specially altering their software, which ain't gonna happen.

Calling market tops is inherently guesswork: never wrong, only early. I see strong prices on a wide variety of issues that are not worth enough to be manipulated by a cabal of billionaires. That's just the byproduct of a long expansion of the general economy and the resulting cash collectors have right now.

And they're freakin baseball cards. If you have to obsess over market manipulation and cabals of billionaires you need to get a different hobby.

[autograf]

That would make for a good music group name...........Cabal of Billionaires........someone call Al............

[Peter_Spaeth]

I prefer coteries to cabals.

[BobbyVCP]

Just wanted to chime in on the thread. As you all know I am with VCP. Whenever a problem is reported to us we look into the matter and correct it usually within minutes. Another thing to keep in mind is in our average pricing it takes into consideration how many sales in the past year. And based on that number it eliminates high and low sales and averages out the rest. So when there is a crazy high sale in most circumstances that is not averaged into the price.

If the auction houses would report to us lots that did not sell we would gladly delete them from our database. Same thing if you are a seller and your eBay auction did not go through we will again delete it.

We try our best to get as much information as possible to better educate you the buyer or seller.

To date we have over 8 million auction results with over 9 million images. That is a lot of information available for you to use.

[GasHouseGang]

Bobby, I think VCP provides a great service, and like any price guide, it's only as good as the data. I was wondering why sometimes VCP will list a sale price for an item on ebay, but when you click the link and see the item on ebay, it has a different sale price? Does this happen because of a bid retraction that VCP was made aware of, and then the final sale price is corrected?

[spaidly]

I can vouch for Bobby's comment about fixing things. I enjoy the portfolio aspect of the My Collection feature. I noticed my 1955 Jackie Robinson PSA 7.5 was way down in value. I did a little digging and it turns out a the sale of a reprint made its way into the data. I clicked the Problem with This Page link, reported it, and it was deleted the next day. My Brooklyn Dodger portfolio was looking stronger and all was right in the world. I'm a hybrid collector/investor so seeing my buying decisions reflected there, good or bad, is really fun for me. I think VPC is a great resource but by itself it is like buying holders rather than cards. So many variants with each card within each grade makes it a great guide.

Scott

[BobbyVCP]

Originally Posted by GasHouseGang

Bobby, I think VCP provides a great service, and like any price guide, it's only as good as the data. I was wondering why sometimes VCP will list a sale price for an item on ebay, but when you click the link and see the item on ebay, it has a different sale price? Does this happen because of a bid retraction that VCP was made aware of, and then the final sale price is corrected?

We've looked extensively into this issue and have been in contact with our eBay representative. It seems to happen only with Best Offer listings even though at times it will not indicate that it's a BO listing on the site. The issue is that the eBay API is reporting a different price than what is found on the eBay site. We've pointed this out to eBay and they say that the API price is the correct one but they are not clear about when they can fix it. Our hands are tied on this one. We can't force them to fix something that's broken.

[ezez420]

Thanks for responding Bobby. It seems as if you would take that info of sales that did not go through and welcome it. That is appreciated. It seems it is up to the auction houses that do report to do that.

However, some say they wont which is not in their best interest. Why dont some that report speak up then. I am sure it is pretty easy to have a list of non payers so data is accurate. Not that hard or dont report. But maybe it will shut a couple houses down especially the ones who allow shilling to boot.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Sounds like the OP got crispy crittered on some buys.

I wouldn't doubt it as a lot of collectors did, no doubt.

VCP or any guide is just that, a guide. Our cards in the pre-ww II arena are not like the post war ones inasmuch as they are not as abundant and are usually lower in grade, overall. Therefore there is more relativity in their eye appeal and their value. Of course high end and high dollar post war cards have some of those characteristics too. In other words buy the card not the holder. And don't fall for any crazy ebay or other prices. Look for averages and do your homework. And if you are an average-Joe collector like most of us stay away from the highest grade Rose rookies and their ilk.....

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Leon

I wouldn't doubt it as a lot of collectors did, no doubt.

VCP or any guide is just that, a guide. Our cards in the pre-ww II arena are not like the post war ones inasmuch as they are not as abundant and are usually lower in grade, overall. Therefore there is more relativity in their eye appeal and their value. Of course high end and high dollar post war cards have some of those characteristics too. In other words buy the card not the holder. And don't fall for any crazy ebay or other prices. Look for averages and do your homework. And if you are an average-Joe collector like most of us stay away from the highest grade Rose rookies and their ilk.....

It's so interesting/funny to me how a lot of collectors these days expect up to the minute, accurate pricing info on cards as if they were an ounce of gold or a kilo of coffee.

The "problems" with the hobby, imo, lies more with the collectors than with services like vcp.

[ezez420]

Adam, I am the poster and not sure what part of the field we are referencing. To clarify for you I had no issues or losses nor am I a shiller. But by all means if you want to openly discuss the baths you have taken with boxing collectibles feel free to post. All ears.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Sounds like the OP got crispy crittered on some buys.

I dropped pricing data from my latest book because of the shilling and the existence of real time price data. VCP is quite useful for mapping not just prices but also frequency of sales. That is often more important than price for vintage and regional cards.

Anyone who thinks postwar mainstream cards are not going to fluctuate is delusional. Too many examples exist for prices to just go up and up endlessly. I've been collecting since the 1970s. I've seen over and over how prices run up and then copies of the cards pour into the market. I know guys who had high end cards and who've dumped them and downgraded because the profit taking opportunity is too good to pass up.

The AHs have no duty to ferret out bad sales; I am not sure they could even do so without going in and specially altering their software, which ain't gonna happen.

Calling market tops is inherently guesswork: never wrong, only early. I see strong prices on a wide variety of issues that are not worth enough to be manipulated by a cabal of billionaires. That's just the byproduct of a long expansion of the general economy and the resulting cash collectors have right now.

And they're freakin baseball cards. If you have to obsess over market manipulation and cabals of billionaires you need to get a different hobby.