SMR

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Posted By: Jim Dale

How much does it matter? How far off is it? Anyone got any good opinions on the SMR value guide for some cards? Its not really vintage stuff but friends of mine were bidding 2k on a card with an SMR of 1400 this evening and the darn thing closed at 2400 + on eBay (Mario L. RC). Just curious how good/bad it is for older cards?

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Posted By: Dave F

IMO the SMR is totally useless. Until PSA starts taking it seriously to manage it and keep it updated, noone else should take it seriously either.

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Posted By: Tony Andrea

Take out a lighter, pour some gasoline on it and "burn it".

Tony

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Posted By: Dylan

Priceguides no matter how well intentioned(SCD isnt) are out of date by their release. Today auction tracking services are really the only way to go.

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Posted By: Jim Dale

Can someone suggest the best auction tracking services?

Thanks

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Posted By: Dave F

Jim, I don't think you can go wrong with cardpricer.com or vintagecardprices.com

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Posted By: Eric Brehm

I have found the Sports Market Report to be reasonably accurate for valuation of cards in the 1933 Goudey set, which I have been working on for about a year. It gets you in the ballpark. Of course prices vary for all cards depending upon the strength of the card within its assigned grade and other factors, so the SMR value is only a guide, only an average.

The one exception to the above is some of the scarcer 1933 Goudey common cards, which come up for sale infrequently, and thus are hard to estimate market values for. Also the prices realized for these cards in auctions tend to vary widely depending on who happens to need them for their set, and how motivated they are to compete for them. If there are two or more people who decide to go head to head on it, the sky's the limit. Example: recent prices realized in major auctions for #27 George Connally in PSA 8 that I am aware of include: $7589 (2004), $2637 (2005), $1160 (2006), and $2911 (2006). An auction tracking service is helpful in these cases, to see some of the recent auction results, and at least get a range of expectation.

I would also point out that the SMR tends to be self-fulfilling prophecy to some degree, since many people do use it as a guide, or reference point, for deciding how much they are willing to pay for a particular card. In other words, the very act of using the information in SMR for buying decisions tends to reinforce the validity of the information itself.

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Posted By: Dave S

Guides are indeed that...guides..and as Eric said, intended to put you in the ballpark. Unfortunately, some ballparks are bigger than others..as are card discrepancies as to prices and values. If you live by price guides, you'll lose a heckuva lot of cards for a few bucks and likewise overpay on some. Bottom line is what is the card worth to you and your collection. And keep in mind that no 2 vintage cards are alike...which furthers the skewing of price guides.
As for Auction/Market services...and please someone correct me if I'm wrong...the problem I see is that most do NOT account for the thousands of cards that go unsold because reserves weren't met or auctions were ended "unsold" early when in reality the card could've been sold...

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Posted By: JimB

On caramel cards just multiply whatever SMR says by 4 and you get in the ballpark.
JimB

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Posted By: Mike

One thing that bugs me, and maybe it's just me, but when I go to shows, and start to discuss buying or selling, mostly selling, it really bugs me when the first thing the dealer or seller does is reach for the price guide. Or I ask, what is the best deal they are willing to make on something. And they reach for the price guide. Dealers screw themselves, by using the price guide, because in many cases, I would have been willing to pay alot more than the so called book price. And I have no problem with that, obviously. But is this what the hobby has come to? I know the answer to my own question. Any other thoughts on this paractice ?

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Posted By: Dave

the SMR is best used to wipe your bum with or blow your nose in to. It is almost a worthless guide as far as valuation of vintage cards prices go. just compare your favorite vintage tobacco card sets listed values, and then check Ebay, and other auction results, and even the BST area of this forum. prices listed for cards in the 1-7 range are not consistent and often much higher than the SMR lists. perhaps they need to do some more research on the current market that they have helped create.
I'm still trying to figure out why SMR exists other than for self promotional purposes for PSA.

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Posted By: Mark

The price of that particular card - a psa 10 Lemieux rc -would have been difficult for any guide, service or person to predict. It's like asking how much the PSA 10 Gretzky rc in mastro will wind up at.