What causes you the most frustration as a card collector?

[tbob]

Mine's easy: I collect sets and when you try to collect a master set with color variations (E94) you don't find the cards very often and when you do see them pop up on ebay or in the BST or in auctions online, they are never with the particular background color you need.

[Leon]

What causes you the most frustration as a card collector?- Being so close but yet so far......There were (4) D355s that were walked into a coin store a few years ago. The owner had no idea what he had nor did the coin shop owner. They didn't make a deal, the guy left and was never to be seen again. I bugged the coin shop owner for about a yr after that and he said the guy never came back nor did he have contact info. I still have scans of the cards though .

[ullmandds]

cue the violins for Bob!!!!! How fun would it be if they were easy to find?!?!?!

i'm shocked the hobby has not seen those d355's again?!?!? They all had back damage...if I remember correctly...and Leon...you wouldn't want that anyway!?!?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

cue the violins for Bob!!!!! How fun would it be if they were easy to find?!?!?!

i'm shocked the hobby has not seen those d355's again?!?!? They all had back damage...if I remember correctly...and Leon...you wouldn't want that anyway!?!?

I would take back damage to fill THAT hole. I could always upgrade later!!

[g_vezina_c55]

Nothing.
I really love and enjoy everything in this hobby.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by g_vezina_c55

Nothing.
I really love and enjoy everything in this hobby.

No war stories about getting out-sniped, or the card lost in the mail, or finding cards were trimmed or the occasional whacko dealer?
I love the hobby too, just find some things frustrating from time to time...

[tbob]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

cue the violins for Bob!!!!! How fun would it be if they were easy to find?!?!?!

Today an E94 Byrne popped up on ebay with a decent BIN and, of course it was blue, and I need the olive green. Grrrrr! If I don't reach the master set before I die, it would be nice if the group could go to one person who could continue the quest but you know what will happen: someone would buy them all and break them apart and make a small fortune selling them individually

[mpduq]

sellers on ebay who have a $ 200 bin or best offer, u offer 185 and he counters at 195. seriously, why does he even have a best offer?

[the 'stache]

When I see a card submitted by a particular dealer getting a higher grade than it deserves strictly because that dealer does a lot of business with the tpg, that really bothers me. A card should be graded on its merits alone.

[zachtruitt]

I agree with Mr. 'stache, it is disheartening to see favoritism in grading (or regrading for that matter). I guess money talks but it shouldn't matter who submitted the card.
I don't have an axe to grind as I have less than five graded cards in my collection. It's just something I have noticed.

[Bestdj777]

The most frustrating thing is when you approach the end of a set and the few remaining cards you need just are not out there. And, when they finally do pop up, two of the same cards surface at the same time and you end up accidentally winning both.

[Bridwell]

Good one, Chris.

How about this one? The more cards I buy, the more I seem to want....

[e107collector]

Not having the money for all the cards that I can't afford.

Tony

[Vol]

Originally Posted by Bridwell

Good one, Chris.

How about this one? The more cards I buy, the more I seem to want....

+1
Wonder what this means?

[auggiedoggy]

Insane asking prices and American eBay sellers that use that nonsensical, money grab, aka GSP (Global Shipping Program). That's two things that bug me.

[Vintagecatcher]

Patience is the toughest part of my collecting these days now that I really only need a few more cards. My biggest frustration, however, is when one of the cards finally surfaces but it is part of a large lot in an auction.

And so I wait...impatiently.


Patrick

[t206blogcom]

Shilling, fraud, lack of honesty from some.

People who don't buy my cards.

[ullmandds]

While my first response is a big frustration...I ditto the sentiment that the rampant corruption is my biggest frustration in this world...which sadly encompasses this hobby!

It seems when i was a young collector...many dealers/auctioneers were just "dicks"...now they're criminals!

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

It seems when i was a young collector...many dealers/auctioneers were just "dicks"...now they're criminals!

Thanks for the laugh Pete! (so true, btw. )

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Vintagecatcher

Patience is the toughest part of my collecting these days now that I really only need a few more cards. My biggest frustration, however, is when one of the cards finally surfaces but it is part of a large lot in an auction.

And so I wait...impatiently.


Patrick

+1
This is my situation with a current REA lot.

[Rickyy]

Sometimes things I want never pop up...when I have the funds...then when I don't...they pop up

Ricky Y

[Gradedcardman]

Being offered cards at heavily inflated prices because I am collecting that particular subset.

[ScottFandango]

Originally Posted by auggiedoggy

Insane asking prices and American eBay sellers that use that nonsensical, money grab, aka GSP (Global Shipping Program). That's two things that bug me.

can you elaborate on this GSP?

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by ScottFandango

can you elaborate on this GSP?

Hi Scott,

I'm not an expert on this - just an eBay buyer. But my understanding is that recently (in the last year or so) eBay introduced this GSP option for sellers to use when the buyer was outside the US - including Canada. The pitch is that by using it the seller avoids all the complexities of shipping to a foreign country. Instead, if the seller selects this, eBay automatically calculates shipping, and also certain estimated cross-border fees the buyer would incur, and those are all charged to the buyer.

From the buyer's perspective, the fees charged through this method are exorbitant. It would be WAY, WAY cheaper if the seller just mailed the item using USPS.

Using cards as an example, in many cases the buyer would never incur any of the fees grabbed by eBay's GSP program.

As a collector in Canada, I avoid sellers who are using GSP. Or I message them and work a way around it.

Cheers,
Blair

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by Bosox Blair

Hi Scott,

I'm not an expert on this - just an eBay buyer. But my understanding is that recently (in the last year or so) eBay introduced this GSP option for sellers to use when the buyer was outside the US - including Canada. The pitch is that by using it the seller avoids all the complexities of shipping to a foreign country. Instead, if the seller selects this, eBay automatically calculates shipping, and also certain estimated cross-border fees the buyer would incur, and those are all charged to the buyer.

From the buyer's perspective, the fees charged through this method are exorbitant. It would be WAY, WAY cheaper if the seller just mailed the item using USPS.

Using cards as an example, in many cases the buyer would never incur any of the fees grabbed by eBay's GSP program.

As a collector in Canada, I avoid sellers who are using GSP. Or I message them and work a way around it.

Cheers,
Blair

The "Import fees" are exorbitant but remember this, the seller is still charging his/her own shipping fee as well so it is a double hit. Unfortunately I see more and more USA sellers buying into this GSP. Here's an actual example:

A US seller has an N310 Mayo Cut Plug John L. Sullivan card listed at $499.99, the shipping cost to Canada is $15.46 and the import charges are $74.69.

Unless he is agreeable to shipping the traditional way, this seller has a snowball's chance in hell of getting my business. It is Canada Custom's job to deal with import (duty), not eBay and certainly not the seller! I can count on one hand the number of times since 1999 that I actually had to pay duty. Why should I have to pay this ridiculous fee for an item that I most likely won't have to pay duty on anyway? I question its legality. I'd love to get a Canadian lawyer's opinion on this.