I'm more mellow collecting mid-grade cards. If I only go for the higher-end stuff for too long, I find myself more concerned with centering, corners, and condition minutiae to the point where the hobby at some point becomes more about my paranoia and perceptions than it is about the fun of owning the cards. Towards the end of my pseudo-dealer days, this had become my mentality. Glad I put an end to that. Oh, and did anyone mention that PSA 5's are a lot more affordable than 8's?!? [emoji3]



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Oh...and if nobody has mentioned this one yet - when a seller lists a graded card while conveniently leaving out a qualifier in the title. PSA 8's that are really PSA 8 OC's, etc.


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I am very tired of "Please read entire description carefully" when what the guy is really saying is "Please read entire description carefully because I have deliberately given this a misleading title to attract eyeballs and buried somewhere below a disclaimer that the card is a reproduction."

I, stupidly, offered this guy $60 initially but stated it was a low bid only because there were no scans of the backs of the cards, and he had the wrong year listed for the Boomer card.

Our conversation went back and forth and he stated he owned a card store from 1988 to 2001, to which I replied, "So when people came in to purchase cards off of you, they didn't look at the backs of the cards"?

The whole thing reeks scam and the only reason I, stupidly, bid was the fact the card is in Ontario Canada, where I also live, so I thought I could save some money.

Anyways, he refused to post pics of the backs of the cards and this is what he wrote/updated in his ad. LOL :rolleyes:
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-art-collectib...ade/1101439704

I couldn't agree more! I found that trying to complete my '69 and '72 sets in high grade ended up not being very fun at all, so I'm all done with high grade stuff. Buying low grade cards is actually really fun because you can afford more, and you don't worry so much about getting scammed. As has been stated many times, it's just a picture on a piece of cardboard. It's the history of the cardboard I find interesting, not how sharp the corners are.

Very well put. Think about other collectibles and antiques, is anything held to quite such a standard as cards? Those guys on American Pickers are always buying "junk" that are really gems from people's barns and attics that are rarely in mint condition. I think our view of condition with cards that came out of the 1980's and into the era of professional grading was largely due to the influence of the coin hobby. If there are any collectibles that are more highly scrutinized than cards, coins win, I think. Bottom line, the fact that some cards are in fabulous condition and are incredibly attractive does not mean that those which aren't quite up to that standard aren't still very collectible and desirable and most of all...fun.

I thought of one more: When less than knowledgeable people refer to everything valuable as a "rookie card." A "T-206 Honus Wagner rookie card." (Or Ty Cobb). Just because something is valuable does not mean it has to be a rookie card. For pre-war that's always been a real stretch for me anyway...just seems wrong to call a tobacco card that when the term would not even come into vogue until like 70 years after they were made...

This pertains to modern cards, more than anything, but when I see this:

"Serial #18/100, the uniform number he wore in college. 1 of 1!!!!!!!"

Hey, you knucklehead, if you think that some randomly stamped gold number adds value to the card, be my guest. That's stupid, but go for it.

But every card with a serial number is a 1 of 1.
#1/100 is a 1 of 1
#2/100 is a 1 of 1
#99/100 is a 1 of 1

Get it?

A 1 of 1 is a card that is unique. But, then again, most people don't understand the concept of something being unique. That's another pet peeve, a grammatical one. When I see somebody say "it's the most unique...", my colon clenches, and my head wants to explode. Something is either unique, or it is not. There are no degrees of uniqueness.

Wow. What a jack@ss...



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Afraid I could go on and on here.

What about Auction Houses that hysterically scream "1 of 3" at this grade!!! with bated breath, because SGC has only three at that grade -- and they know full well that PSA has 9 at a BETTER GRADE. So 1 of 3, ultra rare, etc., etc. really is a little misleading. . . . .

Unique
 

Ok, I think I get unique = one of a kind. Now can you help with rare and scarce.

I'm not a fan of certain auction houses giving favoritism to their top consignors regardless of the value of the card. I've seen cards that should go for $3k+ be in a tiny corner of the magazine, but a Banks PSA 4 rookie having half of a page. Not all AH's, just a couple in the past.

not enough band-width to list.

don't wanna make the site crash...

Listing with no prices, just accepting offers. I don't really use blowout forums, but noticed they have a rule that any BST ad with no price will be removed. I would like to see that rule adopted here.

that easy to resolve just dont offer anything unless there is price listed

I usually don't unless I really want the card. It just seems to me there should be a starting point provided by someone listing a card for sale. I shouldn't have to come up with the price or negotiate against myself. One of a few pet peeves I suppose I have when it comes to collecting.

Another someone else mentioned I completely agree with is calling a card dead centered, or even well centered when it's clearly off. It's not that hard to tell if a card is centered or not people.

+1