When did the BST here turn into a card show dealer’s table?
 

This used to be a great place to make deals and make friends. Now it’s full of (mostly) newer people selling things at top dollar and beyond. There is one guy selling a graded 50s RC for 44% above the average Oct-present sold price on eBay (and hundreds more than the card has ever sold for in that grade that I can find). And it wasn’t a perfectly centered example or anything, just a nice card. I made him an offer for above the average, but got no reply.

There are some longtime members that post at higher prices, and I get it. Building in wiggle room, a booming market, etc. But most of these guys are friendly, flexible, like to trade, and contribute in other areas. But it seems there are fewer all the time.

I’ll go yell at some clouds now.

Hi Jarrod, I always make sure to shake my fist!


People's purchases are now based soley on the greater fool theory. I'm a victim of it myself. A certain mid grade card sold for 1600 in 2011, now has sold for16,000. I dont care how nice it is for the grade, I'm not "buying" it.


I hope it continues until my collection is gone at some point, but I can only see it ending in the same type of greed we saw in the 80s. New blood gets flushed out, and may or may not return decades later.

I can't really comment, considering I am newer, with the way prices are continuing to climb across the internet, it's making things very difficult. I have a fixed budget, that I can collect on at the moment, and barring me coming into money I didn't know about, I'm done for the year.

I'm really hoping when this COVID craze is over, that some prices start to lower. In my limited time here, I've met some very nice people who have been more than willing to be flexible on prices. But everything seems to be rising.

My reply deals with exponential rise in 50 and 60's superstar rc's. Examples include Alcindor, Butkus, Namath, Orr, Dryden on the non baseball side. The only explanation I can think off here is the investment side of the market.
I don't see as much of a rise on the non rookie cards of these players.
I personally have been looking to buy the Alcindor and it's way over what I could have bought it for 6 months ago. Like Triple. I can't go there so , in the end the average guy is out of the market for these.

For collectors that feel they are being priced out of the market, don't be discouraged. This is the perfect time to rediscover what you have in your collection. Stop buying and enjoy what you have. Sanity will return.

There's also a lot of listings that just get ignored due to price, that's the best cure on this forum. How many "bumps" have you seen on an overpriced card.

Patience, Grasshopper. There is a mainstream postwar card for every budget.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/f5...e6329e7811.jpg

You just have to keep looking.

I've only been here a year, but it's always seemed like the BST is clearly a seller's market, even before covid.

People in the forum usually price things around 100% of recent ebay sales (or slightly higher if there's wiggle room), and they often get it. So the sellers often save about 15% in fees (while the buyers just save sales tax.) Plus the lack of purchase protection here.

That's not a complaint. Just the reality of what I've seen. If I decide to sell more, it'd be a good thing :)

Deals still pop up in the BST, but there seems to be more competition. Prices have been regularly setting records as of late, so the high prices are not a surprise. This place is not immune to the current market state

Yup. That says a lot. It seems every time I look at the B/S/T, there are newbies posting things at silly prices. My guess is they searched the internet (because of the amount of press revolving around vintage card sales) for "Where to sell my baseball cards?" and eventually made their way here. I'm a free-market kinda guy, so I accept it, but it is annoying.

I wanted to chime in about making friends on this site, like the OP briefly stated.

There are individuals I have bought from before on BST that I enjoyed doing business with, or follow individuals and their postings and know their interests are similar to mine. Sometimes when I'm looking for something, I reach out to them without even knowing what they have, nothing posted on BST, or if they are even selling. I simply say, I'm considering buying XYZ, what do you have that is comparable? I bought three items this year doing that.

I never collected pennants. After watching the pennant thread for two years, I reached out to a common poster and he said it was perfect timing, he was just about to send a package to auction. I ended up with my first two Reds pennants.

The community at Net54 is a great group of collectors. And if a person is patient, participates in threads, and tries to make friends here, great items will come their way.

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That’s exactly it, Darren.

And I wasn’t just saying “man, card prices are high”, I’m saying I used to enjoy making deals here. I’ve been given many good deals, and try to pay that forward. I’ve got one card posted here for about 20% under what it sells for on eBay, because these are my “friends” or at least people I’ve learned so much from over the years. I guess the guard is changing.

I’ve only been here for 5 years or so but I will say recently I am seeing a lot of people posting cards for so much more than eBay like the OP said I don’t even bother.

The times where I have bought are usually folks that have fair pricing and TBH just want to chat and have a good conversation. It’s sort of people that seem to enjoy the hobby and have fun while taking the time to chat.

I know everyone wants to make a buck but I really enjoy just collecting and having fun.

So to the Op I get what you are saying and I think it’s a more than fair topic.

I was going to post, but changed my mind. Happy collecting to all, even if prices are going through the roof.

I hope that most members feel the same.

I joined earlier this year and took a while to get the feel of things before bidding on a couple of live auctions. That went well and I bought few other things from members. Each time, I've been very happy with the results.

Like you, I bought my first pennants via Net54.

In the last month or so, I've put a few items for sale in BST. (Hopefully, I've been fair in my prices.) My rule of thumb is the eBay price ess the fees I'd save + a bit more discount because I'm more confident about the calibre of buyer on Net54. Its a little trickier for me because I need to account for shipping from the UK.

Ultimately, if no-one buys items that are over-priced, prices will come down or those sellers will move on.

My biggest challenge when buying on Net54 is that good items go fast.

Ive made a few friends here and deal exclusively with them on the BST. Decent price but the customer service is amazing and they always let me know what they have that I might be interested in. I tend to skip past the newbies posting in here. The way I treat it is that the BST is for long time contributors here to load off stuff to other good members.

prices
 

Yea - some prices in the BST are way out of whack

I know its prob wrong..would start a huge insult posting war...and prob against Net54 rules..but

, it would be nice to be able to " constructively "comment -
for ex - Wow, that price seems high for a 69 T Kaline, I didnt think they are selling for that...or How did you arrive at that price for that Griffey card...it seems a bit too much

but, it prob would lead to no good

I don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but do want to thank you for a good chuckle this morning. "I'll go yell at some clouds now" haven't heard that one, and will use it someday if you don't mind :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

Yeah, that wouldn't be a good plan.
People can ask what they want to of course. I don't see any major clogging up of sections. There are still a week or more of new threads on each front page of the sections. If the prices are too high the card/item won't sell. I have probably bought and sold more than 100 things there this year. But I have missed out on some good stuff going quickly too,. I save BP AND tax over there....so around 30% under and AH....

Please PM me with any issues over there. And always, always make sure you are comfortable with your trading partner. If not, PM me and I can call them and chat for a minute to try to alleviate concerns. There have been a few brand new member scammers over there this year. Be careful.

Don't forget to make offers too. Not every price is fixed; unless someone says the price is firm, worst case is the seller says no. Just use a little common sense and courtesy. No one is going to sell their 1952 Topps Mantle for $19.95, and no one wants to be 'educated' on the value of their cards. The nice thing about BST in the 'family' is that we all (ideally) know and respect one another as collectors so we can skip the nonsensical posturing and not engage in abusive tactics like lowballing offers. I saw a card I wanted yesterday, thought the price was a little aggressive, offered what I thought was reasonable, and got the item. No muss, no fuss.

Not on this site but on other collector-oriented boards I've had interested parties inform me that they couldn't pay my asking price because as they needed my items to add to their inventory. I guess I can understand that, but I've always considered collector-oriented groups to be that, collectors exchanging items to help one another with their collections.

Collector-oriented boards are a fantastic way to help find items for our respective collections. However, at what point does a "newby" gain acceptance to where they are party to dealing with other members of this board?

Lots of non BST convos to participate and contribute in on this board so members get to know you.

I would tend to agree. Even if it's just asking a simple question or sharing your opinion on a sports topic. As someone on the newer side, I never am made to feel discouraged by asking questions. A lot to learn here on these boards.

Think of it like ebay. The more you post on various non-BST threads, the more people get to know you. And if you buy on the BST, you can add successful transactions to your signature line so that other board members can see you have positive reviews. It doesn't take that long to move from newby to respected if you participate in this thread like a collector rather than a flipper/get rich quick dealer.

There have been a couple newbys who burned bridges on the BST in the last 6 months with their first postings. It muddies the waters for other new board members trying to sell.

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i sorta checked out of the thread this one newbie made, but wonder what happened to the guy with the mantle and jackie robinson who inherited his collection and was trying to sell stuff for 12 million % above market value.

In simplest terms:

A seller has the right to ask whatever he/she wants for a card or memorabilia item.

A buyer has the right to purchase or pass on any item based on their perception of what they want to pay.

It's not our job to tell someone else how they should price their merchandise.

For further discussion on this subject go to the twitter and see my discussions on twitter on this very issue.

Rich

Not so much here recently, but selling elsewhere on places like in FB forums - I've learned you can do it either with the arguments and hassle, or if you don't want to deal with that - follow a simple rule. If your item is priced fairly, it will either sell for that price or close to what you are looking for. If not, be prepared for the sound of crickets. In some places, I brace myself for a slew of lowball offers, and when they come in - I politely decline. If I then sell the card an hour later for my asking price or 90% thereof, I know I was right and they were wrong. But I've also had the opposite happen when I hear the crickets. Sometimes when this happens, with a little research - I can see where I was the one who was wrong.

This 100%... as long as it's not all in the autograph forum asking "Is this Mantle good?" :D

"the twitter"; hee hee, you sound like my dad, Rich. :D

That age thing is why my name on "The Twitter" is known as "Uncle Rich Klein" -- :)

When Facebook began back in the day -- Mark Zuckenberg called it and it was known as "The Facebook" so let's make it "The Twitter" and "The Linked-In" to go with that old school name.

I posted a card for sale in B/S/T and a very kind soul paid me more than I was asking for it :D

Was it that 57 Mantle? That was a great card and a good, honest buyer. That’s the Net54 I like. :)

Yep. I priced it too low and lots of interest and he was kind enough to bail me out a bit.

But you've brought up a good point. I'm on this forum to have fun.

For many others though, it's a business. And I get that too, everyone has to hustle in this world.