I Will Never Understand This.
 

I collect T-206's.Why is it that many sellers on E-bay both Small and Larger volume sellers refuse to put a pic of the backs of cards. Is it because they do not want to spend the extra .15 cents? That's the way I see it, what are some other opinions. To me if you do not include a scan of the back of a card you are cutting you own throat. Sorry for venting but this irratates me and most times will keep me from bidding. Thanks Dennis.

Dennis
 

I think a lot of the more inexperienced sellers do not understand the added significance "backs" have to pre-war collectors....If you think about it, most postwar cards for sale do not include a pic of the backs...

(BTW-- they should be able to add a 2nd picture for free if they just cut/paste from photobucket into the text...)

.
 

Even worse....some sellers don't even mention the back in the listing. My set is very "back conscious", so these listings a really annoying to me.

I don't think it's the cost - when you're scanning in 100 T206s, scanning backs of all of them, keeping straight which back goes with which front and uploading the correct f/b pairs takes a lot more time then just scanning fronts which have the identification in the scan itself. For cards that are worth $20 or $30 it might not be worth the time.

Now e-bay does not charge for additional scans, but at one time they did. As an e-bay seller of tobacco cards for 8 years, part of the reason is also because some of the backs do not look as nice as the front of the cards do. Therefore some sellers feel it's going to hurt the sale of the card.

I think worse than no back scan is when most sellers don't even give you any idea if the card has light wrinkles that the scan might not show. They just say " I'm not an expert grader, so just see scan for details" and the scan looks like it was taken from the moon.

+1

+2

all pics are free i think. i always add the backs, it's only right for potentail buyers to see the front and back. it is what it is!!:D
just my $.02

i agree;)

I don't sell on eBay nearly as much as I used to - maybe 10-15 items every couple of months. If I am selling raw cards, I always try to include a scan of the back. However, if I am selling graded cards, I never include a scan of the back (unless it's just a really high dollar card). It wasn’t specified, but I'll address the question as if we're discussing graded cards.

In my opinion, if the card is graded, the grade should speak for itself and a scan of the back should not be necessary. I know some will disagree with that statement based on the fact that cards within the same grade are sometimes not consistent, but again that is just my opinion. Also, my statement is based as if the back of the card has no defects. If the back does have defects, then obviously a scan of the back should be included (or at least mentioned it in the description).

For me, I just don't have the time to scan both front and back. Besides, I really don't think having a scan of the back is going to increase the final value on the average card. For example, if I am selling a T206 common that has a VCP of $50, I know the final value will be somewhere in that ballpark regardless whether I include a scan of the back or not. I realize that I may be losing some bidders by not including a scan of the back, but to me it’s not worth the extra time it takes knowing that the card is still going to sell for VCP average either way.

I may be wrong but the last time I listed cards on ebay, the front scan was free and the back was 15 cents. A small price to pay for customer satisfaction but I guess big time sellers don't want the aggravation of having to make all those additional scans. Even worse are the ones who post "generic" scans of cards and then add their grades based on their opinions of the card which you never see! You see this a lot in the 1950's cards. I refuse to buy anything from these guys.
My biggest gripe is those who put slabbed cards on ebay and don't put a back scan up. An SGC 30 or 20 or PSA 2 or 1 might have a great front but a horrible back. With the inconsistent grading based on whether a particular company severely downgrades for back damage or not, it's maddening. You need a backscan. :eek:

All good points made and I appreciate them all. Maybe I am just a little hard headed but I will stick with my guns and say ALL cards listed on E-bay or any where else for that matter For Sale should have a scan of both front and back whether graded or not. If you do not want to put up both sides of the card either have a link where they can go in and take a look at the card back. If you choose not to do this then you are leaving money on the table, and I for one will not do that. Thanks again for all the feedback. I realize there are some very knowledgeable people on this forum. Dennis.

Back scans are very important...........
 

Here is an example of why I feel back scans are important even on graded cards. This Bud Sharpe T206 has an SGC 50 grade. Now, if I only went off of the front of the card, I'd say "ok, way more bottom border than top, but not bad".............but then you look at the back- pretty heavy staining. Would you be ok with that? Or feel that for a 50 you should not have this type of staining?

This card was in a GAI holder with a grade of V/G 3,,,,,,crossed over to SGC 50. Don't get me wrong, I was suprised and very happy it got even a better grade,,,,,,but if I was buying sight unseen based on only the grade given, I don't think I'd be too thrilled with the staining on the back. Just my 2 cents....

Back scans
 

As a collector of 1933 WWG's it is very frustrating not to have a back scan, as the issue came with two different backs, one French/English and one English only. I suspect some sellers probably don't post a back scan out of ignorance as to there being back variations. I also agree with previous posters that lack of a back scan tends to make me suspicious as to the exact condition of the card.

John

It's not that hard with all the photo editing tools out there to add them to the same picture and still get a free image. I do it on all my vintage stuff

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...o/Olmstead.jpg

Sure it take an extra 30 seconds per card but well worth it in the final sale price.

scans
 

You can add as many scans as you want to put in the description area and they are all free. Takes about 30 seconds to cut and paste the links from photo bucket.

Thanks Rick, I did not know that!
tbob

What photo editing tool do you use to do that?

ebay and many auction houses....
 

Many sellers on ebay and many auction houses don't put back scans. Unless it's a blank back I want to see a scan of it. It is one of my pet peeves.....It kind of pisses me off but I can live with it on a lower dollar card. ON an expensive card (say $100+) I really want to see a back scan (unless it's a blank back, then a description will do...such as "clean back"...or "back has an ink mark"). And one other thing. My eyesight isn't that great so don't make your scans so I need to search for my loupe when viewing them. regards

Lucky PSA did not grade this card a 4. :)

I used Paint

Could not agree more!

What is the process you use for paint?

Not showing backs
 

Someone stated it earlier but sometimes backs will not be displayed because a seller probably feels it will deter potential bidders from bidding on a card that looks great on the front. I always include the back because I am one of those people that just can't stand paper loss on the back when making a buy for my personal collection :) (BOOH ME!!!). Also if anyone needs image hosting there are many a free galleries and hell for the boxing collectors I know out there I don't mind hosting your pics :) Gives me a nice reference.
Thanks,
-John

Back Scans for T Cards
 

I'm only a bidder on eBay, not a seller, and I think it is essential for a seller to show the backs on specific cards. For instance, when the back is the most important thing about a card (T205 Gray, with line of stats, Moran with stray line, Wilhelm "suffe ed" etc.) it's always good to know how much of the back is still there. In any ungraded example, I would never bid on a card without seeing the back. Seller could show a beautiful front and describe the front as VG-EX, but unless back is discussed in the listing ("beautiful card but major paper loss on back") I won't bid. I've found most sellers who don't show the back in the listing will email a photo of the back if you ask. Also, with rarer backs, I'm always fearful of verbiage like, "but it's still a rare American Beauty back" (emphasis on "but"). Unlike SGC holders, PSA holders don't ID the backs, so even with PSA graded cards, it would be nice to see the backs just to know what you're bidding on. I realize this is only one buyer's perspective, but I think many share these opinions.

PSA may have given it a 5 or 6 ;)

1. Open 2 windows of Paint
2. Scan the front to one window, and the back to the second.
3. Crop the pictures
4. Extend the width of the front to just over 2x the size of the card.
5. On the rear scan, select all and the cut the image
6. Paste the rear image to the front and move it the open area
7. Crop again
8. Save image.

I do basically the same thing, but in PowerPoint

1. Scan both the front and back of the card
2. Open PowerPoint and paste both images side by side
3. File > Save As > JPEG > Current Slide Only
4. Open the JPEG and crop the image