Is It Your Responsibility To Let The Seller Know?
 

If someone is selling a card or memorabilia for a price you know is way below its worth, is it your responsibility to let the seller know?

I say no, but depending on the item (if the gap in asking price and actual value is way off), I have offered the seller more than what they were asking.

But I do think it is wrong if you know it and you then try to get it for an even lower price.

Thanks, Tony

My opinion has always been that it's not my place to price someone else's stuff, nor is it my duty to educate them on what they have. If the price is to high IMO I make an offer or just move on. If the price is ridiculously low I'm going to buy with a clean conscience and still sleep well at night.

Others will I'm sure disagree with this and that's fine, to each their own.

+1. It is the sellers responsibility to know the items they are selling. My education has taken time and money.
.

It depends on who is selling the item for me. If the individual is in the business of selling and buying memorabilia then completely agree with the previous comments. All is fair.

However, if the seller is completely unfamiliar with the hobby - a collector’s widow or selling a family heirloom for example - then I will educate the seller to the best of my ability and make a fair market value offer, typically more than their original asking price.

Agree with all the above. That’s why when I sell something I am not sure of, well that is what auctions are for.

I recently purchased a nice Ted W. auto that had a pretty low BIN, much lower than what a Ted W. auto should go for, and a "best offer" option. I was happy with the BIN and did not try and nickle-and-dime my way to a price that could be seen as "highway robbery." I also didn't want to chance someone else hitting the BIN before my offer was resolved.

Appreciate the responses, which I also agree with.

It can backfire on you
 

I’ve had situations where I saw the selling price was too low or maybe rarer items mixed in with commons…. I tell the seller and make him a very fair and higher offer than was asked …. And he gets freaked out thinking he’s sitting on a gold mine and nixes the deal altogether!!!! Based on some bad experiences like this I usually just buy or don’t buy based on the price asked for. I’ve seen it come down like this on TV shows also like Pawn Stars and American Pickers….. where an expert weighs in with a much higher price and then the seller jacks his price through the roof. That always makes me kind of angry when I see that.

It's all about context.

• If I'm looking on eBay and run across a horrifically underpriced card (which is basically the only thing I look for), I buy it without giving it a second thought. The seller is responsible for his/her pricing and there is no onus on me to edify.

• If I'm at a garage sale and an elderly widow gives me a price that is criminally low on her husband's card collection (yeah, like I've ever been lucky enough to have that scenario unfold!!), I'd say, "No way! That would be ripping you off," and would up the price accordingly to something that reflects the true value of the cardboard.

• If there was a combo of these two, say an eBayer who had no clue what's going on and truly made a mistake (and is a nice person) listing it for what he/she did, I would contact them afterwards to help right the situation...which would allow me to sleep at night.

+1! When word gets around that you are a collector, neighbors, friends, colleagues and a slew of other folks will start letting you know about collections. They all have visions of hundreds of thousands of dollars coming their way. After you have viewed the cards the first question is always "What are they worth?" or the classic "I had this card and that card but my mother threw all of my cards in the trash."

I usually just buy whatever it is I think is underpriced.

The exception I make is the occasional dealer I know well. I'm not a massively outgoing person, so the handful of dealers I would regularly go to are more friends than anything else.
It's been a long time since I had it happen with a card dealer, as most of the shops I hung out at are long gone.
But I have had it with the stamp dealer I see whenever I can. He had a nice but obscure variety priced way below what it should have been, but just right for the basic version. I told him, and he was like "Hmm... I have it priced at $10 but you know it's the variety. In that case for you it's $10"

As a rule, I always let sellers know when their prices are too high. I don't worry about the too low ones.

Wow so very true. So many people ask what their stuff is worth or can I look at their stuff or I have a jeter rookie and saw one went for $100k so what do I have and it is never the right card or right condition. But I smile and help them as best possible. Tough sometimes to be nice but I think it is only right to try and steer them where possible.
When it comes to buying something that is being sold low as others said it is all situational and then I determine what is best thing to do. But no fast steady rule

I was at a card show several years back and walked over to a dealer with a fairly large display of cards for sale. I was looking for '48 Bowman. I noticed a card in his case marked "1948 Bowman", but it was a '48 Leaf. I asked the dealer if he had any '48 Bowmans, he directed me to the Leaf card in his case. I can't remember the player, but I do remember there was a fairly significant price differential between the Bowman and the Leaf (the Leaf being costlier). The dealer responded to my original question with disdain as if I was wasting his time because the card was "clearly" marked in his display case.

So I bought it.

Didn't feel bad - he should have known what he was selling. And shouldn't have been an a**hole about it.

This is how I'd handle all of these situations as well, with one small catch on the last example. I'd make it right for the ebayer AFTER the item is in my hand. That way, less chance they back out.