Posted By:
Ryan ChristoffI think the "low" price had to do with the following factors:
1. There is only one HOFer (Dandridge) in the album and that player has several other cards, several of which are not particularly difficult to obtain.
2. The album had literally been torn in half and glued back together. Several cards are torn in half right down the middle, including several good ones like Marvin Williams, Lazaro Salazar, Ramon Bragana, etc. If you don't know who those guys are, well shame on you!
3. The winning bid that was placed was literally 10 times the amount of the next highest bid. Had only one other bidder decided to place a bid that took into consideration the fact that this is single largest group of vintage Mexican baseball cards ever to surface, it could have easily sold for $10,000 or more. In fact, prior to this auction, I knew of a total of two Mexican baseball cards from this era. Sometimes these kinds of things can almost be TOO rare. As with any auction, it only takes two bidders going crazy for an item to drive the price through the roof. When there is only one crazy bidder, hopefully (for the seller) they have set a reserve, which in this case meant an extra $1,000.
4. It's almost impossible to say what a "fair" or "market" price for an item that is so unique should be. The selling price would suggest that $2,450 is the "market" price. Unless the underbidder's high bid is a more accurate representation of the "market" which would mean $1,400 is the "market" price. However, had the reserve been set at $10,000 it would have sold for that amount. Would that make $10,000 the "market" price? I suppose it really doesn't matter since it is now permanently off the market, but it's still interesting to ponder.
-Ryan