Raw Card Dealer Grading Descriptions

[Tere1071]

I recently purchased 10 1953 Bowmans as upgrades for my set. The cards were mostly described as being in Nr-MT to Nr-MT plus condition with the front sides only displayed. When I received the cards, several had wax/gum residue stains on the reverse. I'm never going to submit these to be slabbed, but I feel that the descriptions provided by the seller were "optimistic" due to the stains on the reverse side.

Admittedly I erred in only looking at the fronts of the cards and not asking the seller for additional images or checking to see if any had stains on the reverse side. For me, cards that have wax residue on the reverse aren't Nr-Mt or better. The seller has a liberal return policy so there's no problem, but am I judging these cards too harshly as this is a common occurrence in the 53 Bowman Color set?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Tere1071

I recently purchased 10 1953 Bowmans as upgrades for my set. The cards were mostly described as being in Nr-MT to Nr-MT plus condition with the front sides only displayed. When I received the cards, several had wax/gum residue stains on the reverse. I'm never going to submit these to be slabbed, but I feel that the descriptions provided by the seller were "optimistic" due to the stains on the reverse side.

Admittedly I erred in only looking at the fronts of the cards and not asking the seller for additional images or checking to see if any had stains on the reverse side. For me, cards that have wax residue on the reverse aren't Nr-Mt or better. The seller has a liberal return policy so there's no problem, but am I judging these cards too harshly as this is a common occurrence in the 53 Bowman Color set?

No, cards with wax/gum stains are not NrMint or even close. Personally I would return them if you want truly NrMint cards. Wax/gum stains will usually get a 5.5 EX+ grade in my experience(SGC) on a otherwise NrMint-NrMint+ card.

[Tere1071]

At first I didn't pay much mind to the stains, a clear image and strong corners are more important to me. Had the cards sold at ex+ to ex-Mt pricing I could live with them, but the auction received quite a bit of attention and bidding. At a deeper level, it's frustrating to view cards with obvious flaws being described and priced as if they would grade at a 7 or better. I see many'like cards on eBay that don't matchange the grade given by the sellers.

[butchie_t]

To me it is lying by omission. A bit of a strong sentiment but the description was not accurate. Also, red flags should have been raised too with no pictures of the backs of the cards.

[bammerbb]

Originally Posted by butchie_t

To me it is lying by omission. A bit of a strong sentiment but the description was not accurate. Also, red flags should have been raised too with no pictures of the backs of the cards.

This reminds me of an incident I had a few years ago. I was trolling ebay and came across a listing having a small lot for sale. The seller had posted scans of the fronts but none of the back. I emailed him and said I was interested in the cards but would need to see scans of the back.

He replied the next day by saying "I don't scan backs for anybody." I wrote back and said "That's fine, I don't buy from just anybody." I would have walked away until he replied, "Fine, I don't care if you buy from me or not." It got to me and I said "That's ok, if you don't mind that I tell anyone who asks me about your listings if I tell them that you must have something to hide because you won't share scans of the back." He put up the scans that night. (But I still didn't buy them, they didn't look the best.)

[toppcat]

Originally Posted by Tere1071

I recently purchased 10 1953 Bowmans as upgrades for my set. The cards were mostly described as being in Nr-MT to Nr-MT plus condition with the front sides only displayed. When I received the cards, several had wax/gum residue stains on the reverse. I'm never going to submit these to be slabbed, but I feel that the descriptions provided by the seller were "optimistic" due to the stains on the reverse side.

Admittedly I erred in only looking at the fronts of the cards and not asking the seller for additional images or checking to see if any had stains on the reverse side. For me, cards that have wax residue on the reverse aren't Nr-Mt or better. The seller has a liberal return policy so there's no problem, but am I judging these cards too harshly as this is a common occurrence in the 53 Bowman Color set?

Ex-Mt back in the day....