This is the problem with grading...

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by steve B

That's somewhat common in live auctions. When I worked for the car dealer we sold most of the tradeins through an auction and nearly every one had a reserve. That reserve was seldom announced. Once bidding ended they'd usually just say "sold" or "sorry too low". Rarely if a buyer was close the auctioneer might tell them how close they were. But that was unusual. The seller was on the podium with the auctioneer, and could lower the reserve if they wanted to.

I'll also say that the auto auction let me see all manner of shenanigans with bidding. Shills, known or unknown - Yep, saw a guy bid up his friends car witout his friends knowledge. "Bids" that didn't have an actual bidder. A bidder who won and literally ran off and left before they could figure out who it was. A sort of reverse shill on a car with problems- 1000 and over the car could be returned, and there was a very quick hammer at 950. If it wasn't dealers only there'd have been a lot of trouble. (Car dealers don't often get much sympathy in court)

Steve B

Very interesting Steve. I spoke with a guy who works for a very large car dealership out here that buys and sells used cars awhile back. The used cars they sell are very nice, in fact, they almost all look new.

I asked him why that was- he said they do buy cars that they don't put on the lot, if they don't quite meet their standards (dings, too many miles, etc.)-he said they send those cars off to be auctioned (to other used car dealers mostly, but also open to the public).

I asked him how they guarantee that they won't lose money, and he said they start the bid at what they paid for the car. I asked "what if the highest bid is only the first bid-what you paid for the car?" and he said that even if that happens on every car that they still make money off of the fees to enter the auction and the fees to bid....so even if every car only sold for what they paid for it, they still make decent money from the fees.

Back on topic (sorry)....so the CU board wipes out whole threads? Wow.

Sincerely, Clayton

[drc]

My experience is the loyal PSA collector have the same types of questions as others, it's just they're not always allowed to talk about them on that board.

I've also seen collectors who assume PSA is always 100% accurate.

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by drc

I've also seen collectors who assume PSA is always 100% accurate.

If PSA is always 100% accurate, then there would never be a cause to resubmit for a bump - they always get it right the first time.

[Tobacco&Gum]

Originally Posted by teetwoohsix

so the CU board wipes out whole threads? Wow.

Not only does CU wipe out threads, they'll wipe out members for suggesting that perhaps some submitters recieve leeway or special treatment on grades.

If you even mention 4 Sharp Corners or Rick P or some others in a negative light you run the risk of being banned.

I would imagine that the CU boards are a lot like what message boards must have been like in the former Soviet Union.

[Peter_Spaeth]

--

[mark evans]

When I learn that CU deletes threads (and bans members?) for criticizing PSA, I'm glad to be a member of a board where the freedom of speech is alive and well.

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by mark evans

When I learn that CU deletes threads (and bans members?) for criticizing PSA, I'm glad to be a member of a board where the freedom of speech is alive and well.

The CU message board is run by CU and naturally doesn't want any negative talk posted about their product.
No different if you went to a restaurant sat down and complained that the food sucks.
They will ask you to leave.

Naturally on a board like N54 which isn't run by PSA, SGC, Beckett, GAI etc...
You can speak your piece and get your message across.

[mark evans]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

The CU message board is run by CU and naturally doesn't want any negative talk posted about their product.
No different if you went to a restaurant sat down and complained that the food sucks.
They will ask you to leave.

Naturally on a board like N54 which isn't run by PSA, SGC, Beckett, GAI etc...
You can speak your piece and get your message across.

Not to belabor the point, but I suspect that both CU, as well as most restaurants, can benefit from constructive criticism. I realize that when a business permits constructive criticism it can then become difficult to deal with outrageous allegations.

[Jay Wolt]

Mark I don't disagree, just stating that here on N54 the give & take can go on about a grading company, a dealer or anything related to the hobby.
Moreso then an avenue where the company that has criticisms levied against them is the sponsor of the site.

[bh3443]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

The CU message board is run by CU and naturally doesn't want any negative talk posted about their product.
No different if you went to a restaurant sat down and complained that the food sucks.
They will ask you to leave.

Naturally on a board like N54 which isn't run by PSA, SGC, Beckett, GAI etc...
You can speak your piece and get your message across.

Hi Jay,
Good point, my friend! I still open new wax, and I use Blowout Cards forum to trade or buy the new Red Sox cards which I'm "obsessed with,lol".
I did not read their rules, shame on me, and I listed a wax box for sale. Well, they ripped my post down in 2 seconds and I then read the rules!

To the larger picture on this thread, when I first started to use ebay, I bought something from Probstien123 and I was impressed with his business. The sheer volume was amazing to me.
Well, right after I paid for my lot, I got a very pleasant phone call from Rick, who it turns out used to live near me here in the suburbs of Boston, and he attended my shows years earlier. We had a great chat (as you know, I talk too much because I'm home 24/7!), and I will never forget how nice and polite he was to me, a buyer of a 10$ or less card! Before hanging up, he asked me what he could do to help me with my collection; whether buying it, selling it for me or selling me cards. He went out of his way to make a great impression, and his offers were sincere, serious, and this is how he gets such a following.

As to the grade jumping, I'm sure lots of people buy and re-submit.

Well, that's my 2 cents!
Have a great weekend. And Jay, I've been admiring your tremendous selection of vintage non-sport cards! You, my friend, have some amazing stuff.
Everyone have a great Sunday.
Your Friend,
Bill Hedin
Framingham, MA

[25801wv]

Probstein is not the problem. Don't bid what you can't afford to spend. How could Probstein monitor if the original consigner of his card is also bidding on the same cards with 10,000 auctions a month? As far as I know it is not a requirement for you to list all of your & your families & friends ebay user id's when consigning a card. Probstein (or any other) just needs your name, mailing address, and email address. You do not even have to have an ebay account to consign with Probstein because he is the one that has the ebay account. To me a shill bid would be if Probstein had another secret ebay account and he was shill bidding so he could get the maximum value for his auctions in order to increase his commission. It is impossible to stop the original consigner of the card or there associates from bidding on an auction on ebay that they have an interest in.

The real problem is people thinking because PSA says is a 10 that it is Gem Mint & suddenly worth 10x-100x+ the Nmt/Mt value of a card. If you place a bid in an auction then you should be willing to pay that amount. Do you also care that people subscribe to websites that send there bids in within the last few seconds of an auction?

ES

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by Tobacco&Gum

Not only does CU wipe out threads, they'll wipe out members for suggesting that perhaps some submitters recieve leeway or special treatment on grades.

If you even mention 4 Sharp Corners or Rick P or some others in a negative light you run the risk of being banned.

I would imagine that the CU boards are a lot like what message boards must have been like in the former Soviet Union.

Thanks James- good to know.

That's one of the (many) great things about Net54, is that you can talk about controversial issues that are going on in the hobby. I've never once seen a thread get wiped out here.

And, your last comment had me rolling

Sincerely, Clayton