When did the BST here turn into a card show dealer’s table?

[todeen]

I wanted to chime in about making friends on this site, like the OP briefly stated.

There are individuals I have bought from before on BST that I enjoyed doing business with, or follow individuals and their postings and know their interests are similar to mine. Sometimes when I'm looking for something, I reach out to them without even knowing what they have, nothing posted on BST, or if they are even selling. I simply say, I'm considering buying XYZ, what do you have that is comparable? I bought three items this year doing that.

I never collected pennants. After watching the pennant thread for two years, I reached out to a common poster and he said it was perfect timing, he was just about to send a package to auction. I ended up with my first two Reds pennants.

The community at Net54 is a great group of collectors. And if a person is patient, participates in threads, and tries to make friends here, great items will come their way.

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[UKCardGuy]

Originally Posted by todeen

I wanted to chime in about making friends on this site, like the OP briefly stated.

There are individuals I have bought from before on BST that I enjoyed doing business with, or follow individuals and their postings and know their interests are similar to mine. Sometimes when I'm looking for something, I reach out to them without even knowing what they have, nothing posted on BST, or if they are even selling. I simply say, I'm considering buying XYZ, what do you have that is comparable? I bought three items this year doing that.

I never collected pennants. After watching the pennant thread for two years, I reached out to a common poster and he said it was perfect timing, he was just about to send a package to auction. I ended up with my first two Reds pennants.

The community at Net54 is a great group of collectors. And if a person is patient, participates in threads, and tries to make friends here, great items will come their way.

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I hope that most members feel the same.

I joined earlier this year and took a while to get the feel of things before bidding on a couple of live auctions. That went well and I bought few other things from members. Each time, I've been very happy with the results.

Like you, I bought my first pennants via Net54.

In the last month or so, I've put a few items for sale in BST. (Hopefully, I've been fair in my prices.) My rule of thumb is the eBay price ess the fees I'd save + a bit more discount because I'm more confident about the calibre of buyer on Net54. Its a little trickier for me because I need to account for shipping from the UK.

Ultimately, if no-one buys items that are over-priced, prices will come down or those sellers will move on.

My biggest challenge when buying on Net54 is that good items go fast.

[maniac_73]

Ive made a few friends here and deal exclusively with them on the BST. Decent price but the customer service is amazing and they always let me know what they have that I might be interested in. I tend to skip past the newbies posting in here. The way I treat it is that the BST is for long time contributors here to load off stuff to other good members.

[ALBB]

Yea - some prices in the BST are way out of whack

I know its prob wrong..would start a huge insult posting war...and prob against Net54 rules..but

, it would be nice to be able to " constructively "comment -
for ex - Wow, that price seems high for a 69 T Kaline, I didnt think they are selling for that...or How did you arrive at that price for that Griffey card...it seems a bit too much

but, it prob would lead to no good

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ALBB

Yea - some prices in the BST are way out of whack

I know its prob wrong..would start a huge insult posting war...and prob against Net54 rules..but

, it would be nice to be able to " constructively "comment -
for ex - Wow, that price seems high for a 69 T Kaline, I didnt think they are selling for that...or How did you arrive at that price for that Griffey card...it seems a bit too much

but, it prob would lead to no good

Yeah, that wouldn't be a good plan.
People can ask what they want to of course. I don't see any major clogging up of sections. There are still a week or more of new threads on each front page of the sections. If the prices are too high the card/item won't sell. I have probably bought and sold more than 100 things there this year. But I have missed out on some good stuff going quickly too,. I save BP AND tax over there....so around 30% under and AH....

Please PM me with any issues over there. And always, always make sure you are comfortable with your trading partner. If not, PM me and I can call them and chat for a minute to try to alleviate concerns. There have been a few brand new member scammers over there this year. Be careful.

[Exhibitman]

Don't forget to make offers too. Not every price is fixed; unless someone says the price is firm, worst case is the seller says no. Just use a little common sense and courtesy. No one is going to sell their 1952 Topps Mantle for $19.95, and no one wants to be 'educated' on the value of their cards. The nice thing about BST in the 'family' is that we all (ideally) know and respect one another as collectors so we can skip the nonsensical posturing and not engage in abusive tactics like lowballing offers. I saw a card I wanted yesterday, thought the price was a little aggressive, offered what I thought was reasonable, and got the item. No muss, no fuss.

[Tere1071]

Not on this site but on other collector-oriented boards I've had interested parties inform me that they couldn't pay my asking price because as they needed my items to add to their inventory. I guess I can understand that, but I've always considered collector-oriented groups to be that, collectors exchanging items to help one another with their collections.

[Tere1071]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Ive made a few friends here and deal exclusively with them on the BST. Decent price but the customer service is amazing and they always let me know what they have that I might be interested in. I tend to skip past the newbies posting in here. The way I treat it is that the BST is for long time contributors here to load off stuff to other good members.

Collector-oriented boards are a fantastic way to help find items for our respective collections. However, at what point does a "newby" gain acceptance to where they are party to dealing with other members of this board?

[maniac_73]

Originally Posted by Tere1071

Collector-oriented boards are a fantastic way to help find items for our respective collections. However, at what point does a "newby" gain acceptance to where they are party to dealing with other members of this board?

Lots of non BST convos to participate and contribute in on this board so members get to know you.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Lots of non BST convos to participate and contribute in on this board so members get to know you.

I would tend to agree. Even if it's just asking a simple question or sharing your opinion on a sports topic. As someone on the newer side, I never am made to feel discouraged by asking questions. A lot to learn here on these boards.

[scmavl]

Originally Posted by maniac_73

Lots of non BST convos to participate and contribute in on this board so members get to know you.

This 100%... as long as it's not all in the autograph forum asking "Is this Mantle good?"

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Tere1071

Collector-oriented boards are a fantastic way to help find items for our respective collections. However, at what point does a "newby" gain acceptance to where they are party to dealing with other members of this board?

Think of it like ebay. The more you post on various non-BST threads, the more people get to know you. And if you buy on the BST, you can add successful transactions to your signature line so that other board members can see you have positive reviews. It doesn't take that long to move from newby to respected if you participate in this thread like a collector rather than a flipper/get rich quick dealer.

There have been a couple newbys who burned bridges on the BST in the last 6 months with their first postings. It muddies the waters for other new board members trying to sell.

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[hockeyhockey]

Originally Posted by todeen

Think of it like ebay. The more you post on various non-BST threads, the more people get to know you. And if you buy on the BST, you can add successful transactions to your signature line so that other board members can see you have positive reviews. It doesn't take that long to move from newby to respected if you participate in this thread like a collector rather than a flipper/get rich quick dealer.

There have been a couple newbys who burned bridges on the BST in the last 6 months with their first postings. It muddies the waters for other new board members trying to sell.

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i sorta checked out of the thread this one newbie made, but wonder what happened to the guy with the mantle and jackie robinson who inherited his collection and was trying to sell stuff for 12 million % above market value.

[Rich Klein]

In simplest terms:

A seller has the right to ask whatever he/she wants for a card or memorabilia item.

A buyer has the right to purchase or pass on any item based on their perception of what they want to pay.

It's not our job to tell someone else how they should price their merchandise.

For further discussion on this subject go to the twitter and see my discussions on twitter on this very issue.

Rich