Greg Morris Cards - A tiny, insignificant and petty rant

[Jenx34]

Originally Posted by BobC

Not wanting to disparage what any of have said about GM's supposed slow shipping sometimes, but did/have any of you ever bothered to read and pay attention to the topic of combined shipping in the FAQ section of all GM's listings on Ebay? It pretty clearly states that they offer combined flat S&H rates to the U.S. and Canada for all cards won WITHIN A SEVEN (7) DAY PERIOD. And since they seem to list tons of cards on Ebay pretty much every day, to be able to offer such a service to ALL their customers, and because they likely have many people winning multiple cards from them over multiple days quite a bit, they pretty much have to automatically wait a week or so after you've initially won something from them to see if you end up winning any more of their cards. That way they can combine and ship your winnings so as to SAVE YOU MONEY on combined S&H charges.

But not a one of you people posting seems to have recognized (or comprehended) this actually very good thing they do to help and potentially benefit their customers. Good lord, you have a seller that pretty much does a great job in everyone's opinion, yet they still get criticized for doing something for their overall customer's benefit. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't it seems. Wow, just wow!

Bob, the fact that they combine shipping over 7 days IS a good thing. I've actually unknowingly gone as long as 9 or 10 days and they were fine with it.

But here is where you are off, if I read your comment correctly. None of the mailing issues begin until the order is paid and complete. As soon as you've paid, they begin the shipping process. So they aren't holding orders to see if you buy more. That works itself out as once you win cards, you leave them in your cart without paying, overnight they update an invoice combining previous days, and so on. Once you are done, you pay the updated invoice and shipping begins, which is where this discussion topic begins. What you are referencing happens before that point.

[mortimer brewster]

Originally Posted by Jenx34

Bob, the fact that they combine shipping over 7 days IS a good thing. I've actually unknowingly gone as long as 9 or 10 days and they were fine with it.

But here is where you are off, if I read your comment correctly. None of the mailing issues begin until the order is paid and complete. As soon as you've paid, they begin the shipping process. So they aren't holding orders to see if you buy more. That works itself out as once you win cards, you leave them in your cart without paying, overnight they update an invoice combining previous days, and so on. Once you are done, you pay the updated invoice and shipping begins, which is where this discussion topic begins. What you are referencing happens before that point.

Right on. I have won literally thousands of auctions from GMC over the past 10 years. I receive an invoice from them every night so I have the option to pay whenever I want during the 7 day period. It's nice to know they are not strict with the 7 day period.

I live in Western New York and have nearly always received my order within 7 days of paying.

If I have a criticism of GMC it is their auctions seem to be slightly disorganized (ex mixing 1972 Football and Baseball singles together) could be a little annoying working from a checklist. I attribute this to many collectors liquidating their collections. At any given time they have approx 27000 auctions going. Pre pandemic it was close to 20000.

[stkuhl]

I have purchased plenty of cards from Greg Morris. He does seem to list the grades conservatively. I agree that the shipping time, I'm in Tennessee, is really really slow. It does seem odd that it usually takes 4-6 days for a purchase to start moving through the USPS system. That said, I factor that into the cards I but from GM.

[G1911]

I like the combined shipping. Grading is usually reasonable unless it's an altered card they don't want to acknowledge. I've bought 10 times or so when a card has slipped through the cracks or the handful of times they've had something I really needed.

On the downside, they won't put any description of a card even if they really should (like that T205 Hoblitzell), take forever after payment to actually ship, and their cards regularly sell for far far more than I can get the same card for from a random guy on eBay. I usually just buy from nonprofessional sellers when the card is an easily found card, because I will pay ~40-80% of the price that it would cost to get it from sellers like Morris. I just don't see any benefit to myself in paying more.

[Jenx34]

Originally Posted by G1911

I like the combined shipping. Grading is usually reasonable unless it's an altered card they don't want to acknowledge. I've bought 10 times or so when a card has slipped through the cracks or the handful of times they've had something I really needed.

On the downside, they won't put any description of a card even if they really should (like that T205 Hoblitzell), take forever after payment to actually ship, and their cards regularly sell for far far more than I can get the same card for from a random guy on eBay. I usually just buy from nonprofessional sellers when the card is an easily found card, because I will pay ~40-80% of the price that it would cost to get it from sellers like Morris. I just don't see any benefit to myself in paying more.

I get what you're saying, but buying from random sellers on Ebay is a little like playing Russian Roulette, especially with condition.

I recently have bought lots from 4 or 5 different sellers (new to me) and the results have been quite mixed. A High Grade NMMT - MINT 1975 lot was terrible. It was EX-EXMT at best with all kinds of damaged corners, among other things. Another group of 1975s, described as NMMT, Clean and Sharp as well as being assured they were centered and high quality cards. They were anything but. I kept 3 out of 41 cards and returned the rest. Very disappointed. A couple of groups of 1980s and a larger lot of 1980 Topps checked out pretty well. Lastly, a big bulk lot of 1970s was so far from the description it was ridiculous.

Despite Greg Morris imperfections, the good outweighs the bad and that's why so many buy from him and he gets the prices he does.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Jenx34

I get what you're saying, but buying from random sellers on Ebay is a little like playing Russian Roulette, especially with condition.

I recently have bought lots from 4 or 5 different sellers (new to me) and the results have been quite mixed. A High Grade NMMT - MINT 1975 lot was terrible. It was EX-EXMT at best with all kinds of damaged corners, among other things. Another group of 1975s, described as NMMT, Clean and Sharp as well as being assured they were centered and high quality cards. They were anything but. I kept 3 out of 41 cards and returned the rest. Very disappointed. A couple of groups of 1980s and a larger lot of 1980 Topps checked out pretty well. Lastly, a big bulk lot of 1970s was so far from the description it was ridiculous.

Despite Greg Morris imperfections, the good outweighs the bad and that's why so many buy from him and he gets the prices he does.

I have no issue finding other sellers with decent scans to evaluate condition just as I do with a Morris listing. Morris doesn't sell many large lots, when he does you get a picture of 9 of the cards and little to no description at all. He won't even list what card #'s you are getting. He primarily sells commonly found single cards with many copies up on eBay at any given time. I can frequently find BIN's on cards in the same grade or even higher sitting there for less than Morris manages to sell the same card for.

I find a decent scan and my eyeballs do a much better job than trusting any seller. Morris misgrades or overlooks plenty of alterations, though I usually find his scale reasonable. Here's a recent example (https://www.ebay.com/itm/38547926068...Bk9SR4D5p7XsYQ), a Ted Williams listed as "EX-EXMT (stain)" which seems.... one hell of a stretch. Over 50% of the card is a large coffee stain. EX-EXMT? I doubt if I won it and subbed to SGC I would get even half of that grade. If I described it as EX-EXMT (Stain) and sold it to someone here there is no way they would be happy. He got $610.75 for it. 1 day before a PSA 4 was bought for $600.

Many like his business (see the Tip Top Spahn trimming thread for the proof) and will clearly him much more money for the same grade than they will pay someone else. I just don't see the reason to do that. There are tons of non-professional sellers who post good scans, it will cost less, they will ship it to me faster (I will often receive the card from them before Morris even actually ships). He's clearly doing something right (good for him!), but I just don't see what the benefit to me as a buyer is to use his operation instead of others at this point.

[Harliduck]

Originally Posted by G1911

He primarily sells commonly found single cards with many copies up on eBay at any given time. I can frequently find BIN's on cards in the same grade or even higher sitting there for less than Morris manages to sell the same card for.

100% agree...if you solely buy at GM and don't know what the cards should max out at, you can easily overspend...which I am sure is wonderful for those who consign with him. When I am looking at multiple bids of a certain year I'm attacking (lately it's been the quest to continually upgrade my sets), I will go in and put my max bid early...and then let the chips fall where they may. I may bid on 30 cards...and maybe only win 2 to 4 cards...sometimes more, sometimes I win none...but when I do win it's a deal. You just can't get caught up watching those auctions end and bid on pride or the competition of it all, which I know what the seller/consigner is hoping for. I just check at the end and see the damage, ignoring all the "you've been outbid" notices...haha.

I can tell you that I do often get some killer deals this way, and it's fun to see what I end up with.