Unpopular opinion on VCP an other "comp apps"

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by campyfan39

I would love to hear other opinions, and I am open to being wrong. That said, I think VCP and other comp sites and apps are worthless. I'm not sure how many times I have listed something for sale or tried to buy something on different platforms and have had people send me a screenshot of "comps." Whether higher or lower, I believe they are as obsolete as Beckett, who has 1952 Topps high numbers NM at $300! (Anyone who wants to sell for that, please contact me.)

Those apps track auction and eBay sales, not including the tax and shipping from eBay. What they do not do, and cannot do, is track the vast majority of sales. They don't have data on:

Collector-to-collector sales
Facebook sales
Instagram sales
TikTok sales
WhatNot sales
Card show sales
Net 54 and other forums' sales
Direct from the dealer's website sales

I buy and sell easily 90% of my cards on platforms that are not taken into account by those apps. So why are they like the gospel truth to so many?
Thanks for the discussion

A majority of the buyers and sellers in those non-public sales likely referenced VCP or similar apps. This is especially true for frequently traded post-war cards.

[campyfan39]

Thanks for the great discussion. That is what I hoped for!

My contention is that the vast majority of the sales are not reported, yet it is valid that many of those sales have used the recorded sales as a guide.

I have just found that most sales I have experienced, as a buyer and seller, do not reflect what VCP says. Money talks. In my experience, cash at a show on Sunday will get you a long way. I have also sold things for way less than the asking price on eBay and other platforms because I wanted to buy something else.

All that said, I need four more high numbers (reprints of Mickey and Jackie will do for now) and about 6-7 upgrades. I would be happy to send a list.

[Johnny630]

In the vintage card world it all depends on what the card looks like in grade.

Some 7’s look much better than other 7’s…the one that is centered will always carry a premium over one that is OC in same grade. Vcp is a good reference point for vintage but you have to compare similar looking eye appeal cards as more accurate a comp…it’s very nuanced.

[BobbyVCP]

We base all our data on what is verifiable with links and images of the sale....
It is just not possible to do that in FB, Tik Tok, etc...

I have been asked countless times that X sold for Y in a deal. I have no way of verifying anything. So am I just suppose to trust everyone to report it back to me and just post.

What would stop you from saying it cost your $10K and it reality cost you $3K and I post it. Now you have a comp and your willing to selling for 1/2 of VCP average...

Sorry but I would not put much trust in a model like you suggest.

[Musashi]

Comps in general, whether you took the time to research them yourself or got them through a service, are a useful tool to get a ballpark idea price points. While I agree it's annoying how some people use them as the final answer without taking into account variability within grades, age of comps, outlier results (high or low), etc - those are all faults in the user, not the tool.

[jefferyepayne]

I've used VCP for a long time now and find it very useful. Of course not all sales are recorded and some BIN sales are suspect but it definitely gives you an idea of what particular cards are going for.

IMHO, these days, dealers ignore tools like this at their peril. The days of dealers having all the data are over, and they need to come to grips with it and come up with better answers to pricing questions other than:

"I have more than that into this card"

"I have overhead costs I need to cover"

"My last sale was more than that"

jeff

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

We base all our data on what is verifiable with links and images of the sale....
It is just not possible to do that in FB, Tik Tok, etc...

I have been asked countless times that X sold for Y in a deal. I have no way of verifying anything. So am I just suppose to trust everyone to report it back to me and just post.

What would stop you from saying it cost your $10K and it reality cost you $3K and I post it. Now you have a comp and your willing to selling for 1/2 of VCP average...

Sorry but I would not put much trust in a model like you suggest.

HI Bobby,

Long time VCP subscriber! Does VCP capture ebay BIN prices? Also any new sources of data in the works you can share?

[BobbyVCP]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

HI Bobby,

Long time VCP subscriber! Does VCP capture ebay BIN prices? Also any new sources of data in the works you can share?

Yes we do capture BIN and BO sales and you should see them usually with the asking price X'd out and the price it sold for underneath. This take longer to post because mostly due to eBay API system. 1st it will not start our process until the time set by the seller expires. Normal systems will close once the item is sold. Then after this eBay makes getting the final value difficult so we then have to find that out.

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

[BobbyVCP]

Also since we have the BIN original price and the accepted price that let us create BOOST...you can now look up sellers on VCP and see their acceptance rate. This is a great tool for the buyer in knowing the what they typically accept according to price range.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

You've been welcome to our data for years.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

In regards to new data sources we are always looking for new AH or others. We do not scrap and try to get live listings to help our members collect. If anyone would like us to get someone we currently do not have please let us know and we will try to connect.

Hunt Auctions: https://huntauctions.com

Classic Auctions: https://www.classicauctions.net

[steve B]

Originally Posted by BobbyVCP

We base all our data on what is verifiable with links and images of the sale....
It is just not possible to do that in FB, Tik Tok, etc...

I have been asked countless times that X sold for Y in a deal. I have no way of verifying anything. So am I just suppose to trust everyone to report it back to me and just post.

What would stop you from saying it cost your $10K and it reality cost you $3K and I post it. Now you have a comp and your willing to selling for 1/2 of VCP average...

Sorry but I would not put much trust in a model like you suggest.

That was mostly the model for price guides back in the day. They collected sales info, but from dealers they trusted. It was common to have at least a month of cards being available before it got into Beckett or any other guide. Then there was the month of complaining how the initial priced were way off.

Stuff like what you do may have flaws, but I think it's more reliable for more expensive cards