Buy/Sell/Trade check? How's it going over there?

[terjung]

I have recently sold many Goudey HOFers on the B/S/T thread with a lot of success. (Thanks, Bobby for your transaction and your kudos). I posted my email address on the ad and stated that emails take precedence over thread posts, so however they can into my email was the order served. The system has worked well for me and I have no complaints.

To address the removal of sale prices... I am one such person who did that. I changed the sale price to "SOLD" to let people know it was gone and also then removed the scan of the card as well. This was done to remove confusion - showing that the card was no longer available, but was there at one point. The reason I remove the price is twofold. First, it eliminates potential confusion as to what card is what price, but the (much) bigger reason was to give the buyer privacy. If I hit the equivalent of a BIN for what I believe was a steal of a price, I would love for the price not to remain... especially since it will not be recorded on something like VCP. The new owner (who likely picked up the card for less than VCP) can feel good about having that card with a sales record of higher than what he paid... thereby potentially eliminating what has been called the spiralling effect of wanting to purchase below the last purchase price. Anyway, not to go off on that tangent, but suffice it to say that the price is removed so that the buyer can have privacy of their sale price.

Thanks for the B/S/T page! No complaints here.

[shaunsteig]

Originally Posted by terjung

To address the removal of sale prices... . The reason I remove the price is twofold. First, it eliminates potential confusion as to what card is what price, but the (much) bigger reason was to give the buyer privacy. If I hit the equivalent of a BIN for what I believe was a steal of a price, I would love for the price not to remain... especially since it will not be recorded on something like VCP. The new owner (who likely picked up the card for less than VCP) can feel good about having that card with a sales record of higher than what he paid... thereby potentially eliminating what has been called the spiralling effect of wanting to purchase below the last purchase price. Anyway, not to go off on that tangent, but suffice it to say that the price is removed so that the buyer can have privacy of their sale price.

I beg to differ. At the time that the buyer purchases the card from you, they should already be happy (since it's a voluntary purchase on their part) and, if it's relevant to them then they've probably already seen the VCP or price-guide values at that time. Deleting the price from your post subsequently doesn't change that. What it does is eliminate anyone from observing in the future what the card sold for. And we are dealing with an essentially capitalistic market here with card collecting. One sale setting an all-time low for a card won't necessarily change the entire market for it, but having these records of sales would be a potentially significant resource to us all. And if they do reflect a changing market, then wouldn't we all be better off knowing that?

And I don't feel that withholding the sale price protects the privacy of the buyer at all, since the majority of the time the buyer isn't identified on the thread.

[Kawika]

Have done numerous transactions over the years on the BST, never had a problem. Only gripe is when sellers don't post scans. I'd rather see what's being offered right away. Back scans are nice, too.

[Jaybird]

agreed on the scans. I pretty much skip over any B/S/T thread without pictures.

As a seller, I wouldn't want all the back and forth from people just looking for a scan when one could be posted into the thread in the first place. If you have a card 10 people are interested in, you're already talking about starting 10 email chains just to send a picture of the card. Lot of hassle for nothing, but that's just me.

All of my transactions have been good on the BST, by the way. Seems like I buy or sell something there at least once a week.

Thanks to all,

Jason

[Bosox Blair]

I have done a bunch of B/S/T deals (mainly buying) and all turned out great.

Since the thread is wide open, I'll share a few anecdotes/observations though:

1. Bought a few cards from a nice gent who uses the B/S/T a fair bit. One of the cards - PSA graded - had a pretty serious crack in the slab in the area of the flip. Enough to make me worry someone *might* have tampered or switched it (and since the card appeared to be in a borderline grade, it worried me). I knew the gent who sold it to me had not done anything funny because I found a scan of the card/holder before he acquired it, and knowing where to look I saw the same crack. The B/S/T user promptly and courteously agreed to the return, and made me whole for the card price and the shipping back. A very stand-up guy. And typical of the excellent people I encounter using the B/S/T.

2. One time when I was selling some cards I got a PM from the "price police", advising me that my prices were too high. I disagreed, but invited him to make an offer. He never made any offer, and I believe he had no intention of buying any of the cards. All the cards sold to other buyers within 18 hours. So here's my stance - don't send anyone a message complaining about their pricing unless you are negotiating/making an offer. Nobody wants to hear from the busybody price police.

3. For the WTB guys, please be in tune with the value of what you WTB. I have sent several messages to WTB advertisers that go like this: "I have the card you are looking for. VCP has last # of sales as $X, $Y and $Z. I'll sell to you for a price in line with those." And then I get the response: "That is way more than I want to pay." So either (a) the WTB guy is not tuned into the going price for the thing he wants, or (b) he is looking to pay considerably less than the going price. Now I appreciate that not everyone has VCP. And I also think it is fine to look for a bargain. But before you WTB posters cause a number of people to take the time to respond to your post for nothing, my view is that you should learn what the market price is for the thing. And then, if you are looking to pay less, say so in some way. I have no problem at all with: "Anyone got a PSA 3 T206 Cobb bat off they would sell for a max price of $500 (actual price to be negotiated after I receive scans)?" Or "WTB ____ card at 90% of recent VCP - any sellers?"

These are just my own ramblings and I'm sure not everyone will agree...just a discussion.

But to bring this back around, I want to reiterate that all my B/S/T transactions have turned out great, and I think it is an excellent resource!

Cheers,
Blair

[kllrbee]

Let me put it this way....
If it wasnt for the BST and the great members Ive met there, I would have quit the "Monster" awhile ago.
Thanks Net 54, Leon, and all members who participate in the BST.

[FrankWakefield]

I don't care for the PMing system. I don't like it, don't like the pop ups.

At present I don't get PM's, the feature was disabled through the CP (Control Panel).


I don't like okra. Don't like gin, either. It has been years since I tried either. I didn't like them then, I still don't like them now. I don't have to be eating okra twice a day to maintain a present, current dislike for the vegetable. And I mention this to address the 'tense' issues addressed earlier. I still don't like PMing and the pop ups even though it is disabled. (And for what it's worth I dislike the quote feature, it unduly lengthens threads and is primarily used in arguments and disagreements, contentious posts; instead of informative posts.)


So it sounds like....

Folks like B/S/T,

the price should stay up,

use of scans improve listings,

sellers should specify 'no PMing' or 'posts take precedence over emails' or whatever communications constraints they wish to impose.