This needs to be talked about!!

[calgary46male]

I have had this happen from time to time. I will be trading on a whole set of something and someone will offer me a lot of cards in trade. I will tell him the value of mine and he will come back and say...Did you add those up one by one? I would promptly say no by threes I have not got all day. Then he will come back and say," Beckett lists the total price of the set at so and so." Well it never fails me how people look at beckett as some kind of bible or something it has serious flaws and doesnt serve a collecter fairly in many ways. I looked through my becketts and came accross several instances where their figures looked like this:

1992 dec hockey beckett

1980-81 OPC Hockey
Complete set of 396 600$

Then I look through and add up the key cards and they go as follows

2 Ray Bourque RB 10$
3 Wayne Gretzky rb 35$
67 Michel Goulet rc 24$
87 Wayne Gretzky as2 45$
140 Ray Bourque RC 150$
162 Gretzky LL 15$
163 Gretzky LL 15$
183 Gretzky TL 21$
195 Mike Gartner Rc 36$
250 Wayne Gretzky 165$
289 Mark Messier rc 200$

This totals 715$ yet Beckett says the total beckett value is 600$ Its highly unlike this was a mistake as I find this same example all the way through to date. Some people have tried to say to me that well no one wants to pay for commons and is the reason why this happens. Well the above example proves they are not commons and its not a true given value. I have been told by many its a price that is given by having to sell it on the spot and taking a lesser value for it because you need to sell. Today Ebay reflects the similar values for what beckett list its complete prices for sets alomst identically. So what is the value of our cards? Does this value relate good information to us? I think beckett sucks!! it leaves it open for people to try and take advantage of others in ways like this. I have a friend in Lousianna who lost his whole collection. Its a good thing the insurance company didn't use the Becketts full price for his sets. No the insurance company refunded the complete itemized value of his collection in full. He then went on ebay and tried to buy his collection again and was dissapointed at the results. Sure he got his collection back and is still working on it but the conditions were far worse then what he had collected. He says by the time he does replace everything it will have cost him more then the insurance company had gave him in replacement.

What do you all think?

[calgary46male]

NICK!!!! How come I got 58$ My wife says I'm worth 65...oh wait that was in canadian tire money :S

[Collector]

Value depends on the condition of the card or cards. If you're going to be a serious collector, you gotta learn about grading. Grading is a huge part of collecting, and it's important to look into if you're wanting to be a serious collector.

Thanks, Collector

[calgary46male]

I don't think I got my point through. I used to frequent this card shop in calgary alot. I got to know the owner and liked him. I spent maybe 200$ a month there. I would go and have coffee and bring him doughnuts and look through his new items and brouse his store. One day while I was there an older lady came in with her husbands hockey cards. I believe he had passed away. She was really in need of money and had some hockey cards he had collected in the 80's She had 83-84,84-85,85-86,86-87,87-88,88-89,89-90, plus a 5000 lot of doubles from the 80's ...and many years following. He passed on all the nineties cards. I got to watch all of this as I offered to help her carry these in to the store while he sat working with his figures. 30 minues later it was done she walked out with 530$ and he sat down proud as could be and said look how easy that was? The one set with Lemeiux rc easilly sells on ebay for darn near what she got and I thought he was a creep and never went back. The duplicates she brought in had 2 lemiuex rcs and 5 Pat lafontaines and one Roy rc.If those cards were sitting in my collection they were worth over 8000$ and he had them on his shelf listed at a price the corresponded to the correct value I would have put on them. The value that beckett lists for the complete set allows people to take advantage of others and doesnt make sense to me. That lady no doubt sold those as she was in desperate need. I see alot of things like this and people should really correct this if people have to be dishonest in this way they should be open about it. I wanted to tell her to take them and sell them on ebay you will get 4 times that much.....and I should have. I guess some people don't have hearts and this kind of prctice is openly done with people who are unaware of whats going on. Beckett should list that price as it doesnt reflect the true value. Card dealers and collectors alike like to use that because if its to there advantage why not? Thats theft in my books!!! Maybe we shouldn't talk about this and arrive at conclusions it might judge people for what its worth.

It just bothers me that no one talks about this and I see it happen alot.

Len

[Collector]

Yes, there's always going to be collectors out there who are going to try to take advantage of you. That's why it's important to know what's going on. You're not going to find cards being sold for their value, and that's why you see beckett like it is. In fact, you'd be surprised how cheap cards actually get sold. Yeah, the person who is selling the cards really cheap is taking a loss, but what's sad is that most don't know how big of a loss they're taking. You're right, it happens all the time, and it's going to continue to happen as long as collectors don't know what they have.

Thanks, Collector

[cubs4life]

Recently on ebay, I won an auction for a 1955 Bowman Yogi Berra, for less than $19. Book value is $125. No idea how I got it for such a deal, but man am I happy. Now if it were basketball cards, I have some and I want to get rid of them. No idea what they are worth, so I know I'd get raped on those

[Bondsaway]

I have seen this all too well. But I'm not the kinda person that stands by and watch something like that happen. Now the point may have been mute to her if she needed the money quickly! She didn't care about the cards and so took what she could get, seen that happen too. Remember you as a collector know the value. So you know what you could or can't get for some things. Did it make the owner a sleeze,NO! Absolutely not. Not sure what your thinking here. But I'm certain you would have not problem paying $5 for a $200 card on ebay! So tell me wheres the difference?
Remember its how you look at the situation. If she cared enough about the cards she could have checked with the store owner what the value of the cards were. Never telling him she needed money. Then after being told asked if he wanted to buy! So did unless he told her oh I can't sell those they are not worth anything. Thats a outright lie and then should be stoned!
Sorry for the rant!