None of the items from yesterday have ended yet. I had placed a $300 bid on a Mantle. It is currently up to $335. The description is silent on creases. I can't tell if it has any by viewing the scans. I do see some rounding of the corners and it is off-center. I can't decided if I should up my bid. I've got about five hours to think about it.
I've also been outbid on the Reynolds at $15.50. I don't want to pay that much for a Reynolds. I placed bids on two different Fellers. I'm high bidder on one at $78.50. I'm not sure why I bid so high. I think I'm starting to get frustrated and am throwing down some higher bids. The other Feller is a Beckett 4.5 and I've been outbid at $20.50. I'm high bidder on all the other cards from yesterday.
Let's see what is up today:
I see a wrapper. The back shows some sort of rot. I'm not sure I want it with the rot. I think I'll throw down $10. I'm high bidder at $9.38. Not much else up for auction today. I'm going to check the BINs.
I see an SGC 70 Snider for $150. Pass. I see a beat up and chewed Reynolds for $3.75. Pass. Some outfit called Four Sharp Corners has a bunch of high grade SGCs up. There is a Al Robertson SGC 86 for $14.99. I am tempted but I just don't want slabbed cards. I'd have to crack it out to place the card in my binder. Plus, this is a common. I can't believe I can't find this card raw for five or six bucks!
I see a Feller with a real nice front but major damage on the back. Pass. I see a nice looking Campy for just $25. I spent $50 on mine. I see a PSA 9 Mays for 10K. I might have to pass that one up. There is a Slaughter SGC 88 for $100. I don't need one that nice. A Becket 7 Berra for $390. Pass.
I see an "Earl Toggeson" for $2.99. I don't quite know who Earl Toggeson is. He is not on my want list. Same seller, who can't spell, has an Al Robertson for $2.99. Spelling champ says the card is EX+. I'd say Poor to Fair with heavy corner wear. Looks like a crease on one edge but I can't tell for certain. No description other than "The card in the scan is the card you will receive." Thanks buddy. Pass.
I see a Snider for $72. No back scan. Seller does state that the card has a crease. There is also no top edge, so I'm wondering if the card is trimmed. Either way, I can't do $72 for a creased Snider.
I see an Erskine for $10.50 plus $4.99 shipping. No description whatsoever. Corners are worn. I'd probably pull the trigger if the seller bothered to state that the card contained no creases. I just can't tell from the scans. Plus $16 or so for this card with worn corners is too high.
Oh no, I've hit the Dean's mine field. Gotta get outa here fast! Wow, Dean's has a Billy Martin covered in tape and is asking nearly $30. Really?!! I may just have escaped the Dean's mine field. I was starting to think it went on forever. Another seller has a trashed Berra for $80.
I see a Pesky for $25. I don't want to drop that much on a Pesky. I see a ton of cards listed by COMC. Their listings state they are "the world's largest consignment service." That is a pretty broad statement to make. I would argue that PWCC, the largest seller of cards on eBay is a bigger outfit that COMC. Anyway, COMC fails to put descriptions in their listings. I would not consign with them for that fact alone!
I see a Mays slabbed by some outfit called Five Star Grading. I have never heard of Five Star Grading. The slab looks like PSA. I wonder if the seller took a PSA 1, made his own label, and placed it over the PSA label. Oh, and he wants $800 for the card. Yeah, right!
I see a Snider graded VG for $64. Description silent on creases. I can't tell if it is creased from the scans. Corners are soft and frayed. Pass. Same seller has an Al Robertson for $4.25. Same issue as with the Snider. The seller grades the card VG with no other description. Card has visible corner wear. I can't tell if it is creased. Seller offers free shipping. Well, for $4.25 and free shipping, what do I have to lose? I was about to place the card in my shopping cart and continue shopping with this seller, only to see I won a Robertson yesterday and a Larsen. Cool! I won the Robertson at $3.25 but got stuck with $4.50 in shipping. I won the Larsen at $14.79 with just $2.75 for shipping. Just paid for the cards. Down to 13 cards. Woot!
Next, I see a Roe that looks beat to crap for $14. Pass. Okay, nothing else ending today in BINs. I still have to make a decision on that Mantle. It is still at $335 with four hours to go. I'll let you know what happened with my next report.
April 30, 2020
Recap time. I am currently high bidder on a Pesky PSA 6 at $12.21 with two hours to go. I've been outbid on the BVG 4.5 Feller at $20.50 with five hours to go. I may up that bid later. I'm am still high bidder on the wrapper at $9.38 with six hours to go.
I lost a Larsen at $7 but, as I reported yesterday, I won one on April 28. Now for some crazy high prices that don't make any sense. I lost a Roe at $22.50, a Feller at $86 which is great because I had bidder's remorse at $78. I lost a Reynolds at $35.97. Really? I lost the Mantle at $486 which is way too high for the card. The seller was silent on creases and I could see some wear plus centering was bad.
Let's get back to it...
My old friend tripleplayvintage has some Sniders up with no back scans and no description. Pass. Seller Greg Morris seems to be fetching crazy high price. He's got a Feller that he says is VGEX with an impression. The border looks stained but I can't be for certain from the scan. It's at $9.50 with eight bidders and ends tomorrow. I'll throw down $20. I'm high bidder at $14.51.
Greg Morris has a Berra. He states card is VGEX with an impression. Scans look nice. Card is at $12.50 with 12 bids and ends tomorrow. I'm going to throw down $50. I'm high bidder at $13.50. I see a PSA 5 Mantle for $670. A 5 SMR's at $800. That's a lot of money to drop. I have to think about that one.
Greg Morris has a Piersall number 210. There is definitely some staining on the right edge. It almost looks like a sun burn. Pass. Another seller has a PSA 4 Mays at $179.50. A 5 SMR's at $200. Pass.
There is a seller with a bunch of five-lot listings. He has one with a Reynolds, starting bid of $9.99. He has a lot of scans but I can't tell if the Reynolds is creased. There is definitely one big ole corner ding. Geez, for $9.99, might as well. I threw down $15. Same seller has a five-lot with a really nice looking Piersall number 210. I'm going to throw down $20.
I see an SGC 4 Feller at $10.65 with two bids. I'm going to throw down $30. I'm high bidder at $11.50. I see a Hodges for only 99 cents but it has a crease. Pass. I see a creased up Feller for $10. Pass. I see a Beckett Mantle 5 for $900. Pass. I see a Snider for a starting bid of $9.99. Seller has only 42 feedback with a 95.7 rating. Pass.
My five-lot guy has a lot with a Loop Variation Roe that looks nice. There is also an autographed Jerry Snyder. I'm going to go $30. Man, another Snider from tripleplayvintage. This guy has a monster inventory. That is the third Snider I've seen from him today. If he bothered to place a back scan and state whether the card was creased, I might bid. Though, the negs in his feedback would be tough to overcome.
I see a seller with a six lot that includes a Reynolds. No back scan but he says only one card in the lot is creased. Lot is at $9.99 with one bid. I am going to throw down $30. I'm high bidder at $12.50. There is an SGC 3 Mays for 80 bucks. I'm tempted but will pass. There is a Slaughter for $9.50 but it has a weird white stain on the back. Pass.
There is a Berra PSA 3 for $70. A 5 SMR's at $80. Pass. Next, I see a lot of 18 cards. Headline states VG-EX No Creases but the description states lot of 35, not 18, and in Poor Condition. No back scan. There is a Piersall but I don't know which one it is. Seller doesn't bother to state the card number. Pass.
Okay then. I'm not going to check the BINs because I went into auctions for the next couple of days. Tomorrow I'll just check the BINs. That's all for today. It would be nice if I won some of these auctions!
May 1, 2020
Happy May Day! Here is a recap:
I won the Pesky PSA 6 for $12.21. This is the first graded card I have won for the set. Now the debate begins on whether to crack it out and keep it slabbed. I lost out on the wrapper with the rot at $11.03. I'd like to find one that doesn't come with a free slice of rot. All of my other bids are still active.
So yesterday I went through a couple of days of auctions. Today I am going to check BINs. Of course as I enter the fray I am immediately dropped into the Dean's minefield. Help! Some of these other seller's are following Dean's lead. Wow, some big prices. If my name was Fat Daddy Warbucks I'd purchase the Erskine SGC 88 for $129 and the Berra PSA 8 for $550.
Seems like nothing but high-dollar cards up today. Anybody want to loan me 12K for a Williams? How about $18,500 for a PSA 9 Mays? I see a really nice looking Snider for 90 bucks. I gotta think about that one. Description states the seller has more '54s. Let's see what else he has. Another seller has a Snider for $70 but it is not as nice as the one for $90.
I see a Slaughter for $18 but it is pretty scuffed up. There is a beat up Reynolds for $16. I see another Snider for $100 and it is not as nice as the one for $90. There is a beat up and stained Piersall for $9.17. What a weird price. Oh, I see a Reynolds for $12 from the top-hat man 707. Free shipping. Corners are frayed. Listing says vg-ex. Doesn't mention creases and I don't see any from a pretty clear scan. I'm gonna think on this one.
I decided to purchase both the Snider and the Reynolds. I paid a little more than I wanted but I would like to finish this set while I still have hair on my head. Too late. Anyway, this is the first time I purchased a card from 707. I have purchased three or four display cases from him at the Sun-Times show. He's tough to deal with in person. He doesn't like to discount a penny. I've been getting better deals on display cases elsewhere.
That will do it for today. I'm down to 10 cards. Woot!
May 3, 2020
It's hard to work on this set during the weekends but I have found some time today. First off, I probably should not have purchased that Reynolds from 707 because I had two outstanding bids out there during the purchase and, of course, I won both cards. So I now have three Reynolds cards. No big whoop. The nicest of the three will go into my set while I will sell the others.
I won a Reynolds in a six-card lot. The lot also includes a Shantz, Friend, Adcock, Furillo, and Mike Garcia. Hopefully I can use some of these cards as upgrades. I won the lot for $26. The other Reynolds came in a five lot that I picked up for just $10. That lot also included Murry Dickson, Andy Pafko, Willard Nixon and Don Bollweg. I won two other five lots from the same seller both for 10 bucks each. In those lots I got the Piersall #210, Al Robertson, Owen Friend, Dick Littlefield, Jonny Bucha, two Jerry Snyders with one autographed, Hank Thompson, Preacher Roe, and Hobie Landrith. I also won a Feller SGC 4 for $26 after losing an SGC 4.5 for $37.55 along with a nice looking raw Feller at $86. Now I have two graded cards. Unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid graded cards in this day in age. I miss the pre-graded days!
Anyway, I am down to just seven cards. Let's see what I can do today...
I see a Mantle "GMA" 3 for $399. What is GMA? I am certainly not going to purchase anything slabbed in something called GMA. I see a Berra PSA 3 for $69. I am tempted but I am going to pass. I think PSA 3's have creases, right? I see a Mantle pictured in a screwdown for $232.50. I avoid anything in a screwdown if I can help it. The screwdown case hides all the flaws.
I see a Mays for $169. I am going to pass because the listing states this card is a refractor and I'm pretty sure there were no refractors in 1954. When did refractors start showing up? 1990's? I see an eight-card autograph lot for $4.25. I am going to throw down $10. I am high bidder at $5.50.
I see a Slaughter for $19.99. Front looks nice but there appears to be a thin crease on the back. However, the seller is silent as to creasing. I am not going to take a chance at $19.99. There is a Mantle PSA 1 for $319.19. I am willing to pay more for a better card. I see a PSA 7 Slaughter at $17. I was going to throw down $40 but the lack of back scan placed me at $25. There is that old saying... buy the card not the holder. I'm outbid at $26. Same seller has a PSA 8 Slaughter at $45. Pass.
There is a Mays at $124 but the scan is really poor. Pass. Same seller has a second Mays with a better scan for $989. Pass! That is it for auctions. I thought a Sunday would have far more cards up. I am going to check out BINs. Some outfit called the Battersbox has a ton of commons up. They have a Slaughter up for just $12. They rate it VG and have one of those listings that details their grades. They say VG can have a crease. Pass!
Battersbox has a crazy amount of '54 Bowmans up for BINs. Okay, Battersbox wins the most '54 Bowmans listing award. Another outfit has a GMA Mantle for $519. Yeah right. Battersbox has another Slaughter. This one is VGEX, they say, and sells for $15.25. Their definition of VGEX states crease. Pass.
I finally made it through all of the Battersbox listings. Now I am stuck in listings by vintageamerica13. All of their listings are for autograph cards. I will store this info for future reference. While auctions today were thin the BINs are endless. Oh my, another Dean's minefield.
I see a Slaughter for $14.05. The seller is COMC. No grade, no description. I would not recommend consigning cards to COMC unless they start placing grades and description in their listings. Pass! A Mays PSA 6 for $548.97. Pass.
Wow, a ton of BINs but nothing for me! Disappointing. I really thought I would have better luck on a Sunday. Oh well. Let's see what Monday offers.