Where is everyone?

[rustyisin]

I don't see the issue as being a BV or SV thing. The main reason I really stepped back from trading is that a large percentage of people on this site try to "win" every trade.

this is exactly true.
There are very few collectors on this site.
It's full of speculators, resellers, flippers etc.
The only way they make $ is if they make an unbalanced trade with you in their favor.

[jsokol1626]

These last few posts have captured my feelings perfectly. A recent attempt at a trade dragged on for more than 3 weeks, despite offering cards from their want list and making my interests very clear from the start. Not only did the trade never happen but I was called "out of touch", "an entitled American" and "a dying breed". Why didn't the deal go down? At the last moment he sold a key card for $10. Maybe I am out of touch since I believe good trading partners are more valuable than a few bucks in my pocket.

[JVW]

I just want to pipe in with a positive view on trading on this site.
Over the past two weeks I was able to complete my want list for OPC Platinum base cards and retro base cards from traders on this site.
Yes these are low end cards but I am a set collector and putting the base set together is fun for me.

Personally, I bought four boxes of the product and unfortunately got a lot of doubles.
I usually buy a lot of cards on eBay (I have never sold a single card on eBay) but when it comes to base cards I thought it would be more fun to trade. And it was!!!

The emails back and forth with members of this site were easy. People on here were very helpful!
I personally don't use BV or SV...I go by what "feels right for me".
(Honestly, I have no clue what the BV is for any card as I do not subscribe to Beckett or wherever else you get BVs from.)
Because of that I usually let the other person make a proposal for a trade first and if it "feels right" I go for it.
Have to admit I felt very comfortable with all the proposals I received.

One person used BV to balance things out and I was fine with that.
I was happy with all the trades made and did not feel like I was taken advantage of. In fact, some members traded in my favour by sending me a card and not expecting anything in return! When someone does something like that how can you not think positive about people on here???

I will admit that all the trades I made were in Canada so I had to pay $2.51 for postage, HST and bubble mailer costs. One larger trade I had to pay $3.35.
All reasonable costs of trading for me. I will admit, reading the post about the US Postal Rates going up even more, yes trading with US members will be difficult.

For me, collecting cards is a hobby and for fun. There are some great sellers on eBay with really good shipping costs who I make multiple purchases from.
My LCS is a great place too but unfortunately many of the people who frequent there were looking for base cards but nobody brought any in.
So having great members on here to trade with makes the hobby more fun.

Because I think we all have to agree...it is great to go to the mailbox and find a package of cards in there instead of a bill!

[huskies3]

this is exactly true.
There are very few collectors on this site.
It's full of speculators, resellers, flippers etc.
The only way they make $ is if they make an unbalanced trade with you in their favor.

Coming from you, this is pretty funny.

[rustyisin]

Coming from you, this is pretty funny.

I'm not a collector. I make that pretty clear.
Many of the items I have are cash only since they're some of the best cards in the hobby.
If anyone wants to trade for them that's OK - but it'll be in my favor. I don't try to hide that either.
What's irritating are the users here who do the exact same thing and claim to somehow be different than me - call
themselves collectors.

that hot prospects Crosby is now cash only for you. NO trade

[mooneyes]

^ Having fun yet lol, oh well seems pretty obvious there are less hardcore collectors for reasons mentioned, plus the market being flooded with cards, and possibly burnout, financially and otherwise, as in how many cards can you collect at some point, too many!
I used to trade for anything Bruin, even a jersey card, but now they are a dime a dozen.
When I first started there were a lot of big Giroux collectors, and than Gallagher was really big, and so on, but I assume it gets expensive and people realize there isn't going to be a big pay off later from these players cards...and burnout or boredom sets in.
The poor economy can't help and the low scoring NHL doesn't produce real clear cut Super stars that everyone wants makes for less collect-ability...
just a few thoughts...:P

[rustyisin]

+1 mooneyes

plus the low CDN currency just makes items more expensive to the market where most hockey collectors are located
Sales were definitely stronger when the CDN was near par with the USD

[huskies3]

I'm not a collector. I make that pretty clear.
Many of the items I have are cash only since they're some of the best cards in the hobby.
If anyone wants to trade for them that's OK - but it'll be in my favor. I don't try to hide that either.
What's irritating are the users here who do the exact same thing and claim to somehow be different than me - call
themselves collectors.

that hot prospects Crosby is now cash only for you. NO trade

Not that!!! Anything but that!!! I figured the lack of a response to your PM with the price would be a sign that I wasn't interested at that price.

You are the type of person people are complaining about in this thread. "I have some of the best cards in the hobby" "If anyone wants to trade for them it'll be in my favor". It is no surprise that you only have one deal on here in the past 3 months. You seem to think that you owning the cards gives them extra value.

The worst thing that happened to this hobby is the ability to look up completed items on ebay. It doesn't seem to matter that there is a range of prices for any item - the buyer will only focus on the lowest sale and claim it's the entire market. each subsequent sale must be at a lower value of the buyer believes they've overpaid. So it becomes a race to the bottom.

That isn't the worst thing to happen to the hobby. You aren't a member of the hobby. You are just buying and selling things. Maybe it is the worst thing to happen to you as a flipper, because it gives people a range of sale prices and you can't as easily sell at your ridiculous prices, but it is pretty helpful to people who collect cards.

For example, if I collected Sidney Crosby and someone was selling a Hot Prospects card of his for $550, I could check completed sales on Ebay and see that the card recently sold for $290, $340 and $400. Then I could decide to wait for a better deal for that card and spend my money more wisely on other cards of his that I don't have.

[rustyisin]

huskies

personal attacks aren't going to land you that Crosby hot prospects. I just paid $400 for another copy so obviously I feel this is wholesale since my intention is to resell eventually.

I'm trying to understand your strategy here. Pass on cards that are in your price range on ebay and only wait for one to come along in trade. When one does, complain that it isn't as low as what you could (but won't) pay in cash. Just go pay cash...simple

I've been a dealer since I starting selling my personal collection 23 years ago. That's a complete mint run of opc sets 1968-1988, Vezina rookie, Morenz high grade 1930s etc.
I'll be around long after you leave this hobby - trust me on that one.

[Craig2]

That isn't the worst thing to happen to the hobby. You aren't a member of the hobby. You are just buying and selling things. Maybe it is the worst thing to happen to you as a flipper, because it gives people a range of sale prices and you can't as easily sell at your ridiculous prices, but it is pretty helpful to people who collect cards.

For example, if I collected Sidney Crosby and someone was selling a Hot Prospects card of his for $550, I could check completed sales on Ebay and see that the card recently sold for $290, $340 and $400. Then I could decide to wait for a better deal for that card and spend my money more wisely on other cards of his that I don't have.

I agree with this, the ability to look up Ebay completed listings gives me - as a collector - at least a starting point in terms of what I'd expect to pay for a card. I'm not looking to pay the amount of the lowest completed auction every time, but neither do I expect to pay much above the average completed sale.

I've seen resellers buy a card on Ebay and post it on hobby sites for three times what they paid, within a week of purchase. They've got every right to do that, but I think we also have the right to know whether that price is consistent with Ebay sales.