When sellers only post the front of the card! It’s happened several times where I’ll search for “ending soonest” and see a card I could potentially buy, but there’s hardly any time remaining to contact the seller for more pics before the time runs out… lol happens all the time!
I know I know, try searching sooner yea I get it, but sometimes you just wanna quick search the auctions that are about to end in hope of finding a decent deal.
Even when it’s a new listing! Sellers for some reason only post one single pic. It’s like they want you to guess the overall condition. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to reach out for an extra pic or two. I’m pretty sure ebay gives the option to post more than one pic for free! You spend 1/2 your time messaging the seller for pics that they sometimes don’t even respond back to with.
It just becomes somewhat annoying.
Also, most people have iPhones or at least some sort of device that takes a nice picture I mean c’mon. To save their lives I swear they just can’t do it…
I’ve seen blurry ass pics on high priced cards and they expect you to see right through that and bid on it like an idiot.
I know I’m not the only one who experiences this. So let’s hear it!!
Yeah, that does stink and is often the reason why cards that are desired may have low bid prices so they are tempting, but I will not buy raw cards from sellers that:
A. Do not have good quality pictures (a few different angles preferred)
B. Have images of the back of the card
C. Leave the card in a sleeve when they take the pictures so the glare hides any light or otherwise surface scratches.
If any of these conditions above a present the seller either does not have the needed experience to sell/ship cards yet, or they are hiding something.
If they don’t post a picture of the back the card, they are either inexperienced or intentionally concealing a defective condition. Either way, that’s generally not the type of seller that I want to deal with anyways.
Yeah, If a seller doesn’t post the back of the card, I don’t buy. If I’m going to drop a fair amount money on your card, I want to see the whole card. That’s def the easiest way to get a quick look of the cards damage. If it looks good front and back, then you can spend the extra time looking over all the photos and examining the card for any defects.
@crushingame , most people just aren’t competent enough to be trusted to successfully add up 2+2.
They are just stupid as bricks man. Look at it both ways. They would get MORE money for having clear pictures and descriptions, and waste less time. And on the other end, there would be less returns, NAD, communication problems, etc. (endless list of problems) if they just did this. Anything over $50 should have multiple clear pictures. It is cardboard, and you’re asking what is half the country’s average day of minimum wage of work for it. It’s just common sense… that most people don’t have.
You’re not alone. It is a loathsome waste of time. They really shouldn’t be selling anything anywhere if they can’t just show what it is. It is like trying to get you to buy a house without being able to see the inside of it. Incredible.
And you’ve only scratched the surface on the issue. People may post pics, but it’s of a holo, where they post bird’s eye view in deficient lighting, and it in NO WAY conveys the condition whatsoever. Then, to add to it, they provide zero description. I’m beside myself at how normal this in on ebay and everywhere online really.
That, and what achromatic said. I’m just more verbose.
Edit: Honestly screw that, anything $25 and up should have detailed pics. It’s a lot of money. My biggest pet peeve is that people list $10k Charizards and include 1 or 2 pics. Like dude, it’s a down payment on a home. Load those pics up and talk about the details of the card. Not all 6’s or 7’s are the same. Okay, I’m fine. I’m fine people.
Sellers that do that are hoping to find a rookie or someone that doesn’t care about condition. Light played or near mint can mean anything. Could have just a whitening spot or two. Could be scratched up. My favorite is when you get light played to near mint cards with a crease or dent.
Some of my best purchases have been actually from these types of listings. Generally, I have been more pleasantly surprised about 90% of the time (card arrived is even better than I imagined, especially from completely new sellers on eBay, given the price paid) and unhappy 10% of the time. Now beware if an experienced seller posts just a hazy, single pic) - then I imagine one would be disappointed 98% of the time, and happy 2% of the time.
Another thing I’ve noticed lately as well, is that sellers are posting their listings/pics sideways in the FB groups. It’s like really? We can’t rotate the pic before posting ? Lol
I used to be guilty of this when I was new 5 years ago and wanted to quickly get loads of listings done but to be fair most of the WOTC holos were only £1-5 then now I do front and back pics often from several angles with a black background and out of sleeve
This. It actually blows my mind how many reputable card sellers, some very reputable… look like they took the pictures with a skanky flip phone from 2010. Like, yeah… we know it got a psa (insert grade) but how about some decent pics to ascertain the condition in comparison to the other copies available.
This is a good one. Most of the time, sellers who have off-centered cards do this trick to make the card appear as centered as possible. This happens with both new and experienced sellers. Guessing these people are some variant of used car sales people in real life. Unless they send a straight up pic, I automatically pass on these.
Love when people post horrible photos that are blurry and especially for super expensive cards. It’s like dude go use some of the sales money to buy a new phone!
now I do front and back pics often from several angles with a black background and out of sleeve