Hello Everyone!,
I have tried many different ways of adding to my collection (buying packs/tins, visiting card stores) and now I am contemplating getting into lots on eBay and other related sites. I have been burned before with lots on eBay and since then I think I have learned from my mistakes. Has anyone had any luck with eBay lots or tins or booster boxes? I feel like I am not collecting smart and am wasting more money on things I don’t need.
Thanks,
SirSpudd
Well, It is going to be a gamble regardless.
Buy Packs: Better luck with quality, might be weighed, will probably be the most expensive, lots of fun
Buy booster boxes: I am pretty sure you can still weigh a booster box but you’re going with the factory’s lowest possible odds and lowest factory quality worst case scenario. Might be second most expensive route. Also lots of fun.
Buying lots: My favorite. You can score big or you can get screwed. Look for wrongly described items that are either full of communication errors, lack pictures, or newly listed at a low price. You have to have a keen eye to spot flags that could signal gold. Or just buy lots that are fairly priced and you can identify the quality before purchase.
Buying sets: Where is the fun in that? You can get some pretty good deals on complete sets sometimes. Especially if someone is liquidating their inventory.
Robbing people: Not too many people collect these days, so you would have to rob quite a few houses before you found someone with a nice nugget to apply the 5 finger discount onto. If you put in the leg work this could work. You will Risk going to jail and “befriending” a large man named bubba. Not lots of fun.
I actually just got back from Comic Con in San Diego and I spent 4 days with collectors of another medium (Disney Pins) and they gave me SO much great advice and that was one of them to look for incorrect listings and that has payed off already.
What do you think about postings where the only picture is with a pile of cards with all the fronts faced down? I mean if you are a gambling man I guess try you’r luck I suppose?
There is a difference between someone just not caring about making a descriptive listing and someone maliciously creating a deceitful listing do make a buck. I would not purchase those. I did buy quite a few of the mystery packs from a guy I buy cards from frequently. It was fun, probably not worth it though.
Agree, avoid them like the plague
To be honest, the more you learn about the cards, the easier you can spot deals.
I find that the best deals are on single cards that go unnoticed.
I think buying singles and complete sets on ebay is a lot better than random lots. I doubt anyone has gotten anything good from a “random” lot on ebay. If you’re not sure about the value of something, I would follow completed listings on ebay for a while to get an idea.
Not sure if it was on ebay but didn’t @smpratte find a university carp in a random jp card lot?
That is my new stratagy. Trying to spot things that could have been looked over. Because honestly there are a ton of very small differences that make what looks to be like a .25 cent and turns it into a $100 card
I’ve never heard of anyone weighing booster boxes. It can be the most expensive option. I’d consider it one of the safest and best options if you have 0 cards from a set.
I was talking more about those “random 50 card lots with 2 holos guaranteed”. Buying huge lots where even the seller doesn’t know what he has and getting lucky is a possibility.
Never do those random lots. I know a few people and they just steal their friends’ collection images and then make hand over fist. Those people know what they are doing and won’t get conned easily.
In terms of the whole lot scenarios, watch though! Sometimes you might think you see something and actually get something else. It happened to me where I thought I was getting a Crystal Golem and it turned to be I think a Tauros or something… I do however enjoy the hunt of getting lots on Y!J and stuff.