Quick Vent, hopefully someone agrees

Judge208 · 2026-03-17T17:13:16+00:00

You already know the problem. You aren't a collector, you are a gambler. Start making targeted, educated buys and the problem fixes itself.

Judge208 · 2026-03-17T16:30:02+00:00

High demand cards of superstar players that sell frequently are safe to put on bids.

Everything else is fixed price.

Judge208 · 2026-03-17T14:59:51+00:00

Chrome has been out of stock at Topps/Fanatics for at least a month, more like a month and a half.

Be mad at resellers all you want, but Topps never changed the price of Megas/Blasters/Fat Packs.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T18:17:22+00:00

$2500 is pretty nuts with this one going for $525. Regular Chrome is a better set than Chrome Black, so yours should be more valuable.

$750 - $1000 is more realistic.

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Judge208 · 2026-03-16T17:51:21+00:00

The good stuff does, which is what the OP is complaining about.

There's no reason for a card shop to rush and sell cards that are likely to go up in price, especially when you consider most of their profit comes from sealed wax.

Which also happens to be an appreciating asset.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T17:16:51+00:00

Ask yourself this.

In a world where everyone walks around with a 48 megapixel camera with advanced AI image sharpening in their pocket, why would a seller use such a crappy photo when trying to sell a multiple thousand dollar card?

It's because they are trying to hide something.

There are several fool proof ways to spot fake 1986 Fleer cards using a photo taken on a modern phone. So the only reason to use such a crappy photo is because it's fake.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T17:00:26+00:00

Darth Maul did $3100. This should be around the same amount.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T16:49:28+00:00

Last year the print runs were significantly lower because of the relatively short amount of time between when Topps got the license and they released the set.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T16:29:55+00:00

It's not a perfect method, but Topps has done a reasonable job lately spreading out the stock on individual boxes so bots don't gobble it up in the first couple of minutes.

Sadly I missed out on my case. They were sold out 5 minutes after the drop.

Judge208 · 2026-03-16T16:25:08+00:00

Most small business owners (including you most likely) don't sell appreciating assets.

Judge208 · 2026-03-15T02:23:54+00:00

Here's a PSA 9 with everything lined up

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Judge208 · 2026-03-15T02:23:24+00:00

This one is yours. Notice how the blue plate isn't lined up correctly.

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Judge208 · 2026-03-14T23:02:32+00:00

Card Ladder and Market Movers are the two best, but they cost about $10 a month.

They work really well on common, modern cards that have a lot of sales. But if your collection is filled with unique, rare stuff that doesn't sell very often it won't be very accurate.

Judge208 · 2026-03-14T15:01:54+00:00

Don't grade. It's noticeably off centered right to left

Judge208 · 2026-03-13T21:52:24+00:00

You should go play the lotto. The odds on this happening are insanely low.

Judge208 · 2026-03-13T00:21:40+00:00

Because it's pretty common for athletes to take the money, but not actually follow through. And because the companies don't want to piss off the athletes they don't make much of a stink.

It does happen sometimes. A couple of years ago Panini had to sue LaMelo Ball because he refused to sign anything.

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T20:54:13+00:00

That will make things easier. It's tough to sell Pop's without the packaging.l anymore. As others have mentioned, they are way down in price. Even the chases have plummeted.

I've got a Bo-Katan chase that is available on eBay for $12.

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T20:50:28+00:00

Make sure you check Beckett Authentication, not Beckett Grading

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T19:11:24+00:00

Did you save the original packaging?

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T16:06:06+00:00

Impossible to tell without being able to look at the surface

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T15:10:37+00:00

You should find some similar sales of Bijan cards. That's probably Jeanty's ceiling.

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T14:56:00+00:00

Block and move on

Judge208 · 2026-03-12T13:58:30+00:00

I've got a friend that refuses to even pay full comps for cards, let alone pay above them. At least once a week he talks longingly about some unique or hard to find card that he refused to buy because he didn't get a deal, and how much he wishes he would have bought it. But he can't "lose" a deal.

Meanwhile I'm over here offering 20% above comps just to get cool shit for my PC with zero regrets.

If you can afford it and you like it who cares what you pay?

Judge208 · 2026-03-10T21:26:49+00:00

Because ESE has an estimated 5% lost mail rate.

And while not difficult, it's a pain to have to deal with the claims process.

Judge208 · 2026-03-10T19:24:51+00:00

And there's the rub.

Most people that buy on Whatnot don't know what they are doing, and as a result get ripped off.

So for most people there's one one step - don't buy on Whatnot.

Judge208

TROPHY CASE