I always check a beckett value before I buy, trading is neither here nor there for me. If i see a card i want and someone wants a card from me, trade it up. If Im buying, I like to make sure Im not paying a ridiculous amount.
Thats true, there is a guy who is listing this B Roy card on ebay, has done for around 8 months now and has listed it at the same price and wont budge. Its nearly double beckett value, Im sure someone will grab it one day. Wont be me!!
I use beckett value for trading as an approximate tool, so many factors come into auctions that affect prices, I think postage is a huge thing on ebay especially with no value cards. The game used card you are getting for a bargain of $0.99 comes with $3 postage so in affect the card costs $3.99.
Wether we like it or not we are also at the whim of currencies. Everyone's collection falls in value when the $AUD rises. Its great that new cards cost us les but in reality that is only because all our cards are worth less.
Good topic to get bumped up...I haven't looked at a Beckett in years. I remember when I used to get excited when I saw a little uptick in arrows next to my cards indicating the prices had risen. In reality, this rarely translated into actual higher sales. Lets be honest, the only reason why the prices move at all in the magazine was to help generate sales and there was little or no correlation to actual movements in prices. Who would buy the magazine if the prices were always stagnant? A copy from 1994 would be as good as one in 2004. I also used to buy them for the articles but that has deteriorated to tiny little blurbs.
Hey Ex I got beckett from 1994 and from 2009. I can tell you prices have changed, massivly, mostly down.lol. Especially thing like Jordan's RC used to be 1,500 I think, and a set that has fallen big time is UD 93-94 SE die cut all stars. Used to book massive. Prices do move and quite a bit, look at a player like Jennings, maybe at the start of the year, a few collectors around prices mid-range for rookie, if he keeps going how he is now, he could be the most sought after rookie for the year.
I used to love getting Beckett too and checking for the UP and DOWN arrows, and reading the articles front to back.
I think Beckett is very helpful to new/returning collectors as they often have no idea how to interpret ebay sales/bids/past sales when they first look at it.
I get asked all the time about beckett value and I think it's helpful in older cards where supply might not fluctuate as much, and in some new cards, but yeah, I agree with the idea that beckett online should open it up to free membership then the overall market may be more accurate as opposed to ebay sales/paypal fees/international shipping/shilling factors affecting some prices.
I think I just confused myself writing that, hope you can get through it ok.......
If all you ever do is trade on the internet then the beckett has less use than toilet paper !
The internet market and secondary market are totally different !
Try and sell a Dominique wilkins BV40 auto for $25 online and prepare to waste plenty of time and give others plenty to laugh about (sadly)
Tell someone that they can get a Wilkins auto for $40 in the (dare i say it) real world and they are usually amazed and find themselves back into collecting.
On EBAY, You never see the price that people are willing to pay and Most don't want you to know ! the end price has nothing to do with what the card is worth ! I have won plenty of cards WELL below what i was willing to pay for them so what is the point sending links with the cheapest ending ebay sales... always thought that was Petty
Before i say something stupid i will End this rant
i still use beckett as a rule. they list something for say 40 bucks, id be prepared to pay 40 or if i need it 50....most of the time it doesnt sell for 40 bucks or 50 more like 20-30. beckett is still relevant in that instance however you have to realise when beckett was prominant, you had card shops dictating the price by using beckett as the rule..something books at 40 sells in the shop at 40, only got it cheap if you knew the owner. ebay is an open auction meaning the price is dicated by supply and demand. if something is listed in beckett at 40 and sells on ebay for 25 doesnt make it worth 25, its still worth 40 its just the demand wasnt high at the time. its relevant to a seller more than a buyer because the seller will want to use the beckett price for the sale where the buyer will use ebay. its hard to gauge where the actual "value" of a card falls as cards have different value to each buyer.........i will say their grading sucks balls and so does their online site...they still think they have the power they once had but reality shows they are far from dominant as they once were.
I agree Slobby I reckon Beckett online is a piece of trash, so bad you would sware microsh*t had a hand in the making .
There is a great footy priceing site that uses ebay prices, but yeah people have got into a habnit also of thingking beckett high value too because in reality when our $AUD was 50c this was more acurate, now that our dollar is so high it has changed things.
Anyway the value of something is different to the price. The price is what it is currently selling for and the value is more of a long term view of the worth. Price is dictated by supply/demand (a voting machine) but value is what is important. (Basics of Warren Buffett).
To many people quote supply/demand and think they know everything about pricing and economics when in affect it is oversimplification.
I apolagise for my rant, it was uncalled for, I think I need a Slap.
hawksforever...what I meant was that from a month-to-month basis, there ALWAYS was an up or down arrow. Always. If the magazine didn't have any fluctuations in price, no one would buy it. Yes, for the new product pricing, but remember in the 90's there wasn't nearly as many releases as there are now.
In reality, the supposed reported movement in prices was probably not reflected until AFTER Beckett published it. As mentioned, this was more to do with card shop owners and collectors following the price guide to a T more than demand. To say that in a single month, there was a sudden surge for ALL Allen Iverson cards and then on a bad month all his cards were discounted simultaneously all around the United States, is hard to believe.