General Forum

I agree with Randy and Mitch.

prices here are only a guide, based upon user input only.

I will use as a general idea on things I do not have a guide for (like hockey for instance)

the prices are not perfect, and do not intend to be perfect, only an accumulation of collector input

thanks, mark

The pricing feature doesn't detract from the rest of the site and as long as there is an option to turn that off, I don't see a reason to get rid of the feature entirely.  

BTW there is a way to enter a price for a complete set.  Under the "pricing" link on any set, there is an option to put in a complete set price near the top.  I've done it multiple times.

I was using pricing as a guide, but noticed some people had gotten crazy with it. Cards that booked in the Beckett for $1 were in the guide for $4, a card that booked 75 cents was listed as 15 cents. I finally started using Beckett Marketplace for a guide also if I needed to. Some people don't use it all while others try. But with cards listed like that, its unreliable. It's personal preference. 

The inherent problem with value is that a card is worth whatever price a person is willing to pay.  For example, that $1 card listed in Beckett might actually fetch $4 on eBay because people don't know the value according to Beckett or they haven't been able to find the card elsewhere so they just buy it.  The reverse is true too.  A card might be listed for $.75 in Beckett but a dealer has it in their dime box at a show because they just want to get rid of inventory.  

There will never be a true price due to real world fluctuations and factors.  It's best to use the prices on this site with that in mind. 

Don't use it......in most cases not reliable. I like trading, buying and selling on this site based on need not price. Occasionally I will get a request that you just know is not accurate, so you might check it out. Sportllots prices vary with eBay prices...it's more supply and demand with them. Doesn't it bother you when somebody offers a trade and says. ...."my total is $8.12, yours is $10.12 should we even it up"? ugh.....

While I think pricing cards is too volatile for this site (or any other ones- including Beckett), I don't think it should be eliminated.  No one has the right to get uppity over its availability or, worse, demean admin by reminding him of what the name of the site he created is, as if he doesn't know.

People need to stop being so literal, enjoy what they enjoy about the site, and stop getting preachy about people who have other interests or pursuits.

I haven't been active on the TCDB site for very long, but I have been in cards since 1989. I would love to see a site like this one have a working market value tracking price feature of some kind, as it is an amazing creation already. Accurate pricing would surely make this site the best card source on the internet. I have done a ton of research on how to price cards reliably, and still haven't come up with an idea that is feasible with normal human constraints, like having to work, family, etc.

Is there a reliable source for card prices? Is there a way to compilate prices from a that source? I doubt it. The prices on TCDB have become very skewed because of lofty pricing entries. Ebay prices are also skewed in so many ways, not the least of which is that you have to sell any Buy It Now listing at a minimum of 99¢. If people didn't run from $2.00-$3.00 shipping for a card listed at 1¢, that would be a legitimate guide for prices right there, but the shipping would have to be locked in to keep the money hungry from raising it to $4.00 or $5.00 and blaming packaging and fees for the increase. That would conceal some of the card value that we would be trying to track. Some long time sellers on Ebay have sold enough cards with the same shipping price that it would be accurate, EXCEPT for that 99¢ minimum for BIN listings. It forces a buyer to pay what is likely a larger amount than they want to, but they do it because the other options have more risk than a very experienced seller with a 30,000 feedback rating, or better. That instills a trust factor due to a long track record of happy customers, similar to poeple that follow and adhere to Beckett pricing, making part of the price that is paid based a little bit on that trust, rather than the value of the card.

I would like to see accurate pricing, but I am fully aware of how much of a burden that would be to a team of 10 people, let alone 1 or 2 people. Since I found TCDB, I have replaced my goal of creating a site like this with creating a free price guide site for cards, but I'm guessing the same will happen with that goal as with my previous one. Someone else will create a site like that before I will have the time to do so. Man, how nice would that be...free, accurate pricing for cards. No more subscription fees, no more inflated prices to make you think you have more value in a card than you really do. What an amazing world that would be.

There is no such thing as an accurate price. That is my statement.

I rarely use the prices here, and I know they're off, but they don't offend me for existing. When they can be useful is if you dig in deeper and look at how the price was calculated. You can see that someone bought the card at auction recently for, say, $20. That's at least vaguely useful to know. Although, you wouldn't know condition. 

Easier to track eBay for a day, but, sure leave the prices in. 

To give a example of how skewed and useless pricing is, this card, while it now shows a more believable but still too high 75 cents, was listed at $25 when I entered my collection in 2012. This is a card that should cost no more than a quarter. http://www.tradingcarddb.com/ViewCard.cfm/sid/2311/cid/682474/1994-95-Upper-Deck-279-Dennis-Rodman. In fact, I recently acquired one to upgrade the one I had in poor condition for about a dime.