Beckett Marketplace is a joke

I look for Sheffield autos and all I see is Burbank Sportscards and they have $9.99 Sheffield auto's for $80. Doesn't make much sense to me. They're out of their minds. I know most of you have had this happen before I'm just reiterating it.

it makes plenty of sense if as you have said, that is ALL you see. It's an insane price, and nobody HAS to buy it, but if there are one or two people who WILL at some point, that's all it takes. They have a LOT of stuff people have been looking a long time for, and if dedicated collectors haven't seen it in years, that is a decent indicator of its relative scarcity. My dad sold at a lot of classic car swap meets back in the 80's and 90's, and I saw the same thing back then. People saying they've been looking twenty years for a new OEM part for their 30 year old car, but balking at the price.

I was actually near Burbank on tues! There prices are very high. Best regards, David

valediction said:

it makes plenty of sense if as you have said, that is ALL you see. It's an insane price, and nobody HAS to buy it, but if there are one or two people who WILL at some point, that's all it takes. They have a LOT of stuff people have been looking a long time for, and if dedicated collectors haven't seen it in years, that is a decent indicator of its relative scarcity. My dad sold at a lot of classic car swap meets back in the 80's and 90's, and I saw the same thing back then. People saying they've been looking twenty years for a new OEM part for their 30 year old car, but balking at the price.

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I hear you. They could make A LOT more money if they just charged even $10 over what it cost typically. Not $60

But for a lot of this stuff, there IS no 'typically'. I'm not sure of the items you are dealing with, but I constantly hear "I'd buy from them if they'd lower their prices to be reasonable", the problem is 'reasonable' is in the eye of the beholder. If it's something you've only seen there and may take THEM months or years to replace it, I'm sure MY prices would be higher than you'd like as well. When I check out their site, they are a well stocked store, and for a lot of more common things, the prices on their storefront are very reasonable. I compared them to a local store in Minnesota that has a marketplace store, the prices are fine.

1985 Clemens on Burbank

1985 Clemens in Roseville, Minnesota

They seem to be in the ballpark on much of the normal stuff, on the higher end for some of it, and lower on others. Again, it seems to be the stuff no one can find elsewhere that I hear the most complaining about, and if that is the case, if they don't NEED to sell it, it's kind of tough negotiating, just like anywhere else.

I see where you're coming from however with at least looking at stuff for my Gary Sheffield pc they're over priced on over 90% of their inventory. That's without exaggerating. Autographs that cost $10 on eBay or anywhere else they're asking between $35-$60 for. That's unreasonable by anyones standards. Especially if it's /100 or even NNO

valediction said:

But for a lot of this stuff, there IS no 'typically'. I'm not sure of the items you are dealing with, but I constantly hear "I'd buy from them if they'd lower their prices to be reasonable", the problem is 'reasonable' is in the eye of the beholder. If it's something you've only seen there and may take THEM months or years to replace it, I'm sure MY prices would be higher than you'd like as well. When I check out their site, they are a well stocked store, and for a lot of more common things, the prices on their storefront are very reasonable. I compared them to a local store in Minnesota that has a marketplace store, the prices are fine.

1985 Clemens on Burbank

1985 Clemens in Roseville, Minnesota

They seem to be in the ballpark on much of the normal stuff, on the higher end for some of it, and lower on others. Again, it seems to be the stuff no one can find elsewhere that I hear the most complaining about, and if that is the case, if they don't NEED to sell it, it's kind of tough negotiating, just like anywhere else.

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That's no different than a lot of places though.

COMC 2002 Fleer Tradition Clemens

Burbank is at $5.10, right in line with the first two sellers and $2 less than the third, but I picked three copies up from different dealers for $1 each, two from COMC and one from a show. That means Burbank AND the three sellers on COMC are looking for 5-7x what they are going for.

Burbank comes up a lot.

PROS: Massive inventory with lots of hard to find items.

CONS: Older stock (90s-early 2000s) has been there for a decade. In addition, most of their items use stock photos or NO photos at all! Also, getting card specifics from their customer service is next to impossible.

That said, they sell a lot everyday year round. They have a VERY successful formula. Success in this hobby is NOT only price driven.

Conversely, most collectors only factor "price" when making purchases.

The two mindsets don't match, so I would suggest to look elsewhere.

Next year..I see Los Angeles has a subway system and one goes to burbank.....Might down by the Burbank store next year! Best regards, David

David K. said:

Next year..I see Los Angeles has a subway system and one goes to burbank.....Might down by the Burbank store next year! Best regards, David

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That wont be too bad. You'll save your $3 shipping so your card that's realistically $12 that you're purchasing for $80 only comes to $80 with no shipping instead of $83! Wooo. lol

This pricing method can really only work well if you don't mind holding inventory for years and you still must have enough reasonably priced items to keep the doors open until that occasional buyer pays 6x for something very hard to find. My beef with Burbank is their refusal to provide basic information most buyers expect. Like it was said already, they use stock photos and on numbered cards, for those of us who would prefer a special number, they don't provide them generally and when asked (at least before), they refused to look. Their excuse...too many cards! I did get them to tell me that none of their Garvey s/n cards were #6, but they simply may have been giving me an un-researched answer to get me to go away.

I think I have purchased less than a dozen cards from them, ever. If most collectors are like me and refuse to pay the inflated prices they ask, then they have missed out on a significant amount of business. I guess they don't care and whatever reason behind their madness works for them.

I guess the biggest question I would have to anyone considering buying or even just complaining about a card from them that is overpriced. Can you get it elsewhere cheaper and if so, why is this even a discussion for you? The unfortunate reality for most is that Burbank (or similar sellers like them - there are plenty of them on ebay) are holding a card hostage in your mind and they are the only game in town.

My favorite example of this is a seller trying to get $150 for a Panini card that is numbered to 10 It has a small patch and a AU and is #6/10. Similar cards from the set have slowly settled in the $30-50 range and several have been sitting on ebay unsold with higher asking prices. I don't remember that card or one like it going for much more than $60-75 when they were new. There are still several out there available. What makes this one unique is the serial number, however none of the more aggressive buyers have bit on this ridiculous asking price, so the card sits. I think this particular one has been at the same price for over 3 years now. The seller won't budge. So the question is, does the person really want to sell it or is it a matter of getting what you want for it no matter how long it takes? Most sellers want to make money to buy something else, but there are a few sellers who will wait as long as it takes or not sell.

TJCloutier said:

That wont be too bad. You'll save your $3 shipping so your card that's realistically $12 that you're purchasing for $80 only comes to $80 with no shipping instead of $83! Wooo. lol

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All day pass for the subway (redline) is only $6.00..On the return trip back...saw the helper and thanked her ....she was standing next to her boss! Best regards, David

mrmopar said:

This pricing method can really only work well if you don't mind holding inventory for years and you still must have enough reasonably priced items to keep the doors open until that occasional buyer pays 6x for something very hard to find.

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That's the thing, Burbank LOVES holding inventory. I think they get their jollies from having the largest inventory out there. It seems obvious to me that they'd make more money if maybe they priced stuff high at first, then eventually brought them down to a nearly reasonable level at some point in time. That way they "catch" people who need a certain card and will pay practically any price, while also making a ton of sales to people who are more prudent with their money. But the current ownership has had the current pricing model for years, so I don't see it changing any time soon.
Richard

Remember that Beckett claims to only be a guide. I agree with valediction, if that is all you see, then that will be the price if someone must have the card.

Food for thought...I had a business partner who worked with me at our former hobby store tell me when I was impulsive regarding my must have cards. He said simply, "patience, it will eventually come through the door." And he was correct 98% of the time. I bet you will find the card(s) you seek eventually.

Best of luck in your pursuit.

Steve

Patience is key. It's hard to maintain and sometimes being patent makes you lose a deal, but in general i believe it will pay off most of the time.

I have only seen a few items never resurface again. i bought many the first go, but some i passed on and have small regrets, but what can you do. unless you are financially set, you won't own most of it and you CAN'T own it all. Even with the deepest pockets, something will elude you.

But waiting about 9 years to finish my 2003 timeless treasures gold set....only 100 players in the set and only 10 of each player was made. I have 73 of the 100....last year year and 1/2 of this year....zero. Best regards, David

I think it seems unusual because when a company is large, rich, and have huge amounts of inventory, they can and do cut their competitors out by pricing under what the others can sell for. With Burbank, they obviously do want more, and it is very frustrating.

I've been collecting the 1999 UD Century Legends Epic Signatures from all 4 sports, and they have a ton of the hits I need/ed. I've never purchased from them. I've forced myself to be patient and wait out a lower price from someone else.

So, it boils down to "What can you do?". Unfortunately, nothing. They hold the cards (no pun intended), and can play them how they choose to. It would be nice to see a competitor chip away at their market share.