One of the biggest hobby stories of the last few months is the sale of the 1/1 Andrew Luck Contenders Championship Ticket Autograph, that recently ended for a price never seen before. Although there was rampant speculation that this sale would never be completed, it wasnt reported until yesterday that the auction WASNT actually paid. I said a few times on SCU that a straight auction is absolutely the dumbest possible thing to do, and the lack of eBay enforcement on non-paying bidders looks to have been a major factor.
Beckett may have taken a happy go lucky kind of response to this seller’s choice, but after seeing the card relisted AGAIN as an auction, I am not going to be as nice. There is no way this card will EVER be sold under the current circumstances, and seeing that it is already breaking five figures only confirms that. First, this is NOT a card that will ever legitimately break the modern ceiling of $10,000 until Luck wins a Super Bowl. It has major surface issues, and isnt even the best rookie card he has. I think it should be sold through an auction house or done Buy It Now / Best Offer, and even then, I doubt it breaks 8K.
Not that this isnt a good thing for the hobby overall, as the rising tide lifts all boats:
Recent Sale of the 2012 Andrew Luck Superfractor Auto 1/1
Recent Sale of the 2012 Andrew Luck Superfractor NON Auto 1/1
Recent Sale of the 2012 Andrew Luck FINEST Superfractor PATCH Auto 1/1
Current Sale of the Andrew Luck 1/1 FINEST Auto Superfractor
Based on what we have seen over the last few years for the biggest rookies of the year, the Topps Chrome Superfractor autograph is the best rookie card of the year. This includes a higher value over the National Treasures 1/1 NFL logo auto. Seeing that the Chrome Super recently sold for as much as it did, that sale MIGHT have a shot actually be legit.
UPDATE: According to positive feedback left for the buyer – the Superfractor WAS paid!
I stand by my philosophy that no big ticket item should ever be listed as an auction in the card world, as there are too many people who will do everything in their power to prevent a legitimate sale from going through that way. With so many hyper focused player collectors, the bidders look out for their friends who actually want the card on their own terms, and there are always those people that just want to watch the world burn.
Ebay will get you the biggest exposure for your auction, but the enforcement of the NPB policy has to improve. With no negative feedback allowed, and very little policing of accounts that bid but dont pay, what defense does a seller have? A great suggestion of having credit cards be required for bids/sales over $1,000 is something that should be implemented asap. A friend on Blowout asked me how long it would take before someone goes to court over an NPB, and I replied – this is as good a time as any. I just dont think the seller knows what he is doing.