I always go first. And I have so many questions!
One for starters: we all know how COVID affected collecting. Did you all get way busier at some point as well? And did you need to upscale in any dramatic way (server, hosting, etc.)?
And a second: I could see how running your site could just be about managing and presenting data that people can use (and want to use and will PAY to access). BUT . . . do any of you also live and breathe collecting, vintage, etc.? In other words is it just a business (which is fine!) or is the sales data personally interesting / exciting / meaningful to you? Are you collectors? Sorry, that's a pretty deep opener.
Yes when the pandemic started our site blew up...started getting calls from everyone and our revenue jumped with membership and with EPN...We have upgraded the site and our servers to many times to mention. We always tried our best to give members the best and most accurate information available. Think we are the only company that gets the listings in live so then it checks all our members Want List and if it applies they get sent an email with Links so they can try and get the card. This drives traffic to eBay and all the AH's we cover.
Stated in the other thread I sold all my collection which also helped pay to build VCP. So the only thing i collect is data and the images which I enjoy adding to the site. My favorite feature is what we call the Carrousel and you can see it at the top of our page.
I have seen a few sellers make claims that since VCP doesn't factor in Facebook sales or card show transactions, it shouldn't be used for ascertaining comps.
Bluntly, in my opinion, I feel a small few use this logic as a negotiation tactic and they make an assumption that whatever VCP shows, the 'real' comps are really higher because online sales go for less. Not sure if that is valid.
My question would be - how would you respond to someone who is trying to discredit your product with this argument. I've always felt VCP leverages a ton of data and data is never perfect, but the VCP product gives you an insight into what others are paying for the same card in a similar condition. But comps in the end are just a guide and not meant to be set prices. And also that you cannot expect a product to capture all those manual sales which would be impossible.. so I suppose there is no perfect solution but VCP is the best approach I could envision.
I have been using VCP for a while now and love it. I cannot recall the last time I purchased a card or sold one without checking VCP first and examining the history of the card in a similar condition.
@goldsaga just like trading your car into the dealer or selling a home they look for anything to discount what they have to pay. In regards to FB buy and sell groups I see them and for me it is like eBay stores. People asking unrealistic prices on cards and waiting for some dummy to come along and pay what they ask. We can not track these sales because they are unreliable, how do you know if the sale is real or not? My biggest determining factor is how often does that card in the same grade sell in eBay or with an AH.... Not sure why it is people would expect any company to get every price in the world. We only cover sales that are verifiable with links and images. All of our data is gotten with the AH permission and they supply us with an API connection.
'real' comps are really higher because online sales go for less."
Just simply tell them take the price you offer or you will just wait for it to come up at an Auction....
@goldsaga man, great questions. Here's my peeve (and for the record I was a real estate broker for 20 years so negotiation is not foreign to me): someone has a dog of a card and then quotes the VCP "average" of recent sales . . . but it just so happens that the recent sales are all much nicer. Even with VCP you gotta compare apples to apples. : )
True not all PSA 5's are the same...
No more questions?
@bobbyvcp I’ll ask one. Is there any data that shows how cards comp when they’re graded PSA vs SGC vs BVG or other grading companies? I see this question asked a lot when beginners such as myself are looking to make grading submissions
@bobbyvcp awesome response. Learned something which is always the goal. Thanks. Please keep running the awesome VCP product.
@chvadmin 100%. Grading companies are providing their opinion with some degree of science into it. How much is art vs science seems to be up for debate.
I’ve gladly turned down 7s for a better centered 6 at a higher price point. Ultimately, SGC and VCP are great tools that I trust, but each collector has to use them wisely.
@goldsaga I can not speak for the graders and what they do...we trust in them as much as we can
in them assigning a grade...
@bobbyvcp @chvadmin I realize I'm late to the party, but I was helping my father-in-law sell/buy/move his house(s) the past few weeks.
I was going to ask if there's any way to present the data based on the graded serial number and/or cards (sales) with better centering than others. I realize this could be a monumental task when connecting to an api but as far as useability it would be really helpful. We all know not all cards in a certain grade present the same especially with the more stringent grading standards which have been applied the past few years.
Thank you.
