Results From The Autograph Poll

By a landslide, John Beck gets the award for the worst autograph offering. It's possible etopps had Beck sign his etopps card prior to Chad Pennington getting signed. It wasn't a bad idea at the time to get his signature. Pennington has been known for his injuries that stymie him but this season has become an exception.

For a good part of the week whenever I checked the poll results I was expecting Brady Quinn to earn the Best Auto but Montana pulled through, getting 10 votes while Quinn came in third place behind Favre. My personal best was Favre. No one was expecting this offering since Favre hadn't shown up on the radar since the autograph program started. Perhaps it would have won the Biggest Surprise Auto if I had included this in the polls.

Bo Jackson looked like the easy winner for Best Valued auto but votes for Brandon Jacobs picked up and came close to a tie.

As a seller, the most disappointing autos were the Allen and Ginter Super Bowl Champions. While the hobby has loved every regular A & G baseball set since it started recently, etopps never caught on as the only A&G football cards out there and having a few of these autographed did not change interest in this set.

Many thanks to all who voted.

Season's Greetings.

Poll: FB Autographs (So Far)

Etopps has been quiet recently in the autograph offerings department. Two weeks have passed since the Terry Bradshaw offering.

Methinks they won't start up again until next year during the playoffs.

In the meantime, here's a list of what they offered so far:

Allen and Ginter Joe Namath
Anthony Gonzalez
Marion Barber
Brett Favre
Brandon Jacobs
Calvin Johnson
Greg Olsen
Joe Montana
Brady Quinn
John Beck
Bo Jackson
Allen and Ginter Terry Bradshaw

So with this line-up, I'll open up a few polls until next week:

Which was the best autograph offering?

Which was the worst autograph offering?

Which was the best valued?

How To Get 5-Star Ratings From Me For An In-Hand On Ebay

Thanks for voting in the poll about which is your favorite in-port baseball design. The clear winner was 2001.

From the message board over the years while in-port designs held certain opinions, there have been threads to descibe how well a particular year's design looks in-hand. What comes to mind is the 2004 design: some couldn't stand it as an in-port while others preferred how the design looked in-hand. Cast your vote in which is your favorite in-hand design by year.

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For one penny, we are back up and running to list in-port cards starting officially as of 1pm est today. I can't believe it took this long to reach this solution but what do I know. It's a programming issue so building in a penny cost to the listing template could be like rocket science, especially if no one at etopps management has looked under the hood of the template since it was first built.

I listed some cards when it became available and noticed that the cards I listed were going up on ebay within 15 minute intervals. I also noticed they updated the optional picture gallery as being free rather than claiming the old cost of thirty-five cents.

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I've focused a lot on selling in-hands on this blog. For a change, I want to give some kind of perspective for the other side of in-hands: buying them.

Here's what I expect when I buy an in-hand on ebay:

• The condition of the card is in genuine mint condition as stated in the listing. If not, the listing should clearly state if it is not and (possibly) for what reason.
  
• The cost of shipping is not ridiculous (i.e., over $3).
• The picture looks like the condition of the card I will be receiving, not a copy and paste job from cardtarget or etopps of the in-port picture of the card. In other words, I want to see what I'm getting.
  
• Feedback from the seller is given by the time the seller has packaged the card for shipment.
• Delivery confirmation is used via paypal so I know when the card is shipped.
• Shipping should be no more than 48 hours from the time I pay for the card and when it is shipped. Anything more than 48 hours without an explanation by the seller is inexcusable unless I purchase the card in the late afternoon on a Friday and the shipping is done the following Monday.
  
• An email from the seller acknowledging payment, when the card will be shipped and thanking me for their business. (Pet peeve is a seller who does not communicate anything)
• The card is shipped in a bubble-lined mailer
• If my mailing address is hand-written, I expect the mailer to write my address exactly as I have provided it through paypal (ie, mistaking the letter S for the number 5 in my street address).

When all of this goes well, I am happy to give the seller 5-star ratings for each category. Otherwise, I'm not going to be 100% satisfied.

If I forgot anything that you expect as a buyer of an in-hand on ebay, please add your comments.

Polls And Thoughts On The Listing Freeze

Thanks to all of you for contributing to the poll. Three choices stood out as blunders: allowing multiple ports, not realizing ebay's new shipping policy which we still experience as of today, and not publicizing in-hand quantity for each card taken for delivery.

Since 2008 Baseball IPOs are complete, I've created a new poll: which is your favorite in-port etopps baseball design from 2001 to 2008. From what I've read over from the message board over the years, it's apparent that opinions can differ between an in-port and an in-hand design for any given year.

While we continue to wait for etopps to fix the listing problem, one thing I've noticed is the number of people who have started threads about this issue on the message board who hardly ever post. They don't read the message board judging by how many have started threads, inquiring if anyone else is having the same problem they are having.

Something else that's startling to me is the current moderator posting over the weekend and saying he has not been the one deleting threads.

I'm sure whoever is deleting threads is thinking of someone's best interest but I'm not exactly sure whose interest they have in mind. As posted in so many ways on the message board, not giving active participants a say in what gets deleted but instead moderating covertly is a step back in improving this message board.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this will get fixed soon (and improved to include fixed-price as an option so we can take advantage of ebay's upcoming 30-day fixed price listings), the cardtarget/etopps merge is successful and the start of examining how to improve the message board and how etopps interacts with it current membership in a more timely and transparent manner.

Poll & Friday Marketwatch - August 29

While we wait for etopps to fix the shipping error for listing in-port cards, I've decided to open a poll: vote for etopps worst blunder. You can vote for more than one choice.

It ends at midnight on Monday.

If you don't like any of the choices, click on the comments section at the bottom of this post and submit what you think is etopps worst blunder. Feel free to comment on anyone else's suggestion for the worst blunder.

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As of today, August 29 the following are stats covering the last 7 days on ebay for etopps in-hands:

Quantity of etopps in-hands listings: 172
Sell-Through: 30.81%
Average starting price: $5.51
Average final price: $14.91

Highest Single Card Sale: 2001 Albert Pujols, $56
Highest Mult-Card Sale: lot of 24 in-hands, $14.75
Highest Graded Sale: None
Highest Non-Graded Autograph Sale: 2003 Jose Reyes, $97.25
Highest Graded Autograph Sale: None

Other best sellers:

* 2007 Dustin Pedroia
* 2006 Reggie Bush
* 2007 Allen & Ginter Tom Brady
* 2006 Jon Lester

In-hand listing (not including graded or autographed) that received most bids that sold well: Ken Griffey Jr In-Hand Lot, Bids: 9

Finding Your "On" Button, Poll Results, Topps Town

At each National I've been to, I have volunteered at the etopps booth to help sell in-hands. At each one, I have trained newbie volunteers who have never sold an etopps in-hand. I would give them a crash course, offering pointers and encouraging them to shadow me while I work with customers (in other words, I would make it look easy).

After a certain point, the trainee would try to work with customers on their own. While I would keep a grin on my face as I shadowed the volunteer, occasionally I would cringe inside knowing all too well what's it like to do this for the first time and seeing how nervous the volunteer would be with customers.

If you're not used to working with the public, it can be nerve-wracking. It's not supposed to be easy. If it is to you, consider yourself lucky. Give yourself time and be patient with yourself.

When selling in-hands or doing anything with the public, it helps if you can find (and press) your "on" button or be wearing your game face. The challenge is to find this within you when you're in a situation you may not be comfortable in.

Those new volunteers at the National would show signs of relief with their own selling by their third customer and seem more confident by the fifth customers.

If you're doing this for the first time and you're as nervous with your first customer as your tenth, don't continue. This may not be your thing to do, after all. If there are others around you who are selling etopps cards (like at the National), I would recommend asking them to critique what you're doing.

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Poll Results

Thanks if you voted in the autograph polls.

Each poll had landslide results:
Best Autograph Offering: Tim Lincecum
Biggest Surprise: Allen & Ginter Prince Fielder
Worst Autograph Offering: Fred Lewis

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Finally, Topps is promoting their online platform to kids as "Topps Town."

I noticed at the All-Star Game Fanfest, the Topps booth was called Topps Town.

I wonder if Michael Eisner had something to do with this.

Here is info about the site from the "about Topps Town" link.

ToppsTown™ is a virtual sports-themed world where children can play games, collect and trade virtual Topps cards.

How does it work?

ToppsTown™ is a world fueled by players entering codes, receiving virtual cards, trading and playing games. No material cards or money are used in ToppsTown™. Players create an Avatar and are assigned their own Clubhouse. Players acquire codes, either through new packs of Topps trading cards, or through promotional avenues such as advertisements, sporting events or food packaging materials. They then enter the codes on the ToppsTown™ website, where they receive a set amount of virtual cards. These cards will be used to trade, collect and play games.

Trading Cards – Players can trade any card they like. They can offer up cards for trade, or request players they'd like. It's up to the individual trader to accept or deny trades. No money or material goods are involved.

Collecting Cards – Trading cards are collected and stored online in a virtual Binder. They can be viewed at any time, front or back. They will be saved in the Binder until the next card season of the particular sport starts.

Playing Games – In several games you can select a particular player to help you. For example, when playing Extreme Batting Practice, picking a player with a better bat control will increase your chances of scoring more points.

ToppsPoints – Are used to purchase additional items for Avatars and participants' Clubhouses.

Who is ToppsTown™ for?

ToppsTown™ is designed for all ages 6-up.

Why ToppsTown™?

ToppsTown™ was created to gets kids more involved in the safe and fun world of trading cards. Over the years, collecting and trading cards has diminished. We're hoping that our new generation of "cyberkids" can carry on the tradition, whether online or with actual cards.

Is it safe?

Yes. Names are all made up. There is no direct contact between players. Trading is a yes-or-no proposition.

Does it cost anything to join ToppsTown™?

ToppsTown™ is free to play, although collecting more codes through the purchase of actual cards will enable players to collect and trade more virtual cards.

Poll: where do you want this year's econ?

In response to posts on the etopps message board about this summer's econ 6.0, I thought it would be interesting to see what are our preferences: to continue linking the econ with each year's National or have it elsewhere, whether Vegas or another city. Poll closes Thursday evening.

Econ is etopps' e-convention which has been tied with the National since 2004. The first one occurred the year before in Las Vegas and was not tied in with the annual National Sports Collectibles Convention which is held usually in either Chicago or Cleveland in late July.