Everybody point and laugh...

I'm going to have to make a new series on this site called, "Point and Laugh".  Because sometimes in my daily card searches I find people (whom I suspect are failing LCS store owners hawking cards in an alternative market) selling cards at some mythical book-value.  My card searches are more refined than others, as I try to keep my collecting as specific as possible - but every once in a while you see some noob come to the scene and try to sell me something I could get for five or six dollars on an average day for 10 to 20 times it's value.

Anybody see the McCants Murad auto on ebay that somebody tried to sell for $30?

Maybe that Tim Duncan Murad 1/1 that somebody was selling for over $300?

Point and laugh.  Point and laugh.  In a way, I'm glad that ebay makes them pay to post items like that.  They should lose money trying to sell cards at that price.

But I've said time and time before - if there's an expert who could make actual "book-values" of Nicolas Batum cards and trends, it's me.  I'm not bragging.  Just stating the facts.  Dirk Nowitzki, Lebron James or even Brandon Roy?  I have no right to say I could price any of their cards by sight alone.  Nicolas Batum?  Give me a pen and paper and I'll make you the damn book-value in a couple of minutes.

I was asked how much Batum's printing plate cost me.  It was $79.99 with free shipping.  Do I feel I got robbed?  No.  It just so happened that the only income I've made doing this site came in that same week and I was able to use those funds to snatch that card as soon as it came up.  It's actually an amazing story.  I was about five seconds from buying something else with my newly acquired funds and just happened to browse Batum cards once more.  And there it was.  The printing plate in a Buy-It-Now format.  What luck.  That card wasnt' listed for more than an hour.  If the seller had taken the time to auction it, he could've made more money with it.  Like I said, I know what it's worth.

But that's not the point of this article.  Every once in a while, like I said, a seller posts something that defies reason.  Here's today's "Point and Laugh" item.

Like I said, point and laugh.  The Skybox RC for Batum is continually one of his poorer sellers.  And with good reason.  Look at the card.  Cut-off at the junk, poor color scheme and indirect pose.  This card, with the low-numbering, should sell for about $10.  Maybe.  I wouldn't pay $10 for it, but somebody would.  Most likely other super-collectors that might try to get every version of every Batum card made.  $10.  Maybe.

A card numbered to /50 copies of Batum shouldn't sell for over $40 - and that would be for a good one like Bowman Chrome or Topps Chrome.

I don't know how much ebay charged this seller to hawk this card, but hopefully they added in a 10% surcharge for trying to attain book value and an additional 5% for general ignorance.

The Nicolas Batum ebay page is my house.  Don't come knocking on my door unless you have your act together.