Observations on the current state of the hobby based on online interactions....

mfw13 · 02-28-2026, 06:54 PM

Since we have a thread focused on observations from shows, I thought I'd start another thread focused on online interactions and transactions....

Here are mine (I'm primarily a buyer, although I do sell the occasional card):

- there are an increasing number of sellers who are either delusional about what the card they are selling is actually worth, or too lazy to research what a realistic price is....

- the USPS has seriously gone downhill since Louis DeJoy took over a few years ago and implemented widespread changes. More packages are getting lost, and cards are taking much longer to arrive. Cards that used to get to me in 2-3 days are now taking over a week, and I've had more cards disappear in the mail in the last three months than I had in the previous five years. Right now I have three different purchases "lost in the mail", and a card shipped from about five miles away took over a week to get to me.

- Sellers are taking longer to get cards out the door.....I've had an increasing number of cards not get shipped until 4-5 days after purchase.

- Overpacking of cards is endemic....yes I get that sellers want to protect a card from getting damaged....but sometimes the card is virtually mummified, to the point that it's more likely to get damaged by me trying to unwrap it than by the USPS. I've had $1 commons arrive buried in three layers of bubblewrap and tape!

imbluestreak23 · 02-28-2026, 07:07 PM

I agree with all of that

kyle1707 · 02-28-2026, 07:52 PM

50 percent of time no tracking on pwe .. just does not track

So I don’t use it .. because we know half the buyers would say they did not receive

eBay shipping with supplies is now 6-6.50 ish so selling low end is impossible

Plus eBay. Open another eBay authenticity in Kansas City or Memphis something in middle of country. Every time I buy a graded card over 250 it is from Florida or nyc and it has to go all the way to Cali first taking 10-14 days.

I will admit once it gets there it gets authenticated quickly. Must of hired more people last month

PuddleMonkey · 02-28-2026, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

(I'm primarily a buyer, although I do sell the occasional card):

You should move those 2008 Classic Signatures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

- Overpacking of cards is endemic....yes I get that sellers want to protect a card from getting damaged....but sometimes the card is virtually mummified, to the point that it's more likely to get damaged by me trying to unwrap it than by the USPS.

My favorite is when sellers use those flimsy sleeves the grading companies prefer and then tape it on both sides inside the PWE.

auctionjmm · 03-01-2026, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyle1707

50 percent of time no tracking on pwe .. just does not track

So I don’t use it .. because we know half the buyers would say they did not receive

eBay shipping with supplies is now 6-6.50 ish so selling low end is impossible

You are making an unsubstantiated claim to justify your reasoning that shipping low end is impossible.

We have a 158-page thread dedicated to active ESE users and none of us are experiencing anything close to 50% disputes. Not even 1%.

What you should have said is YOU don't trust buyers to be honest even though you have no proof that this actually happens. The problem is you and your distrust of humanity, not wonky tracking.

Stech36 · 03-01-2026, 10:19 AM

I’ll never understand those who are against ESE as a low end seller. They’re costing themselves so much money because it might go wrong 1% of the time or something. As a reminder, all ESE shipments are fully insured!

Twalk1975 · 03-01-2026, 10:47 AM

Im going to guess I've sent well over a thousand low end cards just using a stamped envelope, the number of people claiming they didn't get the card is negligible. I've only had to cut off one person for abusing it.

QuinEarlyDoucet · 03-01-2026, 01:45 PM

THIS….

Quote:

Originally Posted by auctionjmm

You are making an unsubstantiated claim to justify your reasoning that shipping low end is impossible.

We have a 158-page thread dedicated to active ESE users and none of us are experiencing anything close to 50% disputes. Not even 1%.

What you should have said is YOU don't trust buyers to be honest even though you have no proof that this actually happens. The problem is you and your distrust of humanity, not wonky tracking.

QuinEarlyDoucet · 03-01-2026, 01:46 PM

THIS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stech36

I’ll never understand those who are against ESE as a low end seller. They’re costing themselves so much money because it might go wrong 1% of the time or something. As a reminder, all ESE shipments are fully insured!

QuinEarlyDoucet · 03-01-2026, 01:47 PM

“Selling low end is impossible “

Because you don’t use ESE

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyle1707

50 percent of time no tracking on pwe .. just does not track

So I don’t use it .. because we know half the buyers would say they did not receive

eBay shipping with supplies is now 6-6.50 ish so selling low end is impossible

Plus eBay. Open another eBay authenticity in Kansas City or Memphis something in middle of country. Every time I buy a graded card over 250 it is from Florida or nyc and it has to go all the way to Cali first taking 10-14 days.

I will admit once it gets there it gets authenticated quickly. Must of hired more people last month

PapaStu · 03-01-2026, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyle1707

Plus eBay. Open another eBay authenticity in Kansas City or Memphis something in middle of country. Every time I buy a graded card over 250 it is from Florida or nyc and it has to go all the way to Cali first taking 10-14 days.

I will admit once it gets there it gets authenticated quickly. Must of hired more people last month

eBay doesn't run the authentication center, they use PSA and CGC for that. PSA does raw (out of SoCal) and CGC (in Florida) does slabs I believe.

twinsfan21 · 03-01-2026, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuinEarlyDoucet

THIS.

January/February was a horrific 2 months for USPS (I assume due to weather and ongoing budget cuts), and I had many ESEs not arrive at their destination (more than the previous 2+ years of selling).

It was still just a 2% failure rate. Well worth the risk, especially since ESE insurance pays out quickly and easily after 2 weeks.

Lonewolf · 03-01-2026, 03:06 PM

I have experienced this as well. The USPS is less efficient and less reliable than it was before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

- the USPS has seriously gone downhill since Louis DeJoy took over a few years ago and implemented widespread changes. More packages are getting lost, and cards are taking much longer to arrive. Cards that used to get to me in 2-3 days are now taking over a week, and I've had more cards disappear in the mail in the last three months than I had in the previous five years. Right now I have three different purchases "lost in the mail", and a card shipped from about five miles away took over a week to get to me.

Bosoxfan5990 · 03-01-2026, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaStu

eBay doesn't run the authentication center, they use PSA and CGC for that. PSA does raw (out of SoCal) and CGC (in Florida) does slabs I believe.

They no longer utilize CGC.

zworykin · 03-01-2026, 08:58 PM

Not necessarily based on an interaction, but still an observation on the state of the hobby - it's time for us all to pack it in. Hobby's dead. No sane person wants to be associated with a hobby that leads to this.

imbluestreak23 · 03-01-2026, 09:07 PM

Just ran the numbers for the past few days of sales from 2025 purchases. I only graded a measly 2408 cards (and magazines).

I have 588 items still outstanding either at PSA, or in inventory, again, all 2025 purchases.

2025 is by far my best year since 2020, and 2019, and my third best year ever.

This is not counting any major sales that occured from purchases in previous years (2018 BC Orange Ohtani Auto 9.5 bought in 2021, sold in 2025)

OneBuck · 03-02-2026, 09:36 AM

I don't order nearly what I used to 3-5 years ago, but USPS seems to have went significantly downhill in that timeframe. Shipping times are longer, prices are higher, packages showing up day past the expected delivery date, packages showing delivered but not showing up until several days later.

hermanotarjeta · 03-02-2026, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zworykin

Not necessarily based on an interaction, but still an observation on the state of the hobby - it's time for us all to pack it in. Hobby's dead. No sane person wants to be associated with a hobby that leads to this.

It pains me to think how quickly that ink is starting to fade as they continue to bling that card out.

bub838 · 03-02-2026, 10:26 AM

I sold a couple thousand cards via ESE last year and on less than 1% the buyer reached out saying their order was lost.

I double checked the claims I filed and it was 14 for lost and had zero for damage.

tribefan26 · 03-02-2026, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

- Overpacking of cards is endemic....yes I get that sellers want to protect a card from getting damaged....but sometimes the card is virtually mummified, to the point that it's more likely to get damaged by me trying to unwrap it than by the USPS. I've had $1 commons arrive buried in three layers of bubblewrap and tape!

This is true - I whole heartily agree that the unraveling of packing tape on bubble wrap is more likely to damage cards than the USPS.

dodgerfanjohn · 03-02-2026, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

Since we have a thread focused on observations from shows, I thought I'd start another thread focused on online interactions and transactions....

Here are mine (I'm primarily a buyer, although I do sell the occasional card):

- there are an increasing number of sellers who are either delusional about what the card they are selling is actually worth, or too lazy to research what a realistic price is....

Yes. Lots of new sellers. Many are not bright.

- the USPS has seriously gone downhill since Louis DeJoy took over a few years ago and implemented widespread changes. More packages are getting lost, and cards are taking much longer to arrive. Cards that used to get to me in 2-3 days are now taking over a week, and I've had more cards disappear in the mail in the last three months than I had in the previous five years. Right now I have three different purchases "lost in the mail", and a card shipped from about five miles away took over a week to get to me.

Go back to the part about new sellers.

Also I will note that its HIGHLY location dependent. There were porch pirates in the safe, nice suburb I live in and they were stealing mail as well. Until a new DA was voted in and the police department here cracked down.

Lost in the mail doesn't bother me when it happens because just request a refund. The worst one is shows delivered but its not.

- Sellers are taking longer to get cards out the door.....I've had an increasing number of cards not get shipped until 4-5 days after purchase.

Again new sellers. This one bothers me too, especially since when I sell almost everything goes out in 24 hours or less.

- Overpacking of cards is endemic....yes I get that sellers want to protect a card from getting damaged....but sometimes the card is virtually mummified, to the point that it's more likely to get damaged by me trying to unwrap it than by the USPS. I've had $1 commons arrive buried in three layers of bubblewrap and tape!

LOL I've had a few as well. I don't know what some sellers are thinking. I had one card I bought ESE and the guy had so much packing on it he had to pay the full GA prices.

Oriole Way · 03-02-2026, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneBuck

I don't order nearly what I used to 3-5 years ago, but USPS seems to have went significantly downhill in that timeframe. Shipping times are longer, prices are higher, packages showing up day past the expected delivery date, packages showing delivered but not showing up until several days later.

USPS is the PSA of shipping carriers.

StateEx · 03-02-2026, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneBuck

I don't order nearly what I used to 3-5 years ago, but USPS seems to have went significantly downhill in that timeframe. Shipping times are longer, prices are higher, packages showing up day past the expected delivery date, packages showing delivered but not showing up until several days later.

This has been my experience as well, particularly with the scanned but not delivered for 1-3 additional days.

PuddleMonkey · 03-03-2026, 01:49 AM

I just got a $150 card in the mail today in a top loader with no penny sleeve.

Noles939913 · 03-03-2026, 10:08 AM

Use painter’s tape for the love of god!!! Also is it really that hard to use a toploader/one touch that isn’t covered in Sharpie writing?

02-28-2026, 06:54 PM	#1
mfw13 Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 18,023	Observations on the current state of the hobby based on online interactions.... Since we have a thread focused on observations from shows, I thought I'd start another thread focused on online interactions and transactions.... Here are mine (I'm primarily a buyer, although I do sell the occasional card): - there are an increasing number of sellers who are either delusional about what the card they are selling is actually worth, or too lazy to research what a realistic price is.... - the USPS has seriously gone downhill since Louis DeJoy took over a few years ago and implemented widespread changes. More packages are getting lost, and cards are taking much longer to arrive. Cards that used to get to me in 2-3 days are now taking over a week, and I've had more cards disappear in the mail in the last three months than I had in the previous five years. Right now I have three different purchases "lost in the mail", and a card shipped from about five miles away took over a week to get to me. - Sellers are taking longer to get cards out the door.....I've had an increasing number of cards not get shipped until 4-5 days after purchase. - Overpacking of cards is endemic....yes I get that sellers want to protect a card from getting damaged....but sometimes the card is virtually mummified, to the point that it's more likely to get damaged by me trying to unwrap it than by the USPS. I've had $1 commons arrive buried in three layers of bubblewrap and tape!

02-28-2026, 07:07 PM	#2
imbluestreak23 Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Meandering the matrix code that the hobby/forum overlords spit out Posts: 18,172 shortslabs	I agree with all of that __________________ @shortslabs I'VE WITNESSED HOW THE SAUSAGE IS MADE HERE...IT'S ROTTEN https://www.youtube.com/c/TylerShort

03-01-2026, 09:07 PM	#16
imbluestreak23 Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Meandering the matrix code that the hobby/forum overlords spit out Posts: 18,172 shortslabs	Just ran the numbers for the past few days of sales from 2025 purchases. I only graded a measly 2408 cards (and magazines). I have 588 items still outstanding either at PSA, or in inventory, again, all 2025 purchases. 2025 is by far my best year since 2020, and 2019, and my third best year ever. This is not counting any major sales that occured from purchases in previous years (2018 BC Orange Ohtani Auto 9.5 bought in 2021, sold in 2025) __________________ @shortslabs I'VE WITNESSED HOW THE SAUSAGE IS MADE HERE...IT'S ROTTEN https://www.youtube.com/c/TylerShort

03-03-2026, 10:08 AM	#25
Noles939913 Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 7,280	Use painter’s tape for the love of god!!! Also is it really that hard to use a toploader/one touch that isn’t covered in Sharpie writing? __________________ “Mr. Phillips found old Johnny Cash and he was high High before he ever took those pills and he's still too proud to die Mr. Phillips never said anything behind nobody's back Like, "Dammit Elvis, don't he know, he ain't no Johnny Cash"

02-28-2026, 07:52 PM	#3
kyle1707 Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 20,722	50 percent of time no tracking on pwe .. just does not track So I don’t use it .. because we know half the buyers would say they did not receive eBay shipping with supplies is now 6-6.50 ish so selling low end is impossible Plus eBay. Open another eBay authenticity in Kansas City or Memphis something in middle of country. Every time I buy a graded card over 250 it is from Florida or nyc and it has to go all the way to Cali first taking 10-14 days. I will admit once it gets there it gets authenticated quickly. Must of hired more people last month

03-01-2026, 10:19 AM	#6
Stech36 Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Westminster, MD Posts: 9,625 Stech36	I’ll never understand those who are against ESE as a low end seller. They’re costing themselves so much money because it might go wrong 1% of the time or something. As a reminder, all ESE shipments are fully insured!

03-01-2026, 10:47 AM	#7
Twalk1975 Member Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Phoenix Posts: 1,160	Im going to guess I've sent well over a thousand low end cards just using a stamped envelope, the number of people claiming they didn't get the card is negligible. I've only had to cut off one person for abusing it.

03-01-2026, 08:58 PM	#15
zworykin Member Join Date: Aug 2021 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 6,140 zworykin2	Not necessarily based on an interaction, but still an observation on the state of the hobby - it's time for us all to pack it in. Hobby's dead. No sane person wants to be associated with a hobby that leads to this.

03-02-2026, 09:36 AM	#17
OneBuck Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Posts: 927	I don't order nearly what I used to 3-5 years ago, but USPS seems to have went significantly downhill in that timeframe. Shipping times are longer, prices are higher, packages showing up day past the expected delivery date, packages showing delivered but not showing up until several days later.

03-02-2026, 10:26 AM	#19
bub838 Member Join Date: Mar 2022 Posts: 5,363	I sold a couple thousand cards via ESE last year and on less than 1% the buyer reached out saying their order was lost. I double checked the claims I filed and it was 14 for lost and had zero for damage.

03-03-2026, 01:49 AM	#24
PuddleMonkey Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 4,999	I just got a $150 card in the mail today in a top loader with no penny sleeve.