How I Lost $10,000 Buying A Sports Card Collection 

Dude knew it wasn't a refractor. He knew what he sent in. You're too nice bro.

Props for sharing this! It takes courage to go ahead and show the mistakes and big losses! We all can learn from this. Thank you! Keep it up

Lesser sellers would still list this on ebay as a refractor, especially since it was PSA that labeled it as such. Big ups man for sticking to your ethics even if it results to a loss

Great video. My only “gripe” with the video was the title. The makes it seem like you lost $10k. Instead, you lost some money on your investment correct?

Not a good deal, but great storytelling. Appreciate you sharing. In a sea of videos of people claiming it’s so easy to make money in the hobby if you just put in the work, it’s nice to see an honest video from someone who put in the work but took an L regardless. It happens to the best of ‘em

happens to the best of us. i’ve talked about a jordan refractor that I paid $800 for in burbank that was mislabeled by psa. I also missed it in the heat of the moment and it’s actually a $30 card. that’s an $800 lesson for me. we all bounce back

I would be absolutely SHOCKED if that guy didn't know his card wasn't a refractor. I would be talking to the guy again and also psa. I'm not sure sure they shouldn't have some liability for the loss on that kobe. That's messed up

Dealers buying at 80%. Hahahahahahahahha. 40% if you're lucky with these scumbags.

This type of deal is right in the wheelhouse of Chris Sewall, who also has a RU-vid channel. I know that he meticulously goes through everything before determining a value. In your case, I think that the short 24-hour turnaround really forced you to rush in a situation where you needed to take your time. If you find yourself in a similar situation, maybe it would be better to work the deal out in batches, like go through 10% of it, make a deal on that part, and then move onto the next chunk.

Sucks. I do think the guy should have gave you a partial refund on that Kobe. Like split the loss of the projected value 1K / 1K. Keep pushing Troy big W coming for sure 🙏

Always enjoy every video - thanks for sharing the story and for the transparency. It's always what makes your videos my favorite that pop up on my Subs list. Really sorry to hear about the Kobe, not a bad idea to ping PSA - it's worth a shot.

sorry to say but you got fleeced. Seller absolutely knew what he had there's no way he had a collection this large and not know a thing or two about cards.

Curious how you came up with the $10k loss figure. Seems like you loss about $3k - which still stinks. I've been burned on PSA mislabels before and it makes you feel like crap. Just gotta take that loos and make it up in the future.

He should absolutely compensate you for the difference between the Kobe base and refractor. Even if he didn't know (which I'm fairly sure he did), he still should. Inadvertently or not, you were given the wrong information which had a huge swing on the deal. Major props for posting this.

You talking about cutting those 1 and 2 dollar cards killed me!!! I make a fortune off of the cheap stuff!!! Just have to list it.

Bummer this happened bro. I will say this video, the editing and the story telling was outstanding. Just such a well done video man

I've been buying and selling collections for the last 10 years you should not be paying anywhere near 70% on a large collection. You are time is money and you have to factor that into the equation. On a large collection I pay close to 50% that's the highest. I have parts of collections that I bought from 4 years ago that I'm still trying to piece out and sell. The reason they're selling their collection is because they don't want to put in the time and work to do it.

Interesting perspective knowing you invested additional capital in the plane flight and all that goes into the logistics of the collection move in the deal. Much respect to you on this deal.

Just Subscribed - 1st time i Found a video with honesty and losing money when collecting cards. Everybody in every video is winning in card collecting...YOU EARNED MY RESPECT. THANK YOU VERY MUCHH. I collect some cards for fun but i always keep thinking be careful with those junk papers. It is very much like scratch lottery paper

Hey, man. THESE are the videos that collectors need to watch. Your transparency is a breath of fresh air and I truly believe good karma will bounce your way. Still a tight lot. Thanks for sharing your story!

Kudos for sharing the ups and downs of the hobby. I'm actually from Singapore and will be in Santa Clara for work next couple of days. Was hoping to visit a couple of LCS and was wondering if you have any recommendations. Also if there are any any card shows happening this weekend in the bay area that you may be aware of.

Props to you for sharing this. Really takes a lot of share moments like this. All the best for you.

one word.....cooked. I woulda wanted to see AT LEAST 10-30 cards upfront that were $500-2k range before booking flight. if I didn't see 30 cards $500-2000 in the first 1-2 min...NO DEAL. that seller got exactly the amount that he wanted..and then some.

You spent 10k but didnt lose 10k.

Dealers do like 55 percent and sell 90 percent

Thanks for sharing this. Too many times people only share big wins and it’s really important for people to know that deals can and will go bad and we need to be prepared for that

Max I would pay is $2k for that collection. Add travel expenses you are barely breaking even.

sorry for your loss. i am a filipino and i have been collecting basketball cards since 1994. and i am pretty familiar with 90s stuff. and i know that psa screwed on that one. this is a testament to the fact that psa or any other grading company arent always correct. due diligence in research is a must even if the cards are graded.

Props to you for taking it on the chin, but it doesn’t sit right to me when people knowingly sell stuff for way over what it’s worth, especially in a bulk deal like this. I don’t believe for a second that the LCS would have sold a refractor for $30, and in turn, he should have caught that when looking at your values.

Great video. Going to Hawaii to buy cards and taking breaks between sorting to hit the beach, pool and local food spots sounds like so much fun.

No way the dude did not know. Refractor shiny base dull. Lol

It takes courage to share your mistake. you are doing something positive to this hobby by sharing it.

Dang, feel bad for you. At least you got to go to Hawaii. Good luck in getting your money back.

PSA should do something for you on their mistake. Also, how did you lose 10K exactly?

I apluad your transparency and humility in this video. These are the kind of mistakes that make us much wiser.

OMG I love the ja mordant auto!

Appreciate the candor. Great lesson to be learned here. You got Hawaii too though, right?

This is one of my favorite videos that you've posted. I admire that you were willing to share this. There is one thing that is upsetting to me though and that is that someone would say they didn't know either but would still keep the money you paid instead of giving it back to you. I don't understand how people can operate business like that. If it were me, I would apologize but I would NEVER keep your money. The right thing to do, especially after you spent all that money to fly up there, is to give you your money. Just sounds like a horrible person based on that.

At least you did it man. You are wiser and it won’t ever happen again and you made content. It all adds up in the end.

I agree. I don’t think there is any way he didn’t know.. PSA should definitely take some responsibility as well since you relied on their labeling although it would be hard to prove what the loss actually was.

It’s pretty funny how Troy didn’t realize everyone that actually understands anything about cards would watch this and realize Troy knows absolutely nothing about them - glad to see the comments show the true reality of this scenario and how the Kobe card is absolutely irrelevant to how awful of a “play” this was This was a 0/10 play from any single angle you look at it from and the fact you aren’t more angry at yourself is why you won’t ever keep moving up in the hobby - this is your livelihood dude what are you doing

Hey Troy, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for posting. That’s why it’s better to see everything in person before making any tim3 of deals or agreements. Be careful next time 👍💪😎

It's ok, McDonald's is going to be paying $20/hr in CA starting next year.

Travel expenses should be part of the leverage troy. You paid to travel to get it. The seller shouldve given you a better number.

I bought a large collection of !971-72 OPC vintage hockey for $4500. I looked it over before I bought it and seemed good. When I really had time I found that there were a ton of doubles of commons. First series of these cards are worth way more than second series and there were maybe 20 percent first series in the box. I spent probably 30 hours sorting through it. In the end I probably lost about $1500. I always carefully look through a big collection before I buy now. Seems great because of the volume, but it's mostly junk sometimes.

I bought a Klay Thompson rookie refractor, and did not know it was mislabel till I went to sell it… You’re not alone, brother!!

Hey man, can PSA's guarantee be used to help refund your lose on the Kobe? It is technically their fault for mislabeling the card. I would at least contact them and explain your situation.

Great video. Thanks for the honesty! Hopefully someone you’re prospecting takes off and you look back and laugh at this deal!

he bought a raw card for $30 and got it graded… then comped it at 2,000. he def knew..

Where do you get the "lost $10k" from? Sounds like your total spend was around $8k with travel, I'll throw in another $1k for the luggage, USPS, food & expenses, so call it $9k? Then you have almost $4k just in the big stuff on your spreadsheet. So you're at -$5k before selling the small stuff. Help me if I'm wrong!

Sorry this happened to you man, but 80%, with travel and everything involved, is crazy high. Hopefully lots of the cards will go up in season

So disappointing to see PSA make a mistake like that, and even worse that it burned you Troy. If there’s any silver lining, quality video and appreciate you sharing your experiences for better and worse.

I saw the vid "I just bought a huge sports card collection" and under it was this and ngl im dying rn lolllll

awesome video. take is a learning experience. you got it in you that’s just bad luck.

Doesn't PSA insure any slabs if it's not correct?

There is definitely a lot of work involved when it comes to the listing individuals and singles and all that stuff and it makes you wonder if it's actually profitable

I would definitely contact PSA about their screwup to see if they will offer some compensation. Why else are people paying these surcharges on grading for more expensive cards? I think the seller also knew about this error, but considering this was the biggest card in the lot I would have done my homework on as there are so many people in the hobby who mistitle their auctions refractor when they are not. I do applaud you for posting about your story as most people only post their wins and not their loses giving many newbies in the this hobby the false impression it is a easy money making machine.

I did a similar thing, purchasing a 1994 Finest Lottery Prize test refractor PSA 10 that was actually a base card. At least in my case the refractor is not labeled/serial numbered. If you're not familiar with this card, it's much rarer than the 1995 bordered myster finest refractos....if it was actually a refractor.

I buyout collections and usually wouldn't even travel 200 miles let alone Hawaii.. when you travel far its easier to mess up as you don't want to feel like you wasted your time and end up buying stuff you aren't sure will make money..

Way smaller scale, had a dude do porch pickup on a wii Console. Took console and didn't leave money. Aggravating but stay positive and keep grinding.

There is zero chance that guy didn't know. It's not some random card, he graded it himself. Even if he wasn't familiar with the card he would've at some point been curious what the card was worth when he got it back and found out it wasn't a refractor. He can claim whatever he wants, he hung that carrot on a stick out there to squeeze you for extra cash. I'm sorry that happened to you Troy and I appreciate you sharing it with us bc I will now be making sure I know exactly what I'm looking at before I purchase anything. AND SHAME ON PSA!! They mislabel things WAY too much. All that time in QA Checks and they aren't doing SH*T LOL.

Man the $15 and up cards is where you'll make your money. It looked like those boxes is where the money is at. Hope the card game picks up and your able to sell everything

He didn’t know????! He bought it and graded it himself. Obviously he knew the Kobe wasn’t a refractor that’s for sure. Ur just a very nice guy. It’s all good, you will make it back. It’s only money, people who dwell on situation like this will just stress themselves out. Lesson learned and u keep it pushin!

I am in Bay Area, hope we make some deals at the next show.. keep up the good work.

Don't PSA have a guarantee for their graded cards? I would look at submitting a claim for the wrong label, they are supposed to pay you the difference in pricing.

Right when you 1st showed the card I was like that's not a refractor sorry you had a not so good time bud hope you kill the next deal stay safe

You should open the Pokemon boxes. Especially the Tag Team GX. Guaranteed to pull a Secret Rare. And some in PSA 10 are worth up to $1,500.

That jalen Brunson is not 15$ and honestly this is a good price for the whole collection! Ps I’ll buy that jalen Brunson for 15$ lol

Super cool that you showed your expenses. Nobody ever does that

aside from the kobe overlook (which im still not convinced the seller didnt know), i think this is a good lesson on how to evaluate a large collection purchase. someone selling their entirely collection in bulk should never be expecting to obtain 80% value, they should be more than willing to offer an even bigger discount because you are taking on all the work in one lump deal. your negotiations should really start no higher than 50% of what you are truly researching the retail value of the collection to be at. your purchase figure should be absolutely no higher than 60% of comp value because the time it takes to move all that stuff would far outweigh the minimal profits you would be getting anything higher than that.

I would talk to PSA. If they mislabel something and you are not the original submitter. They should buy it back at market value. At lease that is how it was before.

At least you didn’t spend more than $700 in a break to get nothing from the team you bought and then only get compensated with $30 in packs :)

hey... way to go.... you took the chance and made things happen..... you will recoop your money in the future... you are a smart young man

I would be more concerned that this card still shows up in PSA’s register as a reflector, when they’ve show in the past how quickly they can de-pop a card! whether the guy knew or didn’t knew is not up to me to decide, but I thank you for a very insightful and really honest story! Hopefully see you at a U.K. cardshow in the future

Also don't rush in blindly buy a collection. I go through every single card first. I've had collections that I bought in that took three days to finalize.

Man that sucks with the PSA kobe, send the card to PSA with a note telling them your story and ask for a refractor of the card as a consolation.

PSA may be able to help you out with their grade guarantee, although I’m not sure that applies to label errors…

How much for the Duarte Tiger Stripe? I'm interested

He knew what he was doing and definitely has no integrity knowing he was scamming the buyer. He even went out of his way to have him pay via PayPal FF = scam since he would have no recourse to make a claim once the card was discovered. I would blast his name was a slimy POS.

Damn man - hate to hear it. Ugh. See ya at Dion's show next weekend if you going.

Hey I actually did the same thing on a refractor card recently it was a double ew8 Kieth van horne

btw...it would be interesting to see that guy's psa order form to see if he listed that Kobe as a refractor on the form. Would tell you a lot about whether he is telling the truth or not.

Tax writeoff and content value will make it all worthwhile. Also, the value of learning from mistakes is priceless.

that stinks man, I hope you find some crazy hidden value. Hopefully you had a good time in Hawaii at least.

How do you know if they are refactored

The guy knew....

I like to deal in cash and person to person. But right now that’s the hardest thing for me to do now. eBay is ok just don’t like the fees as with whatnot. Can’t seem to find a collector and not a flipper also.

Hey man, I’m interested in the Cades if you still have?

Might think about going back to Philippines or play overseas (Japan). They’re paying good thou (Japan) & collecting on the side.

thanks for sharing the truth. most people wouldn't do that and they'd try to spin it showing how well they did.

Dude, PSA guarantees its work. They may pay you the difference. That’s why we buy slabbed cards - they come with guarantees. Reach out to them and good luck!

Great story

Thanks for sharing. Hawaii is beautiful. Hopefully you will get your money back with the raw cards. Cheers, Julien

Great story.

Interested in that jwill kaboom if u still have it.

It will be ok, nice video

I wouldn't be so naive to think he didn't know beforehand that the Kobe was NOT a refractor. Not everyone is as nice/honest as you think

this type of shit happens. just gotta learn from mistakes. your gucci bro

one positive is that his video did great 13 k views in 2 days and 3/4 x comments the video is popping off sad for you bro but you'll make it back like you always do