I've picked up several low $ cards from them in the past few years. On the rare occasion of having to return something that was incorrectly listed, I had no issues with them. I do tend to ignore the stuff they have listed for 150-400% BV, though.
Have you ever given in to... BURBANK?!
- Thread starter RustyGreerFan
- Start date
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I get my base through Burbank if I am buying. All 25 centers, and roughly 250 of them. It's the cheapest I can find through Beckett marketplace/trading/e-bay. Plus when I do that, I get free shipping. Spent roughly 120 bucks in the past month and nearly completed 4 Finest sets with autos and rare/serial numbered.
The drawback is that I am spending nearly 100% BV. I stay away from their minor stars definition as they are typically 125% BV. However, most places I buy from (even e-bay) the shipping usually puts me at over 100% BV. So I see this as a plus in using Burbank.
The drawback is that I am spending nearly 100% BV. I stay away from their minor stars definition as they are typically 125% BV. However, most places I buy from (even e-bay) the shipping usually puts me at over 100% BV. So I see this as a plus in using Burbank.
In addition, they recently "updated" prices on 100s of Mark Brunells, so I'm sure it was done for all cards. For the most part, they price their items on a % of BV.
Speaking of Burbank, just found this link:
http://completist.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/collector-gets-one-over-on-burbank/
http://completist.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/collector-gets-one-over-on-burbank/
Will never spend 1000% over BV
the guy who runs the store now is the son of the original creator of the store. they have a humongous warehouse on site and another warehouse in the near vicinity. the son helped his father since he was a child. he is proud of demanding and getting over high book price and would rather sit on a card than sell it under his price. this pride really is the driving force in his business, not making collectors happy.
i know other dealers and collectors who have dealt with him for years and he gets very excited and brags about when he sells something for way over beckett high book. i have dealt with him personally before and he can be very nice and charming. he even gave me a 2003 topps gold i needed for my set, since i had just spent over $200+ on some 2003 topps blacks at over high book! he just has a different mind set is all.
the building and cards are paid for and all they have to pay for any overhead now is employee wages and property taxes. so, keeping this in mind, you now know why burbank does what they do. he does not have to sell below high book because he believes it is a source of pride to get more than that. a weird but understandable dichotomy.
hope this helps! i only buy anything from him only if i have to or if i get a good deal! wait him out, too. he will usually lower the prices after a year. it is up to you if you can wait that long!
be well!
i know other dealers and collectors who have dealt with him for years and he gets very excited and brags about when he sells something for way over beckett high book. i have dealt with him personally before and he can be very nice and charming. he even gave me a 2003 topps gold i needed for my set, since i had just spent over $200+ on some 2003 topps blacks at over high book! he just has a different mind set is all.
the building and cards are paid for and all they have to pay for any overhead now is employee wages and property taxes. so, keeping this in mind, you now know why burbank does what they do. he does not have to sell below high book because he believes it is a source of pride to get more than that. a weird but understandable dichotomy.
hope this helps! i only buy anything from him only if i have to or if i get a good deal! wait him out, too. he will usually lower the prices after a year. it is up to you if you can wait that long!
be well!
I agree with jaderock and Yanks21 on the serial number issue. I will offer a premium on cards numbered to the #'s I want, but Burbank won't even take the time to tell you the numbers. They told me they have too many cards to look. That is the kind of customer service that loses you business, not builds it! However, this topic has come up again and again and it is apparent that their business model is working for them enough to not alter it. I compare it to the stadium concessions. Think how many more hot dogs, cokes and beers a typical concession stand at a baseball game could sell and prices closer to say a fast food joint. However, there are enough people willing to pay $8 for a beer or $6 for a hot dog, so they don't have to lower their prices to reach the sales numbers they want.
They have dozens of Garvey cards that are serial numbered that I might even pay their asking prices for if they had the right serial number. Too bad I will never know and they won't get the money from me for random serial numbers. I have the cards already, just looking for those special serial numbers.
However, the stars aligned at least once that I remember. There was a couple of Studio Portrait cards I needed and since I am not even sure what the BV was, I probably paid more. However, they were well under $10 each and I was more than willing to pay their asking price.
They have dozens of Garvey cards that are serial numbered that I might even pay their asking prices for if they had the right serial number. Too bad I will never know and they won't get the money from me for random serial numbers. I have the cards already, just looking for those special serial numbers.
However, the stars aligned at least once that I remember. There was a couple of Studio Portrait cards I needed and since I am not even sure what the BV was, I probably paid more. However, they were well under $10 each and I was more than willing to pay their asking price.
One has to admit that it is brilliant in terms of sales. A businessman doesn't care about "Book Value". If they have the only copies of a card that you have seen/might see for awhile......why not jack the price up to an insane level and hold firm? All it comes down to is this: they have had the money to build an inventory like no other. Since they have the rarest of the rare, they are pushing the envelope on the truest statement of collectibles: "Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay."
By the way - I have purchased cards before from them to complete rainbows, and I will do so again if I know I might not see the card again. Getting those tough cards to complete my collecting goals outweighs the money I spend if I can afford to spend it.
Tim
By the way - I have purchased cards before from them to complete rainbows, and I will do so again if I know I might not see the card again. Getting those tough cards to complete my collecting goals outweighs the money I spend if I can afford to spend it.
Tim
Only once have I bought a badly priced card from Burbank, and that was to finish a very rare set.
Other than that, I mostly used Burbank when I needed near mint 1971 Topps vintage cards for my set and most of those times, the price was better than I could get off Ebay.
So it's not all bad, but I wouldn't buy just any card off their site.
Other than that, I mostly used Burbank when I needed near mint 1971 Topps vintage cards for my set and most of those times, the price was better than I could get off Ebay.
So it's not all bad, but I wouldn't buy just any card off their site.
I feel very unintelligent for asking, but what is Burbanks??
I gave into them, but only because I'm looking for a bunch of 49ers cards for my uncle and he doesn't care how much I have to pay, and I get 10-15% on top of it for commission...their FB prices didn't seem to be as bad as I've seen their baseball prices to be.
John
John
Great example of the eye of the beholder. I'm not sure I call $177 for a G/U 1/1 "pulling one over" on Burbank.
Sounds like a steal to me if that is in fact a 1/1.
As for my experience with them, they were pretty rude to me when I went to their shop. I felt like I was buying from them online while I was there. I've made my money back on what I've spent there but have no plans to purchase from them again.
I have never bought anything from them, not sure that I ever will.
Bill
Bill
I confess, I've bought from Burbank. I got the last two cards I needed to finish my 2000 Fleer Focus Masterpiece Mania set from them, and I also bought other Manias along the way. The price on these was consistently 85% of high BV, which I felt to be reasonable considering there were only 300 made of each card in the set.
Lately I have noticed that their prices on some other cards are flat out ridiculous, though.
Lately I have noticed that their prices on some other cards are flat out ridiculous, though.
I have once
Picked these 2 up at the same time for $300.00 total shipped +/- $10.00. A very good deal IMO.
AJ
Picked these 2 up at the same time for $300.00 total shipped +/- $10.00. A very good deal IMO.
AJ
Thanks for this thread. It is pretty entertaining reading. "Have you ever given in to..." "I confess..." Like you need to feel guilty for buying a hard to get item from a big company because in the next 5 years you MIGHT find it cheaper. There are reasons this stuff finds its way into their inventory with more frequency than Joe Blow's listings. I see people get so fixated on what they think they 'should' pay that they miss the big picture
i disagree. not brilliant at all using any business model!
you hear it constantly in all business classes; don't sit on inventory! the key to success in selling any product is turning it over quickly. these guys could be raking in millions a year instead of thousands or tens of thousands, if they just stopped being collectors or selling with their egos!
just think about all of the traders who have commented on this thread who would purchase from Burbank if they lowered their outrageous prices down to reasonable prices? it boggles the mind because i know they do a fairly brisque business already. i have heard them turn down nearly anyone who dares to try to barter with or ask for a lower price from them. so what if they don't make that extra $15 on a card they could make in 5 years down the road?
the absurdity of their business model is that any business expert would tell you they could be rolling in the dough right now with what they have in inventory. then, they would have a greater cash flow with which to purchase more and so on and so on. the owner's son, who runs the place, told me personally that the main reason (i still suspect his ego won't let him sell anything under book or at book, being his main reason!) they won't sell for under the 30%+ over beckett prices is that they purchased a huge hawaii collection from a man's widow who passed away a few years ago. anyway, the collection was shipped from hawaii to burbank in literally 3 shipping containers! do you know how many cards would fit into three shipping containers? it is incredible and hard to imagine!
well, he paid a pretty penny just to get everything and instead of making a 10%-35% modest killing quickly, his idea is to shaft people now on stuff collectors have to have/can't do without, then keep the prices high to make up for the price he paid for everything. problem with this scenario and plan is that it may take 30 years to get anywhere close to what he paid for everything back. economists would tell these guys to use the normal model, sell at a price that is fair that anyone who is tempted can fork over, and then the rest is gravy! but nooooo!
the main question to ask in this case is; "are they in business to make money, or are they collectors trying to get the most they can out of an item?" you see this attitude with antique collectors who have nothing to do but sit around all day talking. they don't care if they never sell anything. but they sure as h..l are going to get top dollar if they do sell! this is not a smart way to make money. smart way to run a museum or a warehouse so you can brag to your buddies that you have the largest inventory of baseball cards, including rare ones, in the world, but, not an intelligent way to maximize your profits!
i, personally, would be much more impressed with Burbank if they just told me they sold $10 million in cards last year! now that would make be impressive! but that would mean they were reasonable and decided to turn their inventory over. not going to happen!
just my opinion, but i think i am right! interested in other's opinions. take care all and spend your $ wisely!
you hear it constantly in all business classes; don't sit on inventory! the key to success in selling any product is turning it over quickly. these guys could be raking in millions a year instead of thousands or tens of thousands, if they just stopped being collectors or selling with their egos!
just think about all of the traders who have commented on this thread who would purchase from Burbank if they lowered their outrageous prices down to reasonable prices? it boggles the mind because i know they do a fairly brisque business already. i have heard them turn down nearly anyone who dares to try to barter with or ask for a lower price from them. so what if they don't make that extra $15 on a card they could make in 5 years down the road?
the absurdity of their business model is that any business expert would tell you they could be rolling in the dough right now with what they have in inventory. then, they would have a greater cash flow with which to purchase more and so on and so on. the owner's son, who runs the place, told me personally that the main reason (i still suspect his ego won't let him sell anything under book or at book, being his main reason!) they won't sell for under the 30%+ over beckett prices is that they purchased a huge hawaii collection from a man's widow who passed away a few years ago. anyway, the collection was shipped from hawaii to burbank in literally 3 shipping containers! do you know how many cards would fit into three shipping containers? it is incredible and hard to imagine!
well, he paid a pretty penny just to get everything and instead of making a 10%-35% modest killing quickly, his idea is to shaft people now on stuff collectors have to have/can't do without, then keep the prices high to make up for the price he paid for everything. problem with this scenario and plan is that it may take 30 years to get anywhere close to what he paid for everything back. economists would tell these guys to use the normal model, sell at a price that is fair that anyone who is tempted can fork over, and then the rest is gravy! but nooooo!
the main question to ask in this case is; "are they in business to make money, or are they collectors trying to get the most they can out of an item?" you see this attitude with antique collectors who have nothing to do but sit around all day talking. they don't care if they never sell anything. but they sure as h..l are going to get top dollar if they do sell! this is not a smart way to make money. smart way to run a museum or a warehouse so you can brag to your buddies that you have the largest inventory of baseball cards, including rare ones, in the world, but, not an intelligent way to maximize your profits!
i, personally, would be much more impressed with Burbank if they just told me they sold $10 million in cards last year! now that would make be impressive! but that would mean they were reasonable and decided to turn their inventory over. not going to happen!
just my opinion, but i think i am right! interested in other's opinions. take care all and spend your $ wisely!
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