I just stumbled upon this auction and had to post it. I doubt if anyone on this forum will have it saved in their "watched auctions" so I don't think anyone will mind!
Look at the card, then read the description of how it ended up this way. Has anyone heard this story or does anyone actually believe it? Sounds like a load of crap to me! I'm thinking that the seller is trying to find a way to make some money from a card that has been destroyed!
If that story is true the seller is an idiot. Why on earth would he rip the card in half just because somene offered him a low price? He could have just said no and put the card away instead of destroying a perfectly good card.
Personaly, a Howe card with no head/face is worth $0.00 in my books.... I assume everyone else thinks the same.
I agree completely! #1--I don't think that the seller would destroy a card just because a buyer was asking for too much of a discount.
#2--I also feel that this card is worthless.
I was just curious about his claim that this card has been on display at every Expo for the last 8 years. That is the only part that someone might know about.
By the way--$900 for a raw, mid-grade 1954 Topps Howe seems high to me too!
Obviously the seller is not an idiot - he is just a storyteller. But of course, his story is not good because it doesn't say what happened to the top half (I doubt that customer paid $450 for that).
But as a web designer I'll tell you what really bugs me - his font size and color. Not sure if it's supposed to attract your attention or just scream at you.
I just thought this auction was one of the most ridiculous things I had ever seen and I thought it was funny that a hockey card ripped in half was being offered for this much money. On top of that, this Howe card is such a famous card it made it even more interesting.
A long time back I found a few 1933 OPC cards that had ink spilled over the top 60% of the card. They were totally black until you got to the knee of the player, but you could see the skates and name of the player. I posted that one too since it was a vintage card and it was basically ridiculous.
Other than that, this post didn't have any point--just good for a laugh.
I thought we had a rule against outing current auctions... just kidding.
The funniest part about it in my eyes is that not only did he destroy his own card, he presumably paid to have it encapsulated and has paid to list it on eBay too. At some point don't you just cut your losses?
I think this is the same seller who was selling ungraded 1965-66 topps commons for $300 awhile back. I don't see them on his site anymore, so maybe he ripped all of them in half when he was offered $20 each for them.
Earl:If we all ripped cards in half that we didn't get offers on that we were happy with there probably wouldn't be many cards left. If this seller truly had a whole card that he wanted $900 for then it was over-priced in the condition he had. I have the whole card, and even though it's only VG+ I paid considerably less than %900 for it. Even though my Howe card is not a PSA 7 or 8, I consider it one of the highlights of my collection and can't imagine ANYONE ripping one it half. Seems like a sacrilege to me. Ted
Ted--I agree completely! Regardless of the condition, no vintage card should be torn in half. There are collectors for all grades. Even though many people only collect high-end cards, there are plenty of other people who are happy to have mid-grade and lower-grade cards. And, of course, many times we can't afford high end examples of some cards.
The funny thing is, everyone who sees the scan agrees that he should have simply taken the offer of $450! Now he has half of a vintage card that he won't ever be able to sell.
Basically, this seller is a complete lowlife! If he ripped the card in half because a buyer made him an offer he didn't like, then he shouldn't be selling cards. If he didn't rip the card in half, but is lying about it in order to pass off some destroyed card, then he is dishonest and shouldn't be selling cards.
