WC cards on Ebay

[niimou]

In most other fields, though, something with "World Championships" on it *is* more valuable. I know when I saw my first WC cards a couple years ago I thought they were. So even if the seller were to spell out "world championships" I think some people would still be fooled.

But yes, what these sellers are doing is immoral, unethical, misleading, etc.

And, yes, buyers should make sure they know what they're buying.

 

[Professor Elm]

Wow.
You guys have no sympathy for the poor souls that are doing their best on ebay, buying their kids the cool card that they want, thinking that they are getting a fair deal, when really they're getting ripped off?
Spirit of the Game, guys.

Did you read the ad copy?
The seller claims that the card is worth $30!
That outright fraud, if you ask me.

And even if the seller is technically with the law because of a passing mention of "WC" (but that seems very incomplete to me!), he certainly fails the moral test.

Although I do agree with u Pokepop that the value of the card can be deceiving, the seller does nothing wrong.
It's not fraud claiming that a card that has no set value is worth 30 bucks.

I dunno, I just don't see it as a valid argument to say: "well think about the people who buy it". I'm sorry, but the buyer knows what he or she is getting if u read the description. And if they are willing to pay that amount, then so be it.

I mean, I am just all for entrepreneurism. If ur making money off of something that u get for very cheap then go for it! I'm sorry but those are the principles that "the American Dream" is based on. People come to the US for that very principal. This is one of the few countries where u can do something like this.

If u don't like it, then that's fine. Nobody's asking u to buy the product. But, leave the guy alone. He's not doing anything illegal and he's the one who's making the money. And this should not turn into an argument over the morality of the situation. There are much more crucial issues than this to argue morality.

 

[waynegg]

I find your expectation of what parents should know to be totally unrealistic!

Honestly, it takes a fair bit of knowledge to know that, first, World Championship deck cards exist, second, that they are not tournament legal or are different than the regular set cards, and third, that "WC" stands for World Championship.

You honestly think it is fair to expect Aunt Rosie to know this stuff when buying a card for her nephew on ebay?

Yes, I honestly expect parents to be involved with their kids and know what is going on in their lives. That's a big part of what being a parent is. The knowledge isn't any stretch of the imagination that a parent should easily know, especiallly when their kid is attending premiere events.

Aunt Rosie, however will always get you something that's a little off, regardless of what the want is. Just watch A Christmas Story again and watch the big pink bunny bounding down the stairs, lol!

 

[The Dark Toxicroak]

maybe TPCi could make this illegal somehow by saying WC cards must be sold in their decks entirety. Sure then they would try to sell the whole decks for ridiculous prices. My point is there has to be some way TPCi can fix this issue..?

 

[Professor Elm]

maybe TPCi could make this illegal somehow by saying WC cards must be sold in their decks entirety. Sure then they would try to sell the whole decks for ridiculous prices. My point is there has to be some way TPCi can fix this issue..?

haha, no.
Sorry, but no company has control over the secondary market, nor will they ever in the United States. It's what makes this country so great IMO.

Guys, come on! This isn't that big of a deal. AND PLEASE, do not get into the morality of all this.
Is it immoral to some people? Yeah, obviously.
BUT, we have to remember, morality is also completely biased and based on your culture and upbringing. There are much more crucial issues in which to argue morality.

This is just a sign of the impact of the secondary market on a cards value. Obviously, they aren't really worth this much in most areas, but if people are willing to pay it, then it must be worth that much to them.

 

[toxictaipan]

Well, he's my opinion.

I agree with both sides, to a point. It is most definitely wrong what this person is doing. It's deceptive and immoral. I do not support it and I'm not trying to defend it.


Even though the card may not actually be worth $30, it's his card and his eBay account. He can sell it for whatever price he wants. He might not know that it's non-tournament legal (but he probably does). He can value it at whatever price he wants. Have you ever been in a supermarket and went, "WHOA! That's a total rip off! I can't believe they're trying to sell this for such a price." Same thing here.

Now, I don't care what you say. WC isn't that hard to figure out. If you have even the faintest amount of common sense in your body, you can easily go over to google and quickly find out. I mean seriously... You're on eBay, you're looking at an item and you don't know what "WC" means. If you can't go over to google and type in "What is a WC Pokemon card?" you don't need to be buying things online in the first place.


PokePop, you're right. You can't expect the average person to know everything about Pokemon. However, you can (and should) expect someone (especially an adult) to have enough common sense to research an item on google before buying it if they have a question about it.

 

[baby mario]

Now, I don't care what you say. WC isn't that hard to figure out. If you have even the faintest amount of common sense in your body,you can easily go over to google and find out. I mean seriously... You're on eBay, you're looking at an item and you don't know what "WC" means. If you can't go over to google and type in "What is a WC Pokemon card?" you don't need to be buying things offline in the first place

I just took your advice.

First two results were links to 'RARE LEGENDARY' Pokemon cards for sale on eBay.

Next result was a 2 year old question on Google Answers. The entire thread consisted of . . .

Q. What does it mean if a Pokemon Card is part of the WC edition, and how can you tell?

A. i dont know what WC stands for, but all i can say is to observe it .

Enlightening, huh?

Next up was a link to this very thread.

Then a guide to buying EX Cards (very current!)

Then some more eBay auctions.

So . . . yeah. Not as straightforward as you make out.

As far as the topic goes, the problem I have is with people who INTEND to deceive others. You can call it entrepreneurial skills if you want, to me it's being a petty little con artist.

 

[Progress]

The real problem is that I'm not sure any Ebay rule or actual law has been broken here

A law has been broken buy the buyer who left negative feedback. Negative feedback without due cause is grounds for libel proceedings. Now this isn't my listing, but iIf you neg me for selling one of these, then expect legal action.

I say good on the seller. Its crafty but its legit.

 

[DJGigabyte]

I say good on the seller. Its crafty but its legit.

I say you're a horrible person, as are these sellers but I guess that's what they call a "difference of opinion"

 

[nnaann]

What annoys me is if it's 'legal/legit' that it's ok. I prefer to judge things on if it's right morally. A few months ago, a person was happy to trade a random holo of mine for his Claydol. Just because he was happy to trade that, didn't mean it was right - I gave him a bunch of extra cards in the trade and he was really happy.

 

[FunnyBear]

A law has been broken buy the buyer who left negative feedback. Negative feedback without due cause is grounds for libel proceedings. Now this isn't my listing, but iIf you neg me for selling one of these, then expect legal action.

I say good on the seller. Its crafty but its legit.

I laugh out loud at your teenage legal threats. You are a lousy human being and I smite thee with a neg. Have your lawyer call my lawyer.

 

[baby mario]

Yeah, it looks like taking the legal route is a bit of a non starter . . . even for legit businesses, never mind someone trying to flog poorly described Pokemon cards . . .

When Kiel Sturm, an online stone retailer, sold a piece of smoky quartz over eBay for $2.33, it turned out to be a business destroying transaction. "F MINUS MINUS MINUS MINUS! WOULD NOT DO BUSINESS AGAIN!" was the gyst of the feedback left.

Sturm disputed the feedback, but it was already too late. A profitable eBay stone selling business, previously so juicy because most stones are undervalued, went down in flames. An emerald appraised at thousands of dollars ended up selling for 8 bucks.

eBay stone buyers, apparently, are extremely afraid of counterfeits. That one mark against his reputation destroyed his business. Worse yet, Sturm has been powerless to get eBay to remove the apparently baseless accusation, even after a year of legal wrangling.

http://consumerist.com/2006/08/ebay-feedback-destroys-businesses.html

 

[wonderer]

Ebay is for selling stuff people don't want anymore... Of course when you sell something you want to present it in the best light possible - ANY salesperson does that. However, I agree that its immoral to sell WC cards without including the information that they are not tournament legal in the description. I definately think its unfair to argue that ALL people who sell WC cards are immoral (if they're accurately representing their product, they're doing their end), but yes, some make it hard to know what they have.

 

[PokePop]

Ebay is for selling stuff people don't want anymore... Of course when you sell something you want to present it in the best light possible - ANY salesperson does that. However, I agree that its immoral to sell WC cards without including the information that they are not tournament legal in the description. I definately think its unfair to argue that ALL people who sell WC cards are immoral (if they're accurately representing their product, they're doing their end), but yes, some make it hard to know what they have.

I would have no issue with a seller giving a full description of the card and then people bidding it up.

You want to see a great example of an honest seller?

Look at when Ness sold his actual World Championship deck on ebay.
When the price shot up, he gave the buyer a chance to back out of the deal, even explaining that many of the cards were rotating out of the format.

That was a real class act and while I wouldn't expect all sellers to have that high of a standard, it shows the difference in what we're talking about.

 

[Chairman Kaga]

I agree that its immoral to sell WC cards without including the information that they are not tournament legal in the description. I definately think its unfair to argue that ALL people who sell WC cards are immoral (if they're accurately representing their product, they're doing their end), but yes, some make it hard to know what they have.

And this is the crux of the argument. Most of these auctions attempt to pass off the WC card as the real thing. Just look at the very first auction linked in this thread:

This auction is for a SUPER RARE LV. X pokemon card!

This is from the 2009 WC SERIES! LEGENDS AWAKENED pokemon SERIES!

Starting at just 7.00! Great Deal!

Worth 40.00!

The real card is super rare and worth $40. Not this promo print of it. The obvious intent of the text is to imply that this is the real thing, and hope that you gloss over the WC part of it. In fact, it seems to be trying to misrepresent what the WC decks are. This sort of listing is borderline fraudulent.

 

[FunnyBear]

I hope everyone appreciates the difference between this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230412111085&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

and this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/4x-CYRUSS-CONSP...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518ed28ae9

The difference in intent is clear. The first is obviously trying to mislead, the second is not. I'm not sure if the 1st ad isn't actually actionable. Don't we have any lawyers on the forum?

 

[toxictaipan]

I just took your advice.

First two results were links to 'RARE LEGENDARY' Pokemon cards for sale on eBay.

Next result was a 2 year old question on Google Answers. The entire thread consisted of . . .


Enlightening, huh?

Next up was a link to this very thread.

Then a guide to buying EX Cards (very current!)

Then some more eBay auctions.

So . . . yeah. Not as straightforward as you make out.

As far as the topic goes, the problem I have is with people who INTEND to deceive others. You can call it entrepreneurial skills if you want, to me it's being a petty little con artist.

I was just using google as an example. I didn't mean you would for sure 100% find the correct answer the first time around. Google is just one of the many resources you could use.

A quick visit to wikipedia nets you this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokémon_Trading_Card_Game#Banned_cards

In addition, the cards printed in the promotional World Championship Decks are not allowed in any competitive events. These cards are supposed to be printed as a promotional item, and not meant to help people collect large numbers of rare and valuable cards that were played in these decks.

If you google "World Championship Pokemon Cards" the very first link clearly states that they are reprinted and are not tournament legal. If you google "WC Pokemon Cards" the first link to that query also states they are not tournament legal, and it's even an eBay listing! If you don't get what you're looking for the first time, tweak your search query a little bit. Isn't that common google knowledge?


Now, like I said, I don't support this and I'm not trying to defend the seller. I'm just saying that using a little common sense when buying things online is important. If you're unsure about something you're going to buy, research it. If you don't research things before you buy them (especially if you're unsure about something), whether it's a Pokemon card or an iPod, you're not a very smart person.

 

[baby mario]

Now, like I said, I don't support this and I'm not trying to defend the seller. I'm just saying that using a little common sense when buying things online is important. If you're unsure about something you're going to buy, research it. If you don't research things before you buy them (especially if you're unsure about something), whether it's a Pokemon card or an iPod, you're not a very smart person.

Obviously I agree with that.

The internet is full of nasty little scum trying to rip people off and deluding themselves that they are businessman of the year for doing it.

It's a shame, but not exactly a surprise.

 

[NoPoke]

The listing is an advert containing statements. One such is that the card is worth $30.

Adverts have to be legal decent honest and truthfull.

Making that $30 statement is at the very least misrepresentation and since I doubt the seller paid anything like that for the theme deck, can it meet the requirements of Honest and Truthfull? I don't think so.

This is not an ignorant seller making a mistake but a deliberate attempt to defraud less informed customers

The description which include the impossible value is designed to trick and decieve.

 

[silverst31n]

people complain about this all the time and there is nothing you can do about it. its not a good thing that it is happening but they are at least informing the consumer that they are from the world series decks. nothing wrong is being done people just arent smart/informed buyers