Buying and selling collectibles can be serious business or just enjoyment for collectors. The popularity of some items and the vulnerabilities of some buyers allows for fakes and scams in the market.
We have a put together a list of marketplace types with their level of risk of the transaction going sour.
1. Non-fungible token Marketplace - (risk: low). Essentially, you are buying the NFT on the blockchain that is paired to a collectible. The NFT is proof of ownership since it has digital images and the serial number of the item. Transfer of payment and ownership is instant when you make the purchase. The seller then ships the item to you. Sprunger Originals sells on OpenSea and subjects NFT creation to a screening process that includes photo id and proof of item possession.
Related: What is an NFT?
2. Verified Seller Certificate - (risk: low). Items for sale that don't have an NFT can be sold by a trusted seller who has their own digital certificate that proves they are legitimate. It's 'coining' and 'vouching' using the blockchain. A Certificate can be presented on any marketplace platform.
3. Auction sites - (risk: low to high). Most online auction sites that specialize in collectibles have a long history of trust and success of selling higher value items. Nuts to bolts sites don't have enough safeguards to prevent scammers from posting collectibles for sale that they either don't have in their possession, are fakes or have been altered.
4. Dealers and events - (risk: low to medium). Retail dealers have a reputation to uphold and will have safeguards in place to protect the buyer. Pop-up sellers at events may not have done due diligence to verify the authenticity of an item for sale. They can be hard to find afterwards if you are not satisfied with the item purchased.
5. Social media groups - (risk: medium to high). While many transactions go smoothly, many fail. Sellers regularly post a fake item or don't ship an item and change their profile often to repeat the scam. Vouches and coining don't offer solid buyer protection like other platform safeguards do. Also, many group experts look for deals that you post, make a purchase and resell your card bundled with other cards for a higher price.
Here's our services to help you manage your collectibles:
- Sprunger NFT & Certificates official blockchain twin of your items.
- Sprunger Marketplace automatically receive a blockchain certificate for the item purchased.
- Sprunger Exchange Verification building trust between buyers and sellers.
- Sprunger Evaluation service to help find valuable and popular cards in your collection.
- Sprunger Grading for card condition and print quality.