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Lot of Cards & Vintage Basketball rules

2022 Updated group rules and code of conduct 

(last update: June 2022)

Introduction:

The following document is a 2022 guideline for members of one of the following Facebook groups:

Mike Levine is on Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/Lotofcards. 
Grant Kush is on Facebook group.   https://www.facebook.com/grant.kush

Privacy and safety of these groups:   Groups are set up as private groups on Facebook.  This means only the members of these groups will see your posts.   Family members, friends on Facebook will not see your posts unless they too are also members of the respective group you posted in. These two groups are set up to be hopefully fun, safe and interactive places to share your common interest in sports cards and memorabilia. Due to the size of these groups there must be certain rules.   Some of these rules apply just for you to be a member in one or more of the groups.   Certain other rules apply if you want to buy or sell in the group.   

To be in the group you are a member.  So everything about the “membership rules” applies to everyone in the group/s.   To buy or sell in the group is a privilege and you must follow the rules set below for buyers and sellers if you want to be a member of the group/s.

Shorter version of rules here summarized.   Longer version listed below:

  1. As a member you agree to abide and follow all group rules. 
  2. No politics, religion or any specific talk that is potentially controversial 
  3. No swearing, nothing obscene (even meant as a joke)
  4. Do not disparage another person’s post.   Issue = message admin.
  5. No arguments about anything.  Issue - message admin
  6. Must have a Facebook account to be in the group. 
  7. Please do not sell your cards on another person’s post
  8. Do not solicit, spam or steal our members list
  9. No videos, links to other sites or razzes or contests
  10.  Be respectful of keeping chit chat down. See featured posts for this.
  11.  In search of posts have a specific format in vintage basketball. 
  12. Don’t ask what do you think this is worth?   Use eBay sales data for that. 
  13.  The buyer is always right is the philosophy followed here both groups
  14.  You will be removed from the group if rules are continually abused
  15. Lot of Cards group is auction only.  Basketball has “Buy it now” and auctions.
  16. Lot of Cards has a preferred seller program see the link for that
  17. Firesales, Razzes, contests not allowed in the group
  18. Must state the condition of cards to sell in the group.  Follow PSA standards 
  19. New rule on “buy it now” for vintage basketball.  One item/lot per listing.
  20. Read rule 20 below on effectively listing a buy it now listing
  21. Cross posting listings on different groups is not allowed.
  22. If your listing has (Facebook Marketplace) turned on.  Please turn it off. 
  23. Only auction listings and buy it now are listed as new posts.  Nothing else.
  24. Don’t copy other sellers listings or selling formats.  Be original within our rules
  25. 24 hour format auctions are only allowed.  No specific time ending auctions. 
  26. Shipping should be timely using USPS, UPS and tracking sent
  27. Do not as a seller try to make money on the shipping costs. 
  28. If in Canada or other countries let the seller know when bidding or buying.
  29. To be a seller in the group you must have PayPal.  No exceptions allowed.
  30. No passing seller fees to buyers.   Ideally goods and services using PayPal
  31. Must send tracking as a seller to the buyer within 3 days of payment. 
  32. Limit 3 bumps/reminders per day.  Replies and comments count as bumps
  33. 5 posts a day max per Vintage NBA.  See Lot of Cards preferred seller plan
  34. 2 auction posts max If you are not a preferred seller in Lot of Cards. 
  35. Committing to buy or bids are like your word online.  Don’t back ourt.
  36. You really need PayPal to buy in the group.  Some exceptions on buyers.
  37. Best protected buying transaction is using goods and services.
  38. Payments are expected within 3 days of purchase.  Same day if possible.
  39. Sellers should ship the same day.  3 days max after purchase. Send tracking
  40. Great packaging and care to shipping is expected of our sellers 
  41. Notify sellers if you live outside of the USA.
  42. See an admin with any issues or questions. 


Applies to all members in one or both of these two groups.

1)

Being a member means you will abide by all group rules or you will be removed from one or more of these two groups.

2)

We are set up to be  an escape from some of the stresses of the world, such as politics, religion and other viewpoints.   So no politics or any other viewpoints that could be considered confrontational, controversial or will insight disagreements of other members. In other words nothing relating to politics for sure is allowed!

3)

No swearing, No obscene photos or words (even meant as a joke) are allowed.  We have many parents that enjoy our collectibles groups with their children.  So think PG13 please at all times.


4)

Do not disparage another person’s post.  If you think there is an issue with someone’s post, speak to a moderator or administrator if you have an issue.  Do not comment anything negative about the post even if you feel it is inappropriate or misleading to buyer/s.  Bring your issue to the attention of a moderator or administrator.

5)
Do not argue with a moderator, administrator or any member of the group.   Keep it civil and realize we have many members who may have different opinions than yours.   

6)

You must have a valid Facebook account to be in the group and not have a history of issues in your past.   We do check spam databases and other sites when people request to join.   This is where trust comes into play that we hopefully have good and honest people in the group/s.

7)

Our sellers work extremely hard to first figure out what to post, price it fairly and then post.   Please do not try to sell on their post.  For example:  Say a seller posts a Michael Jordan card.   Do not comment on that person’s card unless you are bidding or committing to buy.  Typing something like “ I have that Michael Jordan can and can sell it for less” is grounds for being removed as a member. 

8)

There are many other sports collectibles groups, sites and schemes on Facebook and other sites.  It is extremely competitive.  This means our membership list is our biggest commodity.  You are not allowed to solicit, offer up other groups to sell or basically steal information from our groups.   At first notice of this your membership will be revoked.  This means no spam, links or outside advertising without Admin pre-approval.  Which you will most likely not receive.   Not even charity links will be allowed without prior approval.  No you can not post your local card show.   That is competition to our success. 

9)

There should be no videos of you breaking boxes, doing razzes or contests again without approval. Should you receive a solicitation from a member of the group that you did not request then please report this to the administrator.

10)
A certain amount of chit chat is allowed to be posted in comments or fresh posts.  .  However, please really think before you post some sort of question.   Remember your question is going to hundreds and in the vintage basketball group to thousands of people.  THINK BEFORE YOU POST. Abusers of this will be removed from the group. For Vintage Basketball Group:  There is a specific “Chit Chat/Questions featured post.   Use that posts are for sales and auctions only.   

11)

What is allowed is “In search of”  certain cards.   For Vintage Basketball group there is  place to type cards you are in search of.  These are not approved for the main posts.  Mainly as there are too many of them.   Please use the featured post called
“In search of”.  You can find this as you log into the group.   As there are so many sports/brand combos.  In search of posts for lot of cards are not allowed currently.

12)

What is not allowed is “What do you think this is worth”.  This is considered fishing and see below on seller rules.  There are many ways to search an items worth on the web. Easiest is simply go to eBay and look at what did something sell for in the past. Don’t fall for what someone posted and has not sold the card/cards for. 


Applies to sellers in the group:

Here is what is cared about most:  


           13)

           As the saying goes the "buyer is alway right".    Administration may have
          Sympathy for the seller.  However, it is asked that the sellers follow this
          philosophy even if they do not agree or feel like they are falling
          on the sword.  Don't like this "Buyer is always right" philosophy
          then you will have issues selling. in the groups.  In a polite way
          there are many other groups you can sell cards in.     
           

14)

Please first and foremost note that if you want to sell in this group/s you must follow all the following rules.  There are no exceptions.  To be candid there is a lot of competition and your rights to sell should be considered a privilege.   If you do not want to follow the rules below then please do not attempt to sell.   Yes, we are tough mostly on sellers as like most businesses the philosophy is the customer (buyer)  is always right and is followed

15)
           The only types of sales formats allowed to be posted are 24 hour
        format auctions. for the Lot of Cards group. 24 hour format auctions
         and “buy it now”  in the. Vintage Basketball Group.

16)      Lot of Cards group is an auction only site. 

             This means "Buy it now" listings are not allowed in
              the "Lot of Cards" group. Sellers in lot of cards that are
              not considered preferred sellers will be under  See this link
              for more about our  preferred seller program in the
            "Lot of Cards group:    
            https://lotofcards.com/pages/preferred-sellers

            17) 
         
        Firesales, razzes links to other sites or sales are not permitted without the
        express permission of the administrator.   
        (which most likely will not get approved).

            18)

         All for sale posts or auctions should list the card conditions to the best of your.  ability.   See here for example.  Try to follow this the best you can.         https://www.psacard.com/resources/gradingstandard

 



 Applies to just the Vintage Basketball Group

        19)

You are only allowed one buy it now item per listing effective June 4th 2022.   This could be ideally a “Lot of Cards” or one card listed individually.  No longer will multiple in one single buy it now listing.  Why, you may ask, is this rule now changed?   Well first off this group was set up to be a place to get a great deal on a purchase.  Not to mimic the mighty powerful eBay.   With the hotness of vintage basketball the preferred way to sell in the group is auctions.   This allows the buyers to set the market by their demand/bids.   There were way too many items being offered in the group per listing.   Ideally the administrators of this group want more auctions and less buy it now.  Buy it now is great if you are offering a bargain or a great deal.  As a seller you save 12% typically in fees selling in the group.  You should not be striving to match eBay prices in the group selling.   Offer better deals.  This group is more about the buyers getting a good deal safely, rather than about sellers getting the highest prices for their vintage basketball. 

    19A)   Buy it now listings ideally have a shelf life of 24 hours.  Do not bump buy it now listings that do not sell after 24 hours of no activity. 

  20)

A buy it now post should include the following:  Your item/s price, shipping price and an accurate to the best of your knowledge description of the card/lot.  Also it must include ideally great pictures.  

  • Great pictures should be as close to the cards as you can see them clearly and well centered.
  • Should be taken out of plastic holders, sheets and other holders so you can clearly see the cards.
  • Especially with the Vintage cards they should show pictures of the fronts and most of the backs of the cards. 
  • Take multiple pictures to best sell  your items.  Especially if they are vintage and have typical wear.  Pictures help sell your cards more than anything.  Take the time to take great pictures. 


Applies to both Lot of Cards group and Vintage Basketball groups:

   21)

Cross posts are not allowed.   This means if you want to sell in the group offer it in the group only.  Do not cross post posts.  This is mainly a common practice of Buy it Now posts.    However, we really only care about what is being offered in our groups. 

  22) 

Seems Facebook has made it easier a bit.   However, if for some reason you have seller features turned on for you listing then please turn them off.   You do this by clicking the three dots on the listing and click “turn selling features off”/  

  23)  

You can not post fishing posts.  Such as “what are you looking for today”.  You can not list “I am filling sets”.  Again quite simply if you want to sell then either list an item/s as a “buy it now” or as an auction.  No posts of what “do you think this is worth?” or similar will be allowed.  If you want to sell then do your homework and come up with a price or list it as an auction. 

24)

Please be respectful to the best you can of other sellers and come up with some originality.   What I mean by this is I often see people trying to copy what I or other sellers are selling.  Even see people copying my personal listing formats.  Try to be respectful of other people’s posts and be original the best you can within group guidelines/rules.

25)

The only type of auction allowed currently is 24 hour rule auctions.  The reasoning for this is it is a great differentiator against eBay.  For example with eBay people snipe bid and win things at the last minute.  While this is a nice thing for one buyer on eBay it annoys many other buyers.  Especially with eBay you could be watching an auction for a whole 7 or 10 days and then to lose in the last seconds is disheartening.    With our 24 hour rule as soon as there is a legit bid on an item the clock resets another 24 hours.

  • 24 hour auctions officially end after there have been no bids for 24 hours.   The Facebook clock can be read with a computer browser (not a phone)
  • Using your cursor on a computer and placing it under the timer shows you the time of the bids.
    For example this shows the 1d meaning it was 24 hours and running the cursor shows the actual minute the bid was done: 

 

26)

You should ship ideally using online sites such as PayPal Shipping or Stamps.com.  This allows you to print the tracking number and actually pay for the shipping before you go to the post office or UPS.   Besides being convenient it allows you to be much faster and more efficient as a seller.   Lastly you will get some discounted costs for shipping.

27)

Shipping adds a big cost and confusion to your posts for sure.  However, you should not be trying to make money off the buyers by high shipping costs.  This is another advantage over eBay selling.  eBay selling has fees and it is almost expected that you offer free shipping.   Using Facebook you have less fees and typically the buyers pay the shipping.

28)

Be careful to know if someone is requesting to purchase or bidding on your items and they live in Canada or any other country outside of the US.  This does make your shipping more difficult due to customs and costly.  In your posts you may want to consider listing a Canada shipping price or international. 


29)  

You must have an offer from PayPal to sell in the group.   There are no exceptions to this.   Sure you might take Venmo or some other online payment.  You may even take cash, money orders or personal checks.  However, you must offer PayPal as the first and ideally best way for a buyer to purchase from you.  Not having an active PayPal account is grounds for removal as a seller from the group. 

30)

Payments ideally should be made to you via Goods and Services.  You can not in your post ask for Friends and Family payments and/or pass the fee for goods and services to the buyers.  Let’s be realistic here and not overly cheap.  Compared to eBay your fees as a seller are much less.  Even if you sell an item at $100 on Facebook.  Your fees to PayPal is only 3% ($3.00).   Eat the fee and be happy to have the Facebook Group as a cheaper and more interactive way of selling.  Again do not pass that fee onto the buyer.   Should they offer to pay Friends and Family or pay you fees that is one thing.  However, do not ask for this. 

31)

You must send tracking within 3 days (ideally same or next day) after shipping an item.   There are no exceptions to this rule.  If you use an online shipping tool you simply need to copy and paste this to the buyer in Facebook messenger.  Or send them a picture of the tracking.

32)

Bumps/reminders serve a purpose to move your listing to the top of the daily posts.  However, if you post nice things each comment you receive will do the same thing.  There is a limit of bumps/reminders in a 24 hour period.   You are limited to 3 per day or if your item has a bid and you feel like you must then a 3rd bump/reminder is allowed.  Every reply or comment is considered a bump.  Take conversations with buyers to private Facebook messages.  Be aware that you may be doing too many bumps by having conversations in the comments section of your post.  This may cause your listing to be canceled or removed even if you have bids.

  • A bump/reminder is any comment or reply to a post.   If you are having a dialogue with a specific buyer or person take it to a private FaceBook messenger chat.  Abuse of this is grounds for removal from your rights to sell or your membership in the group.

33) 

You can only post 5 new posts as an auction and or buy it now a day.  This is highly monitored in the Vintage Basketball Group as we have so many members.
(See rules for Lot of Cards on this under preferred seller program)   

34)

In the Lot of Cards group we are trialing some exceptions to this but very few.   In Vintage Basketball it is strictly prohibited to post more than 5 per day.   The goal is to give roughly equal time near the top of the feed for all sellers.

Applies to buyers in the groups:

35) 

If you commit to buy or commit a bid this is considered your electronic signature and willingness to pay promptly for the item/s that you have purchased as a “Buy it Now” or and an auction item that you may have won. 

36)

99% of transactions are accomplished via using PayPal.  You really need to have PayPal to buy in the group/s.  If you do not then if you are purchasing or bidding you should make the seller aware that you do not have PayPal.   The Seller then can make a determination if she/he will allow this.  For example some sellers strictly will not deal with any other method of payment and that is their right.

37) 

Payments on PayPal should be done on Goods and Services payments.   This offers the buyer more protection against issues.  If you get to know the seller and the seller agrees then friends and family payments on PayPal can be done.  However, remember as a buyer you lose your right to put claims into PayPal. 

38)

Payments should ideally be made the same day as when you committed to purchase or won an auction. However, we realize that it is a busy world, so as a buyer you have up to 3 days to make a payment.  If you are going to be longer than a day you should message the seller so she/he knows your situation.   If payment is not made in 3 days and there has been no agreed up plan further the auction and or sale will be considered void and abandoned.  The Seller should report this to a moderator and or administrator and in most cases the buyer will be removed from the group/s.




39)

You should expect to receive items that you won or purchased in the group/s shipped ideally the next day after payment.   However, then again we all live in a busy world.   So the seller has 3 days after payment to send you tracking information.   You should expect that a seller will communicate with you by sending you tracking information either from USPS, UPS or some other form of shipment.   If you do not get tracking information first communicate back to the seller requesting this.  If you get no response then deal with an administrator.

40)

Your items should be well packaged securely.  Any issues with the packaging and or items received in the mail should be first reported to the seller.  If you are not getting a satisfactory response from the seller please contact a moderator or administrator. 

41)

If you live outside of the continental US then please notify the seller if purchasing or bidding if they will ship to you as the seller's costs are much higher. 

 

In summary the above rules are meant to keep the group both fun and productive for sellers and buyers of sports collectibles.  Please before you get yourself into some sort of negative dialog read the rules and attempt to follow them.    We have seen amazing success in both the Vintage Basketball Group and the Lot of Cards group partly due to having good rules and great people interacting and enjoying the hobby.

            

Thank you for being a member of one or more of our groups!

Any questions please feel free to contact:

Mike Levine
603-557-5919

mike@lotofcards.com  Ideally first on Facebook Messenger