HOW to make use of on-line auctions is usually very adequately explained at the sites themselves. Our purpose here is simply to offer a few guidelines on what NOT to do!

Trade Cards are NOT Cigarette Cards!

WHILE the above mistake may be excusable, mis-describing tea cards (premium cards inserted in packs of tea) or those from other trades as cigarette cards is certainly not. Apart from size and shape they usually bear little resemblance to genuine cigarette cards, are often much more recent in age and as a whole lack the printing and card stock qualities of cigarette cards. Being more recent generally, they are usually of much less value except of course for the older or scarcer varieties.

 Reputable dealers know this perfectly well but sadly a few on eBay do habitually use the term "Cigarette Cards" in their titles and then go on to describe the offering as a tea card or "trade card" buried within the text - tricky but not fraudulent. However, some "forget" to mention it at all - or plead ignorance later. Usually, in common with many other types of not-quite-honest sales (scams?), these suspect auctions are started off at a very low price to lure in the ignorant or greedy in search of a "real bargain". A search through the listings will furnish a list of who you may wish to avoid in this respect, and that has to be our advice here - AVOID such dealers. After all, if their descriptions are deceitful to this extent, how honest can they be in other areas?

P.S. It may be worth mentioning too that a few modern issues, in particular from Black Cat Cigarettes, Grandee and Castella Cigars have lower values generally and where they are offered the lack of age or a date should be mentioned. Again, similar to the problem above, a few will simply describe them as cigarette cards while apparently forgetting to mention the date (perhaps hoping the bidder believes all cigarette cards are old?). Decide for yourself how ethical this is.

... And Neither are Reprints or Reproductions!

WHETHER or not you go the reprint route is up to you. Personally we avoid them altogether as, often, the original cards can be had for the same price anyway at auction. Although reprints are intrinsically worthless they do sometimes sell for surprisingly higher prices than their arbitrary $9.00 or so wholesale tag, and that's fine - as long as the buyer is fully aware of what he is buying and the dealer is perfectly open and honest about the description too. Naturally, if you buy cards as originals and they subsequently turn out to be reprints you should demand an immediate refund. The law is on your side. For further information on repros see our "Buyer Beware" page.

If you are among the many who try to avoid repros altogether always seek assurance from a seller that the offering is in fact authentic and original if not otherwise described as such - or better still deal solely with a known and trusted dealer who only sells originals, such as C. & N. Smith's Cigarette Card Central at www.cigcards.com or Cartophily Kate's at www.cartophily.com - eBay auction I.D's "cardking" , "kingcard" and "queencard". Cards from these dealers are triple checked by experts - on arrival, on cataloguing or entering for sale, and yet again prior to final shipment to the customer. This is all sound advice, yet a surprising number still ignore it when they see a supposed "bargain" and then end up asking our opinion about some suspicious looking cards they just bought! It might also be an idea to simply include the word "originals" within your search criteria.

Condition is Everything - Mostly!

EVERYONE knows that the better the condition, the higher the value. If the subject is more important to you than the value of the card it matters little (unless you decide to sell them later) but to most others the condition of cigarette cards plays a large part in the buying decision, the perceived value and the bid amount. Unfortunately this is a prime area for mis-describing by sellers and all too often the buyer receives an unpleasant surprise when he or she eventually receives cards that have been erroneously described in glowing terms by over-enthusiastic (hopefully not downright dishonest) dealers or amateur sellers. It doesn't help matters either that there are different standards in operation in different countries. A card described as being in "good" condition in England may be the equivalent of a vg-plus card or better in the States.

To compound the problem, foreign sellers at an American auction may use either standard. As cards with rips, tears and/or bad creasing are worth very little, ascertaining the exact condition is important and if all that is offered as an aid in judging this is a blurry out of focus picture - or none at all - together with a brief and all too sketchy description, again our advice would be to AVOID the Lot - especially when there is no indication of description whatsoever! Sellers are perfectly aware of the importance of a condition description and if you take a chance you will, without any doubt, eventually end up a victim!

Know Your Dealers Well be they Domestic or Foreign!

THE global nature of internet auctions makes this more important than ever before as the laws that normally protect a consumer in one's own country may be impossible to resort to if the seller is based overseas. While one occasionally hears horror stories from buyers bidding on cards from abroad the majority of such dealers are honest and particular attention should be paid to feedback as one indicator. Otherwise there is no reason not to bid on an overseas sale - except perhaps extra shipping charges, possible payment difficulties and extra time delays involved. Whether domestic or foreign, take the time to get to know a dealer from his previous auctions and results before bidding too heavily at first. And find one that is happy to give guarantees of authenticity. Note too, that grading descriptions may well have very different meanings in different countries - particularly with the use of the term "mint", which is often used much too readily. 

Feedback at auctioneers such as eBay do go some way towards offering an insight to a dealer's character but do not take everything you read as gospel. Many dealers (and customers) are simply afraid to give negative feedbacks in case they receive undeserved reprisal feedback in return. Plus, of course, a negative feedback may be a prank by one of the "cyberlouts" that seem to be attracted to such on-line activities! It is also true that it is impossible to please everyone, all the time, and a sprinkling of a few negatives among otherwise very high positive numbers should certainly be expected. Personally we think feedback should be used consistently, and accurately regardless of possible reprisals. Concerning accuracy, an over-exaggerated and poorly considered recommendation for a user, amidst several negatives, doesn't do the praising party's reputation any good either!

Size Does Matter!

AS IN many other fields of collecting,  size does matter when it comes to cigarette cards. Bigger may not always be better in this field, but in may cases it is an often used guideline when a price reference isn't handy. In a great many instances also, there are more than one size available with a particular series and these are usually valued differently. Why then do many cigarette card sellers at auction scan their cards deliberately at a larger than actual size? We have often seen individual cards portrayed at up to four times their actual size - with no mention of this fact in the description.

If you become the victim of such a sale - i.e. the card you receive is much smaller than expected - there may be an innocent explanation and the seller's attention should be drawn to the confusing illustration and a refund asked for. If there is a problem with that, again the law is most likely on your side - again depending on whether the seller is domestic or foreign, and there is always the feedback solution. In the meantime, again, you may want to consider avoiding dealers that regularly use this ploy.

When is a "Set" Not a Set?

A POINT worth mentioning is one of terminology concerning the word "Set". It is sometimes used erroneously (deliberately or otherwise) in the States to describe a simple collection of odds which are in no way complete. "Sub-Set" is another often seen term, although it's accuracy is sometimes only in the mind of the seller. As practically all the rest of the world uses the term only to describe a "complete" series, naturally this is fertile territory for an unscrupulous seller to take advantage of less than knowledgeable customers. Again, be sure of your dealer and, if you believe you have been misled, ask for a refund. A dictionary should settle any argument if one follows! In the meantime, again, you should think carefully before bidding on the offerings of dealers that regularly use this ploy - especially if that dealer is a large one, as they really should be already aware of this as a problem area.

HAVING read all of the above, the importance of an accurate and COMPLETE description being given by a seller at auction should become clear. It is difficult enough deciding to buy such items based on a description and a picture alone, without seeing them first hand, and an honest dealer worth his salt is FULLY AWARE of this fact. Some are also aware that it is very easy to hide a wealth of faults by simply not giving a description! If a dealer cannot be bothered to describe his goods adequately in the light of this, our advice is to be immediately suspicious, play safe and  AVOID such auctions. Sooner or later they will inevitably lead to disappointment, no matter how big a bargain is apparently being offered.

Seek Out The Good Ones

 Human nature is to be trusting (and more than a little greedy) and such dealers rely, and prey upon, such trust in others. Don't become a victim by ignoring that tiny warning voice in the back of your mind! There will always be another, adequately described and similar item along later anyway. In addition, seek out the honest dealers by their truthful descriptions and your subsequent experiences dealing with them. When you find the good ones - stick with them, as regular customer bases are their means of competing alongside those that trade unfairly.