If you are new to CardTarget, welcome! We've been around as a marketplace for eTopps Sports Cards for over 3 years and we've completed more than $3 million dollars in transactions. This page will bring you up to speed on how it all works. First of all, CardTarget works a little differently than your standard online store. We have replicated the way online brokerages handle transactions, and therefore instead of making purchases directly, users are asked to fund their account. We do not force users to fund their account before making a purchase, but payment must be received before any shares or cards are allocated or traded. Once you agree to purchase a share on the secondary market, we allow 48 hours for your account to be fully funded to pay for purchased shares. Orders placed for items at IPO must be funded within three hours.
CardTarget can be your hobby, community outlet, sales arena, or any combination you choose depending on how you want to fit into the community. We hope that at least some of these aspects appeal to you. We believe that the collecting community at large is still not using the internet to its full potential to give all collectors the opportunity to make the same purchases as the "big boys" with a fraction of the bank account. We're here to help.
How to Buy Shares
Item "IPO"
There are two different ways to make a purchase on CardTarget. The first way is a direct sale known as an "IPO". An "Initial Product Offering" is a direct sale from CardTarget of shares in newly acquired memorabilia. All shares are initially priced at $10. IPOs are placed on the front page of the website when they become available to the public. There will generally be one or two IPOs available at a single time. A user may purchase a set number of shares each day of any IPO until it is sold out.
The CTM
The "CardTarget Marketplace" is a unique marketplace for sports collectables. Once an item has finished the IPO process, it is immediately available to be traded on the CTM. By implementing the marketplace interface in a manner very similar to the actual stock market, we are able to offer a truly transparent marketplace. All open orders can be viewed by anyone at any time. We take this one step further and even allow users to see all PAST matched orders as well. By building a solid price history for each item we minimize the possibility of price manipulation and eliminate the practice of shilling. The only way to change the price of an item on the CTM is by buying or selling it. As a secondary marketplace for memorabilia shares, the CTM offers users a way to buy and sell shares with virtually no risk of market manipulation.
Track your items
Over time as you build your collection of shares, you will be able to view your collection of shares on CardTarget. This view will show the price you paid for the shares, the current price, the quantity you own, the percentage of the item you own, and a few other statistics about the items. We pride ourselves on having the best tracking features in the collecting business and will continue to develop new features as the new website takes shape.
How to sell shares
Selling on the CTM is just like selling on the real stock market. You can place a "sell now" order to sell your cards to the highest current buy price, or you can enter a special sell order to set your own price for your shares. Once your item is sold and transferred from your portfolio to the buyer's portfolio, the money is placed into your CardTarget account. You can check your order history and account balance at any time. At any time you can withdraw any part of your account balance to your paypal account or request a check be sent to you. There is no charge for paypal withdrawals to personal accounts, but you will be charged a fee by paypal if you withdrawal to a premium paypal account. We have a $5 check processing fee for all check withdrawals. We will do our best to process all withdrawals within 24 hours, though this may be longer at certain times (especially on weekends). It should also be noted that we refund any and all recent credit card payments for withdrawals before paying cash directly. This policy is in place to prevent laundering and to keep our credit card processing costs to a minimum.
Sell your memorabilia
Do you have a piece of sports history that you would like to sell on our marketplace? We are currently accepting consignment items that meet the following criteria: Item must be in close to perfect condition (in the top 10% of all memorabilia of that category); item must be graded or certified by an accepted certification house; item must be worth greater than $3000; item must have an established historical price (eBay, price guides, auction houses, etc) with which to establish a competitive IPO price. The best part about selling your item through CardTarget rather than an auction house or eBay is that you are able to retain partial ownership of the item! Say you need to clear up some funds and own a fantastic card worth $25,000. You can sell 60% of the card on CardTarget for $15,000 and retain the other 40% of the shares in your own account. You can then sell those shares at a later date on the CTM or keep them in your account for the future!
Where are these items kept, are they insured? and how do I know they are real?
All items come with a COA from a major authentication shop. We understand that the item is only as good as the COA and will only bring items into the marketplace that have impeccable credentials. All items are kept in a safe deposit box in a United States bank or, depending on the size of the item, kept in a private vault. All items are fully insured by a reputable insurance firm specializing in collectable insurance.
Why not just buy the item myself? Why buy a share?
Good question... most of us don't have $50,000 lying around to buy a Mickey Mantle Rookie in MINT condition, maybe you do! If you have the cash to spend and the time to do your research, CardTarget might not be right for you. But do you want to invest large amounts of money in one item, pay insurance to keep the item in your house, and worry about whether the dog will chew it up? The CardTarget Marketplace is for users who want to have smaller stakes in a larger number of high grade items and be able to purchase them in reasonable quantities over time. Very few of us can afford to buy a $18,000 card, but nearly everybody can afford $10-$20 a week. Over time your collection will build to be very respectable and you will be proud to show it off to friends and family. Also, remember that purchasing these items at a certified auction house results in a "buyer premium" of at least 15%. For a $10,000 item, this is $1500 that you have to pay in addition to the auction win price. CardTarget is able to negotiate with sellers to bring the items to market without this buyer premium and still get the best deal for both the seller and our users.
Will an item ever "leave" the marketplace?
If we get a certified offer from a legitimate buyer for an item in the marketplace, we will present the offer for a buyout vote. At least 75% of all shareholders must agree to the buyout before an item can be sold. If the vote is affirmative, the item is sold and all proceeds are divided up among the owners of the item according to shares. Votes are cast based on percentage ownership of the item, with one vote per share. Collusion of any kind between users will not be tolerated and is grounds for immediate suspension from the marketplace.
Why do I have to charge $20 when I just want to buy a $10 item?
We feel that it is important to our users to keep our fees low. We charge a 5% commission on all sales in the marketplace which covers any credit card fee. However, on a a $10 credit card charge, we would pay MORE than 5% to accept the payment, and therefor LOSE money on each transaction! The only way to maintain the simplicity of the marketplace is to allow only a minimum of $20 to be charged. Our goal is to minimize the fees paid by our users, and this is the best way possible to do that. If you feel that you JUST want a $10 item and will not spend the other $20 from your credit card in the future, you can withdrawal that money at any time, but it will be subject to a 5% withdrawal penalty. The best way to pay for items is with a check, money order, or using PayPal Quasi-Cash payments! Help us keep costs low so we can help you keep more of your money.
So I'm not directly buying shares, I'm funding my account and then buying shares?
Yes, our CardTarget accounts work in the same fashion as an online brokerage firm. You must fund your account, then that money is used to make the purchases. This allows us to maximize the cash flow around the marketplace and minimize the fees associated with transactions from online merchant accounts (Paypal, NetTeller, etc).
Can you guys get a (Favorite Player) Rookie Card into the marketplace?
Absolutely! We're always on the lookout for cards and memorabilia for the marketplace. It is important, however, that the items in the marketplace are brought in at reasonable prices. Our best deals for buyers are generally obtained directly from collectors looking to sell pieces of their collection. We are relying on our users to be our eyes and ears in the marketplace as well. Please let us know if you see an item that would be good for the marketplace by emailing us at staff@cardtarget.com.
Will you ever IPO a similar item twice?
This is certainly possible. We will try our best to bring a wide variety of items into the marketplace and to avoid duplicates. However, we may be presented with a situation where a certain card is too good a deal to pass up for the community. We can't think of a good reason not to own TWO high-end Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps cards (or similar highly sought after card) if the opportunity presents itself at the right price point. Both cards will have a separate following and will trade separately on the marketplace. In this situation each card will be marked (A) and (B) to be able to tell them apart.
Why is my account suspended?
CardTarget accounts can be suspended for several reasons. If we have received a "chargeback" from a payment made to your account, your CardTarget account will be suspended until the matter is cleared up. This applies to bounced checks and any other form of purchase fraud that may occur. Second, if we are investigating the possibility of market fraud, your account will be suspended until your are cleared of any wrongdoing. Types of wrongdoing that would result in this action are: Trading designed to artificially inflate or deflate item share prices; harassment of other members of the community; and any other type of fraud designed to take advantage of other members. Account suspension should be very rare. If the matter is not cleared up within 60 days, CardTarget reserves the right to sell any shares owned in the suspended account to recoup any money owed from transaction "chargebacks". Users are HIGHLY encouraged not to use the Paypal accounts of other persons to fund their accounts as they will be responsible for any chargebacks made to their CardTarget account regardless of the source. Please only use payment sources over which you have complete control. Please see the User Agreement document for further legal details.
When can I buy part of a Honus Wagner T-206?
This card is the ultimate goal for all card collectors. However, with only around 60 copies in existance, this card is HIGHLY tough to come by. When one does become available it will demand a very large premium. Even low grade examples sell for six figures! We will do our best to acquire a variety of high end cards at the best prices we can, and if a Honus becomes available at a price that looks reasonable to the community, we will certainly do our best to acquire it!
Can I see an item in person?
As these items are kept locked up in a vault, it is not possible to view the items without very special circumstances. We do plan, in the future, to have displays set up at some of the major sports shows that will showcase some of the most premier items available in the marketplace. This will give users an opportunity to examine the merchandise up close and see what they own!
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