The rules of an auction are simple: the highest bidder wins. But in the tight-knit world of online collecting, there are unwritten rules—a code of conduct that reputations are built on. I learned this the hard way when a bidding war got personal, and I found out that what goes around, comes around.
It all started on Whatnot. I was on the hunt for a 1958 Topps Tigers’ Big Bats Harvey Kuenn and Al Kaline card. A great seller was live, and when I asked about the card, he actually put his entire show on hold, went to another room, and pulled it from his personal collection to run it for me. That’s the kind of community spirit that makes the hobby special—a seller going out of his way to help a customer.
But this isn’t just about a card. The bidder who swooped in wasn’t a stranger; he was a seller who had helped me build a large portion of my 1975 Topps set. He’d been my go-to for several of my biggest cards. So when he outbid me on a card that was run specifically for me, it felt like a gut punch. My seller, who saw the whole thing, called it out right away: “disrespectful.”
Actions Have Consequences
The moment a seller runs a card they pulled specifically for you, the entire chat is watching. They see how people behave, and they’ll remember. This isn’t just a lesson for the person who outbid me; it’s a reminder for anyone who joins these streams.
A few months back, a different seller tried something similar. I spent the entire stream making sure he couldn’t win a single item. Every card he bid on, I won. Then, at the end of the stream, I had the seller give him all the cards I had just won. It was my way of showing what the hobby should look like—you can bid on anything, but how you treat people matters more.
The outcome of my recent Whatnot situation was similar. After the auction ended, I did a quick search on eBay and found the identical card—at half the price it went for on Whatnot. Now, to be fair, a card pulled from a personal collection might deserve a small premium. But even with that in mind, the auction price was way over the mark. The other bidder “won” the card, but really, he lost a customer, damaged his reputation, and paid too much.
The Real Lesson
Collecting isn’t just about the cards—it’s about the people you meet along the way and the way you treat them. Your actions are always being noticed, and in the end, the community will decide who really wins.
El Cardquistador 
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