Biting one's tongue
 

I was about to send a note to someone here on one of the BST boards asking why he is selling the card he is selling for a nice chunk more than he paid for it 5 days ago on ebay. I've never sent such a note before.

Also, there are currently several examples of this graded card on ebay for LESS than what he is currently asking, so it appears he actually overpaid for his card. For some reason this struck me as insulting: to expect me to pay more than the going rate on ebay and also help him make a tidy profit in only 5 days time.

I thought I'd offer him $1 less than he paid on ebay so he'd know I knew. But why, right? What do I care, really? Let him take advantage of someone else. It's not my responsibility to call this guy out. It's not as if it's our duty here to protect each other from unscrupulous sellers.

Agree?

There is nothing that can be gained by doing this and selling something for more than you paid for it, even a lot more than you paid for it is perfectly fair. Walk away.

you must have a lot of time on your hands to worry about such things.

To keep it baseball related

Just Mo' Vaughn

It was a card I knew nothing about, so I did 2 minutes of research on ebay and found what I found. It just rubbed me the wrong way, that's all.

Just curious would others would do - it seems I made the right call. And, yes, I happen to have lots of time on my hands this particular Sunday morning. It's awesome actually!

yes!!!:d

When did trying to sell a card for more one paid become unscrupulous?

What exactly is the right amount of profit to make?

There was a card I missed the other day which sold for 69 or best offer. The buyer got it, knew I would want the card. He emailed me and offered it to me for $220. I told him I'd give him 90 - still a nice profit. He then listed it on eBay at 200 obo. I don't particularly care for his tactics so I wouldn't want the card from him. He can keep it.

My view....
 

I agree about too much time on the OP's hands. If a seller has something listed for more than you want to pay just don't buy it and move on. There are tons and tons of cards I would like to have but aren't what I think are a good deal. This is called hobby business. It is not hobby charity. Just because I buy something for x doesn't mean I have to sell it for anywhere close to x. I paid 22k for my fave Cy Young card. I was offered 30k several months later. I didn't want to sell it but if I did then was that too much profit for 6 mos.? Heck, I regularly buy cards I feel are undervalued so I can make a profit. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

I agree with the sentiment, but if it's a rare card "worth" 200, sometimes its biting the bullet instead of your tongue. A buy it now is not good harbinger of prices to come.

In my trolling of ebay, I've grab quite a few cards for less than market value. Or least least I must have, as in a few cases, sellers quickly refunded my payment, and relisted for more.

First of all, it doesnt matter why someone is selling card and the reasoning...who cares and usually its not true either

people can try to sell a card for whatever you want

however sometimes cards seem to be 5x the 'market price' but then they are snapped up after auction results somewhere else

we have all seen even Dean card's listings sell on some big cards like 54 Aarons and 54 Banks and the like in years past when there were big increases in auction sales.. and then his whole inventory for the same condition and year sold like hot cakes for a bargain compared to recent sales

a few months earlier a buyer would of said the sale price is unheard of


plus dealers usually say their card is the best centered and thats why their card is priced more than the others etc

I agree with everything Leon posted. I also agree that it is OK to send emails to each other LOLing about certain sellers that pay $9.95 for something on eBay. Then list it on here for $50 and bump their threads everyday with price reductions.:eek::D

I flipped a BIN of a Dean's card on ebay, in a month or less, for about a 1k profit. It was a great looking '57 Brooks in an 8 holder.....prices went up for that card but the BIN (probably from years gone by) :) was a great bargain. My dear friend Levi (Hi Levi) even has some cards that are up so long the value can attain or surpass the BIN..... I always enjoy chatting him him at the National.

Flipping a card, or anything for a profit is fine and to be expected on ebay. Doing it here when the site is full of knowledgeable collectors who know what the card is worth and sold for just seems tacky. It bothers me too.

The only time I received a warning from Leon around here was when I called out someone for doing this, and not mentioning a flaw mentioned on the AH listing he had bought it from a week before marking it up over 100% of the price paid.

Leon- once again, I am in awe! To flip a card from Dean's for profit seems impossible.

I agree - and tacky is an excellent description for it.

I've had such great experiences buying and selling here that I forget this site is not just collectors but people who actually supplement or derive their entire income from "dealing" baseball cards. Of course they need to sell for more than they pay or they can't make their car payment. I'm just a simple collector with too much time on my hands on a Sunday morning!

I was walking through a Jersey beach town recently and saw a house that I know was for sale less than 2 years ago. Current owner bought it at 1.4M and is now selling at 1.85M. There was a part of me that felt the same as the OP. Screw you, I hope you never sell it . . .what gall. What did you do "to deserve" nearly a half million dollars in that period of time.

It does surprise me how frequently I see stuff on BST with a lousy inflated price, and there is an aspect of BST as "among friends" and "among collectors" where I find greedy pricing to chaff me a bit. Yeah, you bought a card at Heritage last month for $2000 and here you are weeks late trying to sell it for $2500? Give me a break. But what can you do except move on.