eBay vs Auction House
 

I don't intend for this to be another thread about the virtues of buying/selling on eBay or an auction house, but I was bidding on a somewhat obscure card that just happened to sell on both in the last week or so. I am just wondering how folks react to this (if at all).

I was outbid on 2 auctions in the last 10 days on the same card in the same condition. I was (and still) am looking for a 1937 O-pee-chee (or, are the P and the C capitalized - I digress) Hank Greenberg. Back on October 6, there was this PSA 7 on the Bay that was sold by PWCC for $1,532.77:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...p2045573.m1684

Last night (or, this morning), this PSA 7 sold on Mile High for a final price (including buyers premium) of $2,010.83:

http://milehighcardco.com/1937_O_Pee...-LOT40251.aspx

So, same card, same condition (per the TPGer) and 30%+ difference in price. There were 17 bidders in the eBay auction, but only 3 bidders were north of $1,000. I actually thought the Mile High card might go for a bit lower than eBay because of the 20% premium and the fact that I believed one of the big bidders was (presumably) no longer in the market. (Of course, someone may be starting a run of 1937 OPC Greenbergs.) The Mile High auction had 12 bids (no idea on how many bidders).

Anyone have thoughts on this?

my initial thought is that most "high end" items north of $1,200 sell for more at an AH vs. eBay (although 30% seems a bit high). Additionally, there were a few amazing 1937 OPCs in that Mile High auction, so my guess is that this helped drive up the price of the Greenberg a bit (seeing a few nicer examples in one place might help drive up bidding). Mile High does have a pretty wide audience of collectors who focus on high-grade cards, and these collectors probably don't spend their days digging through listings on eBay. Again, just my 10 cents and perhaps there is something more that I'm missing.

I was going to say centering might have accounted for the difference before looking at the pictures. Without borders on the front it's hard to tell though, but the back is certainly centered much better on the one that sold through PWCC. Looks like that buyer got a great deal.

Perhaps the mile high auction just attracted either more collectors of that set or a few extra Greenberg fans. Or a bidder forgot about the buyer's premium.