I list a card for $100.
My hobby friend , Joe Blow, with whom I have done deals with in the past and who has given me good deals, wants the card that I have listed. I am happy to oblige and gladly offer him the card for $80.
In my opinion though it is still a $100 card, so if Joe Blow does not want the card, and Dick Head, with whom I have never done business offers me $90 for the card, I will not sell it to him.
If Dick Head turns around and tries to tell me that Joe Blow bought the same card from me for $80 recently, how should I respond.
My concern with BST is the lack of anonymity of the buyers and the sellers, and at least in my case cards often sell for less than the asking price, but I do not feel obligated to reveal the selling price and my reasons why there is a discrepancy. Publishing my selling prices under my name is not a good idea, nor should it be mandated for any seller.
I cannot make as strong a case for leaving the asking prices on the listings, but these could prejudice buyers against me who think they are too high, even if they do not represent the actual selling price.
I also realize that their are buyers who almost always negotiate a sales price and buyers who always pay the asking price. Does this matter? Sure it does. Because if that original $100 card now becomes an $80 card, the non-negotiating buyer pool will be less inclined to pay the asking price of $100.
We all have different budgets, differing ideas about the value of cards and different motivations for buying certain cards. I say leave it alone. If it's not broken, don't fix it. Buyers should do their homework and buy cards for a price they can afford and are willing to pay.
I would conclude by saying that I am happy to work with many Joe Blows on this forum, but there are a few in the other group as well.
