OT/ Question about selling on B/S/T

[ctownboy]

Sorry for the off topic but I have questions about selling on the B/S/T.

Over the past year, there have been some cards that I would have really liked to have added to my collection. These cards don't come up for sale very often and the prices were less than what I thought they were going to be. The problem was/is, my money is going to pay for bills and other expenses.

I have some nice condition 1958 and 1961 Topps baseball cards that are extras and would like to sell them. I also just picked up some Topps football cards at a yard sale (on a side note, I just missed out on a T206 common with a brown Hindu back at the same yard sale. Price? $5 dollars. ACK).

I know I could just put these cards up on eBay and they could possibly sell (maybe for more than I think they are worth if somebody just has to have them). But then there is the chance they don't sell, the buyer doesn't pay or some other problem AND I get hit with the fees.

I have read good things about the B/S/T on this board HOWEVER, I don't know what to do as far as prices go. I don't want to give the cards away yet I don't want to start out with prices so high that people think I am a joke or trying to rip people off.

So, for those who sell on the B/S/T, what do you do, as far as determining prices for your cards?

David

[sportscardpete]

You can be one of three guys -

Guy #1 - Price them fairly

Guy #2 - Price them really high, add in a few nice adjectives about the card. Then reduce gradually.

Guy #3 - Do not put in a price, tell people to make an offer

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by sportscardpete

You can be one of three guys -

Guy #1 - Price them fairly

Guy #2 - Price them really high, add in a few nice adjectives about the card. Then reduce gradually.

Guy #3 - Do not put in a price, tell people to make an offer

Guy #3 gets little or no action. Guy #2 reduces his prices until eventually he becomes Guy #1

[drc]

I'll say it's a great convenience if you sell through B/S/T-- skip the ebay hassle. And it costs nothing. Anything that doesn't sell you can then put on eBay.

Put what you think is a reasonable price. You can state that you will consider counter offers.

[rainier2004]

Id agree guy #3 gets little/no action...and the fact that guy#2 eventually becomes guy #1.

The b/s/t here is absolutely great, no problems. Any problems just refer to Sheriff Leon and he takes care of it. Ultimately its up to you as to what a fair price is. Ive had cards sell in less than a minute and Ive also had a card up f/s for 2 months and never had a problem...good group.

[hangman62]

Guy 3 often annoys people...due to no price given..and then balks at most offers

[Leon]

Originally Posted by hangman62

Guy 3 often annoys people...due to no price given..and then balks at most offers

And guy 3 always wonders why the BST sucks for him. I almost never make an offer when that is all that is given for an option.

[t206hound]

Originally Posted by ctownboy

I know I could just put these cards up on eBay and they could possibly sell (maybe for more than I think they are worth if somebody just has to have them). But then there is the chance they don't sell, the buyer doesn't pay or some other problem AND I get hit with the fees.

Well, if the buyer doesn't pay, you don't get hit with fees (as long as you open a non-payment case).

Regardless of your "sales outlet", there is a distinct difference between auctioning and selling. With auctioning, there has to be two people who want the item to "maximize" the price. With a sale, it only takes one.

I like to sell on BST because I like to see the cards go to collectors here. There are times when I put a card up and it sells in less than five minutes. Sometimes I kick myself thinking I could have squeaked a few more bucks on it... but then again, maybe it was priced perfectly. Other times my cards just sit and sit and sit.

I try to price cards fairly, and think I generally do a good job at that. I had a list of 146 raw T206s on BST last week and that list is down to 35 now. I did drop my prices twice... each time selling another bulk of cards. Selling 100+ cards in a week on BST tells me that they were priced fairly, even in that initial pass.

Regarding pricing your items... if you honestly don't know what they are "worth", you could simply start at a price that is X% higher than your cost (assuming that you track that) and then lower over time. I don't think that there's anything wrong with dropping prices over time.

[drc]

The BST is a small market. If something doesn't sell it can because no one in the relatively small population of buyers wants that card, rather than the price being off.

[TistaT202]

You can always look at eBay completed auctions for similar cards that you want to sell to get a ballpark on what they might be worth. Just remember that it is just a ballpark, especially if there are few completed auctions with actual sales. Good luck.

[Jlighter]

If your worried about pricing you can get a VCP subscription, at least then you'll know what those items sold for from past auctions.

[ethicsprof]

I like to think of B/S/T as BEST, as it has been a great experience for me for several years now.
I would note that after all these years, I generally know who offers the fair prices and upon seeing the name, I take a look at the wares of Option one.
With Leon, option 3 doesn't work for me---kind of like asking what I'd offer for the
fancy sports car. Option 2 works somewhat in the same way as option one for me,
in that I generally know who offers the high,unrealistic prices with the result being quite different in that I most often don't take a look at the wares.

all the best,
barry

[Bocabirdman]

Two weeks ago I won a couple of 1956 commons over on the Bay. The set that I am building kinda stalled at the 275 card mark. I spent the next 12 days actively pusuing the set and scored, I believe, three more cards. Not long ago I posted a "B" BST request for T206s and was flooded with offers. This success led me to decide to put the remaining 30 common/Medium Dawgs that I needed into a list and put it on the BST. Less than 24 hours and two transactions later (Thanks to Dave and Brian), I have 29 out of 30 on the way. I am blown away. I need to put together at least 4 more lists. I think one of the greatest advantages to the BST is the ease of communication between buyer and seller.

[smtjoy]

I agree with the 3 guy example but I think there is a 4th not often talked about.

Guy #4 prices his cards too low and they are sold within minutes/hours on the BST with the possibility of them soon showing up on ebay and/or AH. This is not always a mistake as it can be done for quick cash flow and no hassle if you are ok leaving money on the table.

IMO this is who guy #2 is trying to avoid being by setting his price high and then reducing over time.

Proper pricing depends on a lot of factors, I use VCP and it can be a big help assuming the card has past sales, on mainsteam Topps/Bowman cards you can use this or you can probable find closed ebay sales for free that are the best. For raw mainstream cards I judge what I think the card would grade if slabbed then reduce it by about 10%. SMR and book pricing are terrible and imo not worth even looking at. For scarce seldom seen cards that have little to no past sales I think you are much better off going to ebay or AH.

[zljones]

The only reason I go to Ebay instead is because I get a good chance of getting those overbidders that will drive my item up. Since I need every penny right now that is best for me.
If I was not in such a rush I would strictly sell here on the B/S/T.

[glchen]

For fair pricing, I would look at completed auctions on ebay (or other resources like VCP), and price accordingly.

[ctownboy]

Thanks for the info.

Here is the history of most of these cards.

Back in the early 1990's, I stopped buying the shiny stuff and started to focus on completing my earlier sets. I was also looking for the real OLD stuff but it was hard to find. Remember, this is pre-internet days and I was living in a small town in Indiana. Anyway, I put some ads in some local newspapers saying I was interested in buying older baseball cards. I received some phone calls and eventually bought cards from three different guys.

The guys I bought these cards from were the original owners. They had collected them as boys and kept them all these years. By buying these three collections, I put a large dent in completing my 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961 Topps sets. I probably overpaid for the cards because they used the Beckett monthly price guide.

Anyway, the doubles from those collections have been sitting in my closet for the last 15 - 20 years. On a side note, I learned how LOVED Mickey Mantle was from these three guys. All three had Mantle cards in their collections and all three would NOT sell their Mantles. Those were the ONLY cards they wouldn't sell.

I am going to scan a few cards to show what I have. Then I think I will make a list of the cards I have and check eBay for prices and then see whta I can do on B/S/T.

Thanks again for all of your help and ideas.

David

[tonyo]

I don't sell that often but when I do, I start with "what I have in the card" unless I see that they are selling for more on ebay (which is rare)

[buymycards]

Hi,
I have sold a lot of stuff on the BST. Sometimes I will put something on at $40, and if it doesn't move I gradually drop the price. Sometime the lower prices results in a sale, sometimes not.

My goal is to make 40% on the cards I sell. If I buy it for $10 and sell it for $14 then I am happy. Sometimes I make more and sometimes I make less and sometimes I lose money but if I average 40% then I am happy.

Sometimes when I list something it is sold in a few minutes which leads me to believe that I priced it low, but that is OK. If I bought it for $10 and sold it for $20 and it shows up on ebay for $30 I am OK with that. If someone has a market for my cards and they can make a few bucks on them hopefully they will come back for more. The object is to move the cards, make a few bucks, and use the profit to buy something for my personal collection.

Don't worry about what other people think about your prices. Put them on the BST with some good scans and see what happens. If they sit around for a week then lower the prices and try again.

Good luck with your sales!

Rick

[Exhibitman]

Try the auction section if you are afraid to set a final price and leave money on the table. Set a minimum that makes sense and let 'er rip!

[steve B]

The auction section is a great suggestion. I start stuff there pretty low and don't worry much about what it sells for. Most have been right about what I figured, a few better, and a few that went unsold.

I've had good luck on the selling side too, I usually check Ebay so I'm not totally off on price and adjust from there. Less if I really want the stuff gone, maybe a bit more if I like the card or item and wouldn't mind keeping it.

Trading on BST has been really great. I've mostly done modern stuff, but all the trades have been nice. Might be different with older stuff that's worth more, but I'm getting lists together of more stuff to trade.

Steve B