It's got flaws but it is a good, fast marketplace, pretty secure, and ends up being where I sell most of my stuff simply because I do not have really expensive stuff for sale and I hate the way AH's lump that sort of material into grab bags. You just have to carefully explain things so that people do not get unrealistic expectations.

This is the way.

I've offered a seller to end an auction once. I won it for 10% of my offer.

A number of sellers have claimed to have "lost or misplaced" a card I got a good price on at auction, then magically found it again to relist an hour later. Others have honored auction results that I would have a hard time blaming them for reneging on.

I'll never forget my worst....a 1954 Bowman Ted Williams SGC 6....sold for $500. Ebay was crashing left and right back then......I still honored the sale....the guy got it and flipped it for $1,200 a week later.....lol

Do you also buy raw cards by paying what a PSA graded card will bring? I can't imagine anyone not wanting PSA prices without any risk or grading fees.

I have been on eBay since pretty much the beginning. In my personal experience 1 or 2 transactions per 100 are a pain in the ass. That ration has been consistent for me for the last 25 or so years.

Depends on the card and what shape it is.....for example, if I think it is a surefire '7' with a possibility for an '8', then I have no problem paying the PSA graded equivalent for the raw card. It is 100% condition sensitive however.

Great posts guys! Keep them coming!

Thank goodness for eBay. Haven’t ever had a serious problem there with around 1000 buy/sell transactions give or take. Always able to get better prices than anywhere else.

Same.....you would think the facebook groups and MySlabs would be viable alternatives. Everyone wants you to fire sale stuff there though. Bottom line....it's all about the eyeballs.

Low opening bid and material that I've rarely (or never) seen before

I just received some vintage cards today that i purchased on Facebook. The seller sent the cards raw (no penny sleeves, no protection, just raw cards sandwiched between two loose fitting pieces of cardboard with rubber bands around the cardboard. I’m still shaking my head in disbelief that someone can be that clueless about shipping vintage cards.

I got one yesterday in a ziploc bag in an envelope. No stiffeners. For $4 shipping cost.

Does anyone know why Greg Morris cards use a blue background for the front of their card pictures and a black background for the back of their card pictures? Is their a benefit to using different colors? Just curious. Thanks

I like combined shipping costs!

Greg Morris Cards on eBay has a fairly efficient system worked out with combined shipping. I believe they can combine shipping for cards purchased within 7 days.

What do you guys think about a vintage card worth less then $20 being shipped in one of those eBay standard envelopes? (not in a bubble mailer) Yay or Nay?

Fine as long as the charge is $1 or less. Flat envelopes are rarely damaged by the USPS as long as cards are in Card Saver type holders.

I want to see high-quality scans, not some photo taken at some random angle, and I want to see creases and wrinkles called out. I also wish sellers would put "CENTERED" in the listing title for well-centered cards (and NOT put it in there for off-centered cards).

There is no such thing as free shipping.

I avoid all sellers who post cards with less than stellar images - If you are going to be a card seller - it is essential that you invest in a high quality scanner and take the time to learn how to use it. Phone images and crappy scanner images just dont cut it (for me anyway).

I'm fine with it. Heck I'd be fine with a PWE, although not if charged $5 for shipping

As a small-time eBay seller who is reducing his collection due to old age and a health issue, I'm lovin' this new eBay shipping method. It enables me to sell low-value cards for reasonable prices with reasonable shipping charges, and still receive a USPS delivery confirmation. I have made many such shipments, and I have not yet received any complaints from purchasers.

For me, it is the transparency of the listing with the integrity of the seller, as evidenced by his feedback.

They shouldn't be, but eBay certainly charges me tax on all S&H fees. I'm amazed they've been getting away with it for so long. It's criminal, no?

I guess I'm simple. All I want is:

1. Clear front and back photos.
2. Well packed BOXED shipping.
3. Realistic pricing for the current market.

eBay only charges me sales tax on the BIN/bid value, not including the shipping. I just went and double checked orders, there's no sales tax on the shipping on my buys. It may work differently in different shipping address jurisdictions as there are so many local and county laws and rates.

Just so you know, sales (and use) taxes vary from state to state. Five states do not charge any sales taxes at all, and for the rest, some charge sales tax on some things, and some on others.

Some states may also include and charge sales tax on the S&H fees while others don't. I live in Ohio, which does charge the sales tax on the cost of cards I may buy on Ebay, plus also on the S&H costs to have them shipped to me. Some other states may not charge sales tax on the S&H feels. You have to look at the laws in effect for the state in which you have items you purchase off Ebay shipped to, to see if they're also going to charge you sales tax on those Ebay shipping fees. Hope this helps explain.

Shipping has been taxable in New York for a couple decades now.

I was aware of most, but not all of that. Thanks. Being Canadian, I'm forced to ship many things to U.S. addresses because American sellers can't, won't or don't know how to ship up here. Either that or they refuse to stray away from the colossal eBay scam that they've cutely named the Global Shipping Program. $20 S&H for a 99 cent item. I have things shipped to a few different states, all of which charge tax on the shipping.

Describe the card - not the slab. Don't just say something like "PSA 4" and be done with it. Wrinkles/creases often do not show up in scans, and returns are a pain in the ass for both parties.

Reinforce the card with cardboard when packaging/shipping

Combine shipping cost on multiple purchases

Use blue painters tape on the toploader

Ditto. Frankly, if I am buying a cheap card, I don't want to pay an extra 20% for expensive card shipping. I find it stimulates sales of $5-$20 cards to be able to offer inexpensive shipping. Win for me moving product and win for the buyer who is spared the higher costs of shipping.

I hear you, and completely understand the thinking, and the unfair position it can put sellers like yourself in the middle of. It sucks, but there isn't a lot any of us can really do about it unfortunately. And I've yet to hear anyone say something totally positive about the GSP.

And then getting stuck having to pay sales tax in some cases on those GSP charges is just adding insult to injury. It throws an unfair disadvantage at sellers, like yourself, when competing against other sellers that don't have to saddle their potential customers with such GSP charges, and then tack on the added sales tax charged on those GSP fees as well.

As far as the GSP goes, it is all defensive. I don't like it as a seller, but it is a lot better to lose the sale than having to eat chargebacks from unscrupulous international purchasers. Unfortunately, we in the states don't have a cheap, trackable international shipping mechanism, so you either use the GSP or you risk being defrauded. The honest folks get lumped in with the dishonest sacks of dung.

It does make for some weird outcomes. I had a buyer from Japan take down 25+ lots of cards I had then have a cow over the shipping costs. I even offered to refund him 90% of the costs since it was all going to go into one box anyway, but he refused to close and I had to file over two dozen non-paying bidder claims against him to get my eBay fees back.

I completely understand the need for security on larger-priced items, but I'm not sure how an $18-20 S&H fee can be justified for a nothing item valued at less than the GSP cost to ship. Both eBay and the seller are basically thumbing their noses at a section of the customer base, however small it may be. Might as well not accept international bidders rather than offending them. For low value items, just run the risk and send without tracking or don't ship internationally at all if you're worried about being scammed. Include verbiage in your listings indicating how much time sending regular mail between the countries can sometimes take. Believe me, all Canadians are already aware of this to begin with, but put the verbiage in there just to cover that base. That's my perspective. Then, there's the incredibly inflated "Import Fees" imposed by eBay on pricier GSP shipments. Combined with the shipping cost, the total has sometimes exceeded 40% of the cost of the item(s)! One guess where all that extra money is going. GSP items are sent through the USPS, so there are no potentially staggering brokerage fees as you sometimes deal with when using UPS and the like.

Also, I certainly hope that most international buyers do understand that a nice amount of that inflated GSP S&H charge goes directly into eBay's pocket. It's yet another money grab. We know that it doesn't cost that much to ship something small like a card to Canada via USPS, even with tracking. Let's not even begin to speculate what sort of discount shipping price eBay has negotiated with the USPS for GSP items, either.

Forgive the derailment from the subject at hand. As is easily seen, this is a sore spot.

I can't count the number of times, in my business career, I have seen shipping charges be major profit centers. When I was in straight commission IT sales, many moons ago, we sometimes got paid on that profit we made. I think most/many businesses look at shipping as a profit center, but not all.

And as for what I want to see in a vintage seller? Again, big, clear scans of front and back. A description of any imperfections not seen on the screen or anything relevant to the aesthetics of the item I need to know. What I don't need is to know that Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs or Ty Cobb is the all time batting average champion.

Very true. And I understand that position. In the case of eBay/GSP, though, it's the level of greediness in those huge fees that infuriates me. With the amount of business they do in this regard, they could pad the charges to a more palatable level and still make bank.

#1 Pet Peeve
 

My #1 pet peeve is the seller that says "I have $XX into the card can't let it go below that." That's irrelevant, I don't pay for your mistakes.

Cheers,
Geno

Me too it's like they want to use it as a guilt/leverage in their negotiation.

We are talking about the price now not what you paid for it. No bearing.

Next lol

Another side of that one is I really paid that much and won't sell it for less. If you really want it pay the price or move on. After all I was nice enough to say why I wanted the price I did.

I do not like when I make a reasonable offer and it is countered by something like 0.5% off. Just don't list it as "or best offer" then!

One of many reasons I don't list with OBO. But then, buyers still message trying to get a lower price. It's a little annoying. If I wanted to entertain offers...

True, there's a clear message there.