As a small business owner, I was taught that you compete in one of three ways: price, quality, or service.
Some sellers offer crappy scans, poor or no descriptions, and/or poor delivery so their cards go for lower prices. They get their listings up fast and may spend less time and money shipping but because of that they make less per card. Fine.
Other sellers take the time to offer detailed descriptions, great scans, and overall excellent service. They charge more because their service is worth more.
I think quality is where things get murky in the sportscard business. A psa 5 is a psa 5 (mostly) so there just isn't much leeway in what a seller can expect to get. I think this is where some sellers frustrate their potential buyers and overestimate the value of their service.
A seller, however, can compete on ebay with quality with raw cards by accurately and consistently grading their own cards. Don't we all hate the sellers who call their cards NM only to zoom in see four rounded corners as opposed to the sellers who accurately grade their cards? If I was to sell raw cards on ebay I would intentionally, at least at first, undergrade my listings just to establish my business. I often wonder why more sellers don't take that approach.
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