Originally Posted by jerrystar
The original post had two main points. The first point was about the quality, range of years covered, and diversity of the items offered. His second point was that people were competing to win those lots. This is an example of why it is not good to address anyone positive in a forum. People will come and bring up something negative, often because of jealousy. I do think both points are correct and the points being brought up are not relevant to the original post. Moreover, Probstein was not even a part of the topic, so why is he being criticized? A different point is brought up that is constantly brought up which does not address the post. The second point did not state that record level prices were set, just that with the wide range of material being offered, people were still competing to win the items. Even if a card is relisted in a subsequent auction, that could be because the buyer did not pay; it is not dispositive of the implication some people mention.
Since people brought it up, perhaps you should understand the PWCC model which is unquestionably successful. PWCC might sell a card for more than say some of us can list on ebay or it might sell for more than one of us have it listed for. Sometimes, but not all the time. Yes it can be frustrating to some people, but it is reality. The reality is if a card is probably worth more than $100, it is better for PWCC to auction the card than for you to do it yourself. Why? First, he will get more visibility. His auctions are announced and more people will take the time to check ebay. People are reminded through emails and there are advertisements on the ebay home page and other web sites. I am sure some buyers do not have time to check ebay constantly and will check his auctions or other listings from only certain sellers. People on ebay now are throwing up auctions for only 5 days. If you want to use those as a benchmark, some people do not even see them. Second, his auctions are well organized and scheduled to end by sport, category, etc. Third, he does international shipping which opens up bidding to a much wider number of bidders. Fourth, he offers a payment plan for those that cannot pay in full. Fifth, no matter how well you are doing on ebay, some people will never trust random ebay sellers. Sixth, some people only buy via auctions because they believe it sets the fair market price. Seventh, his auctions are well written and usually have high quality scans.
One person states his listings are annual, one says every month, one says 11 months of the year. He does auctions 10 times a year and takes 2 months off.
In general, the card market is as healthy now as it has been in the past 5 years and even key rookie/star cards of those you might not consider vintage or rare have been going up. I would think this is a good thing for those who say they enjoy sports cards or like the hobby.
PWCC has built a nice business model and built up client relationships for years. He is well organized and knows the industry. Sorry if a nice post brings out jealousy. If you do not want to bid, do not bid. If you want to bid, bid. And if you want to bid, bid no more than you are willing to pay. It is that simple.
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