[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

Who moved my cheese?

There seems to be far fewer independent sellers on eBay who once offered super cool and/or quality vintage pre and post war cards. I recall days when most any card could be found and acquired for 15-30% listed price. This created a velocity of cards and money. Current state is bad for collectors who loved to buy and sell, since they’ve been driven away from the platform and now resort to delays with AH scheduling and a 20% buyers premium, plus fight to be the highest bidder/payer of a card they really demand.

I’ve observed a proliferation of consignment companies selling on eBay, which is good for buyers and sellers alike.

Card Slabs is an alternative, however prices are aspirational at best.

Goldin also, however they’re typically 5+ figures.

AH’s are offering scarce and quality vintage cards for those with the tenacity to acquire them at auction, so helping fill the void on eBay.

eBay is still serving a segment of the market. This tends to be via GM cards or Probstein’s frequent auctions which offer a variety of relatively inexpensive cards one can snag on an auction with an established end time!

There’s also our Net54 BST, which rightfully so, requires a serious level of good will and trust. This is where our hobby really shines, with people working together with similar passion to achieve a common purpose. This is where I’ve seen the best of humanity prevail, collectors with good and decent hearts.

All great points. Much of the migration to AHs has made online "hunting" for cards less fun, in my opinion. Perhaps I'm in the minority of members on this but I actually don't find it all that enjoyable to stay up until 3 am on Sunday nights to try and win something.