Overpriced cards

[pbspelly]

Originally Posted by Duluth Eskimo

I would also like to comment on someone's previous assertion that eBay is a place to find deals. eBay marketing would definitely disagree with you. eBay markets itself as an online shopping marketplace. They want to encourage shoppers to come on there for their birthday purchase for their father or an item they cannot find somewhere else. I sell a lot of items to people buying gifts for someone else that are absolutely elated to find the item that their special person has always talked about, etc. That is the customer eBay wants, not a bunch of collectors like us.

And that is a crucial mistake that eBay marketing is making. Because the public does not view eBay as a place to pay full price due to the inherent risk of buying from someone you only know by an eBay name. If you saw a card that you wanted on eBay for $1000 from some seller you didn't know, but you could buy the same card at REA for $1000 (counting the buyer's premium), you would probably buy the REA card because it would seem safer.

As I said, eBay is indeed a place for items that you can't easily get somewhere else. But if what is being sold is something that can be found elsewhere, it needs to be sold at a discount on eBay or no one is going to buy it. When eBay tries to be another Amazon, it loses.