Overpriced cards

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

In my opinion, eBay needs to do something about the high prices if it wants to regain its popularity. From a buyer's perspective, the whole point of eBay is to get a good deal. There's always a certain amount of risk involved in an eBay transaction, so if you are not going to get a good deal--a discount off of retail market price--there's little point to using eBay. It is usually safer to buy somewhere else. Nowadays, though, there are so few bargains on eBay that a lot of buyers, myself included, don't even bother looking all that often. Which is a big reason that eBay's growth has stalled apart from its paypal unit.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you go on eBay and search for Mach 3 razors. A bunch of sellers come up listing an 8-pack at a BIN price of $15.99. Why on earth would I buy from them when I could get the same thing from Amazon for $15.25? And not have to worry who they're coming from, whether they are defective, and whether I have recourse if they are. Yet eBay doesn't seem to do anything to encourage those sellers to lower their price.

EBay, and those who sell on it, need to understand that it is a discount marketplace and buyers are not going to use it if they don't get a discount.

I sell things on eBay sometimes, but I understand beforehand that I am not likely to get the same price that I would if I sold it in a store. At the same time, I am likely to get a much higher price than I would selling it in a yard sale on my lawn.

Now, obviously vintage baseball cards are different than razors, since you can't just go get what you want at your neighborhood supermarket. But still, if eBay wants to attract buyers, it needs to encourage discounts more than it does, in my opinion. Instead, it seems to encourage people to list things at BIN prices and even recommends a market price for them. Which is why it's so hard to find good deals, and why eBay is becoming less and less popular.

Just my two cents.

I don't think EBAY could care less about their vintage baseball card sales...honestly.