Best offer...pfft!

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Runscott

With such a rule, you will no longer have any legitimate vintage card sellers on ebay. I know this is lost on many buyers, but unless sellers make a profit, they move to another venue or go broke.

100% agree. If I buy a card for $100 (and VCP average is $140), put it on Ebay for .99 cents and after a whopping 10 day auction, see the $100 card sell for $52.50, then I won't be in business for long. Alot of the buyers aren't supporting the true 99 cent auctions. They seem to support Probstein and PWCC but hardly anyone else. I am afraid that is what is happening on Ebay right now. That is why only Probstein and PWCC survive, and everyone else is running BIN's. Not too many people can afford to lose alot of money per pop. I can for a little while, because I write off all my purchases on my taxes. Still, noone wants to see a $200 item at $40 with 12 hours to go.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

100% agree. If I buy a card for $100 (and VCP average is $140), put it on Ebay for .99 cents and after a whopping 10 day auction, see the $100 card sell for $52.50, then I won't be in business for long. Alot of the buyers aren't supporting the true 99 cent auctions. They seem to support Probstein and PWCC but hardly anyone else. I am afraid that is what is happening on Ebay right now. That is why only Probstein and PWCC survive, and everyone else is running BIN's. Not too many people can afford to lose alot of money per pop. I can for a little while, because I write off all my purchases on my taxes. Still, noone wants to see a $200 item at $40 with 12 hours to go.

Also, I haven't seen where anyone has discussed Probstein and PWWCC's consignment fees. Probstein offers consignment fees that are so low that if I were do do so, I would take a loss on every single card. He is getting a great deal from ebay, that the smaller sellers cannot get (I did the math - I'm right about this one).

[pbspelly]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

100% agree. If I buy a card for $100 (and VCP average is $140), put it on Ebay for .99 cents and after a whopping 10 day auction, see the $100 card sell for $52.50, then I won't be in business for long. Alot of the buyers aren't supporting the true 99 cent auctions. They seem to support Probstein and PWCC but hardly anyone else. I am afraid that is what is happening on Ebay right now.

I don't quite understand this. If the VCP average is $140 and you put it on eBay for .99 cents, why would it sell for $52.50? Wouldn't other knowledgeable dealers, such as those on this forum who know the true value of the card, bid it up to at least $100 or more? Economists will tell you that the value of something is what other people are willing to pay for it. Considering the relatively wide exposure a listing gets on eBay, why isn't the eBay auction sales price the true value?

I am not saying this in order to criticize you, or say that you must have overpaid or should accept the low eBay price. I'm just curious about why the price of cards sold at auction on eBay would be considerably lower than what many here think is the true market value of those cards. If that's the case, why aren't people on this forum buying them, or bidding them up closer to the perceived market value?

I know, for instance, that if I went out and bought a brand new $400 cell phone and listed it on eBay at .99 cents, it would probably sell for $375 for so. That's basically the market price minus what I would call a "risk discount," the discount a consumer would need in order to entice them to accept the risk of buying on eBay rather then from a more established retailer. I could then list another $400 cell phone and get pretty much the same price.

Any thoughts on why the market for cards on eBay is so illiquid?

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

I don't quite understand this. If the VCP average is $140 and you put it on eBay for .99 cents, why would it sell for $52.50? Wouldn't other knowledgeable dealers, such as those on this forum who know the true value of the card, bid it up to at least $100 or more? Economists will tell you that the value of something is what other people are willing to pay for it. Considering the relatively wide exposure a listing gets on eBay, why isn't the eBay auction sales price the true value?

I am not saying this in order to criticize you, or say that you must have overpaid or should accept the low eBay price. I'm just curious about why the price of cards sold at auction on eBay would be considerably lower than what many here think is the true market value of those cards. If that's the case, why aren't people on this forum buying them, or bidding them up closer to the perceived market value?

I know, for instance, that if I went out and bought a brand new $400 cell phone and listed it on eBay at .99 cents, it would probably sell for $375 for so. That's basically the market price minus what I would call a "risk discount," the discount a consumer would need in order to entice them to accept the risk of buying on eBay rather then from a more established retailer. I could then list another $400 cell phone and get pretty much the same price.

Any thoughts on why the market for cards on eBay is so illiquid?

I can't control the bidding. There could be a number of factors why a high value card sold for half of the VCP average selling price. People find good deals all the time, as well as people overpay all the time as well. For every card I sell at an extreme discount, some have sold for record prices. However, the scales seem to have been tipped in the "discounts" favor, as opposed to the "record-setting" prices favor.

[bobbyw8469]

Any thoughts on why the market for cards on eBay is so illiquid?

I wouldn't say it was illiquid. It basically depends on what you are selling. PSA sells better than SGC. A Topps card of a popular player does better than an oddball, thinly traded issue of a borderline HOFer.

[Deertick]

I have re-listed items progressively lower many, many times with few page views. My original price is usually market or lower. I have then listed at the original price for a one day BIN and sold the item within hours. Success is dependent on who is looking for what, when.

[effe]

Originally Posted by Deertick

Success is dependent on who is looking for what, when.

Bingo