The endless debate

[Edwolf1963]

You have to fish around a bit, but there are some BINs that come up at reasonable prices or better if someone just wants to unload and not play a waiting/auction game. Agreed there are way too many museum prices and those you noted buying/flipping at double or more. I wish eBay would figure out a way to limit those same cards, prices, people who have the same listings for a year or more. I guess counter-productive for eBay if they can make money on them, but I thought even "good 'till cancelled" had some recurring listing fees associated no matter how much you sold thru them? Hell, even at .65 cents - that's over $23 if your listing has lingered on for 3 years.

BST and AH's are definitely more attractive for me, but there are so many (AH's) now - I can't keep track of who/what/when .. even with Auction Report they don't capture everyone (like Bussineau for example .. yeah I know - he doesn't pay to play). I love Heritage but with the recent tax hit, I can't really compete anymore with those in states they say they don't have physical presence. I have to factor in now 26% - 28% hit btw that and BP. Funny how they sent physical location notifications in some 10-15 add'l states all at once last summer Al/LOTG (as you noted), Goodwin, REA, Lee (Sterling), Brockelman, etc. are some favorites I look for. I like Sirius Sports Cards and Baggers as well, but they're more into post-war and I don't focus there too much anymore. Mile High and Memory Lane are good IMO, but they pad their bottom line with higher than most shipping & "handling" fees (they're relatively minor, but they're "nickel & dime'ish" nonetheless) and I think Mile High is at a league-leading 21.5% BP on top of that now for payment w/CC/PayPal. My last invoice was over $36 to ship btw for 9 cards.

I'd say be patient, pick your shots, weed through those known flippers and/or remove them from your consideration or search. You can put in eBay search (-mikedenero) for example. No offense to just him, but he's a known flipper - - he's actually good enough to list his name in the listings so you can search for or eliminate him if you so choose

[Billy5858]

Originally Posted by Edwolf1963

You have to fish around a bit, but there are some BINs that come up at reasonable prices or better if someone just wants to unload and not play a waiting/auction game. Agreed there are way too many museum prices and those you noted buying/flipping at double or more. I wish eBay would figure out a way to limit those same cards, prices, people who have the same listings for a year or more. I guess counter-productive for eBay if they can make money on them, but I thought even "good 'till cancelled" had some recurring listing fees associated no matter how much you sold thru them? Hell, even at .65 cents - that's over $23 if your listing has lingered on for 3 years.

BST and AH's are definitely more attractive for me, but there are so many (AH's) now - I can't keep track of who/what/when .. even with Auction Report they don't capture everyone (like Bussineau for example .. yeah I know - he doesn't pay to play). I love Heritage but with the recent tax hit, I can't really compete anymore with those in states they say they don't have physical presence. I have to factor in now 26% - 28% hit btw that and BP. Funny how they sent physical location notifications in some 10-15 add'l states all at once last summer Al/LOTG (as you noted), Goodwin, REA, Lee (Sterling), Brockelman, etc. are some favorites I look for. I like Sirius Sports Cards and Baggers as well, but they're more into post-war and I don't focus there too much anymore. Mile High and Memory Lane are good IMO, but they pad their bottom line with higher than most shipping & "handling" fees (they're relatively minor, but they're "nickel & dime'ish" nonetheless) and I think Mile High is at a league-leading 21.5% BP on top of that now for payment w/CC/PayPal. My last invoice was over $36 to ship btw for 9 cards.

I'd say be patient, pick your shots, weed through those known flippers and/or remove them from your consideration or search. You can put in eBay search (-mikedenero) for example. No offense to just him, but he's a known flipper - - he's actually good enough to list his name in the listings so you can search for or eliminate him if you so choose

+1. * I've seen some OK deals on Denero at time but usually not stuff I'm collecting.
Also he has a payment plan for us broke peasants out here

[TanksAndSpartans]

Unfortunately Denero stopped listing his name. I eliminated BIN from my saved eBay searches by specifying Format = Auction. I just found it wasn't worth the time to sift through the extra emails. Of course there are sellers who do auctions at a really high starting price for a short duration and then just restart it when it ends with no bidders - that's really..... annoying. And I agree about there being so many AHs now. The ones that send me a catalog or post here on net54 like LOTG, I tend not to miss. One I always miss is Kevin Savage - every time I look at SCD I see the ads but because I get my SCD second hand, the auctions are always over by the time I see it.

[clydepepper]

I buy everywhere but I still have difficulty not buying emotionally...so, even though my market is wide-spread (relatively), I don't always get the price I want. BINs have the effect of making it an impulse buy - if I'm not careful.

The research I do is probably not as extensive as it should be: I check the Krause Vintage Catalog, the PSA online SMR and sales history on EBAY to get an idea what a reasonable price will be.

I'm always open to hearing suggestions.

-Raymond

[mechanicalman]

I've bought some decent T206 HoFers as BINs from "jaysace" recently. Prices were not absurd. Only challenge is that he is far too liberal with the word "centered" in his listings.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I've bought some decent T206 HoFers as BINs from "jaysace" recently. Prices were not absurd. Only challenge is that he is far too liberal with the word "centered" in his listings.

That challenge is not limited to jaysace as I see it all the time, especially on the Mantles I'm looking for. 60/40 one way and 80/20 the other is not centered. Some have some nasty tilt too.

To the OPS question I have picked up a couple of cards recently on ebay BINs or best offers that I felt were fair. I did have to search through quite a few listings to find them though. I also bid in many auctions and have bought and sold a few privately. I'm open to all options if I like the card and the price.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

I gotta say as a seller I was stunned when I switched from 100% auctions to some BIN's (the vast majority of which I take offers on) I couldn't believe how many people were willing to pay more on a BIN than they would for the same card at auction. My business is now probably 95% BIN and it's the market that drove me in that direction. That being said I think my BIN's are fair and most offers I accept are bargains.