Does "Stuff" Trump "eBay Seller"?

[csotus]

I buy from certain sellers on the bay. I have done business with about half a dozen and never had problems. I am sure there are numerous that would be problem free but I try to stick with what I know.

I'm not saying I will over spend to stay with those certain sellers, but they are my first stop before searching other unknown sellers.

[iowadoc77]

Typically I don’t worry too much when buying with all the protection EBay and PayPal offer. However, I always check feedback and certainly if there has ever been an issue I avoid them.

Loyalty unfortunately is gone and people are fickle. I don’t like it but I can’t deny it.

[bobbyw8469]

Agree with Stephen....as a matter of fact, there are some sellers I avoid, just because I fear the price would go at an irrational level (ie, too damn high).....There are some sellers I prefer because I feel there stuff goes for a decent level to allow me to eek out a small profit.

[SMPEP]

If it's something that comes along once in a decade or two ... I'll cautiously buy from the problem children.

If it isn't ... then there are certain people I'll never buy from. I'll pick the lowest price seller after I eliminate those miscreants.

Honestly I don't get the appeal of buying from Auction Houses. They almost always cost more than Ebay (excluding for those that buy from AHs and then post museum price pieces on Ebay YoY). I derive no value from buying a card from a reputable AH versus a normal person on Ebay. Ebay almost always has the better deal, especially if you wait for it.

[steve B]

I'm not sure about this applying to cards, but I know for sure the seller matters in other hobbies.

A friend of mine sells a lot of 16mm films. For a while I was helping him with the cheaper stuff. Had a film that was a popular story, and in fantastic condition. Intended for schools it was made right about when many were changing over to video in place of film, so it had great color and nearly no wear.
I listed it maybe three times at 24.99, with no takers. We talked and he convinced me to try it at 9.99. Nothing. Gave it back to him, he lists it with my description simply copied and pasted, as a 49.99 BIN. Sold in less than a day.

[Bigdaddy]

How else do you explain the strong prices that PWCC and Greg Morris and a handful of other high-volume sellers continually are able to get?

Sure, shill bidding can account for some of the prices, but I don't believe that it accounts for the consistent premium that these sellers are able to turn.

[OsFan]

It does seem to work for certain sellers. If you look at gregmorriscards for example they definitely seem to benefit from customer loyalty.