Curious...How have ebay sales been?

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by seanofjapan

Just my 2 cents as an international (living in Japan) based buyer.

I used to buy a lot of cards off of Ebay because there used to be a lot of sellers who would ship overseas at a reasonable rate. There were quite a few who would be willing to sell me 3-4 singles and just put them in an envelope for a couple of bucks, which is about what USPS charges (accounting for fees, etc).

I haven't bought a card off of Ebay in the past 3 years though and its entirely because nobody does that anymore. When an international buyer scrolls through Ebay listings for any given card the few who offer to ship overseas now only do it through eBay's program so it costs like 20-25$ per card. If like me you are mainly buying cards that themselves are under 100$, it just makes no sense to buy on ebay anymore.

So I just gave up.

This wouldn't explain any current slowdown this month since it happened a few years back, but basically ebay has cut sellers off from the entire international market for cards (which, while not huge, is not marginal either - loads of people in Japan and other countries where baseball is popular are interested in collecting American cards).

That is not Ebay's fault nor the sellers fault. International shipping is EXPENSIVE. And if you want to protect yourself and ship the way Ebay REQUIRES you to do to get that protection (some sort on traceable tracking), then the costs are up there.

[Yastrzemski Sports]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

That is not Ebay's fault nor the sellers fault. International shipping is EXPENSIVE. And if you want to protect yourself and ship the way Ebay REQUIRES you to do to get that protection (some sort on traceable tracking), then the costs are up there.

If all international buyers were trustworthy and honest it would be fine. It’s a total risk if you ship without tracking and the seller has no protection or recourse if the buyer says that they didn’t get it.

[buymycards]

First-Class Package International Service
Retail Packages
Weight Not Over
(oz.) Price Groups1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1–8 $10.50 $12.25 $14.25 $14.25 $14.25 $14.50 $13.75 $13.50 $14.50

For a while, I was shipping a lot of cheap cards to Canada and other countries using a small photo mailer and paying the non-machinable letter rate or by using a PWE. However, the International mailing rules changed, and now merchandise is not allowed to be sent by first class letter mail, even if you pay the non-machinable rate. So, I stopped offering International service because I didn't want a customer to get hit with a large postage due bill and then I would get hit with a neg on eBay. You also cannot ship merchandise at the flats rate, only documents.

I don't use the Global Shipping Program, so the only option now is First-Class Package International Service. Up to 8 ounces to Canada costs me $10.50, Mexico is $12.25, and other countries range from $13.50 to $14.50. This does include tracking, so it is much safer than a PWE. I have slowly started adding this service option to some of my listings, and I have started getting a few additional sales. For items over 8 ounces, the prices jump up drastically. I can't ship much in an 8 ounce package, especially if the box weighs 3 ounces or a large photo mailer weighs 2 1/2 ounces.

Here is a link to Domestic and International shipping prices.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/notice123.htm#_c341

There is a small discount by printing the shipping labels through eBay/PayPal, and the best thing is that the shipping label also serves as the customs form by entering a little info during the process.

[seanofjapan]

Originally Posted by buymycards

For a while, I was shipping a lot of cheap cards to Canada and other countries using a small photo mailer and paying the non-machinable letter rate or by using a PWE. However, the International mailing rules changed, and now merchandise is not allowed to be sent by first class letter mail, even if you pay the non-machinable rate. So, I stopped offering International service because I didn't want a customer to get hit with a large postage due bill and then I would get hit with a neg on eBay. You also cannot ship merchandise at the flats rate, only documents.

Thanks, I was wondering what changed that made sellers stop offering to send cards via letter mail overseas!

[Rhotchkiss]

eBay has become useless to me. There are no longer any viable auctions - I won’t bid with pwcc and Probstein rarely lists a card I want - and every BIN seller lists cards for way more than they are worth. I used to spend a lot of money on eBay. However, this year, I have spent a fraction vs prior years, and I see no end to that trend.

BST, private deals, and auction houses for me.

[CobbSpikedMe]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

eBay has become useless to me. There are no longer any viable auctions - I won’t bid with pwcc and Probstein rarely lists a card I want - and every BIN seller lists cards for way more than they are worth. I used to spend a lot of money on eBay. However, this year, I have spent a fraction vs prior years, and I see no end to that trend.

BST, private deals, and auction houses for me.

I still use eBay for my post war sets that I'm working on. They are all low grade anyway and I can still find good deals on the lower grade stars on eBay. Also my player collections can be added to on eBay. But for higher end stuff, like what you're mostly looking for Ryan, I can see eBay being basically useless these days. The BINs are way too high and I won't buy from PWCC either so the options are really limited. Occasionally there is a card I want with a fair auction still though.