the trouble with cards that don't often come to market

[Mungo Hungo]

Originally Posted by BobC

Doesn't Ebay still have it where you can save searches and get notified via email when certain items you're interested in are listed? Makes it so that people interested in such rare items that rarely come up for sale do get notified of them, and don't miss the chance to go after them.

Meanwhile, in regards to all the different AHs out there, has anyone come up with an app or anything else that monitors all the different card auctions, and that people can then save their want lists to, and thus get notified when a card or item they are interested in does come up for sale? That can also then let them know which AH is going to have it for sale so they can get a chance to register for it, if they aren't already, and then bid on those cards/items they really want and not miss out? I'm not aware of one, but would think that such an app or site could be a great item for people in the hobby, and something that AHs, and/or large independent sellers that aren't on Ebay, would possibly really want to participate in as well.

Ebay does have the saved searches function, which is great. But what it doesn't have is a way for would-be buyers to let potential sellers know of their wants. That might draw out some of the really hard-to-find items.

What you say in your second paragraph is a great idea as well.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Mungo Hungo

Ebay does have the saved searches function, which is great. But what it doesn't have is a way for would-be buyers to let potential sellers know of their wants. That might draw out some of the really hard-to-find items.

What you say in your second paragraph is a great idea as well.

Absolutely agree with your point, but was just commenting on the thread topic of how rare and obscure items that get put up for sale often may suffer due to potential interested buyers not being aware of those items put up for sale. Like others said, it can be a timing or lack of knowledge issue where not enough potential buyers know of a particular item being sold, and thus don't get a chance to bid on it, and as a result the seller may not then realize an item's true market value from its sale.

Your suggestion of a sort of reverse function to let sellers know what people are looking for, so they can then put those items up for sale, makes great sense also. The trick is to try and match up all the sellers and buyers, so the marketplace offers everything that someone wants, and there are enough people that want said item so that a seller realizes its true market value from the sale. Unfortunately, the system does not always work as efficiently as buyers and sellers would like.

However, your idea to draw out some of the really hard to find items may not be so easily or effectively done if there was some way for buyers to let others know what they are looking for. Just look at all the members here on Net54 that talk about and share images of their very rare and desirable items, and who also say they are not for sale. The definition of a collector is that of someone who acquires and then holds onto items, not sells them. Sellers and dealers in the business of selling will most likely put all of their inventory up for sale at some time or another, and the trick for them is then letting the public know when the items they may want are being put up for sale, and where they are being put up. I like your idea, but think the market works more efficiently when it is the buyers getting informed of what is for sale, not the other way around. Even if a seller finds out that a bunch of buyers want something they have, where do they go to sell it then so that ALL the potentially interested buyers will also know where to look and be able to bid on it? If a seller sees there are 5 people on Ebay looking for something they have to sell, and another 5 that don't go on Ebay and cruise the AH sales, where does that seller decide to put his item up for sale? He/she has no way of knowing if the more interested potential buyers would be on Ebay or at some AH, nor which one(s) had the deepest pockets. That's why having an app/site/whatever that alerts and attracts as many people as possible to a seller's particular venue and item may work best in the long run.

What would be really nice is to have both kinds of apps/sites functioning together for dealers/sellers and buyers, at the same time.