Looking for alternatives to selling on eBay

[jingram058]

I agree with raulus. eBay searching is horrendous, with sponsored highlights and totally irrelevant items. I used to love eBay. Constant "improvements" and tinkering have ruined it. For me. Of course there's always those who disagree.

[obcbeatle]

Thank you for all the replies so far. So I see that the Facebook groups are either public or private. Looks like the private groups have fewer participants then the public groups, so perhaps I'll join and try to sell a few things in a private group first. Maybe less noise in the private groups, than public? As for the eBay search, I was mostly referring to more recent mods eBay seems to have made that render a lot of sponsored listings and such that fill a page search with a lot of irrelevant search results. And, the fact that I have to save a crazy amount of searches using a crazy amount of special characters, just to accurately search for a handful of collectibles. I guess the sheer amount of items listed on eBay plays a role. But search in eBay renders a lot of noise. It's eBay's platform, so they can do whatever they want to enhance their bottom line, but sometimes it feels like it is impacting me as a buyer AND seller. And yes, I too have routinely sold internationally with eBay, so I understand their market is huge. I posted here earlier this year that I thought the time was ripe for someone to compete with eBay. I believe e-commerce tech/security is much more robust now, so hopefully some startup will have some success entering the market. Or perhaps many more will flourish eyeing specific markets. I may be naïve but I do believe if enough people get frustrated with the eBay's and Amazon's of this world that someone else eventually will enter the market with some success. Not saying it will be easy, and it will surely take some time. But to my eye's eBay is going in the wrong direction, particularly for sellers. Monopolies suck. But only my opinion.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Maybe less noise in the private groups, than public?

Not in my experience. It's the same old things as I described. You just have to answer a very simple question or two ("What is your favorite team?", "What is the third letter in 'baseball'?") and agree to their terms before a moderator accepts you into the fold.

[obcbeatle]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

Maybe less noise in the private groups, than public?

Not in my experience. It's the same old things as I described. You just have to answer a very simple question or two ("What is your favorite team?", "What is the third letter in 'baseball'?") and agree to their terms before a moderator accepts you into the fold.

Thank you , I will give this a try , hopefully I can negotiate for shipping items.

[notfast]

A few of us started a vintage non sports card group that has grown to over 2000 people in just a few months.

Mainly focused on vintage non sport cards but postcards/tradecards are included in that.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/824631...767/?ref=share

If you shoot me your name, I’ll make sure you are approved to get in.

Thanks
Matt

[notfast]

Also Tom @ vintangenonsports.com runs a great non sports auction. One coming up in February. Linked at top of each page here on n54.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by notfast

A few of us started a vintage non sports card group that has grown to over 2000 people in just a few months.

I don't understand. What's the attraction of Facebook? Why not just post on vintagenonsports.com?

[notfast]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

I don't understand. What's the attraction of Facebook? Why not just post on vintagenonsports.com?

Active users. Ease of private messaging. Ease of posting pics…

[raulus]

Originally Posted by obcbeatle

Monopolies suck. But only my opinion.

Monopolies are no fun, unless you’re the monopolist.

At the same time, I’m not convinced that the label fits, particularly in our world. eBay has been losing a lot of consignments to the more traditional sports card AHs, and my sense is that trend has accelerated bigly in the last few years. Partially from self inflicted wounds. Probably also partially from tax reporting rules that impact eBay but not the AHs.

If anything, the demise of eBay as a serious place to buy cards, and particularly auctioned cards with low starting bids, has been the bigger issue.

Naturally, your place in our world may be a wrinkle that makes it difficult to play in the AH space. Or maybe you’re concerned that the AHs don’t offer a compelling value proposition for your stuff. All of which could definitely be true.

[bcbgcbrcb]

Just about anything vintage baseball (especially pre-war) priced right will sell on Net54, even run of the mill stuff if near or below current market. If you are looking to get eBay or above prices, your items will probably need to be particularly interesting for one reason or another, ie- marquee player, rarity, high-grade, etc. It’s much easier for buyers looking for run of the mill stuff to search on eBay where they likely have dozens of copies to choose from. That’s why your price point on here is the key enticement to find buyers for that stuff.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

Just about anything vintage baseball (especially pre-war) priced right will sell on Net54, even run of the mill stuff if near or below current market. If you are looking to get eBay or above prices, your items will probably need to be particularly interesting for one reason or another, ie- marquee player, rarity, high-grade, etc. It’s much easier for buyers looking for run of the mill stuff to search on eBay where they likely have dozens of copies to choose from. That’s why your price point on here is the key enticement to find buyers for that stuff.

I can mostly only speak to autographs, but in the nearly 20 years I've been here, sellers have to be practically giving the stuff away if it's going to sell in the BST section. The only exceptions are, as you say, high demand items. People want bargain basement, otherwise they're not opening their wallets. I so much wish it made more sense to list here, but I've never held a fire sale and never will. The best material has always fared better for me using other outlets. It's understandable that everybody wants a deal; it just doesn't help the sellers unless they're looking to quickly liquidate at bottom dollar.

I think there has only been a single occasion where I listed something on the BST that was out of my usual wheelhouse. The material wasn't even this board's usual wheelhouse, but certainly closely related. I priced the material a touch under recent sale prices, but not dramatically. A week later, a very kind buyer came along and paid me my price. We were both happy with the transaction, and it's always rewarding to deal with a friendly person. Thanks to that experience, I'm certainly more open to listing unsigned material on the BST should any of it come my way.

[scooter729]

I wish more people realize the benefit of selling on here vs. eBay is that you're saving on fees, and if you pass some of that along in the price, it'll go far.

A common item which sells on eBay for $100, will net you around $85 when you sell it on eBay. So if you go to sell it on N54, list it for $90. Or maybe even $85. A buyer is more likely to buy it here for the slightly lower price, you may end up netting out higher - everyone wins (except eBay).

Don't try to sell that common item for $110 on here or even $105; it won't work. But remember that you're saving a good chunk for not having to deal with fees - price it smartly, and it'll sell.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by scooter729

I wish more people realize the benefit of selling on here vs. eBay is that you're saving on fees, and if you pass some of that along in the price, it'll go far.

A common item which sells on eBay for $100, will net you around $85 when you sell it on eBay. So if you go to sell it on N54, list it for $90. Or maybe even $85. A buyer is more likely to buy it here for the slightly lower price, you may end up netting out higher - everyone wins (except eBay).

Don't try to sell that common item for $110 on here or even $105; it won't work. But remember that you're saving a good chunk for not having to deal with fees - price it smartly, and it'll sell.

Sure, but how about the same price, and the buyer still saves the sales tax? Then, it's an even nicer win on both sides. It shouldn't perpetually have to cater to the buyer at the expense of the seller. Let both parties make off a bit better. I guess that's unfair to those who reside in OR, MT, AK, NH and DE, not to mention us Canadians, but...

To further bolster your suggestion, my lone successful sale in recent memory was structured just as you outlined.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by raulus

If anything, the demise of eBay as a serious place to buy cards, and particularly auctioned cards with low starting bids, has been the bigger issue.

Truth!