eBay Mess

[paul]

There are a few cards that I specifically search for on ebay. But I find most of the cards I buy by browsing a category, usually pre-1930. I think a lot of people do the same thing. That was one of the great advantages of ebay. Sellers could target buyers looking for a specific type of thing, and buyers could look at only those specific things.

My E95 Matty is a great example of precisely the kind of card that would never be found through a search. Most E95 Mattys are very expensive. So a lot of people who don't have a lot of money would never bother to search for one. They will spend their time looking for Goudey Hubbells or T206 Crawfords. They just assume they can't afford an E95 Matty. But mine is a PSA1, and someone who likes old cards might decide to give it a shot if they are browsing the pre-1930 category.

Also, a lot of people buy a card because they have some vague interest in it but only want it if it's a good deal. I do that a lot by browsing categories. Now all those bidders are gone. I wouldn't be thrilled selling my Mathewson to a guy only looking for a bargain, but it's better than selling it only to the very few people who are specifically looking for an E95 Matty that week. And maybe someone really wants an E93 Matty, but he sees my E95 with a nice front and a miserable back, and he decides to go for the relative bargain.

Another good example is the E card of Wagner in a throwing pose. I'd like one. This pose probably appears in 6 or 7 sets. So now I have to search for all of them. But this is also a card that is very expensive and I'd only want one similar to my E95 Matty -- massive back damage, or maybe even slightly trimmed. I've been looking at ebay for years and still haven't found one that's the right balance of looks and price. And it's just not worth the effort to do a search for this specific card every week when the chances of finding one that I can want and afford are low. Particularly if I have to do similar searches for hundreds of other cards. I already do about 40 "out of category" searches every week. I'd hate to have to do a couple hundred more. It's so much easier to browse one or two categories every week.