eBay Mess

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Wite3

Maybe this will be a good thing...ebay will finally drive the collectors off and we can go back to having shows!

I miss the shows

Joshua

Not good for those of us who live in the sticks. My collection wouldn't be 1/50th of what it is without ebay....and there have never been card shows worth a crap anywhere near here.

[mintacular]

Don't ever say that. Just b/c you live in the "sticks" does not mean your collection is worth "1/50th". In fact, in some ways eBay represents a lower value of your collection. eBay buyers bid less due to the uncertainty factors (Are these cards really NM? Oh, and I need to subtract shipping from my top bid.)

While eBay prices are much closer to market value than Beckett HBV ones, they are not the end all, be all. You might be suprised what you could get in your local market, and if you are in the "sticks", wait for a big show in your region and pay $50 in gas to get there. It will be worth it.

In short, eBay does not make ones collection worth x50 and in many cases it reflects a lower actual value as mentioned. JMO

[paul]

I think Dan meant he wouldn't have had the opportunity to pick up more than 1/50th of his current cards without ebay.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by paul

I think Dan meant he wouldn't have had the opportunity to pick up more than 1/50th of his current cards without ebay.

Yep. That's what I meant. Because my collection is so specialized ebay is really my only reliable marketplace to pick up the items I collect. Kansas City is the closest city that would have any type of sizable card show, but is it worth my time and money to drive down there and have maybe a 1% chance of finding something that fits my collection? I'm guessing my odds would only be slightly better at the National convention of finding something that fits my collection. The end of ebay would make it verrrry difficult for me to continue collecting.

[mintacular]

I'm just saying while eBay is convenient & quick outlet for selling your cards/collectibles, I think some people (wrongly) fall into the trap of dependency on eBay when in fact their cards can be sold at other venues, oftentimes at a HIGHER $ than eBay could command...

In short, eBay is only one of many markets to tap for selling collectibes. I have received hundreds of dollars ($ and trade) for collectibles that would have only received a fraction of that had I sold them on eBay.

[chiprop]

Ebay is dead to me! RIP ol friend

[jbsports33]

After a lot of phone calls and emails - my eBay response is below

they did say they will add the prewar and post war searches

these are just changes sellers and buyers will have to adjust with, but I still told them they should change back to what it was!!!

Dear James, Our apologies for not getting back to you sooner. And we sincerelyapologize for any business impact associated with the change in theSports Card categories. The change to the categories within Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop >Cards, is as announced here:http://pages.ebay.com/categorychanges/sportscards.html This change was made to eliminate the duplication between categories andItem Specifics. The Item Specifics changes were announced here:http://pages.ebay.com/sell/itemspecs.html issue we were experiencing earlier in the week, which has now beenresolved, is the ability to refine a browse or search within aparticular Sport by Product (Box, Pack, Single, Set, etc.), CardAttributes (Rookie, Serial Numbered, Autographed, Piece of Authentic),Year (selected singly or in multiples through the use of the ChooseMore.. option), Professionally Graded, and Original/Reprint. These are the refinements available for sellers to specify in the ItemSpecifics. As indicated in Seller notifications and Best Practices, itis important to fill out the Item Specifics as accurately and completelyas possible to ensure the best possible relevance of items to searchresults. We have added Team and Player as options for sellers in the ItemSpecifics, as applicable by Sport (with Driver being an option inRacing), and shortly we will be adding these options for buyers to beable further refine their browse or search. We will also be adding an Item Specific for Era (Modern, Post-WWII,Pre-WWII) in Baseball Cards, and about a week afterwards we will addthis as a buyer option as well. With the accurate use of Item Specifics, it is not necessary to searchor browse through all 205k+ cards in Baseball. One simply has to usethe filters on the left hand side, or combine these filters withspecific title searches, to reduce the results to those items ofinterest. Once again we encourage all sellers to use Item Specifics, as these arethe primary mechanism for browsing and searching within a category. If there are specific ways you like to browse or search, and/or forspecific kinds of Sports Cards, you can email that information to me andwe will do our best to help you to do comparable browsing or searchingunder the new category and Item Specifics. Sincerely,MahinaeBay Classification Team

[iggyman]

Here is a month-old story but it relates to Ebay's demise.............err, I mean.......grand vision of catering to giant retailers and third-party vendors (ala Amazon). They are now getting some serious competition from Sears and Wal-Mart.

http://www.apparelnews.net/features/...Style-Business


You can now go to the Wal-Mart website and purchase a replica Mark McGwire Autographed rookie card picture for only $499. Heck, your wife can now type-in the name Babe Ruth in their search facility and walk away with some nice looking (but expensive) picture frames........http://www.walmart.com/search/search...rch_query=ruth


It is just a matter of time before eBay goes "poof" and reverts back to catering to the medium-size and smaller-size seller. By then it will be too late, the only question will be whether the grave will me marked or unmarked?

Lovely Day...

[tbob]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Yep. That's what I meant. Because my collection is so specialized ebay is really my only reliable marketplace to pick up the items I collect. Kansas City is the closest city that would have any type of sizable card show, but is it worth my time and money to drive down there and have maybe a 1% chance of finding something that fits my collection? I'm guessing my odds would only be slightly better at the National convention of finding something that fits my collection. The end of ebay would make it verrrry difficult for me to continue collecting.

As much as I sometimes want to bang my head against the wall dealing with eBay, I agree completely. Ebay has been the one constant source of securing caramel and tobacco cards for me. I do bid in auctions also and go to most Nationals but ebay has been integral in my building my collection. Also, through ebay I was able to meet many collectors, many of whom are now on Net54 but some are not. That was before ebay came up with the nitwit disguising of buyer's ids about a year or so ago. Before that you could easily contact buyers and sellers and develop online friendships with collectors.

[paul]

So, if you check all of the pre-1930 "item specific" boxes, do you only get items for which the seller checked one of those boxes? Or do you also get items that have a title that includes a year before 1930? I think it is only the first, but it certainly would be better if it's both.