Do Ebay stores make money selling overpriced cards?

[T206Collector]

"I think that most of these "buy it now" listings are collectors that really don't want to sell their cards, but would be convinced to sell at a really high price only."

While I have certainly seen that, most of the time the sellers are more than happy to take less than asking and sell offline without having to incur ebay fees.

I take high BINs with a grain of salt, as just the "starting" asking price.

[JasonL]

their wares for the cost of the listing price, and will gladly sell offline for a fraction of the list...not sure why they bother with such outrageous BINs, though....the unreasonable ones, well...hard to say what is wrong with them.

[BobbyVCP]

I see people all the time pull the trigger and buy one of these very overpriced cards daily. They are people that either don't care or have no clue. So until these people wise up and stop buying them then they will continue to be there.

[Peter_Spaeth]

When you have 10,000 plus cards, as some ebay sellers do, it doesn't take too many price inelastic, or impatient, or misinformed, buyers to generate a little cash flow. I suppose one can question the ethics of a business model premised on taking advantage of people (and I suppose one could question whether that is a fair description), but it obviously works.

[HRBAKER]

Peter one could argue that no seller has an obligation to protect a buyer from himself.

[sportscardtheory]

I don't understand why people are so scared of over-priced BINs. Make an offer of what you will pay. I regularly make offers for half of some BINs and have them accepted. Just because the BIN may be ludicrous, doesn't mean that seller won't accept a fair offer.

[T206DK]

The main problem I see is that even if you do make offers it os often not considered "reasonable" for the seller. A seller had a card that was probabaly worth $250-$300 listed for 1500. I asked him what he would reasonably expect to get for this card in that bad of condition. his reply was $900-$1000. Absolutely ridiculous he will be buried with that card , along with most of his other overpriced cards

[4815162342]

http://cgi.ebay.com/1909-11-T206-ED-...item1c0d9c2492

[nebboy]

(((I think that most of these "buy it now" listings are collectors that really don't want to sell their cards, but would be convinced to sell at a really high price only.)))

http://cgi.ebay.com/1926-Sports-Co-o...item518e56dd29

This is a great example of a High BIN but the 1926 Sports Co of America CHAMPIONS Uncut Proof Sheet++ is a really nice item and has great papers, and story to go along with it.
Worth a look!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drc]

I don't see how having people question your sanity is good for sales. "Are you mentally deranged?" and "On what planet were you born?" are not things you want to hear from potential customers as they browse your sales listings.

[Bridwell]

Those super high buy-it-nows remind me why I stopped going to card shows. The last few shows I've attended in Texas had very few pre-war cards, and the prices were sky high. For example, common VG T206's for $200??? I can't imagine offering someone $30 for something marked $200.

But on Ebay, I've offered 50% of the BIN and bought a few items. I guess I'm willing to toss in an offer and get shot down sometimes, since it's not face-to-face.

[3and2]

It would be interesting for someone to watch approximately 25 items in "My eBay" from a person's eBay store and see how many items they sell at a high "buy it now" price over a 30 day period and get back w/ us w/ their findings.

-Anthony

[wrapperguy]

I need only one card to finish the R303B set in sepia, that of Jimmie Foxx. There has been one as a BIN of $499 for over a year but I cannot afford one that high. Sent the guy an email seeing if he was willing to negotiate, and he responded with a flat "not interested in lowering the price at this time". There has to be one that will come along at a reasonable price sooner or later.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by 3and2

It would be interesting for someone to watch approximately 25 items in "My eBay" from a person's eBay store and see how many items they sell at a high "buy it now" price over a 30 day period and get back w/ us w/ their findings.

-Anthony

No need for that, just do an advanced search under search by seller and check the box to show completed items only you'll only get 15 days worth, but you get all the details

Yepbg had 97 items finish in the last two weeks, and sold
1964 standups norm siebern psa 7 $50
1964 standups Ed Charles psa7.5 $50
M116 Bradley psa 6mk $60
59 topps#212 PSA 6 $65
55 Topps Zimmer rookie psa 8mc $75
52 Parkhurst Gilliam psa 3.5 $75
55 Topps Zimmer psa 6 $100
71 Ryan psa 6 $110
64 standups Davis psa 7 $125
54 Dan Dee Wynn psa 6 $195
W-516 Hornsby psa 2 $300
48 Leaf Musial psa 5 $750
W522 Ruth psa A $1000
W516-2-1 Ruth psa A $1200

So about 14% sold, for a total of $4155. Ebay takes roughly 9% plus the Paypal fees, store subscription, and store listing fees. Fixed price are now .50 each, so figure around $500 in fees and at least $8 for half the monthly store fee. Not bad for 2 weeks worth of little or no effort.

Steve B