Do Ebay stores make money selling overpriced cards?

[tinkereversandme]

I think by adding 25% to your bottom line, I'm hoping that's on top of the fees as you will go out of business soon.

I do enjoy this thread topic as well as it is sad to see, what appears to be, the end of the eBay auctions. Take into consideration the following:

I did a search on 1959 Topps Frank Robinson. There were 6 up for auction and 101 in Buy It Now/Stores.

I did a seach on Warren Spahn Autographs. There were 28 up for auction and 435 in Buy It Now/Stores. For a signed 8x10, they vary from $18 to $199, with most selling in the high $50 price range.

Let's take a look at the future. This time next year, there may be 650 in Buy It Now/Stores and 10 in auctions. So if you want a Warren Spahn autograph, you will have 650 to choose from, all varying in prices with of course, the 10 auctioned items selling for considerably less.

I don't know how eBay stores do it either. They are annoying to sort through (thankfully they have the tab) and I have never found anything at the correct price to make it worth my while.

Larry

[glchen]

Yea, that 25% would be on top of my costs (purchase of the card + any fees to grade the card if I purchased it raw). It wouldn't include any ebay or paypal fees, which seems from what I read will be ~10% of the item. Therefore, I would theoretically make 15% profit on a card. However, this would only be on cards that I would be able to sell. If I purchased a card at too high a price or if the raws I purchased were fake or of lesser grade that I thought I purchased for, then I would lose money on those cards. So overall, I'd probably wouldn't be making much, and there'd be a pretty good chance for substantial losses since I'm probably already listing the cards at a higher than average price. As you can see, my business skills seem pretty lacking. However, I want to get a feel for what sells first and may adjust things later. Or just go out of business.

[ksabet]

But at 25% premium you may end up another museum on Ebay.

I don't think you need to pay a premium for good service. Chris Rock used to make fun of dad's that said "I take care of my kids". He said "you dumb $&@^$*#&$ you're supposed to take care of your kids"

Being a good business should be the norm and the precedent, we shouldn't have to pay a premium for something you already should be doing.

The problem is for some reason in cards people either 1) are willing to overpay or 2) don't understand fair market value. VCP is a great tool as you can visualize what cards are selling for based on the market and not sellers out to gauge you.

Once again good luck!

[danc]

glchen, very funny. I purchased a signed check from an NHL HOF'er last year, that I valued at around $20-25. I was the only bidder at $9.99. I sold it six months later, auction-style on eBay for $23. Not bad. I checked eBay stores and there were five of them at $129, $149, $169, $179 and $199. They have been there ever since, with the $129 selling his with a best offer price of $60. Is that a victory? I think everyone at some point realizes that eBay wants us all to go this route and eventually eBay will get it's way and more people (including myself) with find themselves opening up stores.

DanC