eBay Mess

[Anthony S.]

Originally Posted by Matt

I too never liked the ridiculously overpriced BINs, though I can't say they detracted that much from my eBay experience - if given an option between having them as true auctions vs having them as BINs, obviously we'd all want them to be true auctions, but we're probably dealing here with having them as overpriced BINs, or not having them at all. Keep in mind we need to minimize seller risk to attract sellers, so allowing sellers to set reserves/BINs they are comfortable with is important. Not sure how to automatically distinguish between a reasonable BIN and an overpriced one, even though we all know it when we see it. Certainly am open to any solutions to that issue...

Off the top of my head, and perhaps a horrible idea, how about allowing a seller to list an item twice at his absurdly-high BIN, and then if --- and by if I mean, when --- it doesn't sell the second time, give them the option of either removing the item from the site for 30 days or re-listing the item at a lower price. And not a penny lower, but perhaps a set percentage.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Anthony S.

Off the top of my head, and perhaps a horrible idea, how about allowing a seller to list an item twice at his absurdly-high BIN, and then if --- and by if I mean, when --- it doesn't sell the second time, give them the option of either removing the item from the site for 30 days or re-listing the item at a lower price. And not a penny lower, but perhaps a set percentage.

Anthony - I have thought of the same thing - it's not a bad idea. I'm open to other options as well...

[barrysloate]

I thought of the same thing. If a dealer pops onto the site and lists a thousand cards with clearly overpriced BIN's, he needs to be charged a fee on each lot after a certain period of time. That's the kind of listing you really want to discourage.

Here's my early prediction: if you can develop a real auction site, in the spirit of the early days of ebay, you have an excellent chance of it being a huge success. I think collectors will love it and flock to it.

But if the site is instead mostly overpriced BIN's with very little inventory moving, then I don't think it will work. Collectors will quickly tire of it and move on.

[prestigecollectibles]

There are so many posts that I hope I am not repeating but it looks like when you are in the Ebay baseball card category you can choose the years you want to view on the left side. If you check "Choose More" you can pick any and all years that you want to view.

[mintacular]

what you have posted is a whole lot more complicated than clicking on one subcategory that matches your interest....that's the point. Until the avg. consumer gets use to this more sophisticated way to search for cards, cards with actual value are going be less visible as they are now thrown into a pool of 80s-90s garbage...

Also, listing hundreds of items a day will require the seller to specify more info and take more time to sell each single item. Lastly, it is very difficult to sell mixed lots as you are now constricted to choosing one attribute for each item even though the cards might be different years. For example, if you have a lot of PFG commons from 1953-59 you will need to choose one year for the whole group, whereas the old system would allow you to place that group in the "Lot of 50s" subcat. Make sense?

[Anthony S.]

Robert, that's the method I used when I re-saved my Ebay searches yesterday. The most glaring problem with that new method, though, is that at the very bottom of that list of years is the option "not specified" and there are currently 10,000 cards in the not specified category. I'm probably not going to add those 10,000 cards to my browsing list, but what am I potentially missing out on by doing so. Hobson's Ebay.

[iwantitiwinit]

In addition msot T206's are listed without a year so its a huge problem. The only way i can look at what i want is t206 psa or t206 sgc, etc.

[mintacular]

the old system allowed you to search by category AND attribute...

[painthistorian]

Easy solution-

If you are going to have a collectibles on line site...
You would have 2 types of listings, BIN/best offer type on one screen selection and low minimum bid auction style, these would both be offered but not in the same listings if you choose to filter all BIN's out just as e bay did however fees should be based on zero listing fees for auctions as they should be charged when SOLD to get more people to list this way, and offer the other format should have an upfront fee for 7-14 days, if it does not sell, you cannot relist at that price or higher for 30 days and a smaller fee schedule if it does sell.

MIXED lots should also be able to be sorted easier as everyone loves to sort through lots to break up instead of single cards(graded or ungraded)

[ibuysportsephemera]

Leon/Matt,

Why not make the site pre-1979 sports cards and memorabilia only....A true vintage site?

Jeff

[Exhibitman]

One of the reasons you get them more and more is that Ebay doesn't charge a seller more as the price of the BIN rises, unlike an auction. It is the same $0.35 for a $2,000 BIN as a $20 BIN. I know that I will periodically list cards that I don't really want to sell at BINs that I don't expect to get, just on the offhand chance that someone will grab the card at the BIN. If you were to construct a system where the BIN price dictates the listing cost, you would ratchet back on the silliness.

[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

[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...

[paul]

So, in their effort to reduce duplication, they are creating confusing duplication. In the "item specifics," assuming sellers even use them, they will now have a "pre-war" and a "year." Will sellers check both the pre-war box and the year box? I hope so.

Basically, what ebay has done is taken a mandatory filter (categories) and converted them into optional filters ("item specifics"). If sellers truly take the time to use the item specifics options, maybe it won't be so bad. But what was the point?

[barrysloate]

I've looked at those item specifics when I list something to sell, but they are not always applicable. Maybe they plan on improving them. Why couldn't they just leave it alone?

[Leon]

As I told someone this morning...I have a search set for each year below 1930 and it works. The problem is that a lot of the really neat stuff I have found doesn't have a year exactly associated with it or is not in the title. No matter what ebay says they have really screwed it up. It's their business so I guess they are doing what they think is best. Only time will show them that they are wrong. Their financial numbers, in our cards categories, will dwindle. At that time they might re-evaluate their idiocy.

[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.

[tbob]

Originally Posted by 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...

Gosh you can get a heavily circulated, beaten up 1936 nickel for only $400 on WalMart.com, what a deal!

[iggyman]

Originally Posted by tbob

Gosh you can get a heavily circulated, beaten up 1936 nickel for only $400 on WalMart.com, what a deal!

And this is the business model that eBay is striving to replicate. Phase-out the auction format because it is so 1990's (plus, their research have showned that people are weary of them). Get the power sellers and third-party retailers to sell everthing via buy-it-now.

Lovely Day...

[HRBAKER]

I might suggest is that any sellers that read this board start using the phrase "pre 1930" in their auction headers or listings. Wouldn't that turn up on a search?
Maybe something as simple as "P30" would work.

[Edwolf1963]

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_Aucti...d=p3286.c0.m14

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