Just don't get it with some sellers
 

Maybe someone could explain to me the logic behind this.
Let's assume a fairly obscure but not impossible to find card. From the 1920s. The last 3 sales on eBay were in the neighborhood of $700-800 for the card Authentic. Now there are 4 cards listed, all As, all about the same. 3 of them are appx. $850, but accept offers. The 4th is listed for $1800. Same condition.

I realize some people really don't want to sell a card, and list it at some dream price in case lightning strikes. The "I don't want to see my house but if someone rings the bell and offers me a million dollars for it of course it's for sale" routine.

But why take the time and expense of listing some for 2x what three or four other people are selling for? What are hoping for. It's just going to sit right? And the seller in the case I ran into last week was a sophisticated seller, someone whose name has been bandied about here in the past. I just don't see the plan with this kind of listing.

At least if it's a rare enough card, it won't get drowned out in 100's of other listings for the same thing. What classic is when people way overpriced when there are hundreds or thousands of an item, where price is obviously going to be a huge differentiating factor.


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For scarce-to-rare cards, sellers with high eBay asking prices might be based on what they're asking elsewhere. I've seen Amazon sellers ask clearly too-high prices for sports cards, where they don't have the same competition (or educated audience) for listings.

One example: on Amazon, there are three E94 Close Candy cards listed and the "cheapest" is $1100+. Back on eBay, many E94 cards are $200 and under...including the same $1100 card. If someone goes looking for cards on Amazon, it looks like the most affordable when it's several times what an educated collector could find. But if you don't know that eBay is the deeper sports marketplace, you might think $1100 is an OK price.

waste
 

It a total waste of time is what it is !!

It's a waste of time to complain about it on a message board.

It's an inexpensive museum for people to show off what they've got. Not the place to be doing it as far as I'm concerned. Makes searches very frustrating.

Rob M

It's also a way to generate leads. If some non-collector has one to sell and is not interested in ebaying it himself, who do you think he would contact first, the lower priced sellers or the highest? Not that the highest seller would necessarily offer the most in the end, but he probably gets first crack at it.

High prices
 

It isn't just eBay sellers and Amazon sellers and COMC sellers. I collect T213-2's. In the last Goodwin auction, they had 4 very low grade T213-2's. These were poor to good, and very common players. The starting bid was $100. These cards sell on eBay for $35-$45 dollars. One of the 4 Goodwin cards sold for the opening bid and the other 3 did not sell. Why would someone pay $100 & the vig for a $35 card? Why did Goodwin price these cards with a $100 opening bid?

Rick

In my experience, Goodwin just does not like to set the minimum bid below a certain level. I had that experience when I consigned cards that included a 1936 R312 Bill Dickey in about Ex condition (ungraded). The minimum was set well above what I had paid for it, and it did not sell, so the card was returned to me. Later on, the baseball historian in me was glad it didn't sell, as that was Dickey's best year: 22 HR and .362 batting average. Still have the card and love it!

All the best,

Larry

We have plenty on the BST section also.

I agree. I honestly don't know how Dean's Cards has ever made one sale, much less a business out of it. 707, and Yepbg are in that same category.

The answer is that it literally costs them next to nothing. I have an eBay store and pay the monthly fee to have an anchor store and with that fee I get 10,000 listings that are included as part of that subscription. If I was to ever go OVER 10,000 listings I will then get charged $.05 per listing. With the 10,000 listings I think the math works out that for the subscription fee you are basically paying $.03 or so for each listing.

I have never had over 6,000 listings (less alone 10,000) in my store at any given point. I just don't have time to list that many things but may end up there at some point as it is steadily growing. I do strictly BIN at this point with some occasional auctions and I have been able to build a pretty strong inventory over the past 5 years or so with just some work done in my spare time (it allows me to buy new things and heaven knows I'd be collecting anyways so I may as well allow my hobby to make me some money at the same time). For the most part my store is populated with duplicate items or items that just don't fit my current collecting focus so it is a great way for me to refocus my money to items that are currently interesting to me, it is fun.

Like this seller who has 1933 Goudey commons at $999.99 :confused:

Leon,

I think the suggestion was made for a category just to complain about overpriced eBay sellers. Please do this.

Sincerely,

Anyone who's been on the board more than six months

Dean's has front/back pictures of every card they have in stock. They have a huge selection so the combination of good pictures and combining shipping really helps them out.

707 has the absolute best costumer service in the business. If you have purchased from Levi before he always gives discounts and did I mention the BEST costumer service in the business. To some, how the seller treats the buyer is more important than the price. They also have a large selection with combined shipping.

Have no idea who Yepbg is.

How about not reading threads you are not interested in. Works well for me. I don't collect T cards and amazingly I have never read one thread about them. Amazing the freedom you have.

Yes
 

OMG !! Amen !!

Came here to say this. 100% correct in my opinion.

LOL Don't get all offended because you brought up a topic that has been beaten to death a billion times. I usually read all the threads because yes I am married to a wealthy wife and have the time.

Plus I wasnt saying not to write about it, just that there is a separate section so there is less garbage to weed through on the main board.

We could have a separate section for everything but I don't think it will create a better environment. With a total of 35 threads on the front page of the board I don't think it's that much to weed through. At least it isn't for me but then again I am just one collector amongst many.

http://luckeycards.com/pt209landgraff.jpg

LOL I get it, just giving thin-skinned Steve a hard time. I apologize Steve, don't want this to fester.

I guess the water cooler section is for these types of threads.

LOL, I remember a short period around here when people were complaining about too many T206 threads on the main page, and that they should have their own section!

Last time I checked t206's are CARDS

They are described as 'Rookie' cards, which of course bumps up the price a bit, as a direct result of the effort involved in describing them in that way.

Brian (I will now begin putting in the effort to include such terms in future listings to increase my bottom line)

Brian

Hilarious
 

I have had nice transactions with 707 too, and always suspected that with that big white hat Levi was a "costumer" at heart--just never knew he offered it as a service.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wcRjwcsFrOc/hqdefault.jpg

I could strongly complain that I am not thin skinned but fear that would prove the point.

With all the gyrations the market for cards has done in the last decade or so, odds are the outlier seller has a lot into the card and doesn't want to take the loss unless forced to, so he puts the card up at where he needs to be and hopes for the best. Been there, done that, expect to do it again. Denial is not just a river.

Front AND back pictures??? in that case, here is 3 times what the card is worth Dean!!! If you get a side shot in there I will QUADRUPLE IT!

As an ebay seller myself, I think sellers have a lot of different strategies on how they price their cards. Many times, they don't even compare what other sellers are selling that same card for on ebay. They might not have the time to compare or don't care. For example, they may just take the purchase price of the card for them, and then add a 50% markup to it, so that after ebay/paypal fees, it will still net out to a profit for them. If the card is the only card on ebay for that condition, they might put a high price on it, hoping that someone who really wants it, will bite.

Another factor is that the same condition for a card can vary greatly, if that makes sense. For example, a VG card can have a huge crease across the middle or it could be a beautiful card with just a speck of paper loss on the back. Therefore, the seller might price higher based upon perceived eye appeal for the card even if VCP for that card in that grade shows much lower average prices.

In addition, not everyone that buys on ebay are collectors. A lot of folks who buy on ebay are just buying cards as gifts. I've been on ebay selling for 6-7 years, mainly just prewar cards, and I've had around 1700 unique buyers. Many of the people who buy from me are collectors that I've heard of, but others just seem to be one-offs where they are buying cards for friends or family members. If they see a 100 year old card for $20, they may think that is a perfectly reasonable price for something that old, and not realize that others are selling that same card for $5.

Another possibility is that the seller is putting up a high price on ebay in hopes that you will contact him so that the purchase can occur off-ebay for a lower price and so that he can avoid the ebay fees that go along with it. Basically, fishing for an offer.

Finally, as mentioned, the card could just be in his personal collection where he is not planning on selling that card. However, he just slaps that huge price where "if somebody wants to offer me $X, then it's a no brainer that I got to sell it." That price may have no price in reality, but that's just the price the seller decided.

Just curious, what metrics do you use to arrive at such a glowing review? In my experience, 9 in 10 eBay sellers ship the very next day and package cards safely. Many even ship free. Does 707 do something BETTER than that to command their premium? Do they include fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies in their shipments?

On my last purchase from Levi he went out of his way when he did not need to. I bought a set of cards from someone else. I was going to send them all in to get graded. It was near the end of the month and I wanted to get in on that months special. While looking through the cards I noticed 1 card was creased. I knew if I went the eBay route the card would not make it in time. Levi had the card I needed in the condition I wanted. I filled out his form and purchased the card. A few minutes later Levi emailed me and said he would get back to me later in the day(a Friday) with a better price. I instantly emailed him back saying price did not matter but I needed the card ASAP. He emailed me back saying he would personally mail it out on Saturday, a day they are not open. Not only did he mail it on saturday for me but he priority shipped it for free, by free I mean the price he had o the card and nothing else. Now that is better than a fresh baked cookie isn't it.:) I am not a regular costumer and it was not a high end item. I don't know any other place that would do that.

707
 

When I tell Levi I am interested in a card or cards he sends it/them to me for inspection before asking me to pay, and he does discount to his repeat customers. Great customer service and will share his hobby knowledge

That is a great example. Better than, and less calories, than cookies. Appreciate the clarification.

I wish my experiences with him were different. I've been to maybe 10 shows now where they set up, and I'm never acknowledged, even when it's slow. The last time I went to his booth, I was specifically trying to buy a $2K card with cash in hand, and again, he wouldn't acknowledge me, so I just walked away. Haven't been back since.

Guy has thousands of feedback a year and 100% positive. Obviously he's doing something right.

I used to stop by his table at shows but prices way too high, even if great service. I stopped looking at his stuff at shows and online. I'm glad others are happy with him.

Mike

I have to agree with this for the most part. I've never dealt with 707 ( The scans really turn me, always look drained). but as a buyer, even with things beside cards, I tend to overpay for the better costumer service/buying experience.

As a younger collector, one thing I always hated was dealers who wouldn't give me the time of day because they didn't think I had the money to spend,one guy at my local show ( The guy who has by far the best inventory too) has always been kind and respectful to me, so even though he charges more then I'd pay online, I always give him business. If I was ever going to sell everything at once, he would also be the guy i gave first shot at.

So, are you suggesting that my personal experiences are moot because he has great eBay metrics? I didn't say he has a bad business model, just shared my experience at shows. Should I check eBay before sharing next time?

sell
 

Levi( Alice Cooper) is a rocker from way back...and also does brownies too !

Memory says, and I'm answering this in the dead of night -- that YEP is Joe Yanello (Shoeless Joe) from Chicago. Not sure, but that is my best guess at this hour

Rich, I'm pretty sure that's not accurate.

Joe's business is Joe's Vintage Sports Cards and the associated auction house. His reputation speaks for itself.

"yepg" on eBay is Brian Goldstein. This has been mentioned on Net54 in the past.

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