Are you more likely to get a good deal on...
 

an eBay BIN (or BIN B/O) or via an auction-style listing? Thanks for your opinion.

hard to say
 

Hard to say.... I think if you can get to a BIN quickly you might get a better deal that way.

those auctions that end in the middle of the day can be pretty nice...

+1

Shhhh..
 

+2

I have gotten some great deals on both but if I had to choose definately Auction Style in my experiences.

I'd say auction style, but you have to have patience waiting for the right auction. Sometimes bidders get stupid on ya!

I think it is much more common to get a "steal" from an auction style listing, but there are some good BIN deals to be had too. You just have to catch them almost as soon as they are listed. That being said, some of my auction style listings go for way more than I would have ever set the BIN at.

I recently won an acution in the middle of the day - mid-week. Not vintage, but I won a complete set of 1978 Topps Baseball, all in NM (except card #1 had a dinged corner), for just over $37. I was quite pleased.

I've seen a few cards that went for more that went for more on ebay auction when nobody bought it as a BIO (including one of mine.) It sort of depends on the seller if you make an offer, but I've gotten more good deals off of auctions.

I'd say you would end-up with a larger harvest of chickens if you solely focus on low snipes via auction-style listings. You can scoop a good-to-great deal on the Buy-It-Now format, but as mentioned, you have to be quick so the competition can be fierce. By the way, I would also throw-in the "Best-Offer" format as another venue where you can get a good-to-great deal. But at the end of the day, nothing will ever beat the Net54 B/S/T board for good-to-great deals :).

Lovely Day...

I like going threw paypal. What not to do is to bid on a card that has a pic taken from 6 feet away with a color back round and 200 words describing its condition.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROBERTO-CLEM...ht_2938wt_1132

I used to say auctions but now am thinking BIN. A lot of buyers sort for auctions only and if you have patience to search the BINs you can find some winners. You can also work some deals on the BINs if they've been around for awhile.

Ebay is changing to a BIN world because beginning sellers or ones with less than 300 feedback (me included) are sometimes afraid that their items won't get enough exposure to get full dollar. Buyers seem to look for their favorite sellers with 20,000 feedback and the non-pros listings will sometimes get buried in all of those listings.

So, the beginning sellers putting their items up either way high or reasonable or at a bargain. When those items go up as BIN and you search at the right time, you can find some really good deals on some more rare items. Like Leon's blank back. You just have to be a quick draw from TX. :)

My experience is that the volume sellers will use auction and that the mom & pop and hobby sellers use BIN (with some exceptions). I like to see what the hobby sellers have because typically it might be something a little out of the ordinary.

Interesting thread. I think that seasonality is a factor as well. For whatever reason, I do not have too much luck with "buy it now or best offer" sales on Ebay. If I go with the best offer route, I tend to try the Mom and Pop type of listings on Ebay. I think that some of the auctions have gotten a little crazy at the moment as well. It pays to be patient though!:cool:

+2 here....or end at weird times (like 3 AM ET) or in the middle of the day during a holiday weekend.

It really matters what the card is. If it's a T206, Goudey or something common like that, you'd have a very hard time getting a deal in an auction style listing. But for something not as popular such as 1933 Uncle Jack's Candy, you're likely to get a better deal in an auction unless there is a bidding war.

+1

I think it's pretty easy to statistically prove that you will generally get better deals via auction than BIN. Of course there are exceptions to the rule. But simply sign into EBay, look for an item you want, and then scroll down the left hand side until you see "Completed Auctions" and look at that item price as sold via auction over the past couple of weeks vs. what that same item is being asked for on BIN.

Literally, well over 80-85% of the time (in my estimation, but easily calculable) you're going to see auctions going for less money than BIN.

Are you more likely to get a good deal on...
 

Are you more likely to get a good deal on...

The answer for me is it depends. I think right now certain types are a little weaker than others, so auction listings are favorable for me, but there is nothing like the BIN for a good deal and being first to grab it! (Bumped into this one yesterday on Feebay and grabbed it with both hands:

1910 T210 OLD MILL TEXAS LEAGUE JOHNSTON SGC 50 4 VG/EX

In my experience I would say there are more "good" deals to be had via auctions, but there is the ocassional "great" deal to be had on BIN's, if you happen to be browsing soon after they are listed.