[JollyElm]

I chatted up someone on eBay who I had bought something from, because he mentioned he had a bunch of other cards from the early 70's that he would sell to me, because he had no interest in them. There was no price or anything mentioned, but it started a conversation between us. That's how I see it here. Some people get outraged that prices aren't posted, so just move on. Not exactly what I would call a 'real' problem. But for others, it very well may lead to a conversation between a seller and a potential buyer, so it's all good.

The reason I brought up the eBay thing is because he sent me a bunch of photos and the cards were in decent shape, with a few HOF'ers present here and there - Sutton, Santo, Marichal, Williams - but there was no list of numbers or anything, and he wanted me to make an offer. Since there wasn't too much to go on, I had a number in mind, but I deferred, because as a buyer I wanted to see where he was at. So I told him he really had to tell me what price seemed fair to him. After a couple of pleasant back and forths (off of eBay, so don't tell anyone) and a few more pics, he gave me a number...which was probably only half of what I would have been willing to pay, so I jumped at it. In the end (haven't gotten the cards yet), the 'priceless' chat led to a better deal for me, but also for him, because he was happy with his price. Again, this applies to listings here in the B/S/T. Sometimes the seller will do better for himself and other times the buyer will think he got a steal. That's life.

Postscript: after the box of cards arrives, if I find that I really got a huge bargain out of this, I will gladly (and unasked for) send the seller additional funds, because he's a nice guy. If it turns out to be worse than what I thought? Tough luck for me.