Why do cards at auction sell for more?

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by glchen

On ebay, many buyers exclude BIN's from their searches. Also with BIN's, many buyers are not sure that they are paying "fair market value" and believe they may be overpaying. With auctions, the buyer believes that they are paying the market price.

This (above) is generally my thought on the question.

I think there are so many bloated BIN prices and ridiculously high asking prices at card shows and card shops that a stigma attaches to private sales in a buyer's mind. I approach every private sale price with a high level of skepticism.

Despite saying and believing this, I have done way more deals on this Board in the last 3 years than I have done BINs on eBay in 15 years...

Still 95%+ of my buying is via auction.

Cheers,
Blair