B/S/T seems slow

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

In a similar vein, doesn't it seem like the year is off to a pretty slow start auction wise. I thought PWCC was pretty light (for them), and I haven't seen a whole lot I'm interested in in other auctions.

Best stuff I've gotten in the last 2-3 months has been off B/S/T. And ever single transaction was flawless.

Having said that. . . .upcoming Heritage Auction is amazing. Prices are through the roof with a few weeks to go. Pretty much priced out of anything I might have been interested in. (Catalog doesn't suck either.)

[mechanicalman]

I agree with Orlando's sentiment and wish that more higher value cards were at least initially offered for sale through BST before being consigned. I calculated that about only 5% of my purchases were through the BST since I joined, though 90% of my sales went through BST. I simply don't understand why others wouldn't first try to sell direct vs. letting an auction company take a 15-30% margin on a sale just for the benefit of writing a flowery description and shipping the card for you.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I agree with Orlando's sentiment and wish that more higher value cards were at least initially offered for sale through BST before being consigned. I calculated that about only 5% of my purchases were through the BST since I joined, though 90% of my sales went through BST. I simply don't understand why others wouldn't first try to sell direct vs. letting an auction company take a 15-30% margin on a sale just for the benefit of writing a flowery description and shipping the card for you.

Honestly, I think there are situations where you can get a lot more $ on eBay for a particular card than you can get here. Sometimes an educated consumer is not your best customer.

(An if it's something's really nice, you can in most cases get an AH to waive their fees, or sell with an outfit like Brockelman which doesn't charge a fee to sellers.)

[sterlingfox]

I agree that even with ebay and Paypal fees, you can do better on ebay in most cases (especially on a buy-it-now auction).

For anything truly one of a kind or close to it, a major AH is your best bet.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Honestly, I think there are situations where you can get a lot more $ on eBay for a particular card than you can get here. Sometimes an educated consumer is not your best customer.

(An if it's something's really nice, you can in most cases get an AH to waive their fees, or sell with an outfit like Brockelman which doesn't charge a fee to sellers.)

Yes, AH's might waive their seller's fees, but they will not waive their buyer's fees, so whatever you call it, there is still a margin that separates a seller and a buyer. (Seems like we go over this a lot.) I'm just questioning why selling cards this way seems to be the modus operandi, especially with fairly basic issues like Cobbs, Ruths, Gehrigs, etc. that tend to come up often.

That said, I do agree that sometimes dumb buyers will bid certain cards up beyond the general "market price" than an educated buyer's base would pay, (see: Battlefield), and I do agree that really rare stuff and especially memorabilia is perhaps better off with some marketing support.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I simply don't understand why others wouldn't first try to sell direct vs. letting an auction company take a 15-30% margin on a sale just for the benefit of writing a flowery description and shipping the card for you.

I like auctions because there's no haggling.

[orly57]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I agree with Orlando's sentiment and wish that more higher value cards were at least initially offered for sale through BST before being consigned. I calculated that about only 5% of my purchases were through the BST since I joined, though 90% of my sales went through BST. I simply don't understand why others wouldn't first try to sell direct vs. letting an auction company take a 15-30% margin on a sale just for the benefit of writing a flowery description and shipping the card for you.

I have tried selling on bst and gotten haggled to death, but guys are pretty respectful when you write "firm" next to the number. If you know what your card is worth and you knock off 10%, it is worth a shot on bst first.
I have seen some great cards up, but the prices are WAY over vcp. As someone mentioned, this board is too educated for that. This doesn't mean vcp is the end-all-be-all. If your card is dead centered and the last 3 sales of that card in that grade are low, you have every right to set a premium, and guys on the board appreciate that too. I just don't see the harm in putting it up for 2 days before shipping off to Pwcc.

[ngnichols]

I am kind of also surprised at how slow B/S/T is on here. Having bought and sold on Blowout, I expected this to be somewhat similar.

Not any difference between this forum and that one in look/feel, it's just this particular forum is known to specialize in vintage cards, but that couldn't/shouldn't be the only reason people come here to post and/or buy/sell.

I've done a handful of transactions on here with no issues so I'm happy in that regard. I would like to see a member rating/feedback system which I think could help everyone out in seeing how others have acted in their transactions with other members. Keeps everyone honest as long as it is done fairly and moderated accordingly.

[bobbyw8469]

BST might be slow because if you put up a hot card at a fair price, you often got "haggled to death" or lowballed, like some other member said. I understand haggling is the nature of the beast, but come on now. This board is too educated for that.