What was Ebay like before CGC?

[BassGMan]

Hello, I have been a small time comic dealer and have done the local comic convention circuit for twenty years. I have only been serious about buying and selling comics on Ebay for about two years. I have a question for you Ebay comic dealers that have been doing business on Ebay before CGC was around. What was it like selling (or buying) comics on Ebay back then? What were the problems, the advantages, price trends? And especially, what was GRADING like back then, and how did you verify it, if at all? Was speculation different? How did you trust a seller that was selling a key book (ASM #1, FF #1 and etc.)? Overall what are the advantages and disadvantages of CGC/Ebay now as compared to a pre-CGC world? Any pre-CGC/Ebay stories of interest? Just curious. Thanks------Sid

[shiverbones]

an absolute [!@#%^&^] shoot! Sales were all over the place. grading too, i tended to always do alright with a good scan though. Honestly it was similar to what the raw market still is, but in 97 & 98 there were WAY less people.

[shiverbones]

i guess you can not say carp

[fazman]

Speaking of people...any idea of how many registered E-Bayers there are out there ??

[PovertyRow]

i guess you can not say carp

 

But I bet you can say crapshoot!

[sckao]

Speaking of people...any idea of how many registered E-Bayers there are out there ??

 

Confirmed registered users at the end of Q3-03 totaled 85.5 million users.

 

There were 37.4 million active users at the end of Q3-03. This was a 55% increase over the 24.2 million active users reported in the same time period one year ago.

 

 

 

 

[fazman]

Speaking of people...any idea of how many registered E-Bayers there are out there ??

 

Confirmed registered users at the end of Q3-03 totaled 85.5 million users.

 

There were 37.4 million active users at the end of Q3-03. This was a 55% increase over the 24.2 million active users reported in the same time period one year ago.

 

 

 

 

Gee , thats Canada x 2 plus some more !!

Hmmm...probably make as much money as Canada too.

[RS]

[murph0]

It was just about the same as it is now. It seems like there's more scammers now. But it may just be b/c there's now "obvious" scammers. Still had lots of the same risks in buying raw books, and really your only refuge were very large scans or sometimes reputable dealers. Prices are higher now with CGC, but if I had to choose between buying raw misgraded stuff or paying a bit more for peace of mind. I'll take the latter.

 

Brian

[Zanarkand]

On Ebay before CGC, grading was all over the place, prices were way out of line, restored books were being sold as unrestored, etc. Today on Ebay with CGC, grading is all over the place, prices are way out of line, restored books are being sold as unrestored, but now you can find stuff by searching for "CGC".

[fiendish]

Before eBay took off, I was selling on Usenet via rec.arts.comics.marketplace. This ran on the honor system (according to the FAQ). Seller lists, buyer e-mails seller with intention to pay, seller sends payment, buyer ships item.

 

I was able to move a lot of low-grade esoteric golden age stuff to buyers I never would have reached locally. I usually described as best I could using Overstreet and the OWL card (remember that?). I offered to send scans to interested buyers; I didn't post scans (I was on dial up).

 

I only had one problem customer who accused me of overgrading, but we worked it out amicably. I wound up refunding part of his purchase price and he was satisfied. (I didn't agree with him, but I wanted repeat business.)

 

The most frequent thread in the newsgroup, though, was the "Bad Sellers List." This was followed closely by the "Bad Buyers List."

 

 

[lighthouse]

Man... eBay was great before CGC...

 

Back then you could sell Playboys in the main part of eBay. I used to buy runs of Playboys for around $1 a piece from collectors and sell them on eBay for a fortune. The one from 1984 with the Steve Jobs interview was a solid $30 sale every time. The Tom Selleck interview from around the same time was a $25 book. Every Pamela cover fetched at least $15. The Drew Barrymore issue consistently brought $30. The Jenny McCarthy books sold around $20.

 

I ran one sale back in mid-99 of every issue from 1985 to 1996, and the average selling price was $12.44... The Jobs issue in that sale went for $41.

 

And then CGC came along and screwed it all up...

[DaethWalker]

Man... eBay was great before CGC...

 

Back then you could sell Playboys in the main part of eBay. I used to buy runs of Playboys for around $1 a piece from collectors and sell them on eBay for a fortune. The one from 1984 with the Steve Jobs interview was a solid $30 sale every time. The Tom Selleck interview from around the same time was a $25 book. Every Pamela cover fetched at least $15. The Drew Barrymore issue consistently brought $30. The Jenny McCarthy books sold around $20.

 

I ran one sale back in mid-99 of every issue from 1985 to 1996, and the average selling price was $12.44... The Jobs issue in that sale went for $41.

 

And then CGC came along and screwed it all up...

 

 

I give up ...

 

How did a 3rd party grading service for comics ruin the sale of Plaboy Magazines?

 

 

[Aces]

Man... eBay was great before CGC...

 

Back then you could sell Playboys in the main part of eBay. I used to buy runs of Playboys for around $1 a piece from collectors and sell them on eBay for a fortune. The one from 1984 with the Steve Jobs interview was a solid $30 sale every time. The Tom Selleck interview from around the same time was a $25 book. Every Pamela cover fetched at least $15. The Drew Barrymore issue consistently brought $30. The Jenny McCarthy books sold around $20.

 

I ran one sale back in mid-99 of every issue from 1985 to 1996, and the average selling price was $12.44... The Jobs issue in that sale went for $41.

 

And then CGC came along and screwed it all up...

 

 

I give up ...

 

How did a 3rd party grading service for comics ruin the sale of Plaboy Magazines?

 

 

Green qualified labels for "unknown substance on centerfold" and "strange creases on covers"?

[BassGMan]

Man... eBay was great before CGC...

 

Back then you could sell Playboys in the main part of eBay. I used to buy runs of Playboys for around $1 a piece from collectors and sell them on eBay for a fortune. The one from 1984 with the Steve Jobs interview was a solid $30 sale every time. The Tom Selleck interview from around the same time was a $25 book. Every Pamela cover fetched at least $15. The Drew Barrymore issue consistently brought $30. The Jenny McCarthy books sold around $20.

 

I ran one sale back in mid-99 of every issue from 1985 to 1996, and the average selling price was $12.44... The Jobs issue in that sale went for $41.

 

And then CGC came along and screwed it all up...

 

Although I agree that I don't understand the direct correlation between Playboys and CGCs, it is however a good point that this poster has brought up. Do you people even know that Ebay has Mature Items listings? I don't know about the past, but ever since I have been involved with Ebay it has been there. I list plenty of "bad girl" comics and often have bidders e-mailing me asking if I have a certain "nude" cover available (London Night stuff, Double Impact, Vamperotica, misc. adult titles). Often I have them listed right then in the mature items area which I suggest they check out. Most of these guys had no idea there was such a thing. Ebay makes it hard to find as well. You have to start from the "Everything Else" menu, then click on mature items, then go through the adult authorization process (you need to be registered as an adult with a credit card). Kind of a pain. With some of my listings now I specifically refer the this "hidden" are in my listings that are in Ebay's main listings so that they know to go find it (I even explain how to find it). Also, Ebay is quite prude if you read the listing requirements. There are strict rules even for mature items such as certain kinds of photos that cannot be shown, certain words that cannot be used (even as part of the item title), no more than two adult photos per ad, etc. Anyway, just wanted to put that out there. -----Sid

[JohnBull]

Although I agree that I don't understand the direct correlation between Playboys and CGCs, it is however a good point that this poster has brought up. Do you people even know that Ebay has Mature Items listings? I don't know about the past, but ever since I have been involved with Ebay it has been there. I list plenty of "bad girl" comics and often have bidders e-mailing me asking if I have a certain "nude" cover available (London Night stuff, Double Impact, Vamperotica, misc. adult titles). Often I have them listed right then in the mature items area which I suggest they check out. Most of these guys had no idea there was such a thing. Ebay makes it hard to find as well. You have to start from the "Everything Else" menu, then click on mature items, then go through the adult authorization process (you need to be registered as an adult with a credit card). Kind of a pain. With some of my listings now I specifically refer the this "hidden" are in my listings that are in Ebay's main listings so that they know to go find it (I even explain how to find it). Also, Ebay is quite prude if you read the listing requirements. There are strict rules even for mature items such as certain kinds of photos that cannot be shown, certain words that cannot be used (even as part of the item title), no more than two adult photos per ad, etc. Anyway, just wanted to put that out there. -----Sid

 

...and no selling to foreigners, who aren't allowed to access the listings