eBay and its pricing...

[LionHeart, Inc.]

The winning bid was that much...really?

 

I'm always willing to pay good money on eBay for a good CGC 9.6 or 9.8 comic to add to my collection and most of the time I do find great deals. But lately on eBay people have been going crazy on bidding and on offer prices, way beyond what the comic is valued at times. I guess I understand the need to get that gem of a comic and add it to your collection. It just seems some of the prices are just not based in reality like starting at 12k for a Green Lantern #76 CGC 9.6 or just recently X-men #120 CGC 9.8 went for over 1k on the winning bid...really? I'm sure you all went though the same ordeal thinking you have the winning bid of $20 and end up losing to a bid of $200 in the last 5 seconds of the auction (just happened to me). The comic was NOT worth that much, but I guess you cant really put a value on something you need and love to collect.

 

Just venting...since I really wanted those comics :-(

 

See more journals by LionHeart, Inc.

[miraclemet]

Well the GL#76 @ $12k is a 1 year high by a grand or two, but maybe the pricing has started to level off and actually climb vs previous years (where the average price has dropped each year)

 

And the Xmen#120 in 9.8 is right in line with a half dozen previous ebaytype sales in the lasy 6 months...

 

So many bids come in the last 30 seconds thanks to strategy and sniping I basically assume Im going to lose a book unless I've bid over GPA on it... I wouldnt get your hopes up on getting a "deal" just cause your bid is on top with an hour to go... (ahhh remember back when you could actually find deals on ebay?)

 

keep plugging away. unless you are bidding on a book I want then scram!

[biggblaster]

Hi LionHeart,

When you say the comic isn't worth that much do you mean in general or from the price guide? Isn't it simple supply and demand? Something is worth as much as you are willing to pay. I have been buying and selling, on a low scale basis, for the last 25 years and I think I have gone through the same feelings. I can remember when I could buy hulk 181's for 30.00 but somewhere along the line they have gone up in value.. A more recent example is Avengers Annual 10. There was a time not that long ago I could have bought a 100 copies at a time for a buck each, I don’t think you can find that anymore. What about this original art? Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane stuff going for 100's of thousands of dollars. It is crazy. I remember when I could have bought stuff like that for only a few thousand or less. I also think that all the movies have helped bring comic book collecting to a broader market and the demand has gone up. I have literally bought 50 plus copies of New Mutants 98 for .25 each from second hand stores in the mid 90's, because I was a Liefeld fan, and now I can sell them at 350.00 a pop. I have sold 3 9.8's and 2 9.6's since June alone.

 

[LionHeart, Inc.]

Guys - I understand prices go up and down, which great for us as collectors and sellers of comics. Also great for the comic genre in general. It just a little annoying going through eBay and seeing posts of comics at ridicules prices. But like I said on my original post the need to have a gem of comic sometimes has no price limit.

 

and I do miss those days of finding ALOT good comic deals on eBay...but they do still happen. I still think eBay is the best market for CGC collectors and looking forward to keep growing my Green Lantern, Xmen and Ghost Rider sets.

[jackowick-migration]

It IS ridiculous the disconnect. I saw (and missed) a recent CGC auction for an issue of X-Men selling for a final bid in the $125 range. The buy it now from another seller?

$300.

 

Sometimes I want to throw in the towel and overpay, but it's just a severe disconnect.

 

And as a seller, I'm appalled at the values people will pay for a raw copy in lesser condition than a slab I am selling that is a 9.0 or 9.4 of a silver or bronze age.

 

It's a horrible place, yet a beautiful place when you are on the good side of one of the lopsided deals...

[miraclemet]

... It just a little annoying going through eBay and seeing posts of comics at ridicules prices.

 

I agree with you on the BIN (Buy it Now) crazy prices. People put books up, list an over inflated price (that no one has ever paid in the past) and hope some schmuck comes along and pays it cause it's the only one listed...

[bruce21wayne21]

It IS ridiculous the disconnect. I saw (and missed) a recent CGC auction for an issue of X-Men selling for a final bid in the $125 range. The buy it now from another seller?

$300.

 

If I had to pick 1 reason I am selling most of my stuff here its that right there.

 

I sold a copy of ASM 122 for $68 bucks.

A copy that looked the same as mine or even a little worse sold for $127. I could be off a few bucks, but it was 120 something. I fully expected mine to sell for that and it went for basically half and I advertised my comic here, on twitter, on another forum and had a couple friends tweet it.

 

I also just hate looking at sold listings to price stuff out and I saw a comic today that looked like a 3.5 sell for almost triple of the same comic that looked like at least a 5. Could have been a 5.5

When I see that, I feel basically done with ebay because I'm too scared to list anything else because I don't know if mine will be that one that sells for less than average of the same quality comic. I only needed it to happen to me once to lose all faith.

 

If a comic sells for $127 there is obviously going to be a bidder that bid close to that 127 and lost. Mine comes up like a couple days later or something not much longer later. Where was the dude who fought so hard and lost the 127 listing? He certainly paid no attention to mine. Idk why it happens and I frankly don't care because it seems so random and risky.

 

Another thing that gets me is I think people pay according to what the seller lists stuff as instead of paying for how something looks. I see things that have hardly any viewers for something I have up at a certain price and see other sellers sell theirs off with a ton of bids around the same price as me, but that seller will list theirs as VF/NM or something when its not and I tell the truth on mine and I get jackshlt for bids. I just bet if I lied and said something was VF/NM and kept the same scans I would get bids. I'm not going to, but still.

[Underground44]

... It just a little annoying going through eBay and seeing posts of comics at ridicules prices.

 

I agree with you on the BIN (Buy it Now) crazy prices. People put books up, list an over inflated price (that no one has ever paid in the past) and hope some schmuck comes along and pays it cause it's the only one listed...

 

And I've seen some listings run for literally YEARS because books are advertised at a ridiculous BIN. I mean, what's the point? People aren't stupid and they'll just wait for a cheaper copy.

[Pook]

eBay is an international playground to buy anything from used chewing gum to automobiles. In regards to comics, it has collectors at every extreme. Unless it is a key graded comic in really high grade, I find eBay to be a stomping ground for people that want something for nothing.

 

For sellers this can be absolutely awful because not only is eBay a competitive selling environment but it is also an expensive one. Between eBay and PayPal you are going to fork over 12-14% usually. I have lost my shirt on books where I did not factor in eBay/PayPal fees in to my asking/BIN/reserve price. I wont even discuss the horrors of selling internationally when accepting PayPal payments. Worse, eBay has RIDICULOUSLY skewed the buying environment to the buyers. The buyer has no real consequence if he has negative feedback. However, the seller has dire consequences if he/she receives negative feedback that can affect the ability to sell on eBay, the way in which it is listed etc. The result is that sellers often times have to bend over and take it all in making concessions that are not in keeping with good business or selling practices just for the sake of being able to sell.

 

That said, there are still deals to be found in both graded and ungraded books. For me, the best deals are found on books that I want that are NOT closing Friday through Sunday, usually Tues through Thurs between 9 pm and 1 am. Most sellers understand that the MOST bidding traffic occurs when a book closes on Sunday in the afternoon to early evening. But there are a few novice sellers that are NOT in the know that list the books at odd times, usually after work before bed not realizing that when they list a book usually affects when it will close unless they pay the extra money to choose when the auction begins.

 

Personally, I ALWAYS use GPA as a reference point for all selling and buying for both slabbed and unslabbed books. eBay prices are reflected in GPA data so it keeps me from getting emotionally involved with bidding on a book I really want. The worst of all is to fixate on a book you want to over pay because someone else has the same fixation.

 

Just a few thoughts and rants from a veteran eBay buyer and seller who happens to be an avid comic collector that actually invests in comics. Til next time......

[Columbia Comics]

I'll add a different perspective to the conversation.

 

I'm a seller on here and mainly eBay (will occasionally list on CL) but mostly, it's eBay. I use eBay as more of an advertising medium. I have a set % that I want to make on my books and I try to factor that in with the ridiculious fees that eBay pays to get to my price point.

 

Do I know that my min. bid/BIN prices are high? Absolutely! Do I encourage potential customers to contact me so I can pass along savings if they buy directly? Oh yeah!

 

The reason sellers set the prices high is that if someone does want to bid, it ensures that sellers will get their min. selling price after fees. So frankly, it doesn't matter to me if a book sells on eBay or not. If someone wants to save money (by way of us skipping the fees), I'm happy to do that as well.

 

If you're ultimately cheap and looking for the screaming good deal, you may find it or you may not. There are others (including me) who are also looking so that good deal can evaporate rather quickly.

 

Just keep in mind that there are sellers who will absolutely work with buyers on eBay. All you have to do is ask.

[miraclemet]

I'll add a different perspective to the conversation.

 

I'm a seller on here and mainly eBay (will occasionally list on CL) but mostly, it's eBay. I use eBay as more of an advertising medium. I have a set % that I want to make on my books and I try to factor that in with the ridiculious fees that eBay pays to get to my price point.

 

Do I know that my min. bid/BIN prices are high? Absolutely! Do I encourage potential customers to contact me so I can pass along savings if they buy directly? Oh yeah!

 

The reason sellers set the prices high is that if someone does want to bid, it ensures that sellers will get their min. selling price after fees. So frankly, it doesn't matter to me if a book sells on eBay or not. If someone wants to save money (by way of us skipping the fees), I'm happy to do that as well.

 

If you're ultimately cheap and looking for the screaming good deal, you may find it or you may not. There are others (including me) who are also looking so that good deal can evaporate rather quickly.

 

Just keep in mind that there are sellers who will absolutely work with buyers on eBay. All you have to do is ask.

 

Yeah I hear you CC, there have been plenty of "offline" purchases that started on ebay, and then once the seller is comfortable with a paypal only deal (not going thru ebay) we come to a good price.

 

I'm not gonna fault anyone listing at 20-25% over recent sales.

 

The BINs that seem silly are the books that are won in an auction (Clink, Heritage) and the market sets a book at one dollar amount, and it's pretty in line with the previous market, and then the next day the book is on eBay with a 100% markup BIN price.. those make me slap my forehead.

 

 

[Lost]

I don't think the problem is with the sellers. It's with the buyers....Cmon we've all overpayed. Sellers see that people overpay. But it's the people with deep pockets that ruin everything :-P

[Dr. Balls]

I usually send in offers (even if they don't have the 'offer' option on their listing) on BIN that are too high. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I place listings in my Watch List, and if they have been there for several months - I'll make a move and see if the seller wants to get rid of it for a lesser price.

 

I actually like the outrageous BIN prices - it discourages people to buy those books and leaves the door open to move in and make a deal where others may not even bother because they have been turned off by the excessive pricing.

[surfer99]

I'll add a different perspective to the conversation.

 

Just keep in mind that there are sellers who will absolutely work with buyers on eBay. All you have to do is ask.

 

This is absolutely true, and not something I've given much thought to previously. In the past I've always just dismissed an auction if I thought the seller was asking way too much. Recently though I picked up a book I wanted from a seller who had listed their book in both eBay and CL. I told them I wanted the book, but felt it was a little too high, so they agreed to send me a PayPal invoice directly and give me free shipping - sold! I'm like the dad on Christmas Story, throw in some free twine, tie the tree to the roof of my car, and you got a deal!

 

[AmazingSaul]

Great post!

 

Ebay has some okay deals. I recommend to always bid before using BIN. Also if you really want it talk to the seller. Ive had a seller bring a price down from 1700 to 1300 on a tec 69. Some sellers will work with you.

[mzhammer]

Strangely, I've seen CGC's listed for BIN for weeks, even months and then all of the sudden the seller decides to let it go for auction and POW! it sells in auction for MORE than the BIN that was listed for months! Auctions are crazy places, I highly suggest going to a LIVE auction in person - You wanna see people go above and beyond in price, that's where the real magic happens!!! Just head my advice... Be careful!

[dlagewaa]

I have decided not to buy CGC books via Ebay anymore. First and foremost because in most cases I can buy the same book from Heritage of ComicLink for less or the same.

 

Another reason to stop buying from Ebay was that I noticed - by comparing the unique CGC ID's - that books marked 'sale pending on Comiclink or Heritage, were offered on Ebay for much more.

 

 

[lpersky-migration]

what a lot of buyers don't understand is how much a seller has potentially invested in a book... if a seller has $50 bucks invested in a book itself, then another $30 in CGC fees, don't expect that seller to list the book for less than $150 on ebay. ebay/paypal is going to take 12-14%, so the seller will be lucky if they are able to double their money, which is usually the minimum goal for most sellers on ebay... if they can't at least double up then ebay is not worth the risk or hassle for most sellers. that is why you see some of the high BIN prices, because sellers might have a lot invested in the book. the sellers who don't have lots invested in the book are the ones who will make deals with you!