Do eBay bucks inflate the market?

[cloud cloddie]

Just curious your opinions on this.

Obviously a lot of BIN are generally over GPA, but I find myself willing to bite sometimes when I get my buck certificate. I've gotten several 8-10% bucks back offers lately as well.

If a book I want is on average $300 but on eBay $350, a $50 eBay buck and 10% back puts it at $265. I'm happy with the price I ended up paying, but do you think after the sale goes in GPA it helps raise the price on later sales across all auction sites?

[Dr. Balls]

This is a great question, and I can see that happening.

[Speedy-D]

They inflate my trousers.

[Flaming_Telepath]

I don't imagine they have any different effect than if you were paying with money that you got for your birthday, or an unexpected bonus at work, or a minor lottery win, or a family member leaving you something in a will, or making a killing on a sale, or really, really wanting the book, or...

 

The point is, there are myriad reasons why somebody would pay above GPA and I have no belief that eBay bucks are more of a market force than any other.

[Junkdrawer]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

[cloud cloddie]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

 

How does GPA, or anybody, see how a book was paid for?

[rjrjr]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

 

How does GPA, or anybody, see how a book was paid for?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

[Junkdrawer]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

 

How does GPA, or anybody, see how a book was paid for?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

When an item on ebay sells it will appear in the "sold" listings shown in green. Ebay now only lists an item there only if it has been actually paid for. That's why you don't see it immediately after it has sold in the "sold" listings.

[cloud cloddie]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

 

How does GPA, or anybody, see how a book was paid for?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

When an item on ebay sells it will appear in the "sold" listings shown in green. Ebay now only lists an item there only if it has been actually paid for. That's why you don't see it immediately after it has sold in the "sold" listings.

 

I still don't understand how that shows an eBay bucks discount. I searched for things I used eBay bucks on last cycle, and the sold listings show the auction end prices, not with any discounts.

[Junkdrawer]

EBAY bucks are rebated so if you buy a book for 1000, GPA catches that. You own the book in essence for 900

 

How does GPA, or anybody, see how a book was paid for?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

When an item on ebay sells it will appear in the "sold" listings shown in green. Ebay now only lists an item there only if it has been actually paid for. That's why you don't see it immediately after it has sold in the "sold" listings.

 

I still don't understand how that shows an eBay bucks discount. I searched for things I used eBay bucks on last cycle, and the sold listings show the auction end prices, not with any discounts.

Ebay bucks aren't shown. That's just it, nobody sees them reflected in the sale and that goes for GPA. Not everyone is signed up for ebay bucks (silly but true) and I think some buyers are getting offers over others as they are more likely to spend.

[dupont2005]

Not any more than credit card cash rewards will, or people's tax returns. I see it as having virtually no impact.

[paperheart]

as much impact as GPA not picking up the 8-10% sales tax on Heritage auction wins by bidders in TX, NY or CA

[Dr. Balls]

Not any more than credit card cash rewards will, or people's tax returns. I see it as having virtually no impact.

 

I've specifically bought books that were hard-to-find (Gen13 Box Sets) and sellers would not budge on price, so I waited until my Ebay Bucks certificate went active to purchase them. That gave me 1-3 months to find them cheaper, and when I didn't - I used the Bucks to bring the cash price down to something I wanted to pay.

 

Here's the problem: MY purchases of those Gen13 Box Sets drove up the price of future box sets that were listed. I wouldn't pay more than $100 for a box set, so if I used my Ebay Bucks to bring a set down from $145-$160 to $100, it actually drove UP the $160 price tag on the Jim Lee box set that is currently listed on Ebay (and has been for 6 months). The dealer won't budge on the price, even after I told her I was the only one buying the box sets on Ebay (many of the previous sales were my purchases), and she is sticking with the price, because several of them were in that price range and you could not tell I used my Ebay Bucks on them to bring down the price.

 

So, yes - I believe based on my experience it does have an impact, although people are unlikely to see it because it's few and far between that someone is buying specific-enough books to track the repercussions of using the Bucks. It's totally theoretical, but in my case - yes, it impacted the sales of the Gen13 box sets.