Approaches for dealing with overly-high prices set by consignors

[Dr Chaos]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions.

 

While a fee for items unsold after X amount of time would be simple to implement, and creates the proper motivation for a seller to price a book to move, I don't want to do that. Also, as multiple people have pointed out, some items can be priced quite reasonably and still take a long time to sell because there are not that many people out there looking for the book at any given time.

 

My goal is not to make all consignors price a book how we would price it. Consignors have their own acquisition costs to cover, plus our commission, and it's perfectly acceptable for a consignor to price a book somewhat aggressively. New GPA highs get set all the time. Within reason, I would rather have a book in stock at a higher price than not have it in at all.

 

Rather, what I want to improve on is limiting the most extreme over pricing. Several sales in the past year for your book are averaging $50-80, other copies are available for sale in the same price range, and yours is priced $200? That'd be one where your book isn't likely to sell and makes the listing look bad.

 

What I'm leaning towards is adding a recommended price range to the price guidance we provide. It wouldn't necessarily be listed on all books, just the ones where there's enough data to support a decent recommendation. The recommended price range would exert some gentle social pressure in the direction of setting a reasonable price.

 

If a book had a recommended price range shown, but the consignor wanted to set a price well above that range, they'd be able to enter their desired price along with any notes justifying it, such as a prior sale we don't know about, expected movie announcement, etc. The listing would not show up at the consignor's desired price until we'd seen it and signed off. If we decline, then the listing can't go up at that price, and the consignor could either set a lower price or withdraw the item. Might take some experimentation, but I think something like that could work.

 

In addition to this, we'll be adding the make an offer feature, as well as improved options for consignors to quickly review and reprice their unsold inventory.

 

I think you are on the right track with your logic.

 

The idea is to get more books priced in a range that could reasonable expect to sell.

 

By making recommendations and / or educating sellers you are addressing the problem without scaring off potential consignments.

 

You seem to have a good thing going so treading carefully can help you get better results than rocking the boat.

[01TheDude]

all I would add is that you explain why you are making these changes and why it is set up this way from your business side perspective. Spelling that out will help the sellers understand why this is being done and look at it as less of an unwanted restriction.

[FormerReader]

Sounds like a reasonable approach.

 

The only thing I would add is you should suggest to the owners of either of the CGC 7.5 Magnus Robot Fighter #1 that they should take $400.

[Big.Mike]

How bought letting us use our trade credit for consignment comics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cloud cloddie]

Example:

 

Gold Key Magnus # 1.

 

I love that you have 4 copies for sale. I hate that they're *optimistically* priced.

 

But they are listed at:

 

CGC 7.5: $495 (+3%)

CGC 7.5: $525 (+3%)

CGC 4.5: $275 (+3%)

CGC 4.0: $225 (+3%)

 

The first 7.5 might not be _too_ out of bounds, given that there's a GPA-recorded sale of $460, but realistic pricing for this book is $400, not $509.85 plus shipping.

 

The others are just ridiculous. The 4.0 and 4.5 copies would struggle to reach $75 at open auction, and that's being generous, as the highest recorded GPA high is $50 for 4.0 and $68 for 5.0.

 

And, for reference, I set the listed GPA highs for Magnus 1 in 4.0, 4.5, and 9.4.

 

Annnndddd... two days after this book was mentioned in this thread, it's now been changed to a BIN of $790.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361187092452?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Fairly ridiculous for a book that sold 5 months ago on heritage for $299 and flipped a week later for $450. Maybe another sucker will come along and buy it again, but if it wasn't selling at the $500+ plus price you've had it at for the last few months, I doubt this will do any better.

 

This exact example is what I thought you were trying to get suggestions on how to avoid, but apparently not.

[kav]

I've seen this before-book doesn't sell for years so seller ups the price.

[Sqeggs]

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions.

 

While a fee for items unsold after X amount of time would be simple to implement, and creates the proper motivation for a seller to price a book to move, I don't want to do that. Also, as multiple people have pointed out, some items can be priced quite reasonably and still take a long time to sell because there are not that many people out there looking for the book at any given time.

 

My goal is not to make all consignors price a book how we would price it. Consignors have their own acquisition costs to cover, plus our commission, and it's perfectly acceptable for a consignor to price a book somewhat aggressively. New GPA highs get set all the time. Within reason, I would rather have a book in stock at a higher price than not have it in at all.

 

Rather, what I want to improve on is limiting the most extreme over pricing. Several sales in the past year for your book are averaging $50-80, other copies are available for sale in the same price range, and yours is priced $200? That'd be one where your book isn't likely to sell and makes the listing look bad.

 

What I'm leaning towards is adding a recommended price range to the price guidance we provide. It wouldn't necessarily be listed on all books, just the ones where there's enough data to support a decent recommendation. The recommended price range would exert some gentle social pressure in the direction of setting a reasonable price.

 

If a book had a recommended price range shown, but the consignor wanted to set a price well above that range, they'd be able to enter their desired price along with any notes justifying it, such as a prior sale we don't know about, expected movie announcement, etc. The listing would not show up at the consignor's desired price until we'd seen it and signed off. If we decline, then the listing can't go up at that price, and the consignor could either set a lower price or withdraw the item. Might take some experimentation, but I think something like that could work.

 

In addition to this, we'll be adding the make an offer feature, as well as improved options for consignors to quickly review and reprice their unsold inventory.

 

Seems like a lot of work on your part. May also lead to back and forth with consignors and some potential ill will. Adding the "Make an offer" feature may solve a lot of your problems.

 

Even if your web site lacks the capability, I'm curious as to why you don't activate the "Make an offer" feature now on your eBay listings.

[MetalPSI]

I'll just keep holding on to my money and buying from other people at this point in time....

[Johnny U]

Example:

 

Gold Key Magnus # 1.

 

I love that you have 4 copies for sale. I hate that they're *optimistically* priced.

 

But they are listed at:

 

CGC 7.5: $495 (+3%)

CGC 7.5: $525 (+3%)

CGC 4.5: $275 (+3%)

CGC 4.0: $225 (+3%)

 

The first 7.5 might not be _too_ out of bounds, given that there's a GPA-recorded sale of $460, but realistic pricing for this book is $400, not $509.85 plus shipping.

 

The others are just ridiculous. The 4.0 and 4.5 copies would struggle to reach $75 at open auction, and that's being generous, as the highest recorded GPA high is $50 for 4.0 and $68 for 5.0.

 

And, for reference, I set the listed GPA highs for Magnus 1 in 4.0, 4.5, and 9.4.

 

Annnndddd... two days after this book was mentioned in this thread, it's now been changed to a BIN of $790.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361187092452?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Fairly ridiculous for a book that sold 5 months ago on heritage for $299 and flipped a week later for $450. Maybe another sucker will come along and buy it again, but if it wasn't selling at the $500+ plus price you've had it at for the last few months, I doubt this will do any better.

 

This exact example is what I thought you were trying to get suggestions on how to avoid, but apparently not.

 

I actually raised the price because I'm going to request to have it shipped back to me tomorrow. They were closed by the time I got home from work.

[Topnotchman]

A way to get consignors to lower there prices right from the get go would be to offer some incentive. How about if the comic sells within 24 hours the consignment commission is half off so instead of 10% its 5%, if it sells within the first hour its 2%. This would give sellers motive to price the books to move immediately and would also create a feeding frenzy as buyers would be waiting for the bargains to show up at any given moment. Eventually building up a buyer base of thousands of collectors waiting for the newly listed inventory. This would separate your site from other consignment sites.

 

If a book sits unsold for " * " months the book is removed from active listing and an email is sent to the consignor stating the book needs to have a lowered price to become active again, otherwise it can be returned at the buyers expense.

[VintageComics]

A way to get consignors to lower there prices right from the get go would be to offer some incentive. How about if the comic sells within 24 hours the consignment commission is half off so instead of 10% its 5%, if it sells within the first hour its 2%. This would give sellers motive to price the books to move immediately and would also create a feeding frenzy as buyers would be waiting for the bargains to show up at any given moment. Eventually building up a buyer base of thousands of collectors waiting for the newly listed inventory. This would separate your site from other consignment sites.

 

If a book sits unsold for " * " months the book is removed from active listing and an email is sent to the consignor stating the book needs to have a lowered price to become active again, otherwise it can be returned at the buyers expense.

 

Holy cow. Brilliant.

[mycomicshop]

A way to get consignors to lower there prices right from the get go would be to offer some incentive. How about if the comic sells within 24 hours the consignment commission is half off so instead of 10% its 5%, if it sells within the first hour its 2%. This would give sellers motive to price the books to move immediately and would also create a feeding frenzy as buyers would be waiting for the bargains to show up at any given moment. Eventually building up a buyer base of thousands of collectors waiting for the newly listed inventory. This would separate your site from other consignment sites.

 

If a book sits unsold for " * " months the book is removed from active listing and an email is sent to the consignor stating the book needs to have a lowered price to become active again, otherwise it can be returned at the buyers expense.

 

Holy cow. Brilliant.

 

Great suggestions.

[paul747]

A way to get consignors to lower there prices right from the get go would be to offer some incentive. How about if the comic sells within 24 hours the consignment commission is half off so instead of 10% its 5%, if it sells within the first hour its 2%. This would give sellers motive to price the books to move immediately and would also create a feeding frenzy as buyers would be waiting for the bargains to show up at any given moment. Eventually building up a buyer base of thousands of collectors waiting for the newly listed inventory. This would separate your site from other consignment sites.

 

If a book sits unsold for " * " months the book is removed from active listing and an email is sent to the consignor stating the book needs to have a lowered price to become active again, otherwise it can be returned at the buyers expense.

 

Holy cow. Brilliant.

 

Great suggestions.

 

Really good they owe you a commission on that one !

[Real Elijah Snow]

This 100%. I consign thousands and thousands worth of comics and art with MCS. If the option to price how I want without penalty is taken away then I will start looking for other alternatives. I price some things below/at/above market depending on the item, and what I think it will eventually sell for. I also use the auction format every month for a lot of stuff and often for items that haven't sold in what I have personally deemed too long. The only thing I would change is the ability of the buyer to make an offer. Beyond that, the system is fine. If I buy a book for resale at $200 I shouldn't be forced to price it at $250 just because some guide/gpa whatever says I have to. I should be able to price it how I want and at my discretion lower the price if the market doesn't follow what I think it will. Anyone that buys from my sales threads know that I price most things at or below market to encourage quick sales. Not everything that i buy for resale can be done this same way though. Some things I have to pay a lot more for. Following any kind of forced pricing structure wouldn't have allowed me to sell a BA #12 for $1690, a Marvel Preview #4 for 3K, a Batman grendel silver moon for $450 etc etc etc. I love MCS and have had a very good and mutually profitable situation with them for several years now. Changing things to cater to collectors who complain about high pricing will not be a good move IMO.

 

While you are considering making changes to the consignment system, may I suggest making it possible to filter out the consignment items when doing a search?

 

+1

 

What's the appeal for a consignor if MCS is going to let buyer's ignore their listings? MCS is attracting consignors with the promise of promoting their books for sale

 

.... Yes, and folks should be able to ask what they want for a book. It's not anyone's (MyComicShop included) responsibility to provide a bargain..... I check their listings often.... and while some are a little pricey, many are not and sell quickly. One thing about comics..... with most all of them, if you don't like the price on one, another will be just around the bend. I think it's important not to over-sensationalize this...... as the Saunder's crew runs a very tight ship and have many, many, many, fantastic deals available. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[Real Elijah Snow]

This all sounds good with this exception:

 

"Rather, what I want to improve on is limiting the most extreme over pricing. Several sales in the past year for your book are averaging $50-80, other copies are available for sale in the same price range, and yours is priced $200? That'd be one where your book isn't likely to sell and makes the listing look bad."

 

Not all books of course, but there are certain ones that have the potential to blow up quickly. An announcement is made/ new book/ whatever, and all those $50 copies sell same day. Then when the other similarly priced copies sell the $200 copy might sit for a while longer, but if demand is still there it will often sell too. Also, as far as looking bad, I have some books consigned in multiples. Sometimes I'll price a few rather aggressively and price one at right around current gpa. Suddenly the copy that's priced at market looks pretty good and sells when it's sitting with the other ones that are priced a little too high for the current market. I've sold a few Uncanny 266 9.8's just this way at slightly above the current GPA average. We're in a time of Squirrel Girl 1st appearance 9.8's selling for $500. Unless the book has no 1st appearance in it or any other distinction from it being a common issue the book could literally go from being a $1 book to a $500 in a very short period of time. I've set several GPA highs on your site by setting some books at what I think they could potentially sell for within a reasonable amount of time. The majority of the items I consign I try to be a little under what others have their same grade copies marked at, but other books I believe have potential to explode and I have no problem setting my prices to reflect that. Actually, now that I look at what I just typed I guess I agree with that part that I singled out too I just don't want to have to come up with past data to support what I view as a potential sell-able price point.

 

Thanks all for the feedback and suggestions.

 

While a fee for items unsold after X amount of time would be simple to implement, and creates the proper motivation for a seller to price a book to move, I don't want to do that. Also, as multiple people have pointed out, some items can be priced quite reasonably and still take a long time to sell because there are not that many people out there looking for the book at any given time.

 

My goal is not to make all consignors price a book how we would price it. Consignors have their own acquisition costs to cover, plus our commission, and it's perfectly acceptable for a consignor to price a book somewhat aggressively. New GPA highs get set all the time. Within reason, I would rather have a book in stock at a higher price than not have it in at all.

 

Rather, what I want to improve on is limiting the most extreme over pricing. Several sales in the past year for your book are averaging $50-80, other copies are available for sale in the same price range, and yours is priced $200? That'd be one where your book isn't likely to sell and makes the listing look bad.

 

What I'm leaning towards is adding a recommended price range to the price guidance we provide. It wouldn't necessarily be listed on all books, just the ones where there's enough data to support a decent recommendation. The recommended price range would exert some gentle social pressure in the direction of setting a reasonable price.

 

If a book had a recommended price range shown, but the consignor wanted to set a price well above that range, they'd be able to enter their desired price along with any notes justifying it, such as a prior sale we don't know about, expected movie announcement, etc. The listing would not show up at the consignor's desired price until we'd seen it and signed off. If we decline, then the listing can't go up at that price, and the consignor could either set a lower price or withdraw the item. Might take some experimentation, but I think something like that could work.

 

In addition to this, we'll be adding the make an offer feature, as well as improved options for consignors to quickly review and reprice their unsold inventory.

[Real Elijah Snow]

Oh yeah, one other thing. I don't care who wants to argue about it, but MCS grading is SUPER tight. Something might slip here or there, but for the most part, if you order a raw consigned book through them you are very likely to get a higher cgc grade than they assign. It's happened several times where I have duplicates of a book and they are virtually identical in grade. I'll send a few raws to MCS and slab a few. MCS will call the book NM-, meanwhile CGC is placing the same grade books in 9.8 holders. I'll price that NM- book at what I think is a reasonable NM+ raw price, and they sell very well. People that buy from them on a regular basis know how tight their grading is, and will pay for it. They're two different companies with 2 different views on grading and neither are wrong, but I would say that a mcs NM = a cgc 9.8 more often than not.

[Johnny U]

+1 I bought a book not too long ago for "X" amount of dollars, and a few months later I sent it to MCS and doubled my money. It happens more often than you would think. Some rule stating I can only up the price by a certain percent because of GPA would make me want to consign with someone else.

 

This 100%. I consign thousands and thousands worth of comics and art with MCS. If the option to price how I want without penalty is taken away then I will start looking for other alternatives. I price some things below/at/above market depending on the item, and what I think it will eventually sell for. I also use the auction format every month for a lot of stuff and often for items that haven't sold in what I have personally deemed too long. The only thing I would change is the ability of the buyer to make an offer. Beyond that, the system is fine. If I buy a book for resale at $200 I shouldn't be forced to price it at $250 just because some guide/gpa whatever says I have to. I should be able to price it how I want and at my discretion lower the price if the market doesn't follow what I think it will. Anyone that buys from my sales threads know that I price most things at or below market to encourage quick sales. Not everything that i buy for resale can be done this same way though. Some things I have to pay a lot more for. Following any kind of forced pricing structure wouldn't have allowed me to sell a BA #12 for $1690, a Marvel Preview #4 for 3K, a Batman grendel silver moon for $450 etc etc etc. I love MCS and have had a very good and mutually profitable situation with them for several years now. Changing things to cater to collectors who complain about high pricing will not be a good move IMO.

 

While you are considering making changes to the consignment system, may I suggest making it possible to filter out the consignment items when doing a search?

 

+1

 

What's the appeal for a consignor if MCS is going to let buyer's ignore their listings? MCS is attracting consignors with the promise of promoting their books for sale

 

.... Yes, and folks should be able to ask what they want for a book. It's not anyone's (MyComicShop included) responsibility to provide a bargain..... I check their listings often.... and while some are a little pricey, many are not and sell quickly. One thing about comics..... with most all of them, if you don't like the price on one, another will be just around the bend. I think it's important not to over-sensationalize this...... as the Saunder's crew runs a very tight ship and have many, many, many, fantastic deals available. GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[roulette44]

Example:

 

Gold Key Magnus # 1.

 

I love that you have 4 copies for sale. I hate that they're *optimistically* priced.

 

But they are listed at:

 

CGC 7.5: $495 (+3%)

CGC 7.5: $525 (+3%)

CGC 4.5: $275 (+3%)

CGC 4.0: $225 (+3%)

 

The first 7.5 might not be _too_ out of bounds, given that there's a GPA-recorded sale of $460, but realistic pricing for this book is $400, not $509.85 plus shipping.

 

The others are just ridiculous. The 4.0 and 4.5 copies would struggle to reach $75 at open auction, and that's being generous, as the highest recorded GPA high is $50 for 4.0 and $68 for 5.0.

 

And, for reference, I set the listed GPA highs for Magnus 1 in 4.0, 4.5, and 9.4.

 

Annnndddd... two days after this book was mentioned in this thread, it's now been changed to a BIN of $790.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361187092452?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Fairly ridiculous for a book that sold 5 months ago on heritage for $299 and flipped a week later for $450. Maybe another sucker will come along and buy it again, but if it wasn't selling at the $500+ plus price you've had it at for the last few months, I doubt this will do any better.

 

This exact example is what I thought you were trying to get suggestions on how to avoid, but apparently not.

 

pretty insensitive comment, especially given Conan is trying to explore options. he doesn't control the price, the consignor does. turns out it was just an honest guy trying to get the book back and up'd the price to be sure.....but your comment was uncalled for.

[jimjum12]

Example:

 

Gold Key Magnus # 1.

 

I love that you have 4 copies for sale. I hate that they're *optimistically* priced.

 

But they are listed at:

 

CGC 7.5: $495 (+3%)

CGC 7.5: $525 (+3%)

CGC 4.5: $275 (+3%)

CGC 4.0: $225 (+3%)

 

The first 7.5 might not be _too_ out of bounds, given that there's a GPA-recorded sale of $460, but realistic pricing for this book is $400, not $509.85 plus shipping.

 

The others are just ridiculous. The 4.0 and 4.5 copies would struggle to reach $75 at open auction, and that's being generous, as the highest recorded GPA high is $50 for 4.0 and $68 for 5.0.

 

And, for reference, I set the listed GPA highs for Magnus 1 in 4.0, 4.5, and 9.4.

 

Annnndddd... two days after this book was mentioned in this thread, it's now been changed to a BIN of $790.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/361187092452?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Fairly ridiculous for a book that sold 5 months ago on heritage for $299 and flipped a week later for $450. Maybe another sucker will come along and buy it again, but if it wasn't selling at the $500+ plus price you've had it at for the last few months, I doubt this will do any better.

 

This exact example is what I thought you were trying to get suggestions on how to avoid, but apparently not.

 

pretty insensitive comment, especially given Conan is trying to explore options. he doesn't control the price, the consignor does. turns out it was just an honest guy trying to get the book back and up'd the price to be sure.....but your comment was uncalled for.

 

.....When I spontaneously jack up the price of an already overpriced book it is almost always in response to a particularly insulting low ball offer. Low ballers must be punished GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[kav]

I've had low ball offers accepted though