Are people on ebay getting more desperate?

[white_rushin]

I was wondering if any of you have encountered situations like this.

 

I had a few books that weren't garnering attention or selling at the price I was looking for here on the boards. In fact, I don't even think I got a single PM asking for a lower price.

 

Nothing wrong with that at all. I proceeded to take down the listing and post them up on ebay at a slightly higher cost to compensate for the extra fees.

 

The books sat there for 2-3 day at a BIN with a best offer feature. 2 out of the 3 listings sold at the asking price without the buyers even offering a lower price of say $5-10 off.

 

I was just surprised at the trend of both items selling without any haggling in the best offer process. They both paid immediately as well.

 

For those who sell on ebay, does this happen a lot? Has it been happening more with the influx of newer "collectors"?

[RJamesWennblom]

Hi,

 

I have not noticed any change, I get both BIN and MO sales. It seems if they find it, they want it they pay the BIN price. If they are not sure they make offer and usually get it,

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

 

K0HW

[Buzzetta]

Yes... see my statement on the boards v eBay from before:

 

As far as people hitting the BIN rather than making an offer. Some are of the mindset that if the price is too good a deal bypass the offer and go straight in and grab it especially if there are a number of people watching it.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=4&Number=8818762&Searchpage=1&Main=387255&Words=&topic=0&Search=true#Post8818762

[skypinkblu]

I've had it happen many times, I'm always surprised...however, eBay has a much much wider audience than we have here, so it makes sense and if you don't mind listing there, it's a useful place to go.

[white_rushin]

Yes... see my statement on the boards v eBay from before:

 

As far as people hitting the BIN rather than making an offer. Some are of the mindset that if the price is too good a deal bypass the offer and go straight in and grab it especially if there are a number of people watching it.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=4&Number=8818762&Searchpage=1&Main=387255&Words=&topic=0&Search=true#Post8818762

 

Ah, I didn't see that thread. Had I noticed it I may not have started this one

 

I thought that as well until I realized one of the items that sold was up for 2-3 days with no watchers. It's not like it was sold 10 minutes after posting.

[rjpb]

I've made the mistake of offering just a bit less ( say 15%) than the listed price on ebay on an item that's been up for a few days, only to see it get BINed by someone else while I'm waiting for a response. In the future, if an item I want is within the ballpark of what I'm comfortable paying, I'd be inclined to offer a little less to see if I trigger an auto-accept, and if I don't just go ahead and buy it.

 

Not everyone searches ebay daily. I've had an items with a min bid and a BIN price and no watchers sell for the BIN with less than a day to go on the auction. You'd think the buyer would just go ahead and bid some amount less than the BIN and hope to get it for less, but some buyers aren't that patient and are risk averse.

[marvelmaniac]

Just my 2 cents as an eBay buyer...

The books I am now looking for are 95% of the time ridiculously priced 2-4 times over guide when listed as BIN or with BO so I do not even bother.

If I am looking for something and see it listed at guide or a reasonable price then I will usually buy it right away or it may be gone later on but, that has been rare lately.

 

[Wally's Comics]

A lot of people buy here to flip themselves.

 

and with that they are looking for more meat on the bone

vs someone that just wants the book.

 

 

I've seen both where something flipped quicker here than ebay as well.

 

 

It just depends on what it is.

 

 

WL

[Chadwick]

Were they "hot" books?

[jhutton2]

I love selling on these boards, but have found the number of buyers for books have gone down a bit over the summer. A lot of the books I have relisted on Ebay and many have sold within a few days to a week, especially if they are key or hot issues.

 

Like a lot of sellers, pick up on non keys has become really slow with the exception of a handful of titles. They do sell, but everyone seems like they want key issues only these days with the hopes of price increases.

[oldbsturgeon]

I've never sold on here and don't think I would get good response because of my lack of rep, but I have many many sales on ebay so list stuff there, but I also sell things that are not comics too, so there is that.

[romanheart]

Best offers are becoming a waste of time on eBay. Even when I meet the buyer in the middle they never take it. I've switched everything to one price for simplicity.

[mrwoogieman]

I switched over to BIN sales rather than auctions awhile ago and haven't looked back, thanks to some advice from my fellow boardies. My sales are doing way better than when I was doing strictly auctions. I usually don't even bother with a best offer unless the book is $150 or above and sometimes not even then.

 

 

[valiantman]

... if an item I want is within the ballpark of what I'm comfortable paying, I'd be inclined to offer a little less to see if I trigger an auto-accept, and if I don't just go ahead and buy it.

+1

[Buzzetta]

I switched over to BIN sales rather than auctions awhile ago and haven't looked back, thanks to some advice from my fellow boardies. My sales are doing way better than when I was doing strictly auctions. I usually don't even bother with a best offer unless the book is $150 or above and sometimes not even then.

 

 

I recently realized that I can have an eBay store on a month by month basis, which I prefer due to my schedule. I am thinking of just opening up one of those and going the same route as you by using BIN with no best offer.

[Chadwick]

I switched over to BIN sales rather than auctions awhile ago and haven't looked back, thanks to some advice from my fellow boardies. My sales are doing way better than when I was doing strictly auctions. I usually don't even bother with a best offer unless the book is $150 or above and sometimes not even then.

 

 

Do you list your copies at the lowest price of all others listed in the same grade?

[calcnerd]

I recently realized that I can have an eBay store on a month by month basis, which I prefer due to my schedule. I am thinking of just opening up one of those and going the same route as you by using BIN with no best offer.

 

I thought that even though it was monthly, you had to keep the store for a year. If it's simply a month to month thing I'd do it right now as I sell a lot of things on there.

[Buzzetta]

I recently realized that I can have an eBay store on a month by month basis, which I prefer due to my schedule. I am thinking of just opening up one of those and going the same route as you by using BIN with no best offer.

 

I thought that even though it was monthly, you had to keep the store for a year. If it's simply a month to month thing I'd do it right now as I sell a lot of things on there.

 

Please correct me if I am wrong. I called them up and from my understanding I could pay by the month. Maybe I confused the CSR with my question, maybe she is wrong with what she is telling me?

 

However, my understanding of it now is that I can have a store for a month if I so choose.

[musicmeta]

So how are the ebay rules affecting you? i.e. can't leave negative feedback for a buyer.

Getting more chargebacks like PayPal?

-increase in scam buyers?

 

I quit selling on Ebay years ago when these new rules went into place but may sell again and just take my chances.

[mrwoogieman]

I switched over to BIN sales rather than auctions awhile ago and haven't looked back, thanks to some advice from my fellow boardies. My sales are doing way better than when I was doing strictly auctions. I usually don't even bother with a best offer unless the book is $150 or above and sometimes not even then.

 

 

Do you list your copies at the lowest price of all others listed in the same grade?

 

Not at all. Grading and pricing of raw books is all over the place on ebay. Usually I don't even look at other active listings, instead I look at completed sales to get an idea of what the sweet-spot price should be for a given item in a given grade and then I price mine accordingly.

 

For slab pricing I rely on GPA for the most part but I'll discount from the GPA price in order to make a sale on a common item, or go at GPA or even higher if it's something that isn't well represented on the census or has been showing some heat.