General discussion thread - keep the other threads clean 29 29

[Pitboss]

[Bird]

On 3/17/2017 at 3:21 PM, entalmighty1 said:

Do you have to have an ebay store to set up the auto-accept/reject feature?  I can never seem to find it.

It doesn't show until you click on the accept best offers tab, then you can set reject and accept numbers.

[F For Fake]

On 3/17/2017 at 0:44 PM, revat said:

Yah you can just set your listing to auto-reject offers under a certain amount.  Allowing 50% offers is already pretty generous to me, I think I typically auto reject at like 70-75%.  But then again I typically auto accept at like 85%. 

Yeah, and I used to to set them at what I thought were reasonable levels, but on some items I'm content to let it ride and take all offers. You never know when I might need some extra hookers/blow money one day and suddenly that 50% offer looks much better!

[NP_Gresham]

7 hours ago, F For Fake said:

Yeah, and I used to to set them at what I thought were reasonable levels, but on some items I'm content to let it ride and take all offers. You never know when I might need some extra hookers/blow money one day and suddenly that 50% offer looks much better!

Nothing like a high asking price with 'best offer' to weed out the problem children.

I have rejected higher offers based on a toolhaus search. Rather sell for a lower offer without the headaches.

[Mijael.Levy]

Sales are very slow this year in my opinion .  End of march was a very good month for me,  but now i have mostly watchers and not buyers on my ebay stuff 

[PKJ]

Certainly seems slow to me. All the Spiderman stuff on CL seemed high but ebay has been cheap. I have grabbed some GA books for less than I would have paid 4 years ago.

[1Cool]

On ‎3‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 1:21 AM, Mijael.Levy said:

Sales are very slow this year in my opinion .  End of march was a very good month for me,  but now i have mostly watchers and not buyers on my ebay stuff 

Isn't just now the end of March?

[Mijael.Levy]

6 hours ago, 1Cool said:

Isn't just now the end of March?

I mean in previous years ... 

[NP_Gresham]

Yep, nothing but over-priced books on the boards lately.

Much better deals on eBay. Have not bought anything here since the change-over.

Keep looking, but not much to see here.  

[ChiSoxFan]

2 hours ago, NP_Gresham said:

Yep, nothing but over-priced books on the boards lately.

Much better deals on eBay. Have not bought anything here since the change-over.

Keep looking, but not much to see here.  

Unless I missed the sarcasm, I'd say that statement was a bit of an over-generalization, to be kind.  As someone who's bought consistently over time here as well as sold, it's still been a mix of what it's usually been, IMO.  There have been some threads with books that fit your criteria, and others that have been priced and graded solidly.  As always, it's a matter of knowing which sellers are the ones worth shopping with.

FWIW, I've run a decent number of sales threads now over the last several years, and I definitely have noticed a downturn in traffic in my threads since the change-over, and neither my grading has changed (if anything, I've tried to be more harsh) nor my pricing. Considering I sold a VF+ Wolverine #1 mini recently for half what an ungraded, mid-grade at best copy just sold for on eBay (and that's only one example -- pretty much every copy sold on eBay of late of that book sold for far more than I sold mine for, or was in far worse condition, or almost always both, though I'm still happy with my selling price.  It's what I was willing to sell it for, so no complaints), I'm pretty sure that saying "much better deals [are] on eBay" as a statement of absolute fact is generous (and that's not considering what a gamble dealing with eBay sellers are to begin with).  That's not to mention a number of other books that I either sold for less in recent threads than what they would have, let's say, if I'd run my thread a year or two ago, or simply sat unsold.  Some other sellers who are known here for solid grading and pricing have told me they've found the boards sales area slow as well.  

It's probably a combination of a number of factors -- and over-priced books may be the case in some instances -- that are keeping the sales here slower than usual.  Rarely, however, can you point to one, sole reason for as the cause that involves an economic structure seeing a shift in one way or another.

Edited March 30, 2017 by ChiSoxFan
Links!

[NP_Gresham]

3 minutes ago, ChiSoxFan said:

Unless I missed the sarcasm, I'd say that statement was a bit of an over-generalization, to be kind.  As someone who's bought consistently over time here as well as sold, it's still been a mix of what it's usually been, IMO.  There have been some threads with books that fit your criteria, and others that have been priced and graded solidly.  As always, it's a matter of knowing which sellers are the ones worth shopping with.

FWIW, I've run a decent number of sales threads now over the last several years, and I definitely have noticed a downturn in traffic in my threads since the change-over, and neither my grading has changed (if anything, I've tried to be more harsh) nor my pricing. Considering I sold a VF+ Wolverine #1 mini recently for half what an ungraded, mid-grade at best copy just sold for on eBay (and that's only one example -- pretty much every copy sold on eBay of late of that book sold for far more than I sold mine for, or was in far worse condition, or almost always both, though I'm still happy with my selling price.  It's what I was willing to sell it for, so no complaints), I'm pretty sure that saying "much better deals [are] on eBay" as a statement of absolute fact is generous (and that's not considering what a gamble dealing with eBay sellers are to begin with).  That's not to mention a number of other books that I either sold for less in recent threads than what they would have, let's say, if I'd run my thread a year or two ago, or simply sat unsold.  Some other sellers who are known here for solid grading and pricing have told me they've found the boards sales area slow as well.  

It's probably a combination of a number of factors -- and over-priced books may be the case in some instances -- that are keeping the sales here slower than usual.  Rarely, however, can you point to one, sole reason for as the cause that involves an economic structure seeing a shift in one way or another.

Not sure if you know what that is?

For what I collect, the deals have been better on eBay. I think that could be from an over-all downturn in the marketplace.

I disagree with your assertion that it is more of a 'gamble dealing with eBay sellers. Know who you are dealing with in either marketplace and you avoid the problems. What eBay offers is a real 'market price' when buying by auction. 

I suspect things will get better here over time, so I keep looking. So far though I have redirected most of my funds towards other venues.

[ChiSoxFan]

3 minutes ago, NP_Gresham said:

Not sure if you know what that is?

Is that a dig that I don't know an overpriced book when it's in front of me? Or is that saying I don't what you collect?  Please clarify.

Edited March 30, 2017 by ChiSoxFan

[NP_Gresham]

19 minutes ago, ChiSoxFan said:

.  There have been some threads with books that fit your criteria,

How do you know what my criteria is?

[ChiSoxFan]

5 minutes ago, NP_Gresham said:

How do you know what my criteria is?

I don't.  Your comment was "nothing but over-priced books on the boards lately".  If you'd specified "CGC graded books" or "GA books" or "Pre-code horror" or "modern keys", then I'd know more, and the statement you made wouldn't be a blanket generalization.   If you're saying that the books for sale here that fall into your specific collecting focus are "nothing but over-priced books [here] lately" and that better deals are to be had on eBay, then I won't disagree with that, since depending what that focus is, that might be 100% true.

Edited March 30, 2017 by ChiSoxFan

[1Cool]

24 minutes ago, NP_Gresham said:

Not sure if you know what that is?

For what I collect, the deals have been better on eBay. I think that could be from an over-all downturn in the marketplace.

I disagree with your assertion that it is more of a 'gamble dealing with eBay sellers. Know who you are dealing with in either marketplace and you avoid the problems. What eBay offers is a real 'market price' when buying by auction. 

I suspect things will get better here over time, so I keep looking. So far though I have redirected most of my funds towards other venues.

100% agree that there definitely is a shift occurring on E-Bay with the low ball offers getting some traction from sellers.  It use to be everyone would auto decline 50% off offers but based on the number of those type of offers I've been getting the last couple months people must be making some buys at the low prices.  I usually do not freak out too much by a month of two slow down but I'll be a lot more concerned if things do not pick up by this summer.  I do find you have to constantly be putting up new material or buyers just see your stuff as stale old overpriced books.  I've pretty much maxed out the 250 book store so I think today I'll commit to a 1,000 BIN store for the year.  It will only cost the same as 1 mid sized comic con ($55 a month or $650 for the year) so what's the risk.

In terms of books on the boards lately I just think people do not see the sales so they consider it a waste of time.  I kind of consider my sales threads as 1st shot as new stuff so why offer it up for dirt cheap.  After it's sat on E-Bay for 3-4 months without an offer then I may be more inclined to offer a batch of books for steep discounts.  But at that point it's usually stuff no one really wants - catch 22.

Edited March 30, 2017 by 1Cool

[NP_Gresham]

11 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

100% agree that there definitely is a shift occurring on E-Bay with the low ball offers getting some traction from sellers.  It use to be everyone would auto decline 50% off offers but based on the number of those type of offers I've been getting the last couple months people must be making some buys at the low prices.  I usually do not freak out too much by a month of two slow down but I'll be a lot more concerned if things do not pick up by this summer.  I do find you have to constantly be putting up new material or buyers just see your stuff as stale old overpriced books.  I've pretty much maxed out the 250 book store so I think today I'll commit to a 1,000 BIN store for the year.  It will only cost the same as 1 mid sized comic con ($55 a month or $650 for the year) so what's the risk.

In terms of books on the boards lately I just think people do not see the sales so they consider it a waste of time.  I kind of consider my sales threads as 1st shot as new stuff so why offer it up for dirt cheap.  After it's sat on E-Bay for 3-4 months without an offer then I may be more inclined to offer a batch of books for steep discounts.  But at that point it's usually stuff no one really wants - catch 22.

I hardly ever go outside the auctions, but maybe I should try offers on bins?

[1Cool]

Just now, NP_Gresham said:

I hardly ever go outside the auctions, but maybe I should try offers on bins?

Others are sure doing it lately.  I've been clearing out space so I've been going down up to 25% but I usually start out 10% over GPA.

[NP_Gresham]

2 minutes ago, 1Cool said:

Others are sure doing it lately.  I've been clearing out space so I've been going down up to 25% but I usually start out 10% over GPA.

Just did a quick check of my last 30 eBay transactions.

25 auctions

5 bins at full ask

zero offers 

That would be pretty reflective of my past buying. There is something really reassuring about an auction, where it reflects true market price.

[1Cool]

54 minutes ago, NP_Gresham said:

Just did a quick check of my last 30 eBay transactions.

25 auctions

5 bins at full ask

zero offers 

That would be pretty reflective of my past buying. There is something really reassuring about an auction, where it reflects true market price.

Current E-Bay search - 7,333 CGC books listed as auction and 108,501 as BIN.  You may not be looking for CGC books but I'd think that ratio (1:15) is pretty accurate in terms of auction vs BIN for all books currently on E-Bay.

Edited March 30, 2017 by 1Cool

[NP_Gresham]

1 minute ago, 1Cool said:

Current E-Bay search - 7,333 CGC books listed as auction and 108,501 as BIN.  You may not be looking for CGC books but I'd think that ratio (1:15) is pretty accurate in terms of auction vs BIN for all books currently on E-Bay.

True.

Still plenty of books go to auction for what I am looking for.

7000 books is plenty to choose from.