Buyers who use the last auction sale to buy a book 1 1

[alexgross.com]

when is the next thread coming "Dealers who use the all time highest GPA sale to price a book?"

for example, a dealer who has an xmen1 in 4.0 listed for 24k. that price was attained ONCE ever publicly. (yes i know, maybe there were some private sales we dont know about) last year there were 19 other sales, none of which even cracked 20k. this year there are 7 sales below 16k and one at 18.5. but the dealer still has 24k, based on a clear outlier sales price. come on. everyone wants the best deal they can get. sellers want the highest price they can get, buyers want the lowest. in a hot market, the seller has the upper hand. in a slow market, either the buyer does, or the seller can sit on books waiting for their price to come back someday.

[blazingbob]

The X-Men #1 4.0 on my website is consignor listed.

There are X-Men #1's in 3.5 -  4.5 in the 20K-$25K range on ebay.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by blazingbob

[djpinkpanther67]

Edited August 9, 2022 by djpinkpanther67

[Lazyboy]

On 8/9/2022 at 12:48 PM, lostboys said:

Why look at auctions anyway.

Buy it now sales better reflect what the asking price should be set at.

An auction sale only reflects what a specific group of potential buyers were willing to pay during a specific 7-10 day window.

 

 

Fixed-price sales only reflect what one single (potentially impatient or... not smart) person paid for one copy.

[alexgross.com]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:14 PM, blazingbob said:

The X-Men #1 4.0 on my website is consignor listed.

There are X-Men #1's in 3.5 -  4.5 in the 20K-$25K range on ebay.

 

i'm not singling you out, God knows how many books i've bought from you the last few years. my point is that there are a ton of dealers who ask the all time high GPA price for key books, and that's their right. and there are plenty of buyers who want the last GPA sold price, or lower, and that's their right too. anyone can ask for anything. and the other person can tell them no. everyone wants the best deal they can get. your being annoyed at buyers who want to pay the last auction price is your right. but it goes both ways. 

[Domo Arigato]

I don't like negotiating, as it makes me feel like I'm being a bit insulting if not done properly.

So, I just wait for Bob to set up at a show and then take what I want when he's not looking. 

 

[Brock]

On 8/9/2022 at 7:56 PM, Lazyboy said:

Fixed-price sales only reflect what one single (potentially impatient or... not smart) person paid for one copy.

Fixed-price sales may also reflect what one single (potentially impatient or… not smart) person listed one copy at.

Edited August 11, 2022 by Brock
Typo

[Sigur Ros]

On 8/9/2022 at 11:23 AM, Gotham Kid said:

and if the last sale price is an all time GPA high ?

Then the seller can say no. 

It's not a crime to ask. 

Nor should the seller act like it is. 

[Robot Man]

I rarely pay much attention to GPA, Overstreet or EBay prices. Prices in the past few years have risen so fast and so high, it is near impossible for any source to keep up with. At the end of the day, a book is only worth what is is worth for me to keep.

As a buyer, if a price looks fair and I want it, I buy it. If it is a little over, I ask if the seller would do any better. If the price is crazy, I just say thanks and walk.

As a seller, I know my customers and my market. I also consider how easily (or not) it will take to replace. I will dance a little depending on the situation or sometimes not at all. I generally, lose interest pretty quickly if pushed too much.

If you do this long enough, you have bumped into every negotiation tactic ever used…

[Robot Man]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:25 AM, Sigur Ros said:

Then the seller can say no. 

It's not a crime to ask. 

Nor should the seller act like it is. 

But when the seller says no, take that as your clue to move on and spend your money elsewhere. There is always another book with your name on it. 

[Sigur Ros]

On 8/11/2022 at 11:44 AM, Robot Man said:

But when the seller says no, take that as your clue to move on and spend your money elsewhere. There is always another book with your name on it. 

There is nothing in this thread that says he didn't do exactly that. 

So, still no crime. 

[Sigur Ros]

So... 

Buyer:  Bids on yesterday's auction.  Bid what he was willing to pay, $14,750.  Not willing to pay more than $15,000.  Auction hits $15,000.  He bows out. 

Next day sees another and decides he is willing to pay $15,000 now.  Asks seller if $15,000 is ok.  Shows auction as reasoning. 

Seller:   Pulls out shotgun, blasts him while screaming something about "your bid will affect the auction!! don't you get it??"

Buyer's dying words: "...it....did..." 

Buyer:   x.x

Seller:  signs into CGC forum.... 

[Sam T]

On 8/9/2022 at 9:45 AM, blazingbob said:

Somebody else paid that price to buy the book,  you did not.

This isn't necessarily true. An auction is listed as "sold" under "completed auctions" as soon as the auction ends. It does not require the book to actually be paid for. And I don't think "final value fees" or whatever are charged to the seller until the payment is made so the seller doesn't really have a profit motive to cancel the unpaid transaction.

 

I think we're at a point where eBay sold listing cannot be used as a reference point at all until eBay makes 2 change.

 

1) Require a payment method before bidding

2) Allow sellers to report to a buyer for "non-payment" as opposed to opening a separate kind of case for it.

 

eBay used to feel like a place for buyers and sellers and now it just feels like the perfect market manipulation machine. 

[thehumantorch]

On 8/9/2022 at 9:44 AM, blazingbob said:

If a book is in auction and it finishes at $12K what would it have taken to buy the book if the buyer in front of you were bidding?

If the increments were $250,  then maybe it would be $12,250.   Could have been more if the winner had a higher maximum bid.

Last Auction sale buyers have taken the risk out of bidding on the book.  They go to a fixed price seller and request them meet the auction sale or Last sale GPA result.

Which is why some sellers have told some buyers to buy the book from the GPA store.

Link to the GPA store please

[Sam T]

On 8/14/2022 at 9:47 PM, thehumantorch said:

Link to the GPA store please

https://gpa-sport.com/en/shop/

 

I just ordered a 9.8 Polo helmet...🤣🤣🤣

[Dr. Balls]

On 8/9/2022 at 2:57 PM, jjonahjameson11 said:

Not relevant, Because not all auctions/auction houses charge a buyer’s premium.

I think someone is paying 10-15%, either seller or buyer. 

[Dr. Balls]

On 8/11/2022 at 9:41 AM, Robot Man said:

I rarely pay much attention to GPA, Overstreet or EBay prices. Prices in the past few years have risen so fast and so high, it is near impossible for any source to keep up with.

As a buyer, if a price looks fair and I want it, I buy it. If it is a little over, I ask if the seller would do any better. If the price is crazy, I just say thanks and walk.

I wish more sellers realized this. Pricing is all over the place. Unpublished sales on Instagram and Facebook. Ebay charging sellers 10-15% on sales tax fees and postage. Erroneous Best Offer price reporting. Sellers scoffing at GPA data, and GPA data being woefully inadequate.

I’m sure it’s frustrating for sellers now, but the hobby has basically turned into a guessing game where you hedge your pricing towards finding that right person who has enough money at that moment to pay your price for a book they want.

I have purchases made this past month for PCH books that were either right on or under GPA on ComicLink, over GPA on the boards and a private purchase that is an aggregate of educated guesswork because there’s no sales data for the past four years.

Some sellers can wait, some can’t. Some get butthurt at lowballs, some move on. I’ve never thrown a lowball that didn’t come from a GPA or previous sale rationale - if the seller doesn’t want to accept that, it’s fine, but I’ll keep throwing them out there.

[Sweet Lou 14]

On 8/9/2022 at 7:12 PM, alexgross.com said:

when is the next thread coming "Dealers who use the all time highest GPA sale to price a book?"

Small comment here, but in my experience the small-time seller / consignor / wannabe "dealer" is much more likely to put stupid prices on their books than a dealer who does serious volume and for whom keeping the inventory moving is part of the business strategy.

I fully respect when an individual is willing to put a book up at a very high price because they're in no rush to sell and hoping someone desperate comes along.  But it's those mid-tier flippers on eBay whose entire business model is built around price gouging that I treat as an absolute last resort when I am buying.

[Kevin76]

What's frustrating is that no matter how fair and in line with current market prices you are, whatever price you post, someone always asks for half of what your price is, a lot of guys at shows won't buy a slab unless it's 20-30% off FMV.  I don't know what the obsession is with getting a deal, (if you wanna flip it, just be honest) if it's something I want, and I feel comfortable with that price, I'll pay it.  If the book is a $1050 and the dealer won't go any lower, I'm not going to fight and walk away over $50   

[Sigur Ros]

On 9/11/2022 at 4:14 PM, Kevin76 said:

(if you wanna flip it, just be honest) 

Are people lying and saying they don't plan to flip ?

Why would that even come up in the convo?