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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
Maineman is right. Look at all the people saying they won't bid if the picture is bad. So he goes in and bids like it is three or four grades lower and gets it - because no one is competing against his bids.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10047 Posts |
What bothers me the most is how greedy ebay has gotten since 1998 when I first got onto it. Listing was .25 plus a small percent of the final price. You could contact runner up bidders without having to go through ebay so they took a piece of the pie. When they bought out Paypal, if there was a good competition website for auctions, I have no doubt Paypal becoming a free service would have been used for ebay to stay ahead of the competition rather than becoming a way ebay makes sure they get their fingers into the same pie twice. When ebay had the mentality of being the world's largest garage sale instead of a vendor outlet (like they are becoming), it was a lot more fun, people could easily and inexpensively use it to make more money, ebay grew from being tiny to a giant, and everybody made out better. Now that they have stock, the focus has changed and their fingers reach deeper into my wallet when I sell. If there was a good competitor, I would jump ship in a heartbeat. How much squash could a Sasquatch squash if a Sasquatch would squash squash? Download and read: Grading the graders Costly TPG ineptitude and No FG Kennedy halveshttps://ln5.sync.com/dl/7ca91bdd0/w...i3b-rbj9fir2 |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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Having never sold anything I wonder why some list with a reserve ( you have to guess at ) instead of just a minimum bid amount instead - so there is no guessing game. I imagine it has something to do with the listing costs but it seems silly! People think a lower start price has a lower insertion fee. It doesn't matter if you start at 1¢ with a $500 reserve, or start at $500. IF is based on the higher of minimum or reserve. It's been proven time and again that reserves scare off bidders ( ebay knows this--why do you think searches don't highlight items with reserves?) Why pay extra to use a reserve, losing IF and reserve fee, instead of just IF? |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
500 Posts |
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Maineman is right. Look at all the people saying they won't bid if the picture is bad. So he goes in and bids like it is three or four grades lower and gets it - because no one is competing against his bids.
And when it is actually 6 grades lower? IMO, most that have bad pics also aren't in open auctions anyway. They are BIN offers that either ask a bit below what THEIR GRADE would normally bring - and thus when they overgrade by a couple they are overcharging, or ask for a little more. I guess you could return it if you aren't satisfied, but that is a hassle IMO and when you can't see the pic then you can't say that misled you! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
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So, if you have an item that catalogs for lets say $100, but you are the only one who is selling one then you would ask for more then catalog since there are no other competitors out there. In this instance you are trying to sell something to that one person who wants this to fill that spot in there collection and would be willing to pay more since there is no supply besides yours. If there is more supply and you have a higher price than someone else, usually the other persons sells before yours would (if they are in the same grade/condition). As for the BEST OFFER, some people list items with a high price or even a reserve because they have to much money invested in the item already and are hoping not to take a loss on it. First, thanks for the feedback! I understand what you are saying but I find some of this logic/thinking absurd. As the prospective buyer, I couldn't care less what you paid for it! Just because you got ripped off or overpaid, that is not AT ALL RELEVANT to our negotiations. Just as I wouldn't expect to get a coin cheaper just because you got it at a good pricepoint when you purchased. I see this "play out" on "Pawn Stars" too. They ask what the seller paid in order to try to say ( well you only paid X for it so me giving you 2X is a great deal for you ) - BULL! If the FMV is 5X, then they are trying to rip you off and prey on your lack of knowing what FMV currently is for it. The supply argument is also a bit weak, it isn't like ebay is the only coin source on the planet. So listing at way above "catalog" is ridiculous. And some folks ask 2-3 times not just 10-20% over. Quote:The last thing is that people have different perceptions and even guides/catalogs of what the price of a item is. It really boils down to supply and demand and what people are willing to pay. If a seller only lists overpriced items he won't sell very much if other sellers have the same items for cheaper. They will end up spending more money listing items then they are making in profits and they will eventually pull out of the market. Some people will try to low ball a seller because, lets face it, everyone wants to get a deal. I would not sell something like an ASE for under spot (I have had multiple buyers try to do a best offer that is way under spot). That is not a fair price and I could go and sell it to my local coin shop for more, so of course I would not make that deal. I see this as a bit incongrous. On one hand folks talk about "catalog"/book which I tend to think of as Grey Sheet as that seems most used by dealers in my area at least, yet they then talk about prices being fluid etc. I tend to think most people use the WW/grey-sheet or whatever as their guide. That, along with a read on what such coins are going for online is as close to a FMV evaluation as you can get. The ASE discussion is on point. They are popular and almost all shops/dealers deal in them. They tend to go for $3-$6 over spot around here. I often ask what the dealer is asking for them to get a "read/tell" on their style, I also ask what they are buying "junk silver" at for the same purpose. So asking for double spot is what I am talking about. It is crazy! Yet I have to wade through all that frivolous "junk" when searching for legit offers!! And sellers try this "but that is less than I paid" garbage all the time. It is moot and irrelevant to what I am willing to pay! You could have purchased it yesterday at way more than it is worth or 30 years ago for 1/100 of what it is now worth or gotten it free - I don't care and that isn't geremane to our haggling! JMHO |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
So, if you have an item that catalogs for lets say $100, but you are the only one who is selling one then you would ask for more then catalog since there are no other competitors out there. If there is only one likely buyer: and you have the only one for sale, you don't need a pix at all, and you list it with a high minimum. A good pix may encourage the buyer to buy. If there are even two likely buyers: and you have the only one for sale, you give them the best pix possible to encourage that last "should I" bid. You can start at 1¢, the aquction system will get the money for you. Either way, a bad pix makes people think you're hiding something. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
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a bad pix makes people think you're hiding something EXACTLY. I expect that bad pics are mostly intentional attempts to hide something or to inflate the grade - and my educated guess is that is true over 90% of the time. Particularly when the seller has sold 10K plus coins and their other pics aren't obfuscated. So bad pics either ruin an honest sellers chances of selling a coin ( few are willing to take those gambles as they will get burned mostly ), or let the dishonest cheat others. There are numerous sellers' who list ONLY SCRUBBED/DIPPED/MESSED-UP coins and yet thousands buy from them and most give them positive feedback ( from what I can see ). One admittedly posts "stock" photos and home-slabs and has created a phony TPC. Yet I look at the feedback and so many say "nice coin" when every single one of his are scrubbed raw and essentially now "jewelry" instead of a real coin. It disgusts me how many ebay sellers are like that. A few have a decent "real" coin thrown in here or there, but many are really blatantly selling junk. I think bad pics waste time. I'm not a fan of having to return coins ( have had to a few times but would prefer to avoid that hassle ) and IMO those bidding on bad pics either get ripped off or have to return most of them! Edited by BuffalosRock
07/18/2011 10:47 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
We ebaYed some brand X slabs we got here and there, and made it clear that we didn't necessarily agree with the grade, provided nice clear pix, etc. The big TPG have gotten people so used to plastic=premium that they brought nice prices and glowing FB. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
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Maine, I've read this several times and it makes no sense Sorry Buffalo, I forgot to follow up. But basically, as pointed out, bad pics bring lower or no bids. If you find the right auctions you can get some real deals....you have to be smart about it, but they are out there.I got my s-vdb for almost nothing this way and made over 8K buying a reselling over one winter using the same method.And that was just out of boredom. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Knowing what you're doing can make you money in almost any niche market.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
You're probably speaking from experience biggfredd  |
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
I still think bad pics stink. For every gem you pick up cheap you'd probably be returning or "eating" 10 other duds not worth half what you paid.
I just posted on this, but IMO it isn't bad pics that keep folks from bidding on many coins, it is a combination of either being drastically overpriced OR the pack mentality thing at play. People just don't want to be "the first" to bid - unless it is a .99 opener that is - which is why so many advocate that technique BTW as it means 10-20 bids before reaching what others start at - but that level of activity seems to comfort many buyers for some inexplicable reason(the pack metality thing at work IMO)!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
I really think it's a good thing you feel that way Buffalo,it works to my advantage.And for the record, I have only returned one coin....but for $8K profit,I'd say it's working pretty well for me.
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Quote:
People just don't want to be "the first" to bid - unless it is a .99 opener that is - which is why so many advocate that technique BTW as it means 10-20 bids before reaching what others start at - but that level of activity seems to comfort many buyers for some inexplicable reason(the pack metality thing at work IMO)!
That and the fact that some people like to go to an auction site for the novel concept of bidding on an auction, instead of being able to offer more than retail. |
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Replies: 19 / Views: 2,686 |
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Posted 07/06/2011 11:15 pm
