Semi OT: Need Some eBay Advice

[otismalibu]

I also hate when sellers pull things before auction ends. Why don't sellers just use:

* "Buy it Now" with a "Make and Offer" option;

When I need to get a certain price, this is what I like to use. Too iffy just letting it ride. I've had items sell with only a couple of Watchers and I've had no bids with double digit Watchers. Ya never know.

[sammy]

Hey, here's some advice.

Don't be so cheap and try to steal it at the end.

If interested in the item, then place at least one bid.

That might encourage the seller to leave it on auction.

[aeneas01]

Dear eBay Selling Pros,

I bought a Lance Berkman card for $317.17 last December. I've had it on eBay before a few times for BIN/BO and didn't want to part with it for under $300. I got offered as much as $275 for it but refused.

So I decided to put it on eBay and start it at $99 with no reserve. There are under two days left in the auction, and the card is at merely $116.50. There are 11 watchers, but I'd rather keep the card than sell it for anything less than $200.

If you were me, would you pull the auction? Would you wait it out? It's a nice card, but I need to pay another GUF member off for a big g/u purchase. Thanks for any help you can provide. Here is a link to the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/Triple-Threads-L...QQcmdZViewItem
.

why not just let the auction ride and, if it doesn't fetch what you want, simply lie to the winning bidder - tell him it's no longer available, that the dog ate it or the like. imo this is the same thing as yanking it right before the auction ends - the only difference is that by yanking it early you can avoid negative feedback. in short, both scenarios equate to the same thing - screwing the bidder by ignoring the rules and spirit of auction.

of course many ebayers simply list an item and note that they reserve the right to end it early for whatever reason. most understand that this means the seller will yank the item if the price looks like it will come in too low or the seller accepts an offer - apparently ebay is o.k. with this nonsense given the amount of sellers that do this. not the best approach as far as attracting bidders is concerned but at least you are being upfront.

[frikativ54]

why not just let the auction ride and, if it doesn't fetch what you want, simply lie to the winning bidder - tell him it's no longer available, that the dog ate it or the like. imo this is the same thing as yanking it right before the auction ends - the only difference is that by yanking it early you can avoid negative feedback. in short, both scenarios equate to the same thing - screwing the bidder by ignoring the rules and spirit of auction.

Thanks for your advice. As I was reading this, I was thinking "You can't be serious," and then when I read your comparison to yanking it at the end, I really agreed with you.

I won't be pulling the auction, and I am hoping to not get in-the-hole too badly. I am converting my collection to game-used items and simply want to move this card. It had so much significance when I first got it, but now it's just an MLB logo patch to me.

[WadeInBmore]

hmmm...its up to $200 buckeroos with over 11 hours left. I think that you are gonna make out just fine. Wait til you see what those final 2 minutes do to the sale price of that card.

wade

[corsairs22]

In addition to all that's been said, it seems to me that you gave the card its chance to sell at $325 and now it's time to find out what people will pay for the card in an open auction. Good luck with it.

[AWA85]

Went for little over $200, are you ok with that price? Keep us updated!

[frikativ54]

Went for little over $200, are you ok with that price? Keep us updated!

When the auction was first over, I felt bad about it. I kept trying to tell myself that it's just a baseball card, and that $200 is still $200 toward a game-used jersey I am buying. So - I guess I have mixed feelings. I am so glad I didn't give it away, though. It could have been a lot worse, as I would simply be unhappy only getting $125 for it.

I have a feeling I am going to have a similar situation with my Hunter Pence bat. I need to sell it in order to pay for the aforementioned jersey, and I'm not sure I can get what I originally paid for it. It's a nice D-Bat, but I didn't have a pleasant experience with Hunter Pence, so I don't feel that badly about letting it go.

[TNTtoys]

When the auction was first over, I felt bad about it. I kept trying to tell myself that it's just a baseball card, and that $200 is still $200 toward a game-used jersey I am buying. So - I guess I have mixed feelings. I am so glad I didn't give it away, though. It could have been a lot worse, as I would simply be unhappy only getting $125 for it.

I have a feeling I am going to have a similar situation with my Hunter Pence bat. I need to sell it in order to pay for the aforementioned jersey, and I'm not sure I can get what I originally paid for it. It's a nice D-Bat, but I didn't have a pleasant experience with Hunter Pence, so I don't feel that badly about letting it go.

My two cents for whatever they're worth. Protect your assets and don't be "penny wise/dollar foolish." If you have something worth $200-300, either start it higher or put a reserve on it. Worst thing that can happen is that it doesn't sell, and you eat $2-3 worth of fees. Certainly a lot better than selling it for $100 or more less than its value. Too many times sellers get hung up on saving a few cents with fees that they put their item at high risk and lose hundreds in the process.

[commando]

I guess I should also chime in and note the huge difference between long-term values of newer cards versus game-used equipment. Take the most expensive insert cards produced in 2003 as an example. If you compared the values of 98% of these cards today versus five years ago, you'd see cards that have lost around half their value. Frankly, most card collectors are not concerned with inserts from five years ago. Even many hard-core collectors who collect one specific player have long given up on trying to collect all the different "1 of 1" cards that come out every year.

The bottom line is if you see this card show up on eBay three years from now, I can almost guarantee it will go for much less than you got this week. The equipment you bought will be much more stable if you paid a fair price.