General Forum

Oh, and while I'm on this thread, I'll share something else I've noticed. It more amuses than upsets me, but I find it intriguing. I'll follow a card, at say $40.00 -- a price I consider too high. I wait. Thirty days goes by. The auction closes with no sale, which doesn't surprize me. I figure maybe it will relist for $30. It does relist immediately....for $55! It's the same card. I know, because I'm still watching the closed auction. I compare serial numbers on the graded ones. And they don't even have a best offer option, so it's not necessarily a negotiating tool. Just psychology? I dunno. I've seen this a few times. Trying to understand the reasoning: "Huh, didn't sell. I'd better raise the price!" 

Like I said, I find it funny, but also probably bad business. 

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I've seen this more than once, and I recently saw this with a new card. They actually kept raising the price (like 3 or 4 times!). Crazy!

Some people just aren't smart, and they don't understand economics.  And a lot of those people seem to be drawn to our hobby.  On both sides of the table.

Yup, I watch Ranford cards all the time that I need but refuse to pay for because of idiots like this. If after 6 months the card has not sold at that price lower the GD price people!! And the ones who increase it out of the blue. Like WTF?! Why!!!!!!

And I agree David our hobby is terrible for greed, narrow-mindedness and stupidity. Just gotta figure which one (or all) they suffer from!

One lot I'm watching ...

List initially as a BIN for $9300, no takers

List as auction with $2k starting bid, no takers

Double down, relist the auction with a $4k starting bid ...

I've eventually had good luck with some that list like this, sometimes they give up and list at $0.99 starting bid and the market decides what it's worth (usually around 15-20% of their initial expectations).

Anecdotally, I feel like I'm seeing fewer 99 cent opening bids. I loved that the market decided the price on eBay. Sure, as a seller who always starts his auctions low -- I confess, I'm up to $1.99 -- I've paid the price when a low bid won an auction I thought was worth more. But that's how the market works. It was worth what someone was willing to pay for it, not what I wanted for it. But I'm not in it for a business. I'm just trying to make a few buck to buy some more cards. The 99 cent opening bid always made me feel like, as a buyer, a good deal was possible, and if I lost out it was because the market thought it was worth more than I was willing to pay. No bitterness there. But now I see a lot more Buy It Nows or high opening bids, so the seller, not the market, is trying to set the price. Can't blame them. But it doesn't work with me. I'll just trek out to my store.  

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