EBAY Question

perkdog

Hi fellas,

I just put some cards for sale on ebay for the first time, I also have just purchased cards there for the first time as well. I have bought several cards ranging from $150.00 to $1200.00, all cards I ended up paying over SMR, Im ok with that. My Question is that My cards are roughly worth around 2 hundred apiece, what do I do if the bids end up to about half the cards value? Say a HOF'er booking for two hundred ends up with a final bid for about $80.00, I dont want to rip myself off, I know that if it went for three times the SMR I would be ripping people off as well, I want a fair price for the card, I was told I should have put a reserve on them but did not. What do I do? I put them on a day ago.

kingraider75

end the listing now is the only honest way to do it. Even then if people have already placed a bid it's kinda messed up. By ending the listing you will lose the money on the listing fees, but I think that's the only way to go.

KansasJayhawk

Agreed, if you made an honest mistake end the auction now and relist with your reserve, I once was in the same boat and rode it out and lost $$$.

ydsotter

I'd also ask you what you mean by saying your card is worth $200 etc...
For instance... that might be what a 1965 mays is worth in NM/MT... but if yours is EXMT then $80 would be terrific.
See what the cards you are selling have sold for in past auctions in the same condition... throw your price guides out... especially if it's a beckett. (sorry, that's just how I feel)
and you might expect a little less since you are new.

As the other guys said... end your listing now... you'll look like a squid if you wait until the last moment.

In the future, you can put your starting bid at what you want to get or a reserve...
Ebay can be a great place to sell... but I usually feel I do better buying there.

ydsotter

whoops, sorry, I see that you are referring to smr and probably selling graded cards... forget my novice question about condition etc...

DirtyHarry

If you listed your cards as an auction, then, as a seller, you should live with the terms that you listed your cards at. If you have any doubts, cancel all the auctions now and learn from it. Don't fool around with buyers bidding on your cards and then cancel the auctions at the last minute. You have various options as an Ebay seller - min price, reserve price, BIN only.. to protect yourself regards to the minimum price you will/want to sell your item for. Be a good Ebay citizen and approach your "selling" activities just as you would like to be treated as a buyer. Regards.

Vintagegolfcollector

You made an honest mistake, end the auctions now and relist. As mentioned, there are several options. You can list with a reserve, start at the minimum you are willing to sell the item, or just use the BIN option. There are benefits to all three.

If you list with a reserve (say $ 200 with a starting price of $ 9.99) and don't sell the item, it will cost you more than if you list the item with a starting price of ($ 200) and don't sell it. On the other hand, there are times when a low starting price with a reserve attracts more bidders and you might end up better off than with a high beginning price. Check past auctions for an idea of how recent auctions have done with the items you are about to sell.

BIN can be good too, especially when eBay is running a special. Depending on the special, it can cost you next to nothing ( .01, .05, etc.) to list an item and you can shoot for the moon. If the item doesn't sell then you've lost next to nothing. If the right buyer comes along you might make a nice profit.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

Peter

perkdog

Thanks guys, I am ending the auction, with a good lesson learned.

I appreaciate the input, my cards were 1953 Topps HOF'ers in PSA 7 Grade and figured I should at least get my money back, or take a minor $$ loss at worst.

Thanks again