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Hypothetical scenario

ZodiacMindwarpZodiacMindwarp Posts: 680 ✭✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
A card worth $75 has an opening price of $150 with no bids and is ending on eBay shortly. You've been looking for it for a long time with no success. Do you pay the premium to get the card or do you wait an indefinite period knowing that when it does show up again you can get it cheaper?

Comments

  • mtcardsmtcards Posts: 3,340 ✭✭✭
    I wouldnt buy it. Once the auction ended with no bidders, you might contact the seller and offer him a reasonable price for it
    IT IS ALWAYS CHEAPER TO NOT SELL ON EBAY
  • PeetiePeetie Posts: 627 ✭✭
    After it closes, I would email the seller and offer him $100.
  • Stone193Stone193 Posts: 24,407 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ZM

    Great question!

    Cards are the one commondity in collectibles where we can track apples with apples and have a price range.

    key point: My policy is to attempt to NEVER overpay for a card because it NEVER stops at just one card - next thing ya know - you may have a whole stash of over-paid cards and wake up in the middle of the nite with the worst case of buyer's remorse!

    Plus, except in rare pop situations, there's always another one on the way.

    And finally, doing a set and staying within budget, for me, is part of the "hunt", part of the fun. Throwing money at it is fine if you are rich - but then you're compelled and stuck wanting to do 100 sets at once to make up for the feeling lost on not being satisfied by the "hunt."

    Did this make sense?
    mike
    Mike
  • phreakydancinphreakydancin Posts: 1,691 ✭✭
    Thought #1 - the collector in me says: A card is only worth what someone will pay for it. If someone pulls the trigger at $150, then it is clearly worth that much, for this week at least. "Book value" aside, how much is it worth to you?

    Thought #2 - the cheapskate in me says: If the seller is anything like making_the_grade / 4_sharp_corners, the card will be relisted at a lower price when it doesn't sell. Fight the temptation and wait for it to go down. If someone pulls the trigger at $150, laugh at them for overpaying and patiently wait for the next one to be listed.

    I'm actually up against something very similar right now. I'm looking at a card right now that really is only worth $10-15 in reality. Problem is, it hasn't come up on eBay since the seller bought his copy for $35 back in March. Now he has it listed with a minimum bid of $40. Worth it? Tough to say: all of the collectors above me in the set registy have this card already, HOWEVER what if some unknown pulls the trigger? The seller may come down a bit in price if it gets no bids this time around, but seeing as I know his cost price, I doubt it will be much of a discount. Decisions, decisions...
  • kingraider75kingraider75 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭
    If it's the last card you need to finish a set, and are sick of looking for the card, then buy it. Otherwise Stone is right, it's really easy to start overpaying for cards.
    Running an Ebay store sure takes a lot more time than a person would think!
  • StingrayStingray Posts: 8,843 ✭✭✭
    How many of us have overpaid for a card, star or common, not really needing to have that card, just because you wanted to out bid the person bidding against you?

    Stingray
  • sagardsagard Posts: 1,899 ✭✭✭
    It kind of depends on how accurate the $75 valuation of the card is. If it's a common card that you just haven't seen recently, let it go. If it's truly hard to find, you may have to jump on it. Check some of the major dealer websights and see where they are pricing it. If they don't have it, you may have to step up.
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