Keppler throwing in the Towel??

mrichards · November 3, 2002 3:03AM

Hi Guys,

Is Kris Keppler getting out of the graded card business? It seems his whole inventory is listed on Ebay. Does anyone know anything? This is getting bad. JP/Memory Lane got out of the business . Wiwag (from the posts on this board) are going to deal with only newer stuff, Stan the Man is no longer a registered user on Ebay. I think the economy is starting to affect some of these dealers.

Mike

yawie99 · November 3, 2002 3:08AM

i dunno - i just assumed he was taking advantage of ebay's free fixed-price listing day. i'm surprised more dealers didn't do the same with their inventory.

mrichards · November 3, 2002 3:22AM

Hi Yawie99,

Yyou probably answered my question. I didn't know about that promotion from Ebay.
You have really nice Hockey sets. I love Hockey and was thinking about starting a set or two.

Thanks,
Mike

Mantlefan · November 3, 2002 3:23AM

Kris's BIN prices are kinda high, suggesting he's not clearing house, just taking advantage of the EBAY special no-fee day.

murcerfan · November 3, 2002 3:35AM

Frank,
You are right those are his catalog prices, he's pretty far away from "dumping" anything.
I see Mike Wheat is starting to do this "non-auction" e-bay thing too.
Getting only 7 days for the e-bay fee would seem to make this an expensive way to advertise one's inventory.
I just bought some '52's from WIWAG and the guys were laughing about the posts here on this board, suggesting they had lost thier minds and were going to focus on modern stuff. They think they said something that was taken out of context.

mrichards · November 3, 2002 3:41AM

Hi Murcerfan,

I guess this non auction stuff is a good way for ebay to make more money on final value fees and another way to clog up all of the listings in graded vintage cards. The only cool thing is you get to see some really amazing cards that you can't (speaking for myself), afford.

Mike

yawie99 · November 3, 2002 3:45AM

thanks, mike. one of the nice things about hockey sets is that most of the vintage ones come in at 132 cards or fewer. of course, many of the cards in many vintage sets have had few examples graded so it's still quite challenging. anyway, good luck if you decide to pursue anything.

qualitycards · November 3, 2002 5:11AM

Kris was smart to take advantage of the free post day. It was only for Fixed prices, thats why you see Buy It Now's listed w/ no bid increments. He only pays eBay the % if anything sells, so its a great way to move inventory. I should have taken full advantage of it. I wish eBay notifies all sellers about these promotions in advance, they would no doubt create more activity. Kris listed about 1000 lots, I would have done that too! ...jay

mrichards · November 3, 2002 5:13AM

Jay, I don't think Ebay is big enough if you were going to list your inventory.

qualitycards · November 3, 2002 6:05AM

Michael - Perhaps you are right, those $20 and $30 cards really add up

...jay

brucemo · November 3, 2002 6:30AM

Of all of the dealers who have tons of "good" stuff, Keppler seems to have prices that are closest to reality. He is not in the same category as 707 or BMW, for instance.

bruce

Wayne8348 · November 3, 2002 7:51AM

Brucemo,

About a year ago I tried to buy a HIGH pop card from 707 which they were asking about 6 times smr for it. Anyways I didn't buy it and made a comment here about the card being high and to make a long story short, at the next show I attended I walked up to their table and asked about the price on the same card and I was blasted by the guy working there saying I was talking bad about them. I had never even met the before. Anyways, you may want to consider a mask if you go to any shows soon.

I have bought from them in the past but only when I need to as I agree they are on the high side. (That's not slinging mud guys - just factual) But they have been good to work with having very prompt shipping and not even waiting for the check to clear.

wayne

theBobs · November 3, 2002 9:49AM

<< <i>they were asking about 6 times smr >>

Sounds pretty black and white to me.

EOMINT · November 3, 2002 10:56AM

seems to me that we are seeing a trend in that you have a few dealers who tried to stay away from ebay now deciding to use ebay as a channel of distribution for what they previously deemed scare rarities that were better sold through the retail channel. i believe this does in fact speak to the weakness the economy and more importantly the equity markets are having on the graded baseball card market. you have a few dealers that are literally up to their eyeballs in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars of inventory that was purchased at "bubble" prices...they chose to sit on the inventory rather than turn it, which is very dangerous unless you can really afford to take a long-term approach...i think putting all these big cards out there w/ buy it now prices well in excess of what the current market will bear (as illustrated by the fact that nobody is bidding or hitting the reserve) is a flawed strategy in that the scarcity value declines when everyone sees the same items over and over again on ebay. if these dealers can afford to weather the current storm they should just put their inventory away and sit on it...if not, they should be selling at current market prices instead of waiting for some miracle...had they taken this approach 2-3 yrs ago they probably woudn't be in the precarious position they now find themselves.

in any retail business, inventory turns are one of the most important measures of the health of the business...i think some dealers may have lost sight of this in the "bubble" market...but to me these dealers are essentially hoping that there is somebody out there who is going to pay $80 for a share of CSCO even when that same share is now readily available at $11.

eric

missinglink · November 3, 2002 12:01PM

Eric,

There is no difference in the dealers taking advantage of the free listing with "high buy it now" prices than seeing the same recurring inventory in their catalogs. If the prices are too high they will continue to keep the card in inventory. The number of times you see it has nothing to do with the scarceity of the item as long as it is the same dealer.

EOMINT · November 3, 2002 12:04PM

the issue is not scarcity but perceived scarcity...collectors want items that they can't easily find...once something gets shopped around and there aren't any takers it loses it's appeal, that's my only point. this is not an efficient market...

crazysc · November 3, 2002 12:07PM

<< <i>the issue is not scarcity but perceived scarcity...collectors want items that they can't easily find...once something gets shopped around and there aren't any takers it loses it's appeal, that's my only point. this is not an efficient market... >>

That's always the case - that's why people love "fresh" items, cards just graded and all, instead of stuff sitting around in a showcase. Primarily thinking, that if something has sat for a year and hasn't been bought, there must be a reason (condition, price, etc.)

Mantlefan · November 3, 2002 12:28PM

I think the proof is in the pudding. Kris listed over a thousand cards....he's sold about ten. That's a lot of hours typing for a very small return. Over-priced fixed priced auctions don't work. Either give the buyer a bargain or don't bother.

crazysc · November 3, 2002 12:53PM

<< <i> Either give the buyer a bargain or don't bother.

>>

On ebay anyhow - one other fact is there is an intrinsic benefit to having all these items listed - he may be contacted off ebay for sales, or may simply get customers who didn't know him from it...

LuxuryWines · November 3, 2002 2:03PM

Crazy Sc,
Well put this is a huge advertising opportunity for Keppler.. He may pull in some new people who have nver heard of him ... Besides with auction listing services cut and paste 1 or 2 lines and you can list very quickly.... (remember the listings are free...) It will be interesting to see how many cards he sells with his prices...Jeff

motocrosser · November 3, 2002 4:39PM

My .02...

Many of us are used to seeing Kris's updated list every few weeks. He emails us...

He may get some new customers but I really think he saw the likes of Rockets Lover and a few more
big spenders and wanted to sell some cards.

Rockets-Lover has spent the GNP of a small (maybe a large) third world country in the last few weeks.

Business is business...

John

jml517-ebay
____________________

61 topps 100%
54 topps
63 topps

mrichards · November 5, 2002 10:47AM

Hi John/Moto,

Rockets Lover is out of gas (it looks like). He hasn't won an auction since October 29th and 24 retractions at the end of last month.

Mike

Keppler throwing in the Towel??

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