hesitant to sell on ebay

[bensie]

Hi All,

I've got quite a few vintage cards that are worth decent money ($500+) that I've recently upgraded and that I'd like to move out of my collection. My first thought is ebay, but I am hesitant for two reasons. First, I haven't sold on ebay much before and have no real reputation. Second, I worry that the buyer will file a dispute and I'll be left with no money and no card. I see my options as being below. It seems that the best option might be to send the cards over to COMC where I list them there and engage the option for eBay/Amazon listing. I might have to wait for the cards to sell, but it seems to offer the balance I want of seller protection, control over pricing, and hands-off engagement.



Am I on base with my COMC strategy? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the best way to move medium end vintage?

[sjscout]

Originally Posted by bensie

Hi All,

I've got quite a few vintage cards that are worth decent money ($500+) that I've recently upgraded and that I'd like to move out of my collection. My first thought is ebay, but I am hesitant for two reasons. First, I haven't sold on ebay much before and have no real reputation. Second, I worry that the buyer will file a dispute and I'll be left with no money and no card. I see my options as being below. It seems that the best option might be to send the cards over to COMC where I list them there and engage the option for eBay/Amazon listing. I might have to wait for the cards to sell, but it seems to offer the balance I want of seller protection, control over pricing, and hands-off engagement.



Am I on base with my COMC strategy? Does anyone have any other thoughts on the best way to move medium end vintage?

I would first try to sell them on ebay yourself. If it doesn't go well, then you can always choose other options. The point here is the cards are still in your possession.

Everyone starts at zero feedback. Does it hurt that you have none...yes. But I would list as a buy it now anyhow. List as good till cancelled and you can also sell them in person to others or on the forums.

Also, Everyone posts their ebay horror stories, but the truth is these fraud cases are few and far between. Do not let that perception scare you from listing on your own.

If your cards are high end and desirable, you should not have any problems. In fact, I would make comc my last choice based on this as I see them selling through ebay (provided they are desirable) and then you get hit with the comc/ebay fees and the cashout

[rainmaker]

start off selling some of the small stuff and build up ratings. once you have like 10+ you should be good to go with 0.99 auctions. as a total new seller it wouldnt make sense to drop high value cards as that would probably be a concern for buyers.

[bensie]

Originally Posted by sjscout

I would first try to sell them on ebay yourself. If it doesn't go well, then you can always choose other options. The point here is the cards are still in your possession.

Everyone starts at zero feedback. Does it hurt that you have none...yes. But I would list as a buy it now anyhow. List as good till cancelled and you can also sell them in person to others or on the forums.

Also, Everyone posts their ebay horror stories, but the truth is these fraud cases are few and far between. Do not let that perception scare you from listing on your own.

If I had a buyer with 0 feedback buying a $2k card, I would not feel comfortable with sending him the card even if he paid. Who's to say that he doesn't turn around and claim that I sent him a card that was 2 grades lower? Is there a way to reject bids from buyers?

Originally Posted by sjscout

If your cards are high end and desirable, you should not have any problems. In fact, I would make comc my last choice based on this as I see them selling through ebay (provided they are desirable) and then you get hit with the comc/ebay fees and the cashout

Good point; I hadn't considered that I'd still be on the hook for the ebay fees.

[bensie]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

start off selling some of the small stuff and build up ratings. once you have like 10+ you should be good to go with 0.99 auctions. as a total new seller it wouldnt make sense to drop high value cards as that would probably be a concern for buyers.

I already have a feedback rating of around 20, but they're all cards that I've bought and maybe like 2 things sold. I guess 'feedback is feedback', and it doesn't matter that it was all buying and not selling, right?

[crazy4kinsler]

You'd probably get the most money from somewhere like GregMorris cards, Probstein or PWCC because they bid on their own items so would drive the prices up.

As for selling yourself, I'd try selling some of my lower end cards just to build up feedback. Or see if your local LCS sells on eBay and see if they'd sell for you with a consignment type fee.

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by bensie

I already have a feedback rating of around 20, but they're all cards that I've bought and maybe like 2 things sold. I guess 'feedback is feedback', and it doesn't matter that it was all buying and not selling, right?

not necessarily, you should attempt to get those 5 star seller feedback ratings (communication, shipping time, etc). i think its 10 you need before that appears.

[mfw13]

If you choose to sell on EBay yourself, be sure to use BIN/BO.....that way you have a lot more control over whom you sell to, since you can decline the offers of any buyers whom you think may be troublesome.

[Daddymc]

Are we talking graded or ungraded?

[Uwfootball1]

lets see some of the vintage or at least a list, you might pick up a buyer in this thread. Can always list some stuff here before putting it on ebay if it doesn't sell quickly, also could sell in facebook groups

[sjscout]

Originally Posted by bensie

If I had a buyer with 0 feedback buying a $2k card, I would not feel comfortable with sending him the card even if he paid. Who's to say that he doesn't turn around and claim that I sent him a card that was 2 grades lower? Is there a way to reject bids from buyers?



Good point; I hadn't considered that I'd still be on the hook for the ebay fees.

anyone can claim the card was two grades lower regardless of their feedback. Again, don't be swayed by the horror stories you hear, for every one time it happens, there are hundreds of thousands of positive no issue transactions,


if you do buy it now or best offer, you can atleast review the potential buyers feedback for best offers. and i would just check off "must pay immediately" for buy it now.

as for the comc- its not actually ebay fees you pay. but if you list your item with them and it sells on ebay you agree to give comc 20 percent of the sale. then if you cash out, you give them 20 percent again.

[AnthonyCorona]

I know others have said it but I agree 100% about people only posting negatives. If people started a thread every time a transaction went prefect this board would be swamped with those theaters. Good luck with your decision!

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

[Swipe79]

I buy and sell primarily on COMC. If you have fair prices, your stuff sells pretty quickly. The 20% cashout is about 6-7% higher than your total eBay/Paypal fee selling yourself. They do all of the work for you.

You can also use the funds to buy stuff on COMC as well. The vintage sales section here is pretty slow, but it's worth a shot if you have stuff others collect.

[Bretsky]

I’d recommend starting here. If stuff doesn’t move I recommend pwcc as I had a good experience selling a high value card through them. Never used comc for selling and it seems very fee driven. Good luck!

[crazy4kinsler]

Not much vintage love around here. Nice, new shiny stuff? Yes. But not vintage. Might also try Net54. Catered more toward the vintage stuff.

Originally Posted by Bretsky

I’d recommend starting here. If stuff doesn’t move I recommend pwcc as I had a good experience selling a high value card through them. Never used comc for selling and it seems very fee driven. Good luck!

[bensie]

Originally Posted by Daddymc

Are we talking graded or ungraded?

There are a mix of the two; mostly graded (PSA/SGC)

Originally Posted by Uwfootball1

lets see some of the vintage or at least a list, you might pick up a buyer in this thread. Can always list some stuff here before putting it on ebay if it doesn't sell quickly, also could sell in facebook groups

That's true, and very good advice. Rather than clutter this thread with lists, I'll post in the for sale section when I get images together and decide to sell. It's mainly post war RCs. Nolan Ryan, Eddie Murray, Clemente, etc. Mostly mid-grade stuff with values around $500-1000, give or take. I have some football stuff I don't really care for either. High grade montana, elway, marino RCs, a mid grade Jim Brown card, etc.

Originally Posted by mfw13

If you choose to sell on EBay yourself, be sure to use BIN/BO.....that way you have a lot more control over whom you sell to, since you can decline the offers of any buyers whom you think may be troublesome.

This is good advice too.

To everyone else, thank you so much for all the responses! You've given me a lot of food for thought.

[bensie]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

You'd probably get the most money from somewhere like GregMorris cards, Probstein or PWCC because they bid on their own items so would drive the prices up.

As for selling yourself, I'd try selling some of my lower end cards just to build up feedback. Or see if your local LCS sells on eBay and see if they'd sell for you with a consignment type fee.

I have sold a few things through PWCC. The experience was smooth, but I didn't really see the huge prices people are always talking about. The cards I sold all went for very fair prices, IMO. They were inline with other auctions (ebay and other) and definitely weren't skewed to the high side. The problem I had with PWCC was that it was so long from shipment to consignment check. I can't buy new cards until I get the money from the old ones. LOL.

[Swipe79]

I think there have been concerns that the consigners (people who send in the cards) bid on their own items...at least I've heard that. It has also been an issue with Probstein as well.

Originally Posted by bensie

I have sold a few things through PWCC. The experience was smooth, but I didn't really see the huge prices people are always talking about. The cards I sold all went for very fair prices, IMO. They were inline with other auctions (ebay and other) and definitely weren't skewed to the high side. The problem I had with PWCC was that it was so long from shipment to consignment check. I can't buy new cards until I get the money from the old ones. LOL.

[wharfrat7624]

Originally Posted by mfw13

If you choose to sell on EBay yourself, be sure to use BIN/BO.....that way you have a lot more control over whom you sell to, since you can decline the offers of any buyers whom you think may be troublesome.

I agree with mfw. I started selling some high end cards on eBay using BIN/BO and have had some success. It may take a while to sell but keep relisting. If it is a very nice card, as the saying goes, the card will sell itself. I have listed some Panini Prizm cards using auction format starting @ $0.99 and have sold a few.

[ThoseBackPages]

people buy high $ cards on COMC???

[fenwaykid]

You are missing a huge card medium for sales that include 0% fees - facebook.

[bensie]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

people buy high $ cards on COMC???

If the price were right, why not?

Originally Posted by fenwaykid

You are missing a huge card medium for sales that include 0% fees - facebook.

True, but I don't have a facebook account, so I don't know anything at all about that. How do you sell cards on facebook?

[crazy4kinsler]

I thought about doing this too. But nobody in my community (or on my friends list) really collects. I don't know how to make it to where anyone in the country can buy my items. Plus, I hear about nothing but scams on there. Seems that's all there are on that site. So that's the reasons I've been kind of hesitant to sell/buy there.

As I said earlier, go with some of those consignment companies mentioned. They bid on their own items and drive the prices up, so you'll get more for your stuff.

Originally Posted by fenwaykid

You are missing a huge card medium for sales that include 0% fees - facebook.

[fenwaykid]

Originally Posted by crazy4kinsler

I thought about doing this too. But nobody in my community (or on my friends list) really collects. I don't know how to make it to where anyone in the country can buy my items. Plus, I hear about nothing but scams on there. Seems that's all there are on that site. So that's the reasons I've been kind of hesitant to sell/buy there.

As I said earlier, go with some of those consignment companies mentioned. They bid on their own items and drive the prices up, so you'll get more for your stuff.

There are private groups where you have to be vouched in by others in order to become a member. You should really consider it, 75% of the buying/selling I do is on facebook.

[Bowman1951]

Like others have said, Facebook is quickly becoming a great new option. I belong to an extremely active, private Facebook group for PSA graded (mainly vintage) cards. I think there are around 10k members and I see some cards literally sell in 3 minutes.

I'd be happy to give you more information, you don't pay fees there and the buyers are all looking for what you have, it's a win-win in my book.