Short Rant Against A Few COMC Sellers...

[3124508 on COMC]

Why do some COMC sellers who have the Amazon thumbnail next to their username not allow any offers? It makes no sense to me. Someone please explain how this is logical.


/end rant

[Swipe79]

You're not the first one to post about it today.

Like I said earlier - makes no sense to me, unless they're trying to lose a customer.

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by Swipe79

You're not the first one to post about it today.

Like I said earlier - makes no sense to me, unless they're trying to lose a customer.

Yep. I was just going to make an 80% offer on a card for my PC, but the seller wasn't accepting offers, so I didn't buy the card. Same thing happened last week, but the card was worthwhile even at full asking price, so I ended up buying it. If I didn't have COMC credit to blow, I would've bought it on Ebay and transferred it just to spite the seller.

[Jonathon M]

I have noticed it too, Personally I don't understand it, but it did stop me from buying the card... It wasn't an essential PC purchase but it was over $50 and if 20% offers were allowed I would have been all over it.

Another funny one... I offered on another card 20% off asking as they also had the amazon thumbnail.... they then countered back.... I countered again at 20% off original price (what they would have got on amazon/ebay)... they declined...lol!

[mjohnatgt]

It's possible the seller isn't "that" knowledgeable about COMC and never turned on offers.

[Jonathon M]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

It's possible the seller isn't "that" knowledgeable about COMC and never turned on offers.

Aren't offers set at 50% on default when signing up? Therefore requiring the seller to physically turn them off?

I might be wrong, but I always thought this was the case

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

It's possible the seller isn't "that" knowledgeable about COMC and never turned on offers.

But, to play devil's advocate, they also had to opt in to Ebay and Amazon sales, which is below the offer settings on the Options page.

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by Jonathon M

Aren't offers set at 50% on default when signing up? Therefore requiring the seller to physically turn them off?

I might be wrong, but I always thought this was the case

I believe this is also true.

[MyckKabongo]

Not that hard, really. The seller is willing to take the 20% on a portion of cards in return for increased turns, but on the site they want full price.

[jmscoggin]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Not that hard, really. The seller is willing to take the 20% on a portion of cards in return for increased turns, but on the site they want full price.

You are trying to be salty but it isn't working. You stated the facts as we already know them to be, that was pretty simple to do and added zero to the conversation. What we are wondering is why they are that way. Why would a seller be willing to take 20% off on Amazon/Ebay but not direct, it makes zero sense. Please feel free to chime in if you actually have something to add.

[notsublime]

I run into this daily when making offers. I don't understand it at all.

Before eBay, I'd offer between 50% and 80% and do the negotiation thing. Now I just offer the 80% and one would think that since that little symbol is next to their name, it would be an auto accept. So if you think about it, I'm offering more money than I did in the past. But I would guess I'm actually purchasing less cards because of the sellers practices.

If it's set at 100% cost, I buy it on eBay, transfer it back to COMC. If I truly want it for full cost, I might as well collect some eBay bucks.

[Swipe79]

The problem here, is that I can go on to eBay and buy the card there instead of buying on site. I get eBay Bucks and you take a 20% hit in that situation. I'm tempted to do that on any transaction where the user doesn't accept 20% off prices, but is cross-listed.

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Not that hard, really. The seller is willing to take the 20% on a portion of cards in return for increased turns, but on the site they want full price.

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Not that hard, really. The seller is willing to take the 20% on a portion of cards in return for increased turns, but on the site they want full price.

What do you mean by "increased turns"?

[thebrett]

I've wondered the same thing

I'll go buy it on eBay to spite them and I have COMC credit coming out of my ears

[jefflasvegas]

Here is my possible take. I have 10,000 items listed so some cards haven't been adjusted to account for the 36% fees (20 ebay and 20 comc). So if I have a card listed at $10 and am in to it for $9, I would counter an offer at $9. If the offer is declined, I may raise the price so I don't lose money on an ebay sale or turn the card off until a later date.

The vast majority of my offers don't fall into this category but I can see it as logical reasoning.

[Jonathon M]

Originally Posted by jefflasvegas

Here is my possible take. I have 10,000 items listed so some cards haven't been adjusted to account for the 36% fees (20 ebay and 20 comc). So if I have a card listed at $10 and am in to it for $9, I would counter an offer at $9. If the offer is declined, I may raise the price so I don't lose money on an ebay sale or turn the card off until a later date.

The vast majority of my offers don't fall into this category but I can see it as logical reasoning.

ok, that seems logical.. I have no problems with sellers raising prices if the card has got "hot"... Sometimes an offer alerts you to this (I've done it, and will continue to)... Buyers fault for not grabbing it at original price..

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by jefflasvegas

Here is my possible take. I have 10,000 items listed so some cards haven't been adjusted to account for the 36% fees (20 ebay and 20 comc). So if I have a card listed at $10 and am in to it for $9, I would counter an offer at $9. If the offer is declined, I may raise the price so I don't lose money on an ebay sale or turn the card off until a later date.

The vast majority of my offers don't fall into this category but I can see it as logical reasoning.

Originally Posted by Jonathon M

ok, that seems logical.. I have no problems with sellers raising prices if the card has got "hot"... Sometimes an offer alerts you to this (I've done it, and will continue to)... Buyers fault for not grabbing it at original price..

While logical for declining an offer at 80% or above, it still doesn't explain why several sellers simply won't allow for any offers to be made, but are still selling on Ebay and Amazon.

[Swipe79]

This may explain a small percentage of what I've seen, but to be honest - if someone bought the card on eBay you'd be out the money anyways. You'd rather tell them "no" over a dollar and possibly dissuade them from purchasing from you in the future?

As a buyer, I don't know you have $X into the card. I just know that you've declined my offer of 20% off (which would equal an eBay sale) and then see you raise the price afterwards.

Originally Posted by jefflasvegas

Here is my possible take. I have 10,000 items listed so some cards haven't been adjusted to account for the 36% fees (20 ebay and 20 comc). So if I have a card listed at $10 and am in to it for $9, I would counter an offer at $9. If the offer is declined, I may raise the price so I don't lose money on an ebay sale or turn the card off until a later date.

The vast majority of my offers don't fall into this category but I can see it as logical reasoning.

[MyckKabongo]

Do any of you guys work in marketing?

This is like asking why cell phone companies offer new customers a lower rate to new customers or why the same bottle of shampoo costs less at Walmart than it does at CVS. Context matters for pricing.

The seller is willing to take a 20% hit sometimes because higher sales volume helps the business (turns). However, most of the time they want full margin. The card COULD sell on eBay/Amazon for 80% but odds are still higher it will sell for full margin on COMC. If you're selling on eBay odds are you're selling to a new customer outside the COMc system.

You're not entitled to pay less for a bottle of shampoo at CVS just because Walmart has it for less. No smart business is going to offer a discount unless they need to. You're certainly not entitled to a discount at CVS when the shampoo is the same price both places but Walmart pays a lower wholesale price to the manufacturer.

All that said, I will take an 80% offer almost all of the time but it's really not irrational to turn one down.

[MyckKabongo]

Yet another example is when manufacturers attempt to enforce the MSRP, so the retail price is the same at all outlets. The wholesale price and manufacturer margin may be very different but the MSRP is the same. I may sell on Amazon, but I make a higher margin when you buy from your local store so I'm going to insist AMZ charge full MSRP so the local store has a shot to compete.

This is a key point: The listed price for the card is the same both places. You want the card? You pay $10 either way. You can buy on eBay out of spite but many will buy on COMC, giving the seller an extra $2. The buyer isn't really benefitting by spiting the seller--eBay bucks get washed out by not consolidating shipments.

The buyer doesn't have very much leverage when they offer 80%. Not nearly as much as you guys think. I'm guessing that's why you're ranting on here or admitting to buying on eBay purely out of spite.

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

Do any of you guys work in marketing?

This is like asking why cell phone companies offer new customers a lower rate to new customers or why the same bottle of shampoo costs less at Walmart than it does at CVS. Context matters for pricing.

The seller is willing to take a 20% hit sometimes because higher sales volume helps the business (turns). However, most of the time they want full margin. The card COULD sell on eBay/Amazon for 80% but odds are still higher it will sell for full margin on COMC. If you're selling on eBay odds are you're selling to a new customer outside the COMc system.

You're not entitled to pay less for a bottle of shampoo at CVS just because Walmart has it for less. No smart business is going to offer a discount unless they need to. You're certainly not entitled to a discount at CVS when the shampoo is the same price both places but Walmart pays a lower wholesale price to the manufacturer.

All that said, I will take an 80% offer almost all of the time but it's really not irrational to turn one down.

First, the shampoo analogy doesn't seem to hold up, as Walmart and CVS are two different corporations which both own their own shampoo, whereas on COMC the same seller owns his cards while selling through multiple marketplaces. I would assume that wholesale prices vary due to purchase volume, but that doesnt matter, because a COMC seller only has one bottom line number (wholesale price) across all platforms.

Second, while it theoretically would make sense that a seller would only want to lose 20% on some sales, why would they not want an 80% offer that would increase sales to the same extent as an EBay sale would? This is especially true when considering that the ratio of EBay to direct COMC sales, and the likelihood of that card selling on eBay later anyway. For example, the card I didnt purchase on COMC yesterday has 2 eBay watchers and will likely be purchased though ebay, so why not sell it now and net the same amount?

[Jonathon M]

Good points. Didn't really look at it that way. Not something I would do, but it's understandable in a way. Again, I personally don't see benefit in it within my selling strategy

[MyckKabongo]

Originally Posted by 3124508 on COMC

Second, while it theoretically would make sense that a seller would only want to lose 20% on some sales, why would they not want an 80% offer that would increase sales to the same extent as an EBay sale would? This is especially true when considering that the ratio of EBay to direct COMC sales, and the likelihood of that card selling on eBay later anyway. For example, the card I didnt purchase on COMC yesterday has 2 eBay watchers and will likely be purchased though ebay, so why not sell it now and net the same amount?

It's a fair point--this is why I personally would take the 80% offer bird in hand. However, many sellers don't properly value inventory turnover because they aren't good at sourcing flips.

For some, especially those with higher end cards they just want to protect margin. They're going to hold the line on the list price and if it sells on eBay so be it but every full price sale on COMC is a "win" they may not have gotten if they'd accepted an 80% offer earlier.

[3124508 on COMC]

Originally Posted by MyckKabongo

It's a fair point--this is why I personally would take the 80% offer bird in hand. However, many sellers don't properly value inventory turnover because they aren't good at sourcing flips.

For some, especially those with higher end cards they just want to protect margin. They're going to hold the line on the list price and if it sells on eBay so be it but every full price sale on COMC is a "win" they may not have gotten if they'd accepted an 80% offer earlier.

I understand this completely. That's why I'm so overjoyed when I get a cart sale. Last week I sold a card for $100 via the cart that I would've gotten $80 for via eBay or probably $75 for if I negotiated with someone direct though the site.

[usasportcards]

Originally Posted by 3124508 on COMC

I would've bought it on Ebay and transferred it just to spite the seller.

I am going to sound like the newbie here (because I am - ha) - Can you transfer the card from Ebay to COMC without having to have it shipped with the $3.99 shipping charge through Ebay?