For many of us, the Hobby of card collecting has changed drastically over the years, one change being easier access to the cards that we all know and love. It has become very easy to find those final 20 cards to complete a set, or to find that last numbered card to complete a parallel set. While "THE GIANT" has undeniably made it less painstaking to find anything and everything in the hobby, it is also beginning to drive away sellers in the sportscard market.
Having been a seller for over 10 years, the walls have slowly but surely began to put the squeeze on casual sellers like myself. The latest example being EBAY laying out a new requirement for "Top Rated Sellers". TRS must now confirm their shipping on 90% of all their transactions, which for some sellers means an extra .15-.20. If sellers cannot meet this requirement, they are subject to loss of their percentage discounts on Final Value fees, etc. So what does this mean: A seller can no longer list an item for 1.99 with free shipping, and expect to come out on top. If I list an item for 1.99 with free shipping, I will pay (.10) to list, a (.20) FVF, (1.64) to ship with confirmation, and a (.20-.30) fee taken from PAYPAL. Sellers won't be around long losing (.25) per transaction!!!
If I am a buyer, which I am as well, this means that I can now expect to pay $2.50-3.00 for a Heath Bell Topps Base card.....REALLY??? This is not good, and it shows me that EBAY has no respect for sellers, or the Sportscard market----I am also positive that I am not the first to offer up that idea, and I won't be the last.
I realize that there are plenty of people out there who make great money on Ebay selling sportscards, but these are not sellers offering up base singles, these are sellers who are offering up higher end cards, sets, parallel collections, etc. These sellers dont come by these cards by snatching up retail, or the occasional hobby box, these sellers are buying up 1000's of dollars worth of cases, which many of us are unable to do financially. If there is anyone out there making a living off of selling base singles on EBAY, I would love to see it, and if we see it, then who in their right mind is out there paying the $2-3 per single???
Basically what I'm getting at, is the fact that casual hobbyists who enjoy breaking product and making a little money on the side will become fewer and fewer as long as EBAY keeps driving them away.....if not by choice, but by necessity because they are unable to profit anything.
I foresee the card market on EBAY becoming more relic, auto, low numbered parallel, and complete set based in the near future. Low priced based just does not make sense anymore with the fees assessed to sellers.
As both a buyer and a seller, what options do we have? THE GOOD NEWS....Plenty!!!
*YOUTUBE is a great place to promote your own website to sell singles--no fees=lower prices.
*ECRATER offers free stores for sellers--no fees=lower prices.
*CHECKOUTMYCARDS.COM is the next big thing. Singles are cheap, and selling is as easy as paying a small fee to send in cards, and they take care of the rest. One can also use this site to play the card market much like the stock market.
BENHAMBASEBALLCARDS.COM....Chris uses YOUTUBE to post his breaks, and then puts up the majority of his singles for sale on his own website. He doesn't have to pay all the garbage EBAY fees, therefore singles can be purchased at a very reasonable price.
BECKETT MARKETPLACE----A great place to find those hard to find singles from sellers who don't have the ridiculous overhead.
GROUP BREAKS----A great way to get our hands on team specific singles, autos, relics, parallels, etc. Also in some cases, a better chance at a high dollar card without having to shell out huge money for cases and hobby boxes---I have also noticed a movement of more breakers moving into their own websites to eliminate EBAY overhead.
Want Irony? Will I Continue to use Ebay? Yes........but......I will no longer use it to sell lower end base, there is simply no way to make any money back. I will continue to use EBAY for lots, complete sets, autos, relics, and higher book value cards....a necessary evil I guess, but I will no longer feed the giant with my singles. I prefer to put my singles up on ECRATER or COMC.COM where I can pass the savings on to the buyer, and reciprocate by purchasing from these sites as well!!!
In Conclusion, there are better options out there!!! Less garbage (IE. Ebay fees) leads to more affordable prices for all of us. These factors lead to more money in the sellers pocket, and easier access for the buyer to get his/her hands on those PC beauties that we all enjoy. LET'S MAKE THE HOBBY FUN AGAIN, AND AFFORDABLE!!!
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