It's time for GPA to start reporting Comiclink Focused Auction results 1 1

[tth2]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

 

EBay probably allows GPA to mine data though, something that CL doesn't.

 

If I remember correctly, and I usually do, the issue was that Josh only wanted to forward "record-breaking sales" to GPA, likely as a form of advertising, but had no interest in allowing ALL ComicLink transactions to be used in GPA.

 

I believe George has covered this multiple times.

I was just talking about CL's auctions, not CL's "regular" listings. But Roy raises a good point, that without being able to see who the winners and underbidders of the auctions are, it'd be risky relying on the CL auction data without verification from CL.

 

Too bad Josh doesn't want to participate. Sure, some of the lower sales from the auctions would hurt, but the higher sales would definitely help, and my guess is that overall the CL auction results would result in higher GPA prices, rather than lower.

[BronzeBruce13]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

 

EBay probably allows GPA to mine data though, something that CL doesn't.

 

If I remember correctly, and I usually do, the issue was that Josh only wanted to forward "record-breaking sales" to GPA, likely as a form of advertising, but had no interest in allowing ALL ComicLink transactions to be used in GPA.

 

I believe George has covered this multiple times.

I was just talking about CL's auctions, not CL's "regular" listings. But Roy raises a good point, that without being able to see who the winners and underbidders of the auctions are, it'd be risky relying on the CL auction data without verification from CL.

 

Too bad Josh doesn't want to participate. Sure, some of the lower sales from the auctions would hurt, but the higher sales would definitely help, and my guess is that overall the CL auction results would result in higher GPA prices, rather than lower.

 

Certainly MORE prices equal or eclipse GPA values than go under from my observations... especially on key issues/titles.

 

The value of many issues/titles would escalate with this data as well.

[tth2]

It's not a matter of what Comiclink wants or does not want.

 

The solution is simple. Once a month GPA needs to manually enter the auction results once the auctions have ended. All the results are sitting right there for anyone to view, here is an example of a listing of past results.

 

The results are sitting right there. These are very important sales.

 

Someone at GPA needs to spend 10 hours a month manually going through these results and recording them.

 

More and more quality material is migrating from Heritage and ebay to Comiclink Focused. If GPA does not start reporting it, their database will be woefully inadequate for the best material out there.

 

Sure they can give me a very accurate estimate on ASM #300 9.6

 

But for stuff where they have no recorded sales since 2002 or 2003, and then a sale is made on Comiclink Focused and this updated price is NOT recorded, I think that is a real dis-service to their subscribers

 

So let me get this straight. You're blaming GPA, rather than CL?

 

If you can read the posts that have been made in this thread, it's not an issue of inputting the results into GPA's database. It's an issue of the quality of the info that's being input into GPA.

 

Unless you just don't care about the quality of the info.

[comicwiz]

The point is that GPA could manually track the data on ComicLink, if they wanted to track it. I would not classify it as unsubstantiated data. It is as reliable as any of their other data sources. Sure, it would labor intensive and maybe that is where the problem truly lies.

 

No need; as long as the data is tied to some backend (database), you can easily write code to communicate with the database, pull whatever data you want (ie. sold items, price, s/n, date of sale, etc.), and generate those values in an easy to use XML feed format. With an XML feed scenario, I'm fairly certain George's system could interface seamlessly with all of CL's data with no need for manual data entry. What this would mean on the CL side is adding 1 file (two at the most) to the root directory to perform the communication bridge.

[Monkeyman]

CLink has been selling a lot of early Tecs (40s & 50s) in recent auctions. There are little to no sales of these books in GPA. Just in this last auction I was looking at books that showed no sales for five years in GPA. This makes the books look rarer than they really are and doesn't help guys like me decide what to bid. A real shame that CLink doesn't provide this data.

 

Mike

[tth2]

It's interesting from reading this thread how reliant people have become on GPA.

 

Being an old dinosaur, I don't see what's wrong with collectors still having to do a little homework, rather than having all info available to them at the press of a button. Those are the kind of things that in my opinion separate the really skilled and successful collectors from everyone else.

 

Personally, I would say that if CL data doesn't get included in GPA, then people should individually record CL data for books that they follow (just like BB13 does), and factor that data into the GPA when they are assessing price. They should do the same with other sites that don't participate in GPA, such as HighGrade.

[tth2]

CLink has been selling a lot of early Tecs (40s & 50s) in recent auctions. There are little to no sales of these books in GPA. Just in this last auction I was looking at books that showed no sales for five years in GPA. This makes the books look rarer than they really are and doesn't help guys like me decide what to bid. A real shame that CLink doesn't provide this data.

 

Mike

Yeah, but even if the CL data WERE entered, would (or should) 1 or 2 sales of a book over a 5-year period really help you shape your bid? When the transaction volumes are that low, they're really not much more than random price points.

 

I personally don't subscribe to GPA because the amount and frequency of transactions of the kinds of books and grades that I collect is so small that it's relatively meaningless as a data point. SA or BA Marvel or late SA or BA DC are a different matter, and I can understand why collectors of those types of books rely on GPA, since there is enough recent transactional volume to provide meaningful data. (and admittedly I get GPA data from friends for those types of books on those rare occasions when I'm looking to sell one)

[Murph]

The results would HAVE to be confirmed. Otherwise you get shilled up prices on books that never exchanged hands. Do we really need GPA to report an ASM 89 9.4 selling for 2.5k? Or some of the more outlandish results for that matter. I always get a kick out of some of these CL auctions, where ppl bid up some random books to absurd levels and then the underbidder just disappears.. no where to be seen when a similar copy goes up for a fraction of the price.

[adamstrange]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

 

EBay probably allows GPA to mine data though, something that CL doesn't.

 

If I remember correctly, and I usually do, the issue was that Josh only wanted to forward "record-breaking sales" to GPA, likely as a form of advertising, but had no interest in allowing ALL ComicLink transactions to be used in GPA.

 

I believe George has covered this multiple times.

I was just talking about CL's auctions, not CL's "regular" listings. But Roy raises a good point, that without being able to see who the winners and underbidders of the auctions are, it'd be risky relying on the CL auction data without verification from CL.

 

What type of verification are you wanting? If you're concerned about this, then you should be concerned about the integrity of the CL auctions, irrespective of providing the data to GPA. Is there an effective mechanism to catch these kinds of problems at other venues like Heritage or Vintage Coll? I really don't see any downside to putting the clink auction numbers into GPA as they don't seem any more or less reliable to me than the other sources.

[batman_fan]

At some level, I can understand not giving GPA the data for free. GPA charges customers for the info and expect that info handed to them for free?

[benz]

It's interesting from reading this thread how reliant people have become on GPA.

 

Being an old dinosaur, I don't see what's wrong with collectors still having to do a little homework, rather than having all info available to them at the press of a button. Those are the kind of things that in my opinion separate the really skilled and successful collectors from everyone else.

 

Personally, I would say that if CL data doesn't get included in GPA, then people should individually record CL data for books that they follow (just like BB13 does), and factor that data into the GPA when they are assessing price. They should do the same with other sites that don't participate in GPA, such as HighGrade.

 

we're still young, lazy and we want everything in a snap.

 

its no biggie since i can note the prices after the auction. AF15 in 5.5 selling for $12K. wow now I am glad I bought mine a few years ago.

[fantastic_four]

You make a good point, that eBay's auctions are a bit more transparent, and therefore could be used even if eBay didn't cooperate.

 

I'm about 98% sure that when GPA first started, they were screen-scraping EBay data. I think that's the only way you COULD have done it back then, as I distinctly recall that EBay wasn't sending sales data to ANYBODY back then...I'm surprised to hear they do it now. I think they may have done the same for Heritage but have no direct knowledge of it; my own analysis of their listing format and ability to search past auctions indicates to me it's more than feasible. George may have just asked Heritage to send him an Excel spreadsheet of completed auction results after each auction, who knows. I dunno what GPA does today for EBay. I know that since 2003, EBay added a direct XML web service interface to query its data, but last time I checked it, you had to pay for that, so screen-scraping could be cheaper.

 

"Screen-scraping" just means writing code to take the raw HTML page and look for common identifiers in the code to extract the title and issue from the auction description, as well as the price and auction end date. I've written such code to scrape E-Bay pages myself...actually doesn't take too long, maybe a day or two. My plan was to write a little program that sent me some kind of active message on Buy-It-Now stuff I'd really be interested in as soon as it hit E-Bay so I could put a buy in within hours, minutes, or seconds of it having been listed. I was inspired by a few really nice Buy-It-Now finds I got shortly after listing, such as an FF #52 CGC 9.6 and FF #11 CGC 8.5 I got...both were pretty dirt-cheap prices. I think I finished the code to do searches and get listing data into database tables in like 4-6 hours, but after futzing with the code to automatically log into and out of E-Bay for a few hours, I got tired of it and gave up. I know it's possible since the sniping web sites do it, but there used to be something weird about E-Bay that made the automated login logic kinda tough. Now that I think about this again...maybe I'll give it another shot!

 

I haven't seen how long Josh keeps the completed auction data on ComicLink up. I just went there a few minutes ago and the data is up there right now and viewable...it looks pretty screen-scrapable to me at first glance. Nice, distinct, easy-to-interpret tabular format.

[fantastic_four]

I know that since 2003, EBay added a direct XML web service interface to query its data, but last time I checked it, you had to pay for that, so screen-scraping could be cheaper.

 

Hmm, I just double-checked this, and their direct data interface is free nowadays, as long as you don't hammer their servers. Automatically getting data from EBay now looks pretty easy for developers.

[tth2]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

 

EBay probably allows GPA to mine data though, something that CL doesn't.

 

If I remember correctly, and I usually do, the issue was that Josh only wanted to forward "record-breaking sales" to GPA, likely as a form of advertising, but had no interest in allowing ALL ComicLink transactions to be used in GPA.

 

I believe George has covered this multiple times.

I was just talking about CL's auctions, not CL's "regular" listings. But Roy raises a good point, that without being able to see who the winners and underbidders of the auctions are, it'd be risky relying on the CL auction data without verification from CL.

 

What type of verification are you wanting? If you're concerned about this, then you should be concerned about the integrity of the CL auctions, irrespective of providing the data to GPA. Is there an effective mechanism to catch these kinds of problems at other venues like Heritage or Vintage Coll? I really don't see any downside to putting the clink auction numbers into GPA as they don't seem any more or less reliable to me than the other sources.

Beats me. I just assume there's something that Heritage and the others "give" to GPA that goes beyond just some easy data interface. I'm not talking about some sort of guarantee that no shilling took place, as I don't think any auction house could guarantee that. I was more referring to some sort of certification that allows GPA to be confident that a transaction really went through. Bum bidders do happen and no one would be able to tell without the auction house disclosing.

[comicwiz]

I know that since 2003, EBay added a direct XML web service interface to query its data, but last time I checked it, you had to pay for that, so screen-scraping could be cheaper.

 

Hmm, I just double-checked this, and their direct data interface is free nowadays, as long as you don't hammer their servers. Automatically getting data from EBay now looks pretty easy for developers.

 

I just read your post and was about to comment that paying for any syndicated feed from eBay whether it be XML or RSS would make no sense, as there are plenty of people who have come up with syndication tools of their own that pull eBay data and have shared them freely. I read through a few comments others have shared, and I'm pretty certain that GPA does not do any manual entry. There may be a data validation element where an admin eyeballs certain criteria before or after its added to GPA's database (i.e. more rule-based flagging where something doesn't jive with newly added records) - as a service provider dealing with large volumes of data, it helps to figure out the right balance of machine automation and human judgement, and I would have to believe that GPA has been around long enough to have streamlined this process well enough to not have to rely on the human element all that much.

[Silver]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

Just guessing here.....Ebay's website is much more conducive to writing a -script to pull data. CL's website is a POS.

 

Anything can be done by a good programmer

[Silver]

At some level, I can understand not giving GPA the data for free. GPA charges customers for the info and expect that info handed to them for free?

 

I thought the same thing. At $10 a month now GPA has got to be making a nice little profit on reporting other people's data that they don't pay for. Josh can't stop them from snatching his data, but he isn't obligated to give it to them for free either.

[batman_fan]

At some level, I can understand not giving GPA the data for free. GPA charges customers for the info and expect that info handed to them for free?

 

I thought the same thing. At $10 a month now GPA has got to be making a nice little profit on reporting other people's datat they don't pay for. Josh can't stop them from snatching his data, but he isn't obligated to give it to them for free either.

 

(thumbs u And I will go one step further, I think CGC is completely nuts to release the Census data for free. That info is worth a ton. If it were me, I would charge for it.

[tth2]

At some level, I can understand not giving GPA the data for free. GPA charges customers for the info and expect that info handed to them for free?

 

I thought the same thing. At $10 a month now GPA has got to be making a nice little profit on reporting other people's datat they don't pay for. Josh can't stop them from snatching his data, but he isn't obligated to give it to them for free either.

 

(thumbs u And I will go one step further, I think CGC is completely nuts to release the Census data for free. That info is worth a ton. If it were me, I would charge for it.

STFU

 

[DrWatson]

How does GPA get data from eBay then? I`m sure eBay doesn`t report to GPA.

 

George has software that records data. Thing is that Ebay data is easier to corroborate. You can see low feedback bidders, shady sales etc and this is all noted in the GPA sales data. With dealers they are supposed to provide transaction info, not just a price...and Josh likely wants to keep his client base private.

 

George probably does not want to record unsubstantiated sales data.

 

The eBay data is mo more reliable. One has to assume that all of the transaction follow through to completion.

 

Actually, any GPA sales that are questionable are noted as such on GPA.

 

(thumbs u

I can read GPA, Roy.

 

Not every sale that falls through on eBay ends back up for sale on eBay. I have seen items that supposedly sold on eBay turn up on consignment sites. Furthermore, before you call it a flip, there was little or no profit margin involved.

 

All I'm saying is that one is no more unsubstantiated over the other. It's all taken at face value.

 

I suppose there is a little more authenticity in an Ebay buyer with 200 feedback than just a number on a website. George will also correct any data that might seem incorrect...but the guy is human and can't catch everything. I've helped him correct a few bad sales myslef.

 

I'm sure he'll chime in any time now and straighten everything out...he's probably hitting the sack any second now.

 

R.

 

Hey Roy, I had a thought. To carry on with a discussion that we had a while ago...

 

What is to prevent someone from shilling up their auction on eBay with multiple user ids, having one of those multiple ids win the book (thereby setting a GPA recorded sale) and then listing the book on one of the consignment sites, e.g. ComicLink?

 

I guess then it wouldn't be too far fetched for that same person to have more than one account on ComicLink and bid their own listing up to where the next bid would be a bid that's accepted.

 

Of course when the legitimate buyer checks GPA they will find the sale that has been recorded from eBay. Never the wiser...

 

BTW... All you conspiracy theorists can put away your magnifying glasses. This is a conversation with Roy and not some backhanded way of accusing Roy with anything.