Selling on eBay High Value Books - Bid vs Buy It Now 1 1

[cigars&comix]

I plan to come into some higher value books of say $1000-5000.

When I search Sold history on ebay I find auctions end up being much in many cases than "Buy It Now", not all of course. I based my research on recent sales of Hulk 181

My gut tells me just list it as "Buy it Now" with opening to receive offers. Is there a right or wrong here? Any particular strategy that has worked for any of you?

.

Edited August 9, 2019 by cigars&comix

[1Cool]

2 hours ago, cigars&comix said:

I plan to come into some higher value books of say $1000-5000.

When I search Sold history on ebay I find auctions end up being much in many cases than "Buy It Now", not all of course. I based my research on recent sales of Hulk 181

My gut tells me just list it as "Buy it Now" with opening to receive offers. Is there a right or wrong here? Any particular strategy that has worked for any of you?

.

E-Bay isn't usually considered the best venue for $1,000 - $5,000 books (especially on the upper half of that range).  People tend to put that level of book up for sale on ComicLink or ComicConnect in the big auction.  Some people like to sell on the boards to save on the fees but it helps to have a long standing relationship with people when you are talking about $5,000 books.  I'd personally not put a $3,000 book up for auction on E-Bay since you tend to not get top dollar and the number of scam artist will come out of the woodwork at that price point.

[Dick Pontoon]

Are these $1000-$5000 books going to be raw or slabbed?

[Artboy99]

depends a lot on the book.

I sold a Beware 10 CGC 6.5 that the buyer immediately put up on Ebay for a much higher buy it now but included the "make offer" option. It was listed for over a month and in that time he got over 20 offers and eventually took one. It is hard to find a decent copy of Beware 10, so in my opinion the strategy works for a book like it.

 

[Ryan.]

3 hours ago, cigars&comix said:

I plan to come into some higher value books

Careful, that could decrease the value. 

[Gotham Kid]

Why don't you sell here ? No fees.

[MatterEaterLad]

For the higher value books I'd try the boards here first, then try ComicConnect. 

[wombat]

47 minutes ago, Ryan. said:

Careful, that could decrease the value. 

[Hollywood1892]

Make sure you are buying slabbed

Problem is you have to take into account the %17 handlers fee Ebay and PayPal charge,so guaranteed your book will have a %17 mark up above fair market value,and take into account shipping and handling fees,plus import charges.

That's for buy it now

Bidding you wont see much difference

Plus you might as well not even bid until the last minute or so

You might as well exchange dialogue with the seller

Establish good feedback for yourself so they know your money is good

Low ball them on market value to show interest,than have your friends make an even lower bid so they like yours.

[wombat]

1 minute ago, Hollywood1892 said:

Make sure you are buying slabbed

Problem is you have to take into account the %17 handlers fee Ebay and PayPal charge,so guaranteed your book will have a %17 mark up above fair market value,and take into account shipping and handling fees,plus import charges.

That's for buy it now

Bidding you wont see much difference

Plus you might as well not even bid until the last minute or so

You might as well exchange dialogue with the seller

Establish good feedback for yourself so they know your money is good

Low ball them on market value to show interest,than have your friends make an even lower bid so they like yours.

Are you drunk?

[Hollywood1892]

4 minutes ago, wombat said:

Are you drunk?

No

Just bored

But some of those tactics have worked for me in the past.

I'm saying when it comes to bidding you probably wont get much of a good deal.

As well as the markup,its extensively higher than FMV like for instance alot of sellers are selling New Mutants 98 on Ebay for $1200 CDN, which IMO is ridiculous.

I would definitely search elsewhere first for mega keys

Edited August 9, 2019 by Hollywood1892

[wombat]

2 minutes ago, Hollywood1892 said:

No

Just bored

But some of those tactics have worked for me in the past.

I'm saying when it comes to bidding you probably wont get much of a good deal.

As well as the markup,its extensively higher than FMV like for instance alot of sellers are selling New Mutants 98 on Ebay for $1200 CDN, which IMO is ridiculous.

I would definitely search elsewhere first for mega keys

He isn't buying anything.  

[Hollywood1892]

1 minute ago, wombat said:

He isn't buying anything.  

I must have been confused by the OP

Saying he is "coming into" I thought he was coming into it on Ebay,than after reading it further I realised what he was saying

My apologies

I definitely wouldnt sell them on Ebay

In reverse it's the same problem,your giving Ebay to much against the principle on interest and handling fees

Might as well use these sites, and avoid handling fees,try facebook marketplace too. I sold an edge of spiderverse on there the other day 

Also I would avoid auctions too,just in case your books dont garner alot of interest,than your pot committed

Once again

My apologies for my ignorance

[F For Fake]

Auctions have been eating it for at least a couple of years now. So unless you're in a hurry to move them, if you insist on the eBay route, then BIN w/ BO is the way to roll. But as has been stated, if it's good stuff, I'd put them up here first. Boardies can be cheapskates, but cool books always sell, and after you deduct eBay and Paypal fees, it can be a wash versus the "board discount".

[Buzzetta]

4 hours ago, 1Cool said:

E-Bay isn't usually considered the best venue for $1,000 - $5,000 books (especially on the upper half of that range).  People tend to put that level of book up for sale on ComicLink or ComicConnect in the big auction.  Some people like to sell on the boards to save on the fees but it helps to have a long standing relationship with people when you are talking about $5,000 books.  I'd personally not put a $3,000 book up for auction on E-Bay since you tend to not get top dollar and the number of scam artist will come out of the woodwork at that price point.

 

3 hours ago, Artboy99 said:

depends a lot on the book.

I sold a Beware 10 CGC 6.5 that the buyer immediately put up on Ebay for a much higher buy it now but included the "make offer" option. It was listed for over a month and in that time he got over 20 offers and eventually took one. It is hard to find a decent copy of Beware 10, so in my opinion the strategy works for a book like it.

 

Both of these are absolutely true... so... it depends on the books. 

[Martin Sinescu]

I noticed with the last batch of books I listed on the Bay that your listings are now automatically "good 'till canceled", which, to me, means if it doesn't catch anyone's eye in the first few days, such as when it pops up in the saved searches, you go into a nadir of minimal visibility. Previously, when your books ended every 30 days, you re-listed them and it at least freshened them up in the search cycle. Also, the benefit of the auction is that bidders know their window is closing in a week or so, so they need to step up if they want it. With BIN's, and I do this frequently, you just save it to your watch list and maybe you'll decide to go back and buy it when you suddenly feel tingly about it, but there's no urgency, especially if it's priced high. Now, as was mentioned before, you can also lose your caboose at auction, so it's a risk, too. Very different climate from the days when everything was auctions and you had to be on top of the listings daily.

I'm not sure if that helped at all, sorry. 

[1Cool]

12 minutes ago, Martin Sinescu said:

I noticed with the last batch of books I listed on the Bay that your listings are now automatically "good 'till canceled", which, to me, means if it doesn't catch anyone's eye in the first few days, such as when it pops up in the saved searches, you go into a nadir of minimal visibility. Previously, when your books ended every 30 days, you re-listed them and it at least freshened them up in the search cycle. Also, the benefit of the auction is that bidders know their window is closing in a week or so, so they need to step up if they want it. With BIN's, and I do this frequently, you just save it to your watch list and maybe you'll decide to go back and buy it when you suddenly feel tingly about it, but there's no urgency, especially if it's priced high. Now, as was mentioned before, you can also lose your caboose at auction, so it's a risk, too. Very different climate from the days when everything was auctions and you had to be on top of the listings daily.

I'm not sure if that helped at all, sorry. 

The Good Till Canceled does end every 30 days but it automatically relists.  You still get put back to the top every month but it's a pain in the butt for people who don't have a ton of listings and use to pick and chose which books got relisted.

[BlowUpTheMoon]

5 hours ago, Pontoon said:

Are these $1000-$5000 books going to be raw or slabbed?

 

[cigars&comix]

Thank you for all the helpful comments. To be honest I was always hesitant to sell on the boards just because  dont know how it works on here and never had put the time into it.

Questions:

• If I post on the boards, do I have to monitor my messages constantly?
• Will I be getting a bunch of PM's and such? It seems like its a lot of monitoring but correct me if Im wrong.
• And as far as payment Im guessing Paypal Invoice is the way to go?
• Is there a quick (emphasis on quick) read on the boards and how they work?. If its to cumbersome with all sorts of rules and what not, I may fall out of it, just being honest.

Facebook marketplace seems easier and I may just try it too. Thanks.

[cigars&comix]

6 hours ago, Pontoon said:

Are these $1000-$5000 books going to be raw or slabbed?

both