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Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 04 Apr 2016, 12:52
by Adam Eterno
I spend a lot of time on Ebay. I use two accounts and my main account says that as of this morning I have over 2000 feedbacks as a buyer and over 1700 as a seller with hundreds of both not leaving feedback all the time.

Due to spending waaaaaay too much on comics recently, I have been very actively selling over the past month or so to replenish the coffers which has meant more time researching prices.

When I find something I want to buy, I try to see what is worth by checking previous sales. Similarly, if I'm selling something, I try to see what price I should charge. When doing the research I find some amazing discrepancies where the same comic in very similar condition, sells for widely differing prices. Bad pictures, bad titles, misspellings, listed in wrong section etc can all contribute, but quite often it's just the luck of the buyer or seller at the time.

We have a section here pointing out the ridiculous prices that some sellers ask but someone posted recently that they'd picked up the first few Scorcher comics with gifts for only a tenner or so and I manage to find at least 1 bargain every week (still gutted I missed out on those Scorchers though!). I've also achieved some great prices for comics sold which I hope the buyers were happy with as well.

I was wondering how other comic collectors see the massive differences in prices achieved? Here are some good deals that I've seen recently:

Currently selling and a great price achieved already for Spiderman #1 with free mask: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spider-Man-Co ... 1978759166

£250 for 2000AD with gift is a high price achieved: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000AD-3-1977 ... Swa-dWlksI

As is £350 for #1 with gift: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000AD-1-WITH ... SwAuNW6EVY

£512 for 46 Classics Illustrated seems very high: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HUGE-COLLECTI ... SwwpdW4Zlt

Just over 21p a Commando comic seems a bargain!: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/808-Commando- ... SwqYBWmm-t

I actually think £300 is a good deal for such an extensive collection of Warlord: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WARLORD-COMIC ... OSwHjNV9YX~

Any others?

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 04 Apr 2016, 16:55
by koollectablz
Well I guess ultimately anything is only really worth what someone else will pay for it. And what that someone else will pay for it at that exact point in time too.

I collect Dr Who original art and the very best time to sell some would be when there isn’t any already available and hasn’t been for a while, same for comics.

There’s also the reasoning that once something has sold for a very high price then the next similar copy will sell for significantly lower (assuming same condition etc) because the person who was willing to pay the most now already has a copy.

These kind of collectables don’t have any ‘greater world’ intrinsic value (like gold for example) and the market for them is actually fairly small considering. And once that market is saturated with product then the value of any further items falls very dramatically.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 06 Apr 2016, 02:20
by Adam Eterno
Another great price achieved for a comic with gift that I don't think I've seen offered before: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111951266717? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 07 Apr 2016, 13:36
by wilsia
As a buyer my main gripe with e bay is that generally sellers overhype the grade of a comic. Even the photographs cant be trusted as I've bought comics that appear to have white crisp pages with the just the hint of yellowing only to discover that they were very brown. Maybe I'm just a fussy collector but I'm at the stage now that I have more or less stopped buying as I tend to be disappointed and the money being asked is out of my leaque.

From my experience the dealers posing as private sellers i.e. I've just found loads of comics in my attic in great condition and I want a quick sale or the worst offenders
for dodgy descriptions.

On the two sole occasions I have found great buys they were from sellers who were selling their grandparents comics.

Everybody's experience will be different but this is mine.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 10 Apr 2016, 01:23
by geoff42
In my experience, it's more "in the right time at the right time". I've been outbid so many times on a certain item, many that has been offered from Phil's Auctions, and then devour same item from a different seller for a lot less. It's all subjective; one day, you will have no competitors, and then another - you will. Phils Auctions inflate prices in general; stay patient, you will get cheaper.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 10 Apr 2016, 01:39
by Lew Stringer
geoff42 wrote:In my experience, it's more "in the right time at the right time". I've been outbid so many times on a certain item, many that has been offered from Phil's Auctions, and then devour same item from a different seller for a lot less. It's all subjective; one day, you will have no competitors, and then another - you will. Phils Auctions inflate prices in general; stay patient, you will get cheaper.
Yes, Phil's auctions command very good prices and it makes me wonder if some collectors only ever look at his stock and ignore other sellers.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 10 Apr 2016, 09:24
by Adam Eterno
Lew Stringer wrote:
geoff42 wrote:In my experience, it's more "in the right time at the right time". I've been outbid so many times on a certain item, many that has been offered from Phil's Auctions, and then devour same item from a different seller for a lot less. It's all subjective; one day, you will have no competitors, and then another - you will. Phils Auctions inflate prices in general; stay patient, you will get cheaper.
Yes, Phil's auctions command very good prices and it makes me wonder if some collectors only ever look at his stock and ignore other sellers.
I've been thinking the same and came to the conclusion that not everyone has the time/patience/interest in trawling through the millions of listings and therefore just look at particular regular sellers and maybe Compal. I was quite pleased last month when Phil bought a couple of bits off of me. I wonder how I'll feel if I see him sell them for twice the price!? I was happy with the price I received so good luck to him.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 11 Apr 2016, 07:01
by Shiner
When I sell American comics on eBay, it now suggests a price prior to posting. I haven't sold any of my British collection but presumably the same and so Phil's sales are part of the data used. Can anyone clarify my speculation?

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 11 Apr 2016, 09:47
by Adam Eterno
Shiner wrote:When I sell American comics on eBay, it now suggests a price prior to posting. I haven't sold any of my British collection but presumably the same and so Phil's sales are part of the data used. Can anyone clarify my speculation?
I'm not sure what exact data they use but personally, I always have a price in mind before I load and the recommended Ebay price is always lower. I would estimate that I sell 75% of my comics on BIN within a month of loading.

Phil starts 99% of his auctions at 99p so if anything, it could reduce the ebay price recommended.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 14 Apr 2016, 16:55
by Adam Eterno
Not a bad price if you're based in Glasgow: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000ad-Collec ... 2355357627?

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 19 Apr 2016, 22:55
by Adam Eterno
Great price achieved for Star Wars #1. I sold one a couple of weeks ago for £65 and was happy with that! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301927335648? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 19 Apr 2016, 23:09
by starscape
I always found Marvel UK's Star Wars (without free gift) sold best at ordinary, non-comic auctions. Although comic fans have an inkling of the price, the general public is impressed by the first ever British issue of that iconic movie (as they should be).

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 20 Apr 2016, 09:56
by Adam Eterno
starscape wrote:I always found Marvel UK's Star Wars (without free gift) sold best at ordinary, non-comic auctions. Although comic fans have an inkling of the price, the general public is impressed by the first ever British issue of that iconic movie (as they should be).
I agree. I have a few left over from a lot of 40 I bought a few years ago. If I could get £111 each, I think a few would be leaving home very soon! I've also looked into sending them to CGC as some people seem to pay a fortune for a high grade CGC comic. The only British comics I've seen "CGC'd" are Star Wars and Captain Britain ones though.

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 27 Apr 2016, 11:18
by Adam Eterno
Great price achieved on what could have been a great lot although the description is a little vague: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/War-Picture-L ... SwKfVXEnB2

Re: Ebay sales: Good price for the seller, buyer or both??

Posted: 27 Apr 2016, 11:54
by stevezodiac
Phil bought over 40 copies of Princess from the early 60s from me recently. I figure maybe he has wants lists from customers so sells that way too.