When i started on ebay, FVF were 3.9%.

Now with promoted listings they are as high as 21% because of the extra international fee.

that's a 550% increase in a little over 20 years.

in 2003 i could send a card in a padded mailer within the U.S. for 65 cents.

It's now between 5.50 and 6.00

that's a 900% increase.

Its called INFLATION.
20 years ago cigarettes were $1 a pack of 20 now with taxes inflation and taxes they are $40 a pack of 20 as I do not smoke they could be more.
This applies to most things also 20 years ago there was such a thing as price control no such thing now it is all any thing goes.

Not ebays fault I know, but just a heads up for anyone selling now, if you sell 30 cards a year in the UK you will have to give ebay your national insurance number and they will pass details of everything you have sold to the tax man.
Theres also a money limit I think around £1700 if anyone plans to sell very expensive cards.

A few Ebay sellers are inflating their shipping charges as in around $8-10 for maybe 10 cards. I did buy about 50 cards with $12 as a shipping cost. I thought that was a little high but then the seller did refund me about $4 for the overage so I thought that was good.

Another seller wanted $20 to ship one card that was in a some special holder.

I see someone else wanting over $15 to ship 20 cards.

If the cards are being sent via the Royal Mail, then the price depends on weight, value, type of package and specific shipping method (e.g. regular airmail, Tracked and Signed For, etc.). Royal Mail prices have increased quite a bit in recent months

Plus dear old eBay are forcing their shipping methods on sellers which can be significant.

You can check out actual Royal Mail international shipping prices here:

https://www.royalmail.com/sending/international

Not forgetting that eBay take a percentage of the shipping fee as they now charge their fees on the combined selling price plus the shipping fee.

I should've added that those prices were for just within the U.S. Sending a small box roughly the size of a brick (one of those 300 count boxes you can get at a sports card shop) to Europe or Australia is over $30.

eBay had announced they would allow some kind of $0.75 shipping option (a single card under 1 oz, in a card saver, shipped in a rigid envelope). You print the label through the eBay shipping system and it comes with tracking. Obviously there's a lot of risk the card gets damaged, or comes "postage due" on the other end. Has anyone been happy with this program?

Is this something new ? I placed a bid on a Marvel card on ebay and it demanded a credit card immediately, saying that if I win next week, they will charge me.

In the past, I always got an invoice and they then asked for payment. When did this start ?

quote:

Originally posted by Tommy C:
Is this something new ? I placed a bid on a Marvel card on ebay and it demanded a credit card immediately, saying that if I win next week, they will charge me.

In the past, I always got an invoice and they then asked for payment. When did this start ?

At least this far back:

https://nonsportupdate.infopop...437070207#3437070207

Something weird just happened. I put in an $11 offer for a $15 promo pack accepting offers. The offer was declined and then I noticed the seller had raised the price of the pack to $25 and raised the price of the shipping from $5 to 10. I had already made a counteroffer of $14 but was able to retract it.

I think the seller noticed another seller had the same pack for $25 and thought he could get that too. He lost a sale. Meanwhile, the other guy lowered the price a few bucks because no one has been interested at $25.

I had a Lance Henrikson X-Files auto on watch for $16 and change for about three days waiting on other auctions to end. Then some days later the bin was changed to about $56

Yeah, it appears someone got to him and convinced him he could get a lot more for the card so he raised it. If no one was biting where it was, why would he go along with bumping up the price?

quote:

Originally posted by spidergoblin:
I had a Lance Henrikson X-Files auto on watch for $16 and change for about three days waiting on other auctions to end. Then some days later the bin was changed to about $56

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
Yeah, it appears someone got to him and convinced him he could get a lot more for the card so he raised it. If no one was biting where it was, why would he go along with bumping up the price?

[/QUOTE]

Because a majority of the card sellers on eBay now have no idea how to fairly price a card, so they can't tell when they get a fair offer. Also, many are just too greedy for their own good.

I made an offer on an autograph card the other day for $150. I knew the fair range was $100 - $120, but I liked it and the BIN was overpriced. I had to offer more than I wanted just so I wasn't automatically declined. Against my better judgement I bid higher than I should. The seller comes back with a counteroffer of $15 more.

$15 more on a card that was already $50 too high, $100 if you count from the original BIN. Are you kidding me? On second thought, I walked away with all my money. Reminds me of "War Games", "the only winning move is not to play".

I have often seen silly prices for UK original issues being asked for by mainly by users of COMC. It is not unusual for someone there asking for a price for a single card that is 10 times the asking price of the original set still being sold by UK dealers, all accompanied by a shipping charge that is equally silly.

Another weird deal...I bought two promo packs for $5.49. The seller tells me he has only one of them and asked if I wanted the one for the same price or if I wanted to cancel.

Before I could reply, and less than 24 hours after his question, he cancelled the transaction and told Ebay I requested the cancellation. I told Ebay I didn't ask for it and it sounded like a bait-and-switch. I got a refund but I should've had a chance to buy the remaining item for less than the full price. Again, someone got the idea he was selling "gold" too cheap.