I came up pretty short across the board in finding those cards so that night I decided on a whim to try my hand at eBay for the first time ever. After a blogger changed his mind on the patch I pulled, I decided to list it and see if I could recoup a few dollars from a somewhat disappointing purchase.
I listed this Bryce Harper manupatch at a $4.99 start and went with the 24-hour auction timeframe. I reviewed some of the ins and outs of listing, decided instead of free shipping to go with $2.00 - and later got some great advice from a few bloggers about packaging/mailing.
Long story short, the card sold that night for $19.38, not counting the $2.00 shipping. It appears this card is going anywhere from $8.00 to $23.00 on eBay. I like the card, actually, but was surprise I got what I got. I think the appeal will wear off some as the set ages a few weeks.
Interestingly, another seller popped up early in the sale day and listed the same card for an auction ending at the exact same time as mine. I was concerned as he had several other cards available and combined shipping options. He also was a highly rated seller. Choosing the same auction ending time as mine seemed bush league but all is fair I guess.
In the end, it didn't matter. His card fetched almost $4.00 less than mine!
I had never sold on eBay before, although I also asked bloggers about it last spring when I pulled my greatest card find from a retail purchase - a Bob Gibson/Matt Holliday dual auto from a value pack at Walmart. I'm still planning to sell that card as it was going for more than $200 - although I may have missed my window on that.
I'll likely rarely sell on eBay as I prefer trading but there are some bundles of cards in my trade list that have gone unclaimed for some time that I may end up listing.
In any case, it feels good to get my first eBay sale in the books. It felt even better when the buyer paid with five minutes of winning the auction!
I've only sold on ebay a couple of times and not for a long while. But I'm always intrigued by it because I do see it in my future. It's almost inevitable.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly certain I'll be disappointed with the outcome perhaps as much as I'm pleased but it was nice to get a little something back (in this case, paying for the whole blaster).
ReplyDeleteI've sold a few things on ebay. i'm no expert, but if you ever wanna ask any questions, potch, you know where to find me.
ReplyDeleteit's a mostly pain-free and intuitive process. it's a great way to make a few bucks that you can reinvest in your collection.
I sell on eBay more and more. It can be strange and ending prices can be random. I'm sure I almost bought that $8 Harper; it was BIN. I got another patch (Clemente) from the same guy. Think he screwed up and listed BIN versus action.
ReplyDeleteOne thing: ALWAYS do delivery confirmation. It adds to your shipping, but I was bit 2/3 times by folks who claimed they never received their cards before I started always putting it on there.
Great success, man. That's a great price for that card and you probably sold it when it was most popular.
ReplyDelete