Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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eBay gives any seller 250 free listings every month if you use the eBay Payments (which has been working fine for me so far!) That gives everyone a license to be wild and crazy with pricing and to go trawling for suckers!
I see many covers I'd pay $5-10 for, with list prices over $100. I mark those covers as "Watching" and see that they just sit there for months... makes me wonder!
And it's not just stamps... in my model car categories people regularly list $100 kits for $1000. As Tom Petty said, "Even the losers get lucky sometimes!"
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Perhaps not "dual" economies, but as many "economies" as there are dealers.
I know of one dealer who sells on eBay whose prices are routinely 10 times higher than other dealers charge for the same type of material. What sticks in my craw is that he often has great covers and postcards that perfectly match my collecting interests but are simply unaffordable, and I'm not one to balk at spending $50 or $60 for a desirable item as long as the item is priced within reason.
However, that dealer isn't likely to lower his prices since he seems to sell a lot of covers and postcards to people with deeper pockets than mine. He also earned my enmity not only by "losing" one of my orders and refunding the purchase price only after multiple complaints spanning about three months.
Bob
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The ones "playing a game" on ebay take the fun out of it for me...so many of them to scroll through. To switch gears, a friend of mine was creating an exhibit on mail to and from Canadian P.O.W. camps. There was one camp that was only open for a very short time and there was a cover my friend needed from it. But the dealer also knew he needed the cover. My friend knew he was going to have to pay dearly.
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What I find really discouraging is that the selection of lots on Ebay is nowhere what it used to be 10 year ago. Same with prices. It takes me now forever to find an item worth bidding on and if I have to win the item it will be won at some pretty unreasonable price.
I just don't know where those stamps go (since I am not into covers or any more specialized material).
You have a better chance finding a stamp released 100 years ago than one released just last year.
Good kiloware are almost non-existent. If you get one, the price per stamp, once you spend the time to soak them off paper and remove the faulty ones, will be shocking.
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"What I find really discouraging is that the selection of lots on Ebay is nowhere what it used to be 10 year ago."
It is simply down to the increase to sellers costs by ebay and paypal. The changes to the listing form and removal of their Turbo Lister. It now takes longer to list on ebay.
Of course ebays greed in wanting to increase their earnings by their shipping programme and all payments having to go through their system rather than paypal.
The poor control systems by ebay also accounts for the lack of choice and increase in prices by sellers. These systems are set up to benefit the buyer not the seller. (sellers bear the brunt for non delivery/cons.) The best offer system is also to the detriment of the seller.
Prices have had to be increased from 10 years ago. Inflation of 2% per annum is approx a 22% additional "cost".
The constant aggravation from buyers wanting the cheapest price, the demands for "extras", moans about shipping costs and poor delivery by postal systems, taking ages to pay, opening complaints cases before speaking to the seller, just make it not worthwile listing on ebay these days.
The soap box has been returned to the cupboard under the stairs.
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"The ones "playing a game" on ebay take the fun out of it for me...so many of them to scroll through."
Just do your search, and once your results are on the screen, sort it "lowest price to highest price". Then you won't have to deal with the dreamers.. just stop looking once you hit a certain price threshold.
"The changes to the listing form and removal of their Turbo Lister. It now takes longer to list on ebay."
I used to use Turbo Lister back in the old days! It was a great tool. I'd love to have something like that today, as the eBay provided tools are pretty lame.
Once I had a good number of listings in the system, I shortened my listing time by pulling up my list and hitting "List Similar". It saves me a lot of time.
The thing they did recently that upset a lot of folks is eliminating some categories. For instance they took all the postcard categories and I understand it's down to two. When they did that, some of my searches went crazy... I had one for US possessions for 1903-1909, and now it just finds any postcard between those dates. I'm sure it ruined things for a lot of people.
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Jules wrote:
"You have a better chance finding a stamp released 100 years ago than one released just last year."
and it think that is because fewer are being sold and even fewer being used. I suspect few are collecting used stamps (in part because they are no longer soakable) unless they're dedicated philatelists, as opposed to casual savers.
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i collected U.S. as they came along until about 1993...i have scant interest in worldwide stamps after 1969...my last Scott international.
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Possibly one of the reasons is the sheer volume and cost of stamps being issued, mostly for spurious occasions.
The UK issues this year so far, including the Christmas stamps but excluding definitives and without including special sheets, amounts to 147 stamps.
Total cost at face value £175, US $236, CDN $293.
Reckon anyone trying to collect world new issues would need the bank account of Elon Musk, it's sure out of most of our price ranges.
I'll continue to collect UK used as they come along, but for everywhere else my cut off is 1993.
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I’ve had good luck lately looking for sales with “make an offer”. Got my last 2 Berlin needed and a key Wurttemburg set complete that you never see. Both times they were asking full CV and I offered 40% saying I usually was able to get almost anything needed for 30-40% max.
Accepted both times and one even threw in free postage and insurance.
Dave
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I believe that seller lots are going to become even less, and the prices higher due to the new $600 rule that states that the major payment platform (Paypal) as well as ebay, etsy and others will now be sending you tax forms for $600 in sales rather than $20,000. Do people REALLY think that small time sellers will pay this tax or will they pass it along? Ian is correct. Seller costs are getting out of hand and at some point you ask yourself why bother? Parcels get raised twice a year as that is where the PO makes their money. Great for the PO, not so much for those that offer free shipping. I am seeing that disappear on listings as well. For the way I list, all it does is make me accept more on a make an offer item than I would have otherwise. Here and elsewhere, I would take a large number of stamps that might cause a problem in the PO due to thickness, and put them in a mailer and pay the couple of bucks to ship. Would have tracking too. Paypal provided me with a 20-30% discount so I did not mind. Paypal spun that off and now charges monthly for using that service, and since I only mail one or two things a month that way, its not worth paying the fees. So, no more parcels hence no more combined invoices if they are for a large number of stamps. Little things like this make me question the sense in continuing. My wife would love it if I packed it in, but with my inventory across so many sites for so many things, its not going to happen now, but a couple of more postage hikes may just cause me to do something else in a couple of years time.
Greg
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in the old days we never worried about taxes on the internet...if i ever hit $600 sales on ebay and get a legitimate tax form i would probably give it to my accountant, but then i might consider becoming a "business" and declaring expenses and losses.
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True Phil but what about here? People who never worried about PayPal getting a statement will now be getting one. Will they no longer take PayPal for domestic purchases and if they do that, will people stop purchasing from them. Should get interesting
Greg
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With the increasing charges to sellers on ebay and with Paypal, I now have several persons I buy from who will charge zero for shipping charges if you pay by check (above $10.00). It is worth doing it, just to help them out. (US shipments only, of course)
Would make sense here I presume, although I have not seen any movement in this direction.
rrr...
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They sure try and make things more complicated...Its a shame that i can remember when ebay was exciting and fun...buying and selling. Its not that much fun anymore.
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Ralph I am thinking along the same line for selling here.
Greg
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"I find it odd that Dutch East Indies postcards and covers that i can pick up at dealers booths at shows for $8.00 to $15.00 (they are not scarce) ae being offered on ebay for $68.00"
I collect used Bermuda postcards and have found that I can get them at postcard shows for about 25% of what they are listed for on eBay. I don't think the majority of postcard dealers have any idea of their philatelic value.
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This week PayPal sent emails to all Thailand based PayPal account holders with their new rules. (PayPal had stopped accepting new accounts from Thailand last year, but will now reopen to new joiners.)
The main bit of news was that individual PayPal account holders will no longer be able to receive payments into their accounts. Nor will any account holders in Thailand be able to send money through the transfer to friends and families. The only thing they are aloud to do is buy things. The will not be allowed to keep money as a balance in their account so to make a payment PayPal will need access to either their bank account or credit card.
For business owners like myself it means I have another set of hoops to jump through supplying extra paperwork. PayPal fees will be charged the Thai 7% value added tax which I guess PayPal will pay into the Thai Revenue Department. I'm luck in that I have an IRS number called an EIN which allows non-American individuals and companies to claim under the the dual taxation agreements with the countries they reside in. In our case that means a 5% IRS withholding tax instead of 30%.
Of all the US based internet distributors that just leaves Amazon to sort out what I suspect is both anti- money laundering and Thai taxation rules. As a small publisher it has been pretty hard in recent years with both this and increased postal charges. The last few years I haven't really bothered with sending books to individual customers outside Thailand and deal mainly with wholesale orders because of all this. eBay now doesn't allow sellers in our region to accept payments via PayPal and makes Payoneer the only payment gateway.
It seems to me that unless you are major drug dealer life becomes harder for small scale trade and isolation sets in around the world. Of course if you are a rich drug dealer you could find a bank with a US branch which will happily launder your money for a fee as a major UK bank showed until it was caught.
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Prices are up due to demand as well as underlying costs (ebay/paypal fees, actual postage costs). On ebay, price conscious buyers are competing with buyers willing to pay more so many sellers are pricing accordingly. W
The ebay rules (hassles to many) to make the platform more reliable may ne discouraging prior sellers. This could cause part of selection. However, selection is a broad term.
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I started selling a little on eBay in August. I'm over the $1000 mark, so I'll no doubt get a 1099 from them. I'm doing the eBay managed payments, which has been going just fine, so I have no Paypal to deal with.
I've always had some 1099 income from consulting, so I'll just add this one to the business schedule. I'm already paying to have my taxes done so no cost there, and I'll show a business loss anyway.
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I find it odd that Dutch East Indies postcards and covers that i can pick up at dealers booths at shows for $8.00 to $15.00 (they are not scarce) ae being offered on ebay for $68.00 ! Sounds like we have dual economies working in the stamp world.
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re: ebay reality ?
eBay gives any seller 250 free listings every month if you use the eBay Payments (which has been working fine for me so far!) That gives everyone a license to be wild and crazy with pricing and to go trawling for suckers!
I see many covers I'd pay $5-10 for, with list prices over $100. I mark those covers as "Watching" and see that they just sit there for months... makes me wonder!
And it's not just stamps... in my model car categories people regularly list $100 kits for $1000. As Tom Petty said, "Even the losers get lucky sometimes!"
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
Perhaps not "dual" economies, but as many "economies" as there are dealers.
I know of one dealer who sells on eBay whose prices are routinely 10 times higher than other dealers charge for the same type of material. What sticks in my craw is that he often has great covers and postcards that perfectly match my collecting interests but are simply unaffordable, and I'm not one to balk at spending $50 or $60 for a desirable item as long as the item is priced within reason.
However, that dealer isn't likely to lower his prices since he seems to sell a lot of covers and postcards to people with deeper pockets than mine. He also earned my enmity not only by "losing" one of my orders and refunding the purchase price only after multiple complaints spanning about three months.
Bob
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
The ones "playing a game" on ebay take the fun out of it for me...so many of them to scroll through. To switch gears, a friend of mine was creating an exhibit on mail to and from Canadian P.O.W. camps. There was one camp that was only open for a very short time and there was a cover my friend needed from it. But the dealer also knew he needed the cover. My friend knew he was going to have to pay dearly.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
What I find really discouraging is that the selection of lots on Ebay is nowhere what it used to be 10 year ago. Same with prices. It takes me now forever to find an item worth bidding on and if I have to win the item it will be won at some pretty unreasonable price.
I just don't know where those stamps go (since I am not into covers or any more specialized material).
You have a better chance finding a stamp released 100 years ago than one released just last year.
Good kiloware are almost non-existent. If you get one, the price per stamp, once you spend the time to soak them off paper and remove the faulty ones, will be shocking.
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05:39:21am
Auctions - Approvals
re: ebay reality ?
"What I find really discouraging is that the selection of lots on Ebay is nowhere what it used to be 10 year ago."
It is simply down to the increase to sellers costs by ebay and paypal. The changes to the listing form and removal of their Turbo Lister. It now takes longer to list on ebay.
Of course ebays greed in wanting to increase their earnings by their shipping programme and all payments having to go through their system rather than paypal.
The poor control systems by ebay also accounts for the lack of choice and increase in prices by sellers. These systems are set up to benefit the buyer not the seller. (sellers bear the brunt for non delivery/cons.) The best offer system is also to the detriment of the seller.
Prices have had to be increased from 10 years ago. Inflation of 2% per annum is approx a 22% additional "cost".
The constant aggravation from buyers wanting the cheapest price, the demands for "extras", moans about shipping costs and poor delivery by postal systems, taking ages to pay, opening complaints cases before speaking to the seller, just make it not worthwile listing on ebay these days.
The soap box has been returned to the cupboard under the stairs.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
"The ones "playing a game" on ebay take the fun out of it for me...so many of them to scroll through."
Just do your search, and once your results are on the screen, sort it "lowest price to highest price". Then you won't have to deal with the dreamers.. just stop looking once you hit a certain price threshold.
"The changes to the listing form and removal of their Turbo Lister. It now takes longer to list on ebay."
I used to use Turbo Lister back in the old days! It was a great tool. I'd love to have something like that today, as the eBay provided tools are pretty lame.
Once I had a good number of listings in the system, I shortened my listing time by pulling up my list and hitting "List Similar". It saves me a lot of time.
The thing they did recently that upset a lot of folks is eliminating some categories. For instance they took all the postcard categories and I understand it's down to two. When they did that, some of my searches went crazy... I had one for US possessions for 1903-1909, and now it just finds any postcard between those dates. I'm sure it ruined things for a lot of people.
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Auctions
re: ebay reality ?
Jules wrote:
"You have a better chance finding a stamp released 100 years ago than one released just last year."
and it think that is because fewer are being sold and even fewer being used. I suspect few are collecting used stamps (in part because they are no longer soakable) unless they're dedicated philatelists, as opposed to casual savers.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
i collected U.S. as they came along until about 1993...i have scant interest in worldwide stamps after 1969...my last Scott international.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
Possibly one of the reasons is the sheer volume and cost of stamps being issued, mostly for spurious occasions.
The UK issues this year so far, including the Christmas stamps but excluding definitives and without including special sheets, amounts to 147 stamps.
Total cost at face value £175, US $236, CDN $293.
Reckon anyone trying to collect world new issues would need the bank account of Elon Musk, it's sure out of most of our price ranges.
I'll continue to collect UK used as they come along, but for everywhere else my cut off is 1993.
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this post
07:38:20pm
re: ebay reality ?
I’ve had good luck lately looking for sales with “make an offer”. Got my last 2 Berlin needed and a key Wurttemburg set complete that you never see. Both times they were asking full CV and I offered 40% saying I usually was able to get almost anything needed for 30-40% max.
Accepted both times and one even threw in free postage and insurance.
Dave
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: ebay reality ?
I believe that seller lots are going to become even less, and the prices higher due to the new $600 rule that states that the major payment platform (Paypal) as well as ebay, etsy and others will now be sending you tax forms for $600 in sales rather than $20,000. Do people REALLY think that small time sellers will pay this tax or will they pass it along? Ian is correct. Seller costs are getting out of hand and at some point you ask yourself why bother? Parcels get raised twice a year as that is where the PO makes their money. Great for the PO, not so much for those that offer free shipping. I am seeing that disappear on listings as well. For the way I list, all it does is make me accept more on a make an offer item than I would have otherwise. Here and elsewhere, I would take a large number of stamps that might cause a problem in the PO due to thickness, and put them in a mailer and pay the couple of bucks to ship. Would have tracking too. Paypal provided me with a 20-30% discount so I did not mind. Paypal spun that off and now charges monthly for using that service, and since I only mail one or two things a month that way, its not worth paying the fees. So, no more parcels hence no more combined invoices if they are for a large number of stamps. Little things like this make me question the sense in continuing. My wife would love it if I packed it in, but with my inventory across so many sites for so many things, its not going to happen now, but a couple of more postage hikes may just cause me to do something else in a couple of years time.
Greg
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
in the old days we never worried about taxes on the internet...if i ever hit $600 sales on ebay and get a legitimate tax form i would probably give it to my accountant, but then i might consider becoming a "business" and declaring expenses and losses.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: ebay reality ?
True Phil but what about here? People who never worried about PayPal getting a statement will now be getting one. Will they no longer take PayPal for domestic purchases and if they do that, will people stop purchasing from them. Should get interesting
Greg
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
With the increasing charges to sellers on ebay and with Paypal, I now have several persons I buy from who will charge zero for shipping charges if you pay by check (above $10.00). It is worth doing it, just to help them out. (US shipments only, of course)
Would make sense here I presume, although I have not seen any movement in this direction.
rrr...
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re: ebay reality ?
They sure try and make things more complicated...Its a shame that i can remember when ebay was exciting and fun...buying and selling. Its not that much fun anymore.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: ebay reality ?
Ralph I am thinking along the same line for selling here.
Greg
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
"I find it odd that Dutch East Indies postcards and covers that i can pick up at dealers booths at shows for $8.00 to $15.00 (they are not scarce) ae being offered on ebay for $68.00"
I collect used Bermuda postcards and have found that I can get them at postcard shows for about 25% of what they are listed for on eBay. I don't think the majority of postcard dealers have any idea of their philatelic value.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
This week PayPal sent emails to all Thailand based PayPal account holders with their new rules. (PayPal had stopped accepting new accounts from Thailand last year, but will now reopen to new joiners.)
The main bit of news was that individual PayPal account holders will no longer be able to receive payments into their accounts. Nor will any account holders in Thailand be able to send money through the transfer to friends and families. The only thing they are aloud to do is buy things. The will not be allowed to keep money as a balance in their account so to make a payment PayPal will need access to either their bank account or credit card.
For business owners like myself it means I have another set of hoops to jump through supplying extra paperwork. PayPal fees will be charged the Thai 7% value added tax which I guess PayPal will pay into the Thai Revenue Department. I'm luck in that I have an IRS number called an EIN which allows non-American individuals and companies to claim under the the dual taxation agreements with the countries they reside in. In our case that means a 5% IRS withholding tax instead of 30%.
Of all the US based internet distributors that just leaves Amazon to sort out what I suspect is both anti- money laundering and Thai taxation rules. As a small publisher it has been pretty hard in recent years with both this and increased postal charges. The last few years I haven't really bothered with sending books to individual customers outside Thailand and deal mainly with wholesale orders because of all this. eBay now doesn't allow sellers in our region to accept payments via PayPal and makes Payoneer the only payment gateway.
It seems to me that unless you are major drug dealer life becomes harder for small scale trade and isolation sets in around the world. Of course if you are a rich drug dealer you could find a bank with a US branch which will happily launder your money for a fee as a major UK bank showed until it was caught.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
Prices are up due to demand as well as underlying costs (ebay/paypal fees, actual postage costs). On ebay, price conscious buyers are competing with buyers willing to pay more so many sellers are pricing accordingly. W
The ebay rules (hassles to many) to make the platform more reliable may ne discouraging prior sellers. This could cause part of selection. However, selection is a broad term.
Login to Like
this post
re: ebay reality ?
I started selling a little on eBay in August. I'm over the $1000 mark, so I'll no doubt get a 1099 from them. I'm doing the eBay managed payments, which has been going just fine, so I have no Paypal to deal with.
I've always had some 1099 income from consulting, so I'll just add this one to the business schedule. I'm already paying to have my taxes done so no cost there, and I'll show a business loss anyway.
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