Ebay Prices

Can someone or better a few explain the difference, you use to decide the difference between "unpicked lot" and "picked over lot".

floortrader, Greetings:

For the buyer, surely the designation "unpicked lot" is an oxymoron (in the modern, sarcastic sense of the word) and means, as far as it means anything, "unpicked to the best of my knowledge". Even if you find the much-hoped-for dusty box in a dustier attic, whoever picked things to put into the box made a decision about what to not put in the box

It is certainly possible that someone resells a lot without going thru it, which would fairly earn it the designation "unpicked by me", but even that is not of great practical value.

Far more important than seller claims are the odds of your finding what you are hoping for.

If you are hoping to find items easily known to be monetarily valuable, your odds are slim.

If you are trying to build-out a new-to-you country collection, yours odds can be pretty good; for example, even a 'well picked over' worldwide lot might have some stamps from Spain for which you've got gaping rectangles in your album.

If you are collecting a very popular topic ('locomotives on stamps', perhaps), your odds are slim.

But if you are collecting a less-obvious topic ('stamps with straight-line obliterators that also obliterate the name of the issuing country or shut the mouth on the portrait or poke the subject in the eye'), your odds get a whole lot (ouch) better.

Sellers probably want to avoid being s/he who doth protest too much. A signed & notarized affidavit to the effect that you are selling a lot that you could not bother to look at yourself does not warm the heart. "Really, Dude, I couldn't care less; I just buy lots, mark 'em up, and move 'em out." Inspiring. Not.

My pal Ed Wood (no, not *that* Ed Wood) was fond of: "We cheat the other guy, and pass the savings onto you."

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

For nine years, in his youth, my son-in-law took drawing lessons from a refusenik artist, who happened to live nearby.

I was out shopping for pens, knew he liked some super-narrow-pointed something, and called my daughter for the name & model.

"Dad, thanks, but stay out of it. He's very particular about his pens."

Knowing better, I then called my son-in-law.

"Dad, thanks, but stay out of it. I'm very particular about my pens."

What *is* it with you guys, anyway?

Thanks for the list, TC.

I think I'll buy a few for his not-yet-that-particular children, who are taking weekly lessons from that same refusenik.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

An interesting thread. Glad I dropped by to catch it.

Obviously, many who complain here about ebay have never sold on ebay, or their perspective would be more realistic.

As for what is now bidstart (it used to be stampwants, I believe) I opened a store, there, when ebay changed its fee structure for stores and made it economically unfeasible for somone without thousands of items for sale. Stampwants (bidstart) offered an option so I moved my stamps there for $4.95 per month plus final value fees. It worked well, at first, but eventually worked less and less as those angry or hating ebay, and others, joined in on bidstart. I kept the store open for a few years longer, but finally dropped it as ebay improved on its free listings (they began with allowing 100 free at 99 cents or less per month, anything higher, their regular fees applied). So I closed the bidstart store a year ago and increased listing on ebay once again; stopped listing covers only and increased listings of stamps.

Without the free listings, people like myself, not selling general merchandise that just about anyone is looking for, could not afford the fees. I think ebay realizes this and is why it offers them.

With paypal and ebay fees (now collected on shipping, as well) I won't offer anything for less than $1.99 with free shipping included. I also check the ebay market and price competitively by comparing what I have to what's available. I find an open market like ebay much better for setting value than the catalogs.

For example, there are some stamps that are plentiful that carry inflated catalog values. Old, Canadian stamps are the first to come to mind. Search a number and you will find many NOT selling at maybe 1/4 catalog value, while other stamps, from other places are nowhere to be found. So while I will drop prices to be competitive, I believe hard to find items should be priced accordingly, and might even list them at full catalog value. After all, catalogs are just a guide, and who knows where the editors get there information or why they think some readily available stamps are worth more than stamps that are harder to find.

Relisting only makes sense. There are always new people coming and going, searching and viewing, in short, shopping, and you never know who you will make happy by keeping something available that hadn't sold before. I'm pleased when some long listed item finally finds a buyer, and it happens regularly, sometimes in multiples, when the same person picks up a few of the older listings.

As for the global shipping program, I don't believe it applies to stamps. I listed a collection, fairly recently, and saw a notice on the listing form that stated GSP was not available in that category.

i just sent two medium priority boxes full of glassy envelopes to germany via the ebay global shipping program it worked like a charm. The guy didn't pay the first day and the second did pay. I had the items packed ready to go and just printed out a label.

i like the ebay auto relisting too and once when an item wasn't selling I wrote revised auction that this is last time this is going to be listed and it was sold, lol, that worked, I was surprised.

LarryBruce: How much did the package weigh and how much shipping did the buyer in Germany have to pay if you were able to see the total amount?

I did not get to see his portion only my obligation portion,of the shipping. I made it a seller (me) shipping price of $12.35 for a med priority box to the global shipping center, it could have had up to I believe around 40lb which is less then domestic priority of 70lb. don't quote me on that.

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Modern - re: Canadian stamps on ebay - I have purchased several there and usually don't find many I want at 1/4 catalog value or less (if they are, I usually don't care for the quality) .. but I have been satisfied with the stamps I did buy ... more likely closer to 1/2 to full catalog.

Centerstage: I don't like mounts, and only use stamp hinges for my collections, so any time I come across a MNH stamp, if the catalog value warrants it (it's not a minimum value cheapie, or even $1.00 or less) I list it so that it's not ruined for a MNH collector who might be able to use it. I have found that certain mint (and even used) Canadian stamps are so plentiful, and sell for so little of catalog value, even as never hinged, that they are not worth listing, and have hinged mounted many MNH Canadian stamps from the George V and George VI era, even into the several dollar range, rather than compete with what's already on ebay.

And it's not just Canada. If I have a MNH stamp to offer and it's plentiful on ebay, into an album it goes, seldom without a qualm.

Centerstage: I just took a quick look. First one I picked. Scott 262 the $1 Destroyer from 1942, 2014 catalog value as MNH $100.00.

Found one at $6.02 with 4 bids and less than 24 hours left. Wonder where it ends tomorrow?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canada-MNH-...em5affd77e2d

Here's a beautiful, XF copy for $39.95. I wonder how long it's been listed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CANADA-262-...em2c82d1d2b3

There are 18 MNH copies listed right now, for as little as $24.99 or best offer.

Would I hinge a "$100" stamp and immediately reduce its "value" to $65, catalog-wise, anyway?

Probably not, but I'm not in that situation at this moment.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...yer&_sacat=0

Get the point?

Just clicked over to completed listings, and at this time see 27 with just six sales, half of which sold for less than 1/4 CV, the least expensive of which had 32 bids and sold for a whopping $21.82!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...lete=1&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CANADA-262-...em2ed120db2f

Just looked in on what that Canadian $1 destroyer on ebay the other day ended up bringing the seller. It was at $6.02 with 4 bids and less than 24 hours left when I found it. It ended at $15.51 with 16 bids. This for a stamp Scott pegs at $100.00. At that price, I would probably hinge mount it. Many such Canadian stamps are plentiful and overpriced by Scott.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Canada-MNH-...em5affd77e2d