Does eBay hurt or help the value of cards?

Never use eBay but am curious to get people's opinion on what affect, if any, eBay has on the values of cards. Personally I think eBay tends to lower the value of cards by flooding the market and because of the ease and availability it provides the collector to find and buy cards from all over the world. Before eBay, collectors had to search for cards and the availability was limited. Individual people who sold cards also had less direct competition with others because they were spread out on different sites and could set their price without the fear of someone selling the same card for less on the same site. Now with eBay sellers were pitted directly against one another. Where collectors had to search for cards at different websites and card shows where they maybe had to pay more or risk the chance of never finding the card again they could now go to one site and literally see hundreds of people selling the same card and know that if they passed up a card chances are it would show up again on the site. In essence, before eBay collectors were in more competition with one another where now I think it is the sellers who are competing more with one another and driving values down.

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I think it's a little bit of both. For one, and along the lines of what you said, it opened the floodgates as to what became available, thus it was essentially a massive supply dump available to all without having to leave the house and giving the ability to find what you're looking for in a matter of seconds/minutes.

On the other hand, and I can't think of any specific examples so this is just a guess, but I believe it also provided people the ability to see what else is out there in the first place. I would have to imagine that there are cards/sets out there that would have received little recognition/demand if not shown to the masses, causing people to bid against one another and raising the bar on those cards/sets.

When you say "before ebay," do you mean 1995? Ebay's been around for a loooong time, and rose to prominence along with the internet in general. I don't recall seeing any baseball card sites on the web before ebay. Maybe Teletrade, but that was also an auction site. When it did, it allowed for ordinary collectors to be on a more level playing field with dealers as far as what they could realize when selling their cards. So it depends on what side of the table you are on to say how ebay affects the prices of cards. On the whole it has raised the floor, by giving sellers (collectors and dealers) and outlet for the $0.50-$5 cards that would be collecting dust for years (thus raising their value above $0) but lowered the ceiling (those 1-per-box inserts that used to be $40 are now $8). But people collect differently now, based on and leading to the product calendar we have now.

For anyone who's been around for a while, it's been a good thing IMO. In the old days, you collected your cards and then went to a shop or a show to see what you could trade and/or sell. The dealer dictated what something went for and it didn't matter what the guide said. Now, you can shop that card to the world but so can everyone else. I'd rather sell a $20 card that I don't want to keep for $7 to someone than have a $20 card sitting in a box gathering dust.

Ebay inflates the high end

Deflates the low end

cgilmo said:

Ebay inflates the high end

Deflates the low end

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Yes, I'd agree with this.

But what would *really* help stabilize things would be instant, easy access to historical pricing data. Some transparency in the bidding process (knowing who is bidding on items) would go a long way too. We can dream can't we?

uniquebaseballcards said:

Yes, I'd agree with this.

But what would *really* help stabilize things would be instant, easy access to historical pricing data. Some transparency in the bidding process (knowing who is bidding on items) would go a long way too. We can dream can't we?

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The transparency took money out of ebays pocket. I would get 10 offers a day on cards that i bought from other sellers who had copies.

phillyfan0417 said:

The transparency took money out of ebays pocket. I would get 10 offers a day on cards that i bought from other sellers who had copies.

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Yeah, crazy, this just furthers the point that eBay is a mess compared to a real market. The hobby would be better off as a whole with a real marketplace... but a real marketplace would not benefit those who look to profit off of eBay's mess. Oh well, nothing's perfect.

nothing beats eBay, nothing.

ThoseBackPages said:

nothing beats eBay, nothing.

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As a buyer, yes eBay is great. Especially when you're able to buy cards at a huge discount. Mistitled auctions, wrong descriptions, poor timing, super low BINs all are great for buyers. However, as a seller, it depends on a few factors; what you are selling, your reputation, fees, timing, dealing with delinquent buyers, shipping, etc...

While we are dreaming, I would love to see historical data displayed on the listing before I bid. For example: This particular card was sold 5 times in the past, here are the dates and the final price for those sales.

ebay created a solid, wide-based market platform where millions of people can show millions of potential buyers there items for sale and see what interest is out there in what you have to offer. Because your junk was junk before you put it on ebay and now is there with others selling the same junk item, it's probably deflated the price. Because your high end was high end before ebay, and probably high end b/c of rarity, it's now exposed to a mass quantity of people who might have interest in an item for which very few are in existance, thus, it inflates the price of that item. Tommy down the street might collect AJ Pierzynski and pay you $5 for your /25 card of his, but if there are 200 Tommy's on ebay who collect AJ, you'll be certain to get more than $5... but good luck trying to do ANYTHING with AJ's base cards because there are just too many of them on ebay with not enough interested buyers to give them any value!

As for what it did for the hobby, it helped tremendously in my opinion. It's great to have all that exposure for relatively cheap money. If you are patient and can hold out for what you want on stuff, you can do fairly well. I've certainly found that the BIN good til cancelled is the way to go to maximize profits.

Think cgilmo got it right. The rarer the cards, like 1 of 1 or cards numbered /10, the more eBay inflates the price but for most other cards it hurts the value. I wonder if it might be better if eBay followed more of a silent auction format where the seller sets a minimum bid and then people bid their max amount and high bid takes the item or people list just buy it now. I'd also take away the ability to see other completed auctions. I think a large part of the problem with both inflating and devaluing cards on eBay comes from the fact of people being able to see everyone's bids and completed listings where all it takes is one person or auction to set the market price or at least have a huge influence on it. Just don't know how you fix the problem of shill bidding though.

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Simply supply and demand applies. The value for items that are somewhat plentiful has generally dropped because the world-wide supply available on eBay outstrips demand. Items that are rare or in high demand are likely helped because eBay provides sellers with access to buyers across the country. As an aside, I think we can also thank eBay for the introduction of "super premium" products like Exquisite, Triple Threads, National Treasures, and the like. Collectors and dealers would not be opening near the amount of high dollar product that they do if not for the ability to quickly sell it on the Internet.

I don't know though, something just seems out of wack with supply and demand and eBay. I think somehow eBay is screwing this formula up. I can't help but feel that if eBay were out of the picture, prices would be more stable and prices would be based truly on supply and demand. I think eBay has made it so easy for the regular person to sell cards that there is artificial demand being created for boxes of cards by people only looking to sell, driving box prices sky high and causing topps to increase production runs, only then for the market to be flooded with cards driving prices down because there are too many sellers and not enough buyers because the demand for the cards was based not on the demand created by the consumer/collector, but by the person looking to rip and flip to make a quick buck.

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you have a lot of opinions for someone that doesnt use eBay! lol

also, if you're a collector, the lower the price, the better imo.

Mario1975 said:

I think eBay has made it so easy for the regular person to sell cards that there is artificial demand being created for boxes of cards by people only looking to sell, driving box prices sky high and causing topps to increase production runs, only then for the market to be flooded with cards driving prices down because there are too many sellers and not enough buyers because the demand for the cards was based not on the demand created by the consumer/collector, but by the person looking to rip and flip to make a quick buck.

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I see where you are going with this as I often see tons of base cards and inserts from newer sets at card shows. However, this is an open market, so if breakers can't flip all of the cards they open, they will have to reduce the price or sit on them. Either way, it will eat into their ROI. This may lead to breakers buying less and hopefully manufacturers creating less.

As a normal or smart collector you probably would love eBay (although you probably would still be a little bummed if you think it is devaluing your personal collection) but I am the dumbest collector on the planet. I don't collect any specific players, although I do have some favorites, or even sets per se. They way I collect is kind of like a big game hunter who hunts everything and mounts their animals on their wall. I love the thrill of opening boxes trying to get the big hits. I'll usually buy enough boxes to at least get close to a complete set and keep all the hits. For some reason I don't get the same fun or enjoyment buying singles. I guess I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. That's why for me I feel like I'm getting screwed because the price of boxes seem to skyrocket but not because the cards are so valuable or demand for the cards but because everyone and their mother is trying to make money flipping cards.

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ThoseBackPages said:

you have a lot of opinions for someone that doesnt use eBay! lol

also, if you're a collector, the lower the price, the better imo.

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Yes, but he's also correct!

I think one thing eBay has done is create a market that helps out a new breed of seller, the one which Mario describes. It's kinda killed the traditional going to a shop or show and getting bent over backwards. Because it seems that on eBay, if it's not rare or you're not the only one who has one for sale, then you don't have much leverage. But if it is rare, the collectors decide how much you get. It's a crazy concept for a seller but it can pay off.

Another cool thing is that if you collect a local superstar, chances are so do others in your area. eBay gives you an outlet to further your collection. Yes you still have to compete for the items. But unlike a shop or show, at least the supply is there. If I had to use only shops and shows around me, my collection would utterly suck!

Mario1975 said:

As a normal or smart collector you probably would love eBay (although you probably would still be a little bummed if you think it is devaluing your personal collection) but I am the dumbest collector on the planet. I don't collect any specific players, although I do have some favorites, or even sets per se. They way I collect is kind of like a big game hunter who hunts everything and mounts their animals on their wall. I love the thrill of opening boxes trying to get the big hits. I'll usually buy enough boxes to at least get close to a complete set and keep all the hits. For some reason I don't get the same fun or enjoyment buying singles. I guess I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. That's why for me I feel like I'm getting screwed because the price of boxes seem to skyrocket but not because the cards are so valuable or demand for the cards but because everyone and their mother is trying to make money flipping cards.

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I was like that too but it gets so costly and you end up figuring you can collect anything you want and do so way cheaper!

Bill Menard said:

...As for what it did for the hobby, it helped tremendously in my opinion. It's great to have all that exposure for relatively cheap money. If you are patient and can hold out for what you want on stuff, you can do fairly well. I've certainly found that the BIN good til cancelled is the way to go to maximize profits.

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I see your point, but its also fair to say eBay has also really hurt the hobby; its turned people who'd ordinarily always be interested in collecting into people who are always interested in trying to make a profit.

Everyone knows why the card shops and card shop owners have disappeared - they've been replaced by regular people and eBay. This is a problem because regular people sometimes (often?) are unable to balance the greater hobby 'good' and personal interests in a way that promotes a healthy hobby for all; professional card shop owners generally did a better job at this balancing act when they were the only real game in town. Why does this matter? it helps decrease the long-term value of cards because the interest is less in the cards and more in the bucks.