What's the point of watching a card with $1 BIN?

[markakis8]

I have many cards in my store that people are "watching" with a $1 BIN price tag.

I get why people watch BIN's in case the price is lowered but $1 is as low as ebay will allow me. So...what's the point?

 

[kdailey4315]

They probably do not know that eBay will not allow it to go any lower.

 

[Derriz]

Might be waiting for tax time. They may pick it up in a few months.

 

[ronfromfresno]

I do it all the time to remind myself to purchase the card when I have the cash to do so.

 

[BunchOBull]

Probably because the card with shipping isn't quite worth it to them anymore. Maybe they're waiting for the chance to buy multiples and save on shipping.

As a buyer, I'm almost more likely to drop $50+ than $5 or less unless I think it's a really good deal. I hate the thought of paying more for shipping than the value of the item.

 

[vwnut13]

I do it because usually it is a card that I want but I don't feel like buying but hope to get one, or three, someday.

 

[markakis8]

I do it all the time to remind myself to purchase the card when I have the cash to do so.

That makes sense, I suppose.

There is one card in particular that influenced this thread. I have 5 people watching a $1 card. Doesn't at least one of those 5 have the extra buck :lol:

 

[markakis8]

Probably because the card with shipping isn't quite worth it to them anymore. Maybe they're waiting for the chance to buy multiples and save on shipping.

As a buyer, I'm almost more likely to drop $50+ than $5 or less unless I think it's a really good deal. I hate the thought of paying more for shipping than the value of the item.

Yah, I'm still trying to think of a way to work out shipping that great benefits the customer.

Right now I offer free shipping when 5 or more cards are bought. But that $3 shipping tag is still there and that probably draws people away from my $1 cards :|

 

[Pine Tar]

I have many cards in my store that people are "watching" with a $1 BIN price tag.

I get why people watch BIN's in case the price is lowered but $1 is as low as ebay will allow me. So...what's the point?

I watch cards with low Bin and even 1 dollars to see if they sell then I list mine and add higher bins. LOL

 

[BrewerSuperCollector]

I can't say I've done it for a one dollar card, but I have watched things that I had no intention of buying. Ususally, its something that doesn't look familiar. I want to make sure I have it cataloged on my lists.

 

[Card Magnet]

I sometimes watch cheap cards and check back every so often to see if there's anything else the seller has listed to get combined shipping. There's no point in paying $3 for shipping on a $1 card when you could just wait and get a handful and save.

 

[pootshwan]

I sometimes watch cheap cards and check back every so often to see if there's anything else the seller has listed to get combined shipping. There's no point in paying $3 for shipping on a $1 card when you could just wait and get a handful and save.

Ditto. This is why I would watch a $1 card.

 

[Joshua.Roundtree]

I do it all the time to remind myself to purchase the card when I have the cash to do so.

That makes sense, I suppose.

There is one card in particular that influenced this thread. I have 5 people watching a $1 card. Doesn't at least one of those 5 have the extra buck :lol:

If you are confident that no one is going to purchase that particular card, it might be amusing to do a little case study and RAISE the price. See how many of those same five people are still watching X amount of days after the price changes. You can always change it back down, but it might be fun to answer your own question and try to do this. You might be able to get a lot better feel of exactly what these people are waiting for.

 

[baseballguy350]

Yah, I'm still trying to think of a way to work out shipping that great benefits the customer.

Right now I offer free shipping when 5 or more cards are bought. But that $3 shipping tag is still there and that probably draws people away from my $1 cards :|

I used to have success with the $2 flat rate. Recently though when EBay went to the automatic 5 star DSR for free shipping, I just built a few dollars into the items that I sell (usually above $20) so I can have free shipping. I personally do it, so I assume most buyers build shipping into their offer price anyways.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

It could be *sellers* waiting to determine whether to post a similar card at a similar or higher price and don't want the competition and/or are doing research to see what sells.

 

[brumbach]

I often wonder the same thing as a seller, and I too use the $2 flat fee shipping. I think it's kind of nutty of someone to watch a $1 for months and months. Then I stop and think, it's probably nuttier keeping a $1 card listed for months and months sucking up all of those monthly nickles in fees.

So I've pretty much stopped looking at what items are being watched. Really, if you don't want it for the dollar then just wait till you can find it at a show in a dime bin or somebody lists it as an auction for a penny with three dollar shipping and win it instead.

And it's true, I think a lot of buyers/bidders do not understand that fixed price store listings have a minimum $1 price and they also do not understand the cost of selling/shipping on eBay or online in general. If they've never tried to sell anything or don't have to sell cards on the side to support their hobby then I can't blame someone for not knowing what it looks like from the other side of the table.