Okay, I give!  Somebody explain to me why we get all these crazy, price-inflated "Buy It Nows" coming in waves on eBay as they often tend to do.   Like right now.  EBay is quite flooded with 'em.  (Is there a free listing promo going on, or something?)

Started doing my normal checks on the Bay this morning and then came an epiphany, based on what I was seeing: "Ohmygawsh, my modest little collection is suddenly worth millions upon millions of dollars.  Or more!" 

This was judging from asking prices for the the flood of BINs up for sale.  Singles from sets like War Gum to US Caramel Presidents, but all with prices ranging something like 5x 10x to 20x or more than usual . . . $500, $800, oh heck how about $1500 or $2000 for a single card?  (As Mr. B. Lightyear was once quoted, "To Infinity and Beyond!".)

Question: does anybody actually ever really PAY these inflated prices?  The dealers 'taking a shot' all appear to be very reasonable folks.  Like Sandandy, for one.  I guess it's like them buying a lottery ticket, you never do know when you're going to hit, I guess.

Oh, forgot to mention.  Yep, these are all graded cards, and with very desirable, high marks.

Discuss, please!

but i couldn't find any .

Mark

Here's a few to get you started, Mark!

http://cgi.ebay.com/1941-Gum-Inc-War-Gum-Card-47-PSA-8-1-1-None-Higher_W0QQitemZ140233094521QQihZ004QQcategoryZ219QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1932-US-Caramel-Presidents-Calvin-Coolidge-PSA-4_W0QQitemZ190221835406QQihZ009QQcategoryZ86843QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1936-G-Men-Heroes-of-Law-Card-269-PSA-8-None-Higher_W0QQitemZ140233094333QQihZ004QQcategoryZ219QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1944-American-Beauties-A-Good-Hook-Up-PSA-10_W0QQitemZ140233094158QQihZ004QQcategoryZ219QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

(I especially find American Beauties high-grade cards, like the above, a real thought-starter. This is because 9-card AB sheets are relatively obtainable in the $150-$200 range.  With a skilled print shop doing the cutting, as discussed in an earlier thread, theoretically you might possibly produce a number of '10s' from each sheet, with a little luck . . . And at $1000 a pop, it' would be a real 'money machine'!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/1935-Gum-Inc-Mickey-Mouse-56-Card-PSA-8-None-Higher_W0QQitemZ140233094226QQihZ004QQcategoryZ219QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1936-R28-BUCK-ROGERS-447-Cartoon-Adventures-PSA-6_W0QQitemZ220233533526QQihZ012QQcategoryZ37901QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/1934-BUCK-ROGERS-2-Big-Thrill-Chewing-Gum-COMIC_W0QQitemZ320250435263QQihZ011QQcategoryZ37901QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers Ralph ,

I put the US Caramel Presidents into my e-bay search & all it brought up was toffe/caramel sweets ..no wonder i can't get any good cards !!!


Mark

They advertise they are related to Mastro somehow.....or at least they used to and they are in Orland Park, IL. Great sellers as I've bought from them for years. They are, of course, playing the POPular game of POPs.......one of 4 or 'none graded higher'. They just sold a PSA8 HOW card for $695 to a semi-regular board member. Until more non-sports gets graded out there, these prices will hold up as people look for high grade examples from sets that they collect. I prefer quantity over quality but some prefer quality over quantity and still others can have both. As the popular saying goes......"it is what it is......"

The reason for all the BIN's was ebay was running a special that they wouldn't charge any more than .50 to start an auction. A significant savings for high priced auctions.

Hello To All ,

Fair play some nice cards coupled with some good prices .

I'm watching the Mars Attacks reprint set that sandandy have listed , when i click on ' sellers other items ' it shows me 3 , when i go to the US site it has 203 items listed !!!

Looks like i'm gonna have to start looking at the US e-bay more often .

SandyAndy on ebay is Dan Knoll who used to work with Dave Bushing authenticating game used equipment. He got out of the business to spend more time with his family and I'm not sure what link he has or had to Mastro other than authentication. I met him a few years back and he's a heckuva nice guy.

Yes, Dan is quite a great guy, have met him at some shows.  Have also won ebay lots from his wife's eBay auctions, Sandandy. in the past.

Not really my point, though.

My point is regarding the BIN listing of graded cards with extraordinarily high prices.  We do see this come in waves, whenever eBay has a special promo, a cheap listing deal.  When that happens, card retailers take the opportunity to list their wares and out come many BINs featuring, no doubt, fantastic quality cards . . . but with sky-high prices.

Was just wondering if this ever 'works' for the sellers.  The seller must be thinking, "Hey, I'll take a shot, nothing to lose but the effort to list."  But does anybody ever pay $1,500 for a single US Caramel President, for instance?  I just can't imagine that this ever, ever happens. 

You can always tell when ebay is running a fixed price auction special because the listings get flooded with these outrageous BIN's. It's a mild annoyance, but it does sometimes make searching a bit more difficult.

Ralph--I noticed the same thing---sometimes these cards just keep showing up month after month---I've been tracking an R24 BR booklet that lists for 2500 or 3500 if I recall---not to disparage anyones offerings, but the booklet looked kinda dirty & torn---if anyone payed the asking price it might be as much as a thousand times it's true value. I suppose if they sell one every 10 years it's worth it, but I'd hate to be the buyer---talk about buyers remorse when he finds out!

The BIN's may be a thousand times more than the item is worth, but for heavens sake with some you get free shipping. We are just chronic complainers.