Experience with eBay Seller

[CamaroDMD]

It's not often that we talk about positive experiences with sellers on eBay. I think when I have a really good experience, I should tell people about it because it's important for us to know who good sellers are and that they are out there.

Several days ago I stumbled upon a card on my "wish list" on eBay. It was a 1959 Topps Roger Maris...I had been wanting a nice example of this card for some time and was waiting for the right one at the right price. Well, I spotted one for sale BIN/BO for $74 +$2.50 shipping...a little more than I wanted to pay but a beautifully centered example with good color and PSA graded 5.5.

Well, I have about $65 cash rewards sitting on my credit card that I use for online purchasing...and I figured I could use those and get this card close to free. I offered $60 for the card (hoping I could get it for $62.50...which would be basically free). Well...auto-declined. I tried BO of $65 and got the same result.

At this point, I knew I only had one more BO opportunity and I didn't want to lose it. So, I decided to PM the seller. I told him it was a card I had been looking for for some time and I was a stickler for centering. I asked him what his best price was. He sent me an offer for $71 with free shipping. I thought that was more than a fair price and gladly took it. With my cash rewards on my credit card...it will cost me about $6.

I sent him a thank you note for working with me and got a very nice reply. I don't have the card in hand, but I have had a very positive experience with this seller. I have no doubt the card will arrive safely.

The seller is: wastenot-wantnot2010

 

[ranbethscards]

The fact that you didn't low ball him with an insulting offer helped in the process.

Many times I have received offers that are 20% or less of my asking price and then they will ask me my best price. I usually do not answer those buyers. I figure if I am asking $80, and they offer $40 on a $200 card, then surely they are not serious buyers and not worth the reply.

Congrats... looking forward to seeing the scan when you get the card in hand!

 

[CamaroDMD]

Honestly, I think $71 is on the higher side of the spectrum for this card. My initial $60 offer was probably a low-mid average. I didn't want to go any lower than that. If I see a card I want and it's within my price range I will try and haggle the seller down a bit (if BO is offered)...but I never want to insult a seller. On those rare occasions when I send a PM asking for a best price...I try and do it very politely. If they come back higher than I want to pay, I reply to them and thank them for their time and tell them I'm going to pass. I think being polite, friendly and trying to not insult them with an offer (and sometimes people can get insulted when you try and knock 5% off)...things work out.

As for this card, I did my homework on it as I have wanted one for quite some time. Here is what I was going on using eBay sold sales to get a price range:

PSA4: $22-$39
PSA5: $37-$60
PSA6: $51-$78

Note, these numbers don't factor in shipping cost.

So, by paying $71 (shipped)...he was charging $2.50 for shipping, so the actual "card" cost was $68.50.

So, I paid a mid PSA6 price for a card graded 5.5. Based on my PSA5 and 6 pricing, I think the price I paid is quite fair for a card graded 5.5. Might be a little on the high side of the price spectrum...but with the eye appeal, I think it's worth it. The centering and color are superb on this example which to me makes it worth a premium.

 

[CamaroDMD]

Congrats... looking forward to seeing the scan when you get the card in hand!

When the card arrives...I will post a scan of it in my Vintage PC thread.

 

[CamaroDMD]

The card came today and I added it to my Vintage PC thread. But, I will post the photo here too as this thread is specific to this card:

 

[ranbethscards]

Very nice!