hey guys is the best way to hunt off ebay? hunt on ebay? just look for them at events or virbank?
I’m sure this is a really basic question and I’m sorry if it’s annoying, but ebay of course introduces that 12% extra fee which when we’re dealing with stuff over $1000 is a huge waste of money
I have decent experience with collecting for a long time, some of you may have run into me on pokebeach or pokegym! But almost all of what I did was flip to live on, although I have a nice amount of ungraded stuff saved… anyway I have absolutely 0 experience with buying graded, and I also haven’t bought any older booster boxes yet, and I have a few things I would like to grab before the prices get even more nosebleed - namely a base set unlimited box, and all the e-reader boxes, and then I don’t even know where to get started on PSA 10 except that I want a PSA 10 1st ed Raichu, after that I don’t know where to go really
Ebay is indeed the main place, but you really need to be looking all over the place. This site is a good community to build relationships with several collectors or even some of the big dealers that are on ebay. Then you have social media, Virbank,etc…
I don’t know how big Pokemon is in your area, but the best deals will always be local. Check craiglist and such from time to time to see if anything you want is available.
The only advice I could give you is it’s sometimes better paying that extra $ from a reputable source than taking a risk with a random person on Instagram or whatever. Feebay can be annoying, though it comes with full buyer protection. Usually the people that will offer you a very good deal will expect Friends and Family payment and that’s a big risk. The package goes missing or your booster box has a huge crease that was not shown on the pictures or your graded card was obviously misgraded, you are totally screwed.
I would suggest making a purchase thread on this forum and buying off respected sellers here otherwise eBay is my no 1 recommended best place for you to buy for these reasons:
whatever your after and wherever you are located, it will be available.
the 10/14% fees are more relevant than ever at the higher ($1000+ price range) values as you are essentially paying to receive the exact item you purchased and/or have all your money completely protected which in my opinion is a very worthwhile purchase.
if your still not happy to go with eBay i personally would avoid virbank at all costs, as its scam central (i have no bias) and purchase through Instagram, i love buying through IG and have met some incredibly kind and awesome collectors around the world on it but i know not everyone has that experience so exercise due caution.
it’s great opinions so far, thank you; and I’m not a big fan of virbank because it creates a disorganized and impersonal experience, I have absolutely no experience with the instagram thing and guess I will really have to give it a check
I’m always down to “eat the paypal goods fee” as long as the arrangement seems valid otherwise, and I have the rep on (seller) feedback to share that they can be encouraged I am not out to pull some bogus case on anybody … it’s not like I have a problem with ebay in particular, I would just hope to save the money, but I don’t know how big the resealed booster box & fake PSA card market is
Keep an open mind and COMMUNICATE. I found a seller through eBay that I now see in person and he sells to me minus the fees and I trust him completely. I get first dibs on everything and even got a full shadowless set from him. I would also look for auctions, message sellers offers and look for good deals on other sites like troll and toad. Sometimes you find a diamond in the rough.
I hope everyone realizes that for a 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction (goods / services) on PayPal you receive the same protection as eBay. Who covers you when you open up a case on eBay? That’s PAYPAL without PayPal you wouldn’t have the type of protection on eBay like you have now. So if you want to buy on instagram or else where just buy using goods/services and you will be fully protected.
If you are buying PSA 10’s, make sure you ask them for pictures, and you pay accordingly to the condition of the card instead of the grade. Remember that not every card that gets a PSA 10 deserves being a PSA 10, so you shouldn’t pay the premium.
For me, it doesn’t matter where you buy your cards, ask for a timestamp, follow your guts and be sure that you are protected by Paypal g&s or Ebay.
NEVER pay F&F to people that you don’t know. It’s totally worth it paying that little % extra to have your money insured.
yesterday I had to shoot down a listing on ebay, where the buyer was very prompt, reasonably negotiable, very friendly, but the card I wanted had a line all the way down the entire card and I was honestly shocked that a card could get PSA 10 with that type of damage (a damage I see and I’m sure y’all see allllll the time on cards in general) … it’s a very low population card (23) so I may just have to go down to a PSA 9
and yea my general point on ebay, from the start, was that I’m totally aware of being ripped off, I never pay family and friends and I’m always a little puzzled people seem to operate under the presumption of paypal gift, but to me the only thing ebay offers over paypal is a chance to look at the seller’s history (which is no doubt very useful, just not sure it’s 12% useful), it doesn’t actually offer extra protection over paypal goods besides that and you pay the 3% paypal fee on both ebay and off ebay so I prefer not dealing on ebay
what I’m really not sure how much I need to be guarded against is fake PSA cases (is this a thing? do I just always check the number?) and I’m honestly not experienced enough to spot fake booster boxes, all I can do on those is buy from trusted sellers I think
