What are some weird/annoying/head-scratching things you have seen buyers and sellers do on eBay (or any other platform)? I don’t mean the common “what’s the lowest you can go” types of messages. I mean relatively unique weird things that don’t get talked about very often.
I’ll start: why do some buyers make offers like $49.99, $29.99, etc. I have seen so many buyers do this and I just don’t get it. Why not just offer $50 or $30?
The whole $0.99 thing is a tactic sellers use to make a price look more appealing to potential buyers. A buyer doing it is just senseless (unless the buyer is really just trying to save that one cent).
One for me would probably be people emphasizing that they’re not a ‘professional grader’, while still giving a pretty comprehensive description of the cards condition anyway (either in the ad or in a message). To me this just blatant dishonesty, but I see it quite a bit at times. Here’s an example that I made an offer on one day:
This is why a large percentage of the time I find you’re better off buying like a PSA 8 or so and breaking it out of the slab instead. Especially on older holos. The only exception is you can find some sellers who take truly good photos to get a more honest look at the card. But I absolutely despise when people have to try and lie and talk up their card to be something way more than it actually is while also trying to downplay what they ‘know’ about cards and grading/condition of what they’re trying to sell.
When I read someone say they are “not a professional grader,” I automatically assume something is wrong with the card and they are trying to hide it. Is that always the case? Absolutely not, as some sellers probably just feel the need to say that because they think they’re covering themselves.
But really, you’re better off just taking good photos, writing a description, making note of any defects and leaving it at that. If people have any questions, they can just ask.
How can a crease look “worse in the photo?” How it looks is how it looks and if anything, I struggle to get damage like creases or dents to show up in picture well.
Sometimes the only way to get a crease to show up in a photo is at the perfect angle with excessive lighting. For a binder copy, saying it looks worse in photos than in person makes sense. The seller wants to document the crease so the buyer understands what they are buying.
Here is an example. The crease looks really bad in the photo, but the card looks better in person
For me it’s when a seller on Mercari or Yahoo has a rare niche card but it’s overpriced. It sits for a year & they raise the price then it continues to sit. Even when the same card appears elsewhere much cheaper they stand firm.
It’s like “no one wants to buy my card? Ok, I’ll just raise the price ” Some do sell eventually funny enough so can’t knock it. But it can be midly annoying if it’s a grail you’re hunting.
Edit: Not eBay but I’m sure there’s been similar instances on there.
Yeah I get it, but for context these cards are not insanely priced just a little over what anyone would pay atm. It does feel like a troll to me when I see a card sit for multiple years just for the seller to up the price randomly.
It’s kinda like the tmb rapidash situation years ago. Where you have a seller that’s stubborn with the price & a lot of ppl that want the card. So it becomes a waiting game of whether the seller caves & lowers the price or someone pulls the trigger.
It is what it is no fault to any seller. But it definitely annoys me when a big grail is locked behind this kind of deal.
I use this tactic with all my high end items that I’d rather not sell, but would take over market price for.
It allows buyers who are willing to pay over market price access to an item that they otherwise may not have the ability to purchase due to lack of supply on the market.
Worst case scenario it sits unsold and brings eyes to your store/other items.
I still disagree. You could say that about any creased card ever, thats just how creases work. Your photo showing the crease is just exactly that. Thats how the crease looks.
I actually like when Japanese eBay stores do that. For me personally, this helped me out when I wanted to buy an obscure promo (not expensive) card that wasn’t listed on their store.
If I know they these stores are willing to reach out and have good communication, it makes me more willing to ask them a question I might have about a different product.
At the other 359 degrees of looking at the card, you can’t really see the crease. Also without bright lighting it doesn’t show up at all.
Creases, dents, whitening, and even centering can look better or worse in pictures compared to seeing it in person. When I take pictures to list on eBay, I have a window that shines some weird lighting by the top edge and it always makes it look like the top edge is rough cut, when in fact it is perfect.
Sellers who blur / block the cert number on their 50-100 dollar psa graded card, while there are identical cards for sale that show the number.
I want to know which cert im buying!
Or they are just insanely easy to grade. People selling those old maid or poker cards in high grades for ridiculous prices is one that baffles me. It’s a playing card bro, and they all grade high because they’re made of different material/to a different standard. I feel bad for the people who buy them because it’s the only access financially they have to low pop and high grade pokemon cards. One minute you’re hype about graded pokemon cards, next minute you just bought a 8 of clubs encased in plastic for $200.
” Some do sell eventually funny enough so can’t knock it. But it can be midly annoying if it’s a grail you’re hunting.
