Member Vote: Should Buy Threads Require A Price

He just stated he offers off ebay discount to members… Learn to read.

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I have personally decided against posting a buy list here for a specific reason that I feel is implied in the prices being posted requirement. From reading through most posts that are still active I get a strong sense that most people, including myself, feel that a listed price is the highest dollar I’m willing to buy/trade for or the lowest dollar I’m willing to take in value for a trade or a sale. I personally have felt that this notion:

Is not inherently obvious amongst the people commenting on other peoples’ posts. When I contemplate building a buy post the premise behind requiring a specific price to be listed gives me the sense that negotiating is frowned upon at minimum.

In short I feel that buying here is to buy from a much more trusted group of people but with no chance of making a score on a card.

Again these are just my humble observations, not complaints. It is what it is. The buy/trade thread serves a specific purpose in my opinion. The benefit is being able to tap into a curated group of like minded people.

My vote would be to not require a specific price but require an announced starting price/value range with a simple disclaimer that negotiations through messages is allowed.

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Did you miss my point? It’s now asterisked above.

This is very accurate. The collectors here are too seasoned to not know what they have. Then again, some moron (me) listed a dragonite ex psa 10 card at 1/4 of its value. :dizzy_face: :relieved:

I would say I have done countless deals with majority of the members on this site. Some for $10, some for $10,000+. All fair prices for both parties. But you are spot on, it is a curated group, so the opportunity is focused on piece of mind, reliability, and fair market prices. Where something like social media, you decrease the reliability & honesty, but can probably find more people who don’t know what they have. Then again, I have done some price dumps on newer items to members.

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His point is valid though, I would probably not go as far as saying very high end, but it’s rare I see people trying to get a small discount on low value cards or even bother posting a thread. Unless it’s the odd card they’re missing to complete a set or whatnot.

@blasturtle I think you’re overthinking it… a starting price/value range is exactly what most people want and what this poll is about. No price is set in stone, and quite frankly it would be stupid for someone to post their very top dollar offer. You leave 0 room for any negotiations. I think it just helps if you show you’re actually interested in the product you’re looking for.

By interested, I mean you’re willing to pay a FAIR price. Offering $8000 for a $10000 card isn’t what I’d consider fair, but it can be a good starting point. If you want $100 cards for $80 it’s a very fair offer.

If someone states they want a PSA 9 Unl Base charizard for 50.00 its pretty easy to ignore or you can pm them you offer. With this new policy it would eliminate much reason to nag.
I would say the big majority of buy requests I’ve participated in with listed prices have been successfully completed within minutes. This new policy would help.

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@smpratte Thanks. That is exactly what I was getting at. This specific forum provides a different benefit for a buyer in my opinion. After fruitlessly searching everywhere else for a score of a deal on a card I want, and enough time has gone by and my personal conditions are just right to buy, I will post on here knowing it is my best shot at finding quality cards from quality people but I will have to pay market price for it. It’s a safety net that isn’t provided elsewhere right now that I know of.

@poken00b88 I may have said it wrong but I’m actually agreeing with you in my recommendation. The notion I’ve had before this thread came about is that I must list an exact price for anything I want to buy and sellers will not give it consideration if it’s not full market price. I garnered that notion from reading through all of the buylist posts that are still active. I admit that it could have been way off of what the real expectations were, but it was my perception of the rules none-the-less. It also seemed as though some other people have felt that way as well just by reading their comments on some people’s posts. Because I now know that it is not necessarily a rule that I must provide an exact number price I feel much better about participating. Having gone through that [Neo] revelation during all of this discussion I simply am voting that the new rule be clarified a little so people coming in from outside of this discussion will know up front that a price range to start is sufficient and that some level of negotiation is accepted and not shunned. Doing so would just allow more people that could be interested in participating to feel more comfortable while still providing clarity on what would be a ridiculous offer compared to close enough to entertain a conversation.

And that is just 1 dude’s reasoning and personal vote. I know it carries no more weight or measure of the whole conversation than that.

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Absolutely. In fact, most here are very nice when somebody under shoots a value. We’d all need to try to answer respectfully and informatively.

Am I the only one that thinks a negotiation process here is a waste of time?

Maybe I’m in the minority but every buy thread I’ve ever started, two total, I posted the price of the average going rate at the time. Not the low, not the high, I was right in the middle. I don’t understand why a negotiation process is necessary at all and I got both items within an hour for my listed price. I’ve seen plenty of other buy threads do the same and often times they find the items they’re looking for.

Maybe I view this place differently then others. To me this isn’t the place to get deals, it’s a place that if I have something I want and can’t find elsewhere I can turn here and have a chance of finding the item for a fair price.

If I want a deal, a forum of experts who are heavily invested in the hobby; whether that be time, product, or both, is the last place I’m going to go.

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for the majority of purchases/buy threads, the card(s) in question have a previously established market value. So in those cases, I agree with you.

However, for scarce or unpopular items, I think a negotiation process could be warranted. Especially if there isn’t an established market value or recent verified sale. I don’t think you disagree, just throwing this statement out there to contribute to the conversation as a whole.

I think threads should have a buy price listed, I believe the buyer is more likely to get what they’re after if they supply a price. These days I almost never respond to WTB posts that I have cards for if no price is listed, I’ve wasted too much of my time contacting people only to find the buyers prices are unrealistic. In my experience a lot of the time the word ‘negotiate’ when no price is listed means ‘try to convince you to sell well under market value’.

Literally 5min ago I was scrolling through facebook and saw a WTB post for a heap of cards with listed prices that were fair, I messaged the guy and just sold him every he needed … if he didn’t have prices I would’ve kept scrolling.

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Even in that context I would hope that the person would have an idea of what they think they should pay and post that price. This notion of ‘I have to start low and be negotiated to fair’ isn’t necessary here. Personally, I don’t even do that on eBay or any other site. I hate that style all together, but I’m not going to say someone shouldn’t do it at all. The difference is on this part of the web you’re not going to get a bite from some unknowledgeable fish, so why even try?

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My idea would be that a price is required for any item currently available on eBay BIN.

A few weeks ago someone posted an offer price for a psa graded card, and I messaged them that I had it and would sell it and then they offered me less than their offer price in the thread, and wanted me to ship internationally for that lowered price.

I imagine that would happen a lot more if people were made to list their buy price, however I voted yes.

Would we be allowed to put open for negotiation or just $x.

For instance when I start looking for a Pokemon illustrator (just an example), I don’t know what’s a fair market value for ungraded. No one tells me what a fair market value is… So here I am offering for sake of this question $5,000.

Here I’ll get ignored or whatever. But what if I said $5000 or open to negotiation?

Then doesn’t that negotiation also leave room for when we don’t state prices?

If we really are looking to sell stuff, I’m sure we would have a price in mind.

Scott could look and still not post if I say $5,000. Or if I put or negotiation then he could say $12,000. But wouldn’t that just mean I could’ve put looking for Pokemon illustrator?

Does what I say makes sense?

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If you’re looking for an item for more then a month, and you don’t know the market price there is no market price. Which means you’re not in a position to negotiate, you’re in a position to make an offer. Too many people are afraid that they’re going to overpay for an item, but that’s not ever going to happen for cards you can’t find. There’s literally no such thing as overpaying, you’re creating the market price. Here’s the amazing part, if someone sees the offer and they agree they’ll accept. You’ll achieve your goal.

Example: I had three 1st ed booster packs up for sale for $2,000 for a month, the day they sold every other 1st ed booster pack was instantly bought up. For whatever reason people needed someone else to pull the trigger to confirm to them that the price was worth it. That sale literally changed the market price, now they’re going much higher.

Even if you disagree with all of the above, think of it this way. Do you think you’ll attract more people if you say willing to pay $5,000 or $10,000. If you’re goal is to get the card, do what’s going to get the job done.

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I think you’re experienced enough as a collector to know not to say that “there’s literally no such thing as overpaying,” sir.

Patience goes a very long way in the Pokémon card collecting world. The market fluctuates and cards that are not available today (or next month) may be available in abundance in the near future. (The only probable exception is cards that scarcely exist at all.)

Thanks for not taking the context of the message and instead choose to think you’re making a point by pointing out my hyperbole… Besides the hyperbole, do you disagree with my statement? Do you think it’s better to knowingly state a low price and say you’re willing to negotiate, or do you think it’s better to make an offer you think is fair?

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Good point. I’d love to see Walmart stock an item by sticking a “Best Offer” and see how that goes for the business/customer service experience. I can imagine the self checkout line where individuals can get into a price negotiation with a computer.

Indicating a price with the initial post avoids the inevitable: people asking for a price. Providing a price does not lock a buyer into that price, so it certainly does not limit their rights/freedom in any significant manner. There is still room for negotiation before a transaction is complete, and I speak this from personal experience. People do not get offended.