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The Current Situation of the Secondary Market


flyhighguys94

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7 minutes ago, TMLFAN said:

Just a reminder to the US based sellers.  Do not opt into that global shipping program garbage.  Having that active essentially Canadian buyers from touching your stuff.  

I was going to comment on the bolded part, but having bolded it, it stands for itself. 

Edited by mfitz804
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1 hour ago, amonte78 said:

Last month I purchased a Nike Elite Chicago Bears jersey for $7. Sure, it was a Julius Peppers jersey and there's was a little smudge on the jersey, which was mentioned in the ad, but that was gone after one wash. And were you the one that sold the authentic Isles Streit on eBay Kurt? The final price of about $24 was also insane. 

It's true that the market is slow, trades are almost the only option.

Whoa don't sell me short, I got $28 man....gosh. My round of auctions that ended last night (at what I thought was a good end time) were just embarrassing. 

I always do 7 days with $0.99 on the stuff I am okay parting with. I have a couple things on 30 day listings with Best Offer option and have never received a single offer. It is quite puzzling on how/why it just completely dried up. 

 

I hate to keep bringing up the action figure hobby and making myself sound like a nerd but that is the one that has me shocked. I was selling these at pure profit and sincerely made right around $3,000 in April. I've never seen a hobby die in 6 months. It's not even the new stuff either, stuff that is 4/5 years old WAS selling for $100+ on eBay and now you're lucky to get $40. I'm just happy with that one that I sold off mostly everything in April. 

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Good topic and it is something I have brought up before a few times in other threads, particularly in the eBay thread.

The market for sellers has been soft for a few years now, but particularly in the last 6-12 months.  This is speaking for both sports memorabilia in general and particularly in game worn jerseys where I have the most experience in.  While I cannot be sure the exact cause of this, I do have a few guesses for jerseys in general (game worn, replica, authentic)

1) Knockoffs - As a poster said earlier, you go to an arena and a solid 30-50% of all jerseys you see that people are wearing are knockoffs of varying quality.  Back in the day I used to flip replicas and authentics quite often as supplemental funding for my jersey hobby.  Was doing pretty well up until 2013/2014ish when it seemed like a slight switch flipped and then all the buyers dried up and the knockoffs became even more prevalent (at least it seems to me).  It came to the point where I stopped as the money I spent was roughly the same they were selling for so I gave up.  Mitchell and Ness jerseys that used to sell on ebay for $200+ were now selling for as low as $60-75.  I really do think knockoffs had a big impact as when I sell jerseys in Devils facebook group groups, I get people who tell me $80-100 is way too much for a properly customized replica and for a fully customized jersey they are only willing to spend at most $30-40.  Even back in the 90's before Reebok jacked up the prices you could never find customized jerseys for that cheap.  People don't care what look's good, they want something that is cheap and resembles a jersey.  That's it.

2) Newer gamers - The old rule of thumb is that the older stuff is more valuable than the newer stuff is more prevalent now than ever.  You scroll through eBay and on FB and it's the same jerseys over and over again and it's all the newer stuff.  Hate to say this, but Ryan Carter Devils that was won in a grab bag and an Islanders Steve Bernier gamer that I always see for sale are basically crap.  There really is a lot of crap out there and most of the good stuff never hits ebay or on FB, they are sold behind the scenes.  The best gamers in my collection are the ones that I make deals with people I know and they never hit for sale on either website.  Sometimes it is on the collector to price these dime a dozen gamers better (sorry but that grab bag Carter is not worth $275 on any planet) and sometimes it is the dealer's doing (I feel sorry for anyone buying any of the WCOH gamers as apart from Team Canada and NA, none of those will be worth anywhere close to what they paid for if they try to sell).

3) Society - This one I think is the biggest.  There was a seller who posted on the game worn FB group in his sale group a funny but very truthful paragraph.  Basically it said that all buyers think what they are selling is worth more than it is and all buyers think what they are buying is worth less than what it is.  He said therefore he purposefully priced it high and is fully expecting to receive lower offers that is more in line with what he is really looking to sell for.  That's just how things are these days.  On eBay and on FB, no one wants to make a fair deal, they are instead looking to see how much they can bend over the other person.  A buddy of mine is an official Majestic dealer and has a store on eBay, and he said this type of thing has gotten particularly bad over the past year or two.  Buyers and Sellers both want to feel like they won in their deals and no one wants to make a deal where both sides are happy.  Also with the policies eBay has put into place over the past few years, buyers and sellers feel less safe with making deals with each other.  Their policies severely put sellers at a disadvantage so sellers are not trusting and buyers already feel like eBay is a giant flea market full of snake oil salesmen.

 

I know I am forgetting about a few other things, but these easily come to mind.  I will probably remember later and put them in here lol.

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I'm feeling it too...I've got all kinds of good stuff on my ebay page...most of it at really good prices too. Not much action these days but stuff sells a little at a time. 

The exchange rate is the biggest factor. Whenever I list stuff on FB, 95% of the time, the first question is "is thst in CDN?"...no,  no it isnt. Lol. Even when I clearly state that all prices are in US. 

 

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Pricing higher and eventually lowering the price to where it "should be" isn't a new phenomenon. That's just how selling stuff person-to-person works. People always try to talk you down, so you have to start up.

Just basic negotiations 101. 

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3 hours ago, mfitz804 said:

Pricing higher and eventually lowering the price to where it "should be" isn't a new phenomenon. That's just how selling stuff person-to-person works. People always try to talk you down, so you have to start up.

Just basic negotiations 101. 

Very true and that's how I approach things.  However when I put a jersey up on eBay these days for a price or best offer, it is rare to get a best offer unless it is basically 20% of my asking price.  People just don't want a fair deal anymore, they want to bend you over and stick it to you.  Usually, I am happy just to break even or take a small hit, but these days it is ridiculous of what the buyer's expectations are.

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12 hours ago, hatryk said:

Devilsguy

that was me on the FB page. 

And I still got the "hey what do you want for the ...." 

and I gave them a high price and they didn't respond. 

Everyone wants a deal. A jersey is only worth what someone wants to pay for it. 

Very true, but it looks like buyers are getting harder an harder to deal with.  I mean did the buyers even respond to you with a "thanks, but no thanks"?

I have encountered more hostility from buyers in the past 6-12 months of selling than in the rest of the 6 or 7 years I have been selling on eBay.  This is also going into forums, FB groups, and other avenues of selling as well.  Buyers want to screw you over, not make an amicable deal that works best for both.

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12 minutes ago, furiousd said:

*Logs on to eBay*

You have a new offer! $40 for brand new customized 2.0.

*Logs off*

F4Du9wL.jpg

Sounds a little too accurate.

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3 hours ago, Devilsguy said:

Very true and that's how I approach things.  However when I put a jersey up on eBay these days for a price or best offer, it is rare to get a best offer unless it is basically 20% of my asking price.  People just don't want a fair deal anymore, they want to bend you over and stick it to you.  Usually, I am happy just to break even or take a small hit, but these days it is ridiculous of what the buyer's expectations are.

I haven't received a Best Offer on an eBay item in like 6 months. Probably because I set an auto reject and those 20% offers never get through. 

And I intentionally don't go on the listing to check for them because there is no point in getting myself annoyed. 

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4 minutes ago, mfitz804 said:

I haven't received a Best Offer on an eBay item in like 6 months. Probably because I set an auto reject and those 20% offers never get through. 

And I intentionally don't go on the listing to check for them because there is no point in getting myself annoyed. 

Myself and others whom I have talked to in the last few months have noticed that offers in the last 6-12 months have gone to next to nothing.

What has been working for me a little bit on eBay is starting an auction at $9.99 and then have a reserve.  Costs more money but it sometimes works, but usually comes short of my reserve which is almost always my lowest amount I am willing to part with it.  It's also interesting how a completely different type or set of buyers bid when it is under $100ish than those who start to bid when it is over that amount.

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If I'm doing a straight auction, I'll usually just make the opening bid my lowest acceptable number. This tactic isn't the best, because it eliminated the possibility of two bidders getting excited and driving the price up. But it does save the reserve fee and if someone really wants it, it'll sell eventually. 

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I like the "Make an Offer" option as a buyer because I can usually find some middle ground. However, on a recent item listed at $160 - I offered $100 knowing it would probably be too low, but get the negotiations going.  He countered a $150 and refused to go lower.  What is the point of the buy-it now if your wiggle room is only $10?  Why not just list it for the $150 and call it a day?  I would have done anything around $125-$140, but it lack of negotiation just made me say forget it.  isn't that the whole purpose of the buy-it now?

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It's the whole purpose of Best Offer. I see a lot of people who do that and I often wonder why they bothered having that option. 

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45 minutes ago, Dr_Puck said:

The market may suck. Ebay may suck. Facebook may suck (at times). However, I do like my IJ friends. Even if there's a rather small market here for me since I primarily collect minor league jerseys, the camaraderie makes this place worthwhile. Someone here who is helping me find a rare jersey just ended their message with the following:

...nothing would make me happier than seeing you land that jersey!

Yeah, this is a good group. 

Right on the money, we have some good folks here. "I was going to buy this, but I knew you wanted it more" or "I'd buy it but I know you've been looking for it forever" or "if I find it I'll tell you", followed by the user finding it and telling me, are all things that have happened to me on this site. More than once. 

And I try to help everyone out when I can too. Makes it a much better community and a far better place to spend your virtual time. 

And it's totally true, I've seen guys get the stuff that they are after and I'm genuinely happy for them. And folks have been happy for me when the situation was reversed. 

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I've made zero sales and have received zero offers on my stuff here in almost 2 years.

I thought for a while that it might be my price, but I do manage to sell the items at or very close to my asking prices on here.  My thinking is the audience, but I also think experience on here depends greatly on person to person.

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I have had a lot of success selling here, so I am inclined to believe, as you and I have discussed before, the distinction is gamers vs. authentics, since mine are never gamers and I have had quite a few sales. 

They may be to the same 5 people all the time (you all know who you are), but I do alright. There are still things that just don't sell (anyone need a Jagr Devils 2.0?), so I do still need eBay to strike a balance. 

In any event, I will watch your listings more closely and if I can help out, I will. 

EDIT: By "help out" I mean buy stuff, not help you try to sell stuff to other people. 

Edited by mfitz804
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On 10/4/2016 at 10:13 AM, Devilsguy said:

Very true, but it looks like buyers are getting harder an harder to deal with.  I mean did the buyers even respond to you with a "thanks, but no thanks"?

I have encountered more hostility from buyers in the past 6-12 months of selling than in the rest of the 6 or 7 years I have been selling on eBay.  This is also going into forums, FB groups, and other avenues of selling as well.  Buyers want to screw you over, not make an amicable deal that works best for both.

Usually no response after the price is given  

I did get an offer of 225 on a listed 900 jersey though. So there's that. 

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I'm gonna be listing the last group of jerseys I want to part with on eBay soon for 7 day $0.99 auctions. Mostly because I ran out of room with my recent string of Bears acquisitions. I put jerseys up for BIN listings with OBO and never receive an offer like many of you have mentioned.

 

My days of buying something because it's a good deal or looks cool at the time is long and over. With the market the way it is right now it's not worth it. I'll probably take a hit on the things I'll be listing but it frees up much needed space and some money to work with on my trips to Hershey. It's sad the market has come to this, oh and I won't even bother with Facebook. That is ridiculous and nobody wants to pay. 

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7 hours ago, flyhighguys94 said:

I'm gonna be listing the last group of jerseys I want to part with on eBay soon for 7 day $0.99 auctions. Mostly because I ran out of room with my recent string of Bears acquisitions. I put jerseys up for BIN listings with OBO and never receive an offer like many of you have mentioned.

 

My days of buying something because it's a good deal or looks cool at the time is long and over. With the market the way it is right now it's not worth it. I'll probably take a hit on the things I'll be listing but it frees up much needed space and some money to work with on my trips to Hershey. It's sad the market has come to this, oh and I won't even bother with Facebook. That is ridiculous and nobody wants to pay. 

Put a link in deals and steals for us please :P 

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13 minutes ago, Dr_Puck said:

As the season kicks into high gear, I have noticed a change on ebay and Facebook. On the selling side, there's always some wiggle room to lower the price a bit. However, it's getting absurd with people only wanting to buy at a drastically discounted price. I have a jersey up now at a price that's about 1/3 of what Meigray would originally charge and someone still wants to OBO me. It's one thing to want a deal it's another to ask for something for a quarter or third of the primary price. 

So you've noticed it getting worse?  Awesome! 

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