I picked a fine time to sell my gaming collection... Lucille

[Anthony1]

Man, talk about bad timing. I decide to part with about 90 percent of my video game collection, when retro games seem to be at a 5 year low. I guess this whole Virutal Console thing for the Nintendo Wii was real. I never imagined that it would really affect used game prices like this, but it's obvious that it must be having a pretty significant impact, cause I'm selling alot of my video games items at serious loss. I just got done listing all my Neo-Geo AES games on Ebay, and boy was it depressing. Many games that I paid $35 for, are going for $15 or so now.... if you're lucky. And don't get me started on SNES games. I have a number of SNES games that I could have sold a few years ago on Ebay for huge $$$, and they are going for 1/3rd those prices now. Heck, I got a game like Liberty or Death for the Super Nintendo as a buy it now for $6.99, and it's about to expire with zero bids. I remember when that game sold for an easy 20 bucks. What the hell happened?

Man, I really picked a bad time to sell my shit. God damn. I should have sold off all my shit 2 years ago. I don't know why, but I figured retro video game values would pretty much hold their own. Guess not.

[roushimsx]

Heck, I got a game like Liberty or Death for the Super Nintendo as a buy it now for $6.99, and it's about to expire with zero bids. I remember when that game sold for an easy 20 bucks.

It's a damn shame if it doesn't move at $7. Koei put out some serious gold on the SNES and Liberty or Death was one of my favorites. :(

I'm still debating on what I want to part with and what I want to keep. A bulk of my sealed DC games are probably going to wind up on the bay sometime in the near future, though.

[diskoboy]

Looks like I picked a fine week to stop sniffing glue....

(had to get the Airplane! reference in...)

[boatofcar]

http://medjeti.com/img/wahmbulance.jpg

[Kitsune Sniper]

The problem isn't the market, it's the month. It's November, and we're only a couple of weeks away from the busiest sale day of the year. Everyone's saving money for Black Friday.

Just wait until after that's done with, and sales will pick up again.

[grolt]

The problem isn't the market, it's the month. It's November, and we're only a couple of weeks away from the busiest sale day of the year. Everyone's saving money for Black Friday.

Just wait until after that's done with, and sales will pick up again.
Yeah, it's true. I learned it the hard way when I sold off a big Master System lot last month. In the summer I was selling lots at huge gains (I've never seen the Saturn in higher demand), but now the market's definitely slowed. I never thought eBay was that volatile, but it definitely seems to be a seasonal thing...at least I hope. :D

[Drag0nsfyre]

On the other hand.... It's a great time to get in on some good deals for people still collecting and playing. :D And if/when the market picks up again you'll be glad you picked up on some cheap gaming goodness.
I feel for you though Anthony because on the opposite side as you were trying to raise some $$$ it sucks. :(

[megamaniaman]

I personally think this is bigger than video games. I really think America is headed into a recession. At a swap meet that I go to everyone is struggling to sell stuff.

[chrisbid]

the economy in general is tanking, the official numbers take a few months to catch up to reality

[Anthony1]

http://medjeti.com/img/wahmbulance.jpg


You know, you can say that, but if you had spent thousands upon thousands on a game collection, and then decided that you wanted to sell it, and then you found out that game values have all of a sudden hit a five year low, you would be crying about it too.

[Kid Ice]

You know, you can say that, but if you had spent thousands upon thousands on a game collection, and then decided that you wanted to sell it, and then you found out that game values have all of a sudden hit a five year low, you would be crying about it too.

Or perhaps its because no one here wants to deal with you because you're a pompous blowhard?

[boatofcar]

You know, you can say that, but if you had spent thousands upon thousands on a game collection, and then decided that you wanted to sell it, and then you found out that game values have all of a sudden hit a five year low, you would be crying about it too.

No I wouldn't. Video games are not an investment, and should not be treated as such. If you wanted specific prices for your games, you should sell them on the buying and selling forum here, or at Atari Age, or at CAG. I have no sympathy for people who whine about the supposed declining market of classic video games any more than I have sympathy for the people who bought 100 copies of The Death of Superman only to be shocked to learn they couldn't sell it for the same price they bought it for.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Or perhaps its because no one here wants to deal with you because you're a pompous blowhard?

Some of the shit people write here is just fuckin funny!!!!!!!!
Kid Ice thanks for making me laugh :hail:

[digitalpress]

OK Anthony1. I've read your posts in the past, and in the past I've simply passed on them because they're just not interesting to me personally, way "out there", or far too LONG to read through (not your fault, I'm A.D.D.).

So here I go.

You seem to live in an alternate reality where what you think is true and what is true is conveniently absent in your posts. I'm not that bright and yet even *I* can see that this is some promotion for virtual console or XBox Arcade shit. Hey, I love that stuff. I HAVE that stuff. But don't attempt to sway collectors with your ridiculous "observations".

If your sales suck it's because you suck at selling the stuff you have. A true collector could give a shit about whether the game is available on Wii or not, and it's only the true collector that would ever buy a Neo Geo AES cart in the first place. You're not losing your sales to the casual XBox Live gamer, you're losing your sales because you don't understand how to sell. As a seller of classic games (as a career) I should inform you that "the real thing" is at a premium right now, so you're clearly fucking things up. I'd be happy to help you with your lacking sales pitch, feel free to PM me for tips.

Or, as I expect, ignore my response entirely and enjoy your virtual console and/or XBox Live experience. It's cool, but understand that this is an entirely different world of gamers and NOT your (potential) customers.

[Carey85]

Preach on, brother Joe!

[intvsama]

Sample of how to sell video game stuff: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140170281961

You don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle! 8*)

[bangtango]

You should know better than to post this type of thing here.

There are maybe half a dozen people here who could post this same topic and go unscathed. You're not one of them.

[DigitalSpace]

Man, talk about bad timing. I decide to part with about 90 percent of my video game collection, when retro games seem to be at a 5 year low. I guess this whole Virutal Console thing for the Nintendo Wii was real. I never imagined that it would really affect used game prices like this, but it's obvious that it must be having a pretty significant impact, cause I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, and said "you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air."

[grolt]

Man, talk about bad timing. I decide to part with about 90 percent of my video game collection, when retro games seem to be at a 5 year low. I guess this whole Virutal Console thing for the Nintendo Wii was real. I never imagined that it would really affect used game prices like this, but it's obvious that it must be having a pretty significant impact, cause I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, and said "you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air."
You just got CarletPWNED!!!!

[CreamSoda]

Looks like I picked a fine week to stop sniffing glue....

(had to get the Airplane! reference in...)


LOL! You beat me to it...

This thread= 10/10

[otaku]

Its been a good year for me I've sold everything I've wanted to for what I paid if not a tidy profit (sometimes double what I paid!)

[Ze_ro]

I personally think this is bigger than video games. I really think America is headed into a recession. At a swap meet that I go to everyone is struggling to sell stuff.
On a related note, you might get more response to your auctions if you put in there that you're willing to ship to places outside the United States. With the shitty state of the US dollar, you might get some decent bids from Canadians and Europeans.

Whenever I go to eBay, I filter out all auctions that don't explicitly include Canada in the list of places they'll ship too.

--Zero

[Anthony1]

Or, as I expect, ignore my response entirely and enjoy your virtual console and/or XBox Live experience.


Well, actually, I've never paid for a "virtual" item in my life, and have no interest in doing so. I'm the guy that has done posts saying that we should totally avoid "virtual" ownership, and the dumbasses leasing Warhawk for $40 on PSN are ruining it for everybody long term. I don't own a Wii anymore, so I can't download any Virtual Console stuff, and I've never paid for anything on Xbox Live. I've downloaded a ton of free demo's, but thats about it. You also said that only true collectors would buy a Neo-Geo game. I disagree with that. I'm not a collector at all (well, I do collect video game mags, but that's another story), I just buy the games to play them. The reason I bought a Neo-Geo, and actual Neo-Geo games, instead of just playing them off some emulator, has alot to do with my facsination for everything RGB. To experience the joys of RGB, you need the real actual hardware. That's the reason that I actually own a boatload of SNES carts and things like that.

I'm trying to totally remodel my 3-car garage into a media room/theater room, and I have to finance it somehow. That, and the fact that since I stopped smoking weed, I'm just not into retro games as much as I was in the past. I know that's pretty lame, but it's the God's honest truth. I've been off weed now for about 15 months, but 16 months ago, one of my favorite things was to go smoke a nice joint, and then pick out some game that had a special place in my heart, some game from the early 90's, and play it in RGB while I was "keyed". Say what you will, but I used to love doing that, and I would still be doing that right now, if I didn't have an irregular heart beat. That's the only reason I no longer smoke weed. I found out that irregular heart beats and marijuana aren't the best combo. So I had to quit that shit. And for some reason, now that I don't get high anymore, I just don't have those same romantic thoughts about playing games of yesteryear as often. Don't get it twisted, I'll still play some retro fare, but just not anywhere near as often as I used to.

So, when you combine that, with the need for money to finance my Garage remodel, with the fact that I'm not going to have any room for about 90 percent of my retrogame collection (cause the wife is going to take over my current room of doom, and there won't be enough room for it in the new theater/media room), it just makes sense for me to sell off 90 percent of my collection, which I'm currently in the process of doing.

The only thing I'm bringing up with this thread, is that I put about 30 items on Ebay recently, and about half of them expired, unsold, with zero bids, and the reality is that my prices were just too high for the current Ebay market to bear. They weren't high because I was trying to be greedy and squeeze more money out of them, they were high because the value of the games that I was selling have simply dropped quite a bit recently, and they just aren't worth as much as they used to be. I remember when a loose Crusader of Centy cart for the Genesis was worth $25 to $30 easily. Not anymore. I have Crusader of Centy as a BIN for $19.99, and I've got about an hour left, and it will likely end with zero bids. That's just the way things have been going. Maybe I should just avoid Ebay entirely.

[swlovinist]

There is alot going on in the game community. The country is going towards a recession. My ebay sales have been down as well. The only thing going well on the bay is rare out of print items that havent been remade. Snes items in general have been slow. I think that there are several factors, one of them is that modern gaming. I thought I would never say it, but this generation of games is amazing. I will always be a retrogamer and collector, but I have to say if I wasnt...I would be collecting the new stuff and new stuff alone. It hurts to say that, but the truth is that the power of all three of the current systems is great, allowing a great hybrid of playing new and modern with a tint of old school goodness. Sure the new systems wont ever have everything, but dang the potential is endless.

[Steven]

I'm a bit shocked you're selling most of it away, but I guess it always happens in this hobby of ours. At any rate, may I also suggest that many gamers have acquired what they wanted by now. How many people are now jumping into the SNES scene? I suspect not nearly as much as when I did 20 months ago in early 2006. That may account for it, or it may not. But I think as we move forward, retro games will take a hit simply because, hell, many of us have bought game X by now, yes?

[staxx]

Timing is the key to selling. These days selling is pretty bad since it does look like we are close to a recession (housing market collapse, inflation not meeting wage increase, gas has gone through the roof) and holiday shopping has begun. I used to buy tons of stuff and now I have to watch on what I buy. If you are not in such a rush for cash you could wait it out and sell later.

[PapaStu]

2600 collecting (except for the really rare stuff) is in the dumpers. NES stuff is on its way down (except for the really rare stuff). SNES stuff still hasn't even really taken off yet to come back down. If your selling the cheap AES games then they arn't going to pull that much no matter what. If its no Metal Slug 1 or something similar than those 30 buck AES games are the really run of the mill common stuff that get passed around like SMB/DH. The more current systems (Cube, XB, PS2) unless really in demand arn't going to pull squat.

The economy is really hurting and people are hemoraging money all over the place. The first stuff to get cut out of a budget is that frivilous entertainment/random shit spending. Do you want mortgage to get paid, food on the table, electricity, or are you gonna by Liberty or Death for the SNES?

If you expected to sell off your collection and planned on it to pay for your (or really help you pay for) entertainment room you were sorely mistaken. The last person that I personally know who made money from liquidating out his stuff is DarthVader. Danny made out very well, but Danny sold smartly and he collected smartly. The stuff that was worth it was moved accordingly, the stuff that wasn't was bundled and dealt with. Not to mention the fact that he moved numerous complete collections to others and the selling of the really rare items individually paid for losses that he might have encountered in other places.

As a modern collector (my money goes into stuff thats PS1 and newer only) I fully understand this, don't expect my whole collection to ever explode in value (except for the really rare stuff, which i just expect to hold its value, I don't look for it to go up because i'm not looking to sell it) and actually expect it to if I'm lucky hold its (the collection in general) own. I don't ever look to dump my stuff because i'd just loose more than I put into it, get really mad and then be out money, the games and have a huge bitter taste in my mouth. But alas, i've never been in this hobby for the money, just for the fun of the games.

[swlovinist]

Another thing to consider is the impact of thousands of "newer games" that hit the market every year. I think as time moves on, the casual gamer might be torn between spending $5.00 on a cheap PS2 game at a game store versus spending $5.00 on a SNES game online plus your average $3 to $5 shipping. The glory days of easy Ebay money are over.

[Sniderman]

"Joe'wned."

Heh.

[Daria]

I saw your auction link here but was immediately turned of by your rant about not combining shipping. Just a pet peeve of mine I suppose.

[fishsandwich]

Another 2 reasons why your items aren't selling...

1. You don't take PayPal. A lot of people (me included) HATE PayPal but it's a (very) necessary evil.

2. Your shipping is expensive. $6 to ship a loose SNES first class? I can do if for less than $2.

[GrandAmChandler]

I agree with others when I say "You aren't doing it right"

1. Combine Shipping. This isn't hard.
2. Lower Shipping. ($15 to ship a SNES system FLAT RATE?!? $10 max.)
3. Auction style. Everything you have is at a fixed price.
4. Shipping options, (First Class, Priority, etc.)
5. Make listings prettier, not just two paragraphs of text and 1 picture.
6. Take Paypal. For the love of God. I like most people will stop looking as soon as I see the seller doesn't take paypal.

Going by this auction. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280170181171&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=018

[Bratwurst]

It tickles me that you people still talk to Anthony1 like he were a rational human being. Anthony1 is an object, incapable of adaptation and reason.

This is how Tony thinks:

I bought this item for 5$, and shipping was another 5$, therefore I have to pass the buck along and sell it for 10$ plus shipping, because I am Anthony1.

My time is worth money despite my physiology establishing an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. That's getting tacked into the handling fee.

Ferrying those packages to the post office? Better charge for gas too, because the concept of USPS Click and Ship or simply stocking postage stamps and a home scale terrifies me. Nevermind that I was probably going to run some other errands while on the road, at the least stopping to stuff my face with a festering cheeseburger at McDonalds. Or I might not coordinate my driving habits at all and fart away fossil fuels as my god given right not because I'm an American, but because I am Anthony1.

But I know the human urge to scratch that ass pimple is incredible, so keep it up, guys.

[Alex_ntsc]

I think this is a great thread to be honest. I'm learning quite a few things here. So many suggestions in just 2 pages.

[Push Upstairs]

This is thread of the year!

[Nimrodil]

I bough some magazines from Anthony1 a couple of months ago and he was very, very helpful. Checked the content after articles I asked for, scanned a page in a mag I didn´t bough etc. so I have only good experience.

However, I totally agree with the others about your auctions. We are a lot of europeans who visit ebay and most of us use Paypal (and like combine shipping:-) so begin to do it easier for us to buy and I guess you will be more successful.

[bangtango]

Well, for one thing you are spending more money on listing fees with all of those BIN's and high starting prices.

I'm no Ebay powerseller and have only around 300 feedback comments (two-thirds as a seller) but damn near everything I sell on Ebay has a starting price of 99 cents or lower, even stuff that should by all rights go for $20 and up. I've only used BIN's about 3 or 4 times tops. I don't bother placing my items into more than one category either and adding to the list fees. As a buyer, I don't search by category. I use a keyword and type it in. I assume most people who might want what I list do the same type of thing (hopefully).

With that business model of mine, despite the risk of always using $0.99 starting prices, I end up happy with my final profit (after listing fees, final value fees and Paypal charges) about 90% of the time. As for the other 10%, I may lose money compared to the sales figure I was counting on but I at least get enough to cover my fees and have some $$$ left over. And at least I don't end up paying a whole lot of list fees.

Bottom line is, an auction style listing with a lower starting price would certainly help. If your items are "worth the money" and a few people want them, then by all rights they should sell.

By the way, why is it ok for you to take Paypal from people here for your Ebay auctions but Ebay customers who don't visit this site can't pay you with it? What difference does it make?

Last thing, if you are looking to "make money", then you'd have to think more like a reseller who buys low and sells high. Paying $2 for a PS1 or SNES game that normally goes for $30 on Ebay, for example. Paying $30 for that same game a couple years ago and counting on getting that same amount back each and every time you sell it is only setting yourself up for failure.

[mnbren05]

It tickles me that you people still talk to Anthony1 like he were a rational human being. Anthony1 is an object, incapable of adaptation and reason.

In the Year of Darkness, 2029, the rulers of this planet devised the ultimate plan. They would reshape the Future by changing the Past. The plan required something that felt no pity. No pain. No fear. Something unstoppable. They created 'Anthony1'

[Ze_ro]

Another thing to consider is the impact of thousands of "newer games" that hit the market every year. I think as time moves on, the casual gamer might be torn between spending $5.00 on a cheap PS2 game at a game store versus spending $5.00 on a SNES game online plus your average $3 to $5 shipping. The glory days of easy Ebay money are over.
On a similar note, I imagine most classic gamers also play plenty of modern games... and with so many excellent games out recently, and coming out this Christmas, they just don't have the time and/or money for classic stuff.

--Zero

[Anthony1]

It's pretty suprising to me that people would take the time to actually look at my Ebay auctions to see what I'm doing wrong. Let me answer a few of the criticisms so far:


1. Not Accepting Paypal - Ok, I actually had this system, where Paypal wasn't one of my normal payment options, but in the description of my auction, I said that people could pay me via paypal, but that they needed to email me BEFORE bidding, and that an extra fee could be charged depending on the type of paypal payment. I was actually using this method for a good year or more, and it was working great. People would pay me via Paypal, and if they had money in their paypal balance, or they did a paypal checking transfer, then I would steer them to one of my paypal accounts. If they had to use a credit card or debit card, then I would add in the bullcrap paypal fee, and they would cover it. Some might think that's a bit shady, but I wasn't putting a gun to anybodies head or anything, forcing them to pay via paypal.

Anyways, what ultimately happened was, that I listed a bunch of items on Ebay, and then I got an email from Paypal saying that I was circumventing their fees or some crap like that, and they cancelled like 6 of my 30 auctions. Not sure why they didn't cancel the other 24. So, I quickly revised all my auctions and removed any mention of paypal. I figured on my next round of Ebay selling, I would just bite the bullet and put my credit card and debit card paypal account in there, and just deal with all the damn bullshit fees. So, the only reason you don't see paypal on some of my auctions, is cause I got caught off guard, and decided to just live without paypal for my first round of auctions. My more recent ones do have paypal on there.

2. Why all the BIN's? - I used to never ever use "Buy it Now". I would always do 99 cent auctions, to keep my listing fees at a minimum, but times have changed. If I list something for 99 cents nowadays, I'll have many auctions ending with 1 bid at the minimum amount, and be taking serious losses. I just can't afford that. Of course BIN's have their risk too, but I just prefer to use BIN's now most of the time.

3. Why is my shipping so high, and why no combined shipping? - Well, this should be pretty obvious. If I had the shipping price at the actual "real" shipping cost, then I would have to raise my listing price substantially, and I would never get any bids. When I buy anything on Ebay, I first add the listing price and shipping price together, and that's the price of the item. For example, if somebody is selling something for $9, and the shipping cost is $1, then the total is $10. If somebody is selling something for $1, and the shipping cost is $9, then the total is $10. There isn't any difference in my mind. I look at what other sellers are charging for shipping, and charge a similar amount, although sometimes slightly on the higher side of the scale. This same theory extends to combined shipping. If I do combined shipping, and all my items are bought at minimum bids, then I'm taking a major hit. Sure, I wouldn't mind doing combined shipping if I knew that my auctions would blow up with tons of bids and stuff, but sometimes you get a single bid, and it goes for the minimum amount, and you end up taking a huge hit. I need that shipping cost to be there, so my losses aren't even worse under those situations. People might think I'm trying to pack extra profit into my shipping cost, but not really. Maybe 1 buck extra profit, that's about it. I spend alot of time with each item, use alot of tape, packing materials, etc, etc. I pay myself, for all the time I spend making sure the item is well packed. I'm not putting a gun to anybodies head forcing them to pay a higher shipping price, if they think it's too high, then they can move on to somebody elses auction.

[boatofcar]

I'm not putting a gun to anybodies head forcing them to pay a higher shipping price, if they think it's too high, then they can move on to somebody elses auction.

Which is exactly what they're doing, which is exactly why your items aren't selling.

I do appreciate your honesty though. You do seem to know why your items aren't selling. The confusing part is why you don't change your asinine "policies."

Tell me Anthony1, what's worse; not using paypal and getting nothing, or using paypal and selling things? Most people on ebay will tell you paypal is evil, but it's a necessary evil if you want successful auctions.

[WiseSalesman]

I'm trying to totally remodel my 3-car garage into a media room/theater room, and I have to finance it somehow. That, and the fact that since I stopped smoking weed, I'm just not into retro games as much as I was in the past.

Here I was thinking you had four hungry children and a crop in the field.

[Shrooin]

When I buy anything on Ebay, I first add the listing price and shipping price together, and that's the price of the item. For example, if somebody is selling something for $9, and the shipping cost is $1, then the total is $10. If somebody is selling something for $1, and the shipping cost is $9, then the total is $10. There isn't any difference in my mind.

There is a difference because then the person will have to pay for their postage as well as YOURS. Why would anyone want to pay for postage for someone elses item? Maybe if you're item is rare and they can't find it anywhere else they might give in and buy it. Otherwise, if they had any logic at all they would just buy it from another seller who only charges them for their own postage.



I need that shipping cost to be there, so my losses aren't even worse under those situations.

You should just list the items at the minimum price you want to sell them for. That way you don't have to 'make up the cost' with increased postage. If they don't sell for that price then the item currently is not worth that much due to the law of supply and demand - when something is high in demand and low in supply is when it's worth the most. You have to remember though you're competing with many* (depending how common/rare the game) other sellers and your prices must be competitive with them because people will go with the cheaper option if the quality is the same or similair.

Someone else suggested allowing international bidders to bid in your auction. this is very good advice as the US dollar is rock bottom. I live in Australia and I'm buying as much as I can from the US because it's $ is worth around 90c AU, the lowest (against the AU$) its been for a long time. So you should be able to sell if you specifically target international customers and charge the actual cost of postage. If you buy something you wouldn't want the seller to charge you more than it actually is so therefore don't do it to other people.

[ALAKA]

not combining shipping when you sell a bunch of similar products (ie. a bunch of snes games) is detrimental to your auctions. people love snatching up alot of products if they know they will be saving on shipping costs. just try it on your next round of sales, you will see a difference.

[Sniderman]

Man, talk about bad timing. I decide to part with about 90 percent of my video game collection, when retro games seem to be at a 5 year low. I guess this whole Virutal Console thing for the Nintendo Wii was real. I never imagined that it would really affect used game prices like this, but it's obvious that it must be having a pretty significant impact, cause I'm selling alot of my video games items at serious loss. I just got done listing all my Neo-Geo AES games on Ebay, and boy was it depressing. Many games that I paid $35 for, are going for $15 or so now.... if you're lucky. And don't get me started on SNES games. I have a number of SNES games that I could have sold a few years ago on Ebay for huge $$$, and they are going for 1/3rd those prices now. Heck, I got a game like Liberty or Death for the Super Nintendo as a buy it now for $6.99, and it's about to expire with zero bids. I remember when that game sold for an easy 20 bucks. What the hell happened?

Man, I really picked a bad time to sell my shit. God damn. I should have sold off all my shit 2 years ago. I don't know why, but I figured retro video game values would pretty much hold their own. Guess not.

And yet...

It's pretty suprising to me that people would take the time to actually look at my Ebay auctions to see what I'm doing wrong.

So....you came here to bitch about why your stuff wasn't selling, then you act surprised and somewhat insulted when people have the nerve to suggest what you may be doing wrong - that it's not the market - it's you.

Dude, you should just go resell Beanie Babies or comic books. They hold their value over the years real well. X_x

[Cauterize]

It tickles me that you people still talk to Anthony1 like he were a rational human being. Anthony1 is an object, incapable of adaptation and reason.

I bought this item for 5$, and shipping was another 5$, therefore I have to pass the buck along and sell it for 10$ plus shipping, because I am Anthony1.

If there ever was a Forum Stand up Comedian, you and Sothy would be fighting away for first place... pure genius!



On a similar note, I imagine most classic gamers also play plenty of modern games... and with so many excellent games out recently, and coming out this Christmas, they just don't have the time and/or money for classic stuff.

Not to contradict you or anything, youd be suprised how many sales you get running an eBay shop over the Xmas period.
Wether or not its a UK/Europe thing, i dont know, but sales per month are usualy doubled or tripled believe it or not.
Alot of people buying from me have said in their payment message that they need the item quick for an Xmas gift...






First of all id like to say that this is one of the few threads by Anthony1 that i have ever replied to... His usual threads about RGB i used to ignore because i thought that he was getting flamed for no apparent reason..
However my stance on that has completely changed after taking the time to read this thread and realising i never read the threads properly that he previously posted...

To put it plainly, without being mean, i can see why everyone is taking digs at you Anthony1 and how your reputation on this board has changed over the last few years...



1. Not Accepting Paypal - Ok, I actually had this in the description of my auction, people could pay me via paypal and that an extra fee could be charged depending on the type of paypal payment.
If they had to use a credit card or debit card, then I would add in the bullcrap paypal fee, and they would cover it.

The reason Paypal exists is to make a nice quick transaction with no hassle... No cheques/checks, MO or anything along the lines of hassle...
However adding in that you will then need to recalculate the costs due to paypal, alongside having to email you in the first place to get permission to use Paypal.
Whats the point!? Seriously!?

If youre not happy with Paypal taking a few cents off you for each transaction then you are quite obviously a very self centred money orientated person (as youve already shown with your response towards video games and what theyre here for... money and money alone)
At the end of the day if you were paid via a Check/Money Order then you would need to await for it to arrive, get in the car/bus/down to the Bank to cash it. Surely the cost of a Bus ride or Car journey is MORE expensive than the few cents Paypal takes...
By trying to cut costs, youve ultimately shot yourself in the foot by limiting sales and increasing your work load for getting the precious money into you precious account...




if somebody is selling something for $9, and the shipping cost is $1, then the total is $10. If somebody is selling something for $1, and the shipping cost is $9, then the total is $10. There isn't any difference in my mind.

This is where youre incredibly wrong and its one of the main reasons you havent sold much...
When people browse eBay auctions, they browse it to buy items at a cheap cost, and take part in bidding towards a bargain. Very little people use ebay auctions to pay full price for anything, at least not myself and people i know.

Think about it, lets say we have 1 copy of Super Mario World on ebay starting at $1 and for example its current value is $10. Very few people will put $10 in as a maximum bid. Everyone hopes to win it, slightly cheaper than its worth unless they have a Richie Rich style of disposable income.
Also the shipping costs also need to be accounted for alongside this.
If the shipping is $1, most people will be willing to bid alot more, maybe even close to the $10 mark. A Bidding war may begin between a few buyers, greed may take over, two bidders might have history with each other, etc etc, for all you know it may shoot over $10... It happens, weve all seen the freak auctions!

However if the shipping costs is $9, as you stated, there is absolutely no chance whatsoever that the item can be won at a bargain price, cause its technically already costing what its worth... It very rare that anyone will bid on it now...
This takes out the element of fun in eBay, it removes all aspects of 'bidding'...
If you really want a certain price for it, then set it as that price to begin with and make shipping reasonable...

The bottom line is, high shipping costs put off buyers...




sometimes you get a single bid, and it goes for the minimum amount, and you end up taking a huge hit. I need that shipping cost to be there, so my losses aren't even worse under those situations. People might think I'm trying to pack extra profit into my shipping cost, but not really. Maybe 1 buck extra profit, that's about it.

Id like to see a business that doesnt ever make a loss... small or big...

[Nature Boy]

The only thing I'm bringing up with this thread, is that I put about 30 items on Ebay recently, and about half of them expired, unsold, with zero bids, and the reality is that my prices were just too high for the current Ebay market to bear.

How do you *know* it's price? Did you read the reply that mentioned opening up your market outside of the US? Did you read Joe's post? Has it occured to you that you can't just put something up for sale, you have to *sell* it as well?

The Canadian Dollar remark is *dead* on the money. And as a Canadian eBayer I'll help you right now by saying I ignore all eBay auctions that mention shipping to the US only. Why bother asking about it, when I can find another auction for the same item that says they'll ship to Canada?


Well, actually, I've never paid for a "virtual" item in my life, and have no interest in doing so.

You say you're not a collector, and that you buy games just to play them, and yet you're dead set against 'virtual' games, which would be games that you could actually just play and not have to worry about collecting or losing their resell value? Zuh?

[Anthony1]

Once again you show your true colours regarding money being the biggest priority in life...

Love? Happyness? Family? hmmmm....


Umm, you do realize that I'm selling MY PERSONAL FUCKING COLLECTION right? This isn't a fucking money making operation. I'm just trying to sell about 90 percent of my personal shit. I'm not trying to double my money, or triple my money or anything like that. Man, so I guess somebody can't try to get the most money they can for their personal items when they finally decide to part with them. That's absolutely ridiculous.

[Daria]

Umm, you do realize that I'm selling MY PERSONAL FUCKING COLLECTION right?

Then maybe you should have listed them on DP's Buy and Trade Forum with set prices. You definately would had customers snapping up games like Liberty or Death. Instead you went the shady ebay seller route complete with astronomical shipping costs, high starting bids, lousy item descriptions, and stock photos. How can you possibly scream foul when your shit doesn't sell?

[Cauterize]

Umm, you do realize that I'm selling MY PERSONAL FUCKING COLLECTION right? This isn't a fucking money making operation. I'm just trying to sell about 90 percent of my personal shit. I'm not trying to double my money, or triple my money or anything like that. Man, so I guess somebody can't try to get the most money they can for their personal items when they finally decide to part with them. That's absolutely ridiculous.

I appologise for that last comment Anthony1, i didnt intend it to come out the way it did.
I was just getting frustrated regarding shipping costs and eBay, and it got the better of me...
I take back what i said about money, families etc as i have no right to comment on that and i appologise for upsetting you.

However i stand firmly on all my suggestions regarding Paypal and eBay and hopefully you can benefit from them!

[jcalder8]

I was feeling your pain I've bought some stuff with the thoughts of reselling it later only to have it drop in price but after reading through your listing style I can now say I hope you lose more money.

US ONLY???? WTF are you thinking? The Canadian dollar is doing great and only getting better for us. I'm starting to drop more money because everything is so much cheaper now.

I don't combine shipping because I lose money? I charge more for shipping because when it sells cheap I make money?

Maybe if you charged less and combined PEOPLE WOULD SPEND MORE ON THE AUCTIONS AND BID ON MORE AUCTIONS!!! I've bought other games from people I normally wouldn't buy just because the combined shipping rate is so good. God Damn think about it from a customer's stand point. You are selling your shit for them they aren't buying it to help you. If you want to make money you have to set it up like a business.

When I list on e-bay I get an estimate on a game and then list all the others at the same price. Sometimes it comes out cheaper by a buck or two other times I end up spending an extra buck or two it all balances out.

You make people e-mail you before using PayPal? What are you trying to scam them because that's what the normal scared of everything internet is going to think. You want to make this as easy for them as possible not make them jump through needless hoops because YOU ARE AN ASS for charging extra fees for PayPal. No shit you're not putting a gun to anyone's head to use paypal or to bid on your auctions..... HEY WAIT people don't have to bid on your auctions and if you make life difficult for them they DON'T!

You use BIN so that you don't have items end at 99 cents so instead you list items for more than what people are willing to pay with high shipping rates and no combined shipping...... You've got an amazing sense of economics there. I wish I could add anything to make you seem more like a DUMB ASS but you've done it so well yourself.

Everything goes up and down in price. If you want to make money on it then you needed to wait until the market comes back up. You only had to do a search on E-bay to see that items you were selling weren't getting what you want for them so FUCKING WAIT!!! This isn't a hard concept. Wait a few more months or years and it'll come around at some point. When the people who are 20 now hit the mid life crisis I'll beat a lot of games will jump in price because they can afford to buy everything they never had.

[Griking]

Umm, you do realize that I'm selling MY PERSONAL FUCKING COLLECTION right? This isn't a fucking money making operation. I'm just trying to sell about 90 percent of my personal shit. I'm not trying to double my money, or triple my money or anything like that. Man, so I guess somebody can't try to get the most money they can for their personal items when they finally decide to part with them. That's absolutely ridiculous.

Don't worry about it, apparently someone decided that it was "shit on Anthony" day and all the other lemmings decided to jump onto the pile and kick you while you were down.

If you're auctions aren't selling then either one of two things are happening, either your games just aren't worth what you're asking or some of your policies are turning potential bidders off. There was some very good advice hidden in between all the insults and trolling above, I suggest you consider some of them.

[Sothy]

Payment accepted in RGB ONLY


Thats proably scaring away bidders.

[Rob2600]

I've had a bunch of great experiences selling items on eBay. I've also had a few bad ones. An error I made was auctioning my entire video game magazine collection the week of Christmas in 2006.

I had a good title, a detailed description, several pictures, and accepted PayPal, but my timing was horrible. Thus, the bidding ended at roughly $25. I was disappointed. Had I posted the auction a month earlier, the bidding might have gone above $100, which would've been great. Oh well.

I had a total of 175 video game magazines, books, and comics, plus posters, and I auctioned them all together at once:

2 issues of Nintendo Fun Club: issue 6 (April/May 1988) and issue 7 (June/July 1988)...bad condition

119 issues of Nintendo Power: issue 1, 4-45, 47-69, 92-139, 142-145, and 173...condition varies, most are in very good and great condition (includes annual bonus issues and special covers)

18 Official Nintendo Player's Guides...most in great condition: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide (1987), Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros. 3, Ninja Gaiden II, 4 Player Extra, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Top Secret Passwords, Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Star Wars Episode One Racer, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, Pokemon Trading Card Game, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

32 other magazines and strategy guides (EGM, EGM Buyer's Guides from 1989 onward, GameFan, GamePro, Next Generation, Ultra Game Players, Gamer's Republic, etc.)...most are in great condition

the first (and only?) issue of IGN64.com The Magazine...great condition

3 issues of Super Mario Bros. comic books by Valiant: Super Mario Bros. from 1990 (issue 3 and 6...great condition) and Adventures of the Super Mario Bros. from 1991 (issue 1...a bit ripped, but not horrible)


Payment accepted in RGB ONLY

That's hilarious! :)

[mario2butts]

Hmm...

My TurboTap (Tg-16) won't work with a custom TurboPad extension cord..hmmm (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97780)


So I got out the TurboTap and 3 controllers, and I hooked the TurboTap to the end of the 20 foot extension, but only player 1's controller would work. I tried all kinds of different things, but to no avail.

Ebay Auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/20-ft-TurboGrafx-16-Extension-TurboPad-controller-RARE_W0QQitemZ280172724645QQihZ018QQcategoryZ49230 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)


Up for auction is an extremely rare, custom made 20 foot extension cord for a TurboGrafx-16 TurboPad controller [...] Note: I do not have a TurboTap, and I have not tested this extension with a TurboTap. I only have an individual TurboPad controller, and this extension cord works absolutely great with that.

Wow. :shameful:

[GrandAmChandler]

Hmm...

My TurboTap (Tg-16) won't work with a custom TurboPad extension cord..hmmm (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97780)



Ebay Auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/20-ft-TurboGrafx-16-Extension-TurboPad-controller-RARE_W0QQitemZ280172724645QQihZ018QQcategoryZ49230 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)



Wow. :shameful:

What the hell is that Anthony1? A blatant scam attempt? mario2butts, good detective work.

Anthony1, you really should edit that auction and state the facts!

-GAC-

[Pantechnicon]

I hereby nominate mario2butts for DP Super Sleuth of the Year :hail:

http://www.freewebs.com/theallmightycow/PWNED!.JPG

[Rob2600]

Anthony1, you really should edit that auction and state the facts!

Three things I find funny with that auction:


1. "You can have your TG-16 setup safely tucked away in your entertainment center, and have a very long cord extending your TurboPad, so you don't have to have your TurboGrafx sitting on the carpet in the middle of the living room, just waiting for somebody to trip over it and break their necks!"

Aren't people just as likely to trip over a 20 ft. cord running across the room?


2. "My shipping fees not only cover the cost of the actual shipping charge at the post office, but also all of the materials used in packaging the item, the time spent getting the item ready and packaging the item (which I take great care with), the gas used to drive to and from the post office, and the time waiting in line at the post office, etc, etc."

The gas used to drive to the post office? The time waiting in line? My abs are sore from laughing so hard.


3. Anthony1's eBay user name is tapdatazz (as in tap-dat-azz).

[coreycorey2000]

It's easy to sell on ebay if you are reasonable.

[djbeatmongrel]

You deserve the shitty sales with how you are going baout this.

And naming you collection like BB Kings guitar "Lucille" is a damn shame. His Lucille kicks more ass than your Lucille.

[Pantechnicon]

And naming you collection like BB Kings guitar "Lucille" is a damn shame. His Lucille kicks more ass than your Lucille.

I think what Anthony had in mind was this old Kenny Rogers song (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kenny+rogers/lucille_20077874.html).

But he's still pwned.

Anthony, dude...you only have to dig a grave six feet deep. Even when it's your own.

[FABombjoy]

It's an "I Love Lucy" reference.

[koster]

:popcorn: Waiting for the other shoe to drop...

[djbeatmongrel]

I think what Anthony had in mind was this old Kenny Rogers song (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kenny+rogers/lucille_20077874.html).

oops, the extent of my kenny rogers knowledge is the mad tv skits...

[Damaramu]

oops, the extent of my kenny rogers knowledge is the mad tv skits...

Those were comedy gold....

[suppafly]

The biggest problem I see in your auctions is that you dont accept paypal.

Open your auctions to worldwide buyers and accept paypal, you`ll see the difference soon.

[Carey85]

Hi, I'm Kenny Rogers and this is the bat fetcher trick with my teeth!

YOU GOT EGG NOG IN MY GOATMILK!

[Kid Ice]

It's pretty suprising to me that people would take the time to actually look at my Ebay auctions to see what I'm doing wrong. Let me answer a few of the criticisms so far... I'm not putting a gun to anybodies head forcing them to pay a higher shipping price, if they think it's too high, then they can move on to somebody elses auction.

So to summarize:

-you want to complain about your low sales, but aren't interested in anyone's advice

-buyers are free to move on to others' auctions, but you will later scratch your head trying to figure out why they haven't bought from you.


Don't worry about it, apparently someone decided that it was "shit on Anthony" day and all the other lemmings decided to jump onto the pile and kick you while you were down.

You sound like a little girl.

[Oobgarm]

I put plenty of guitar tabulature books, game mags, and other stuff up on eBay over the last month and had great success in doing so. I also put a ton of stuff up here on DP and did quite well. The 'good stuff' sold well individually, while other things went in bundles or lots. I didn't get exactly what I expected out fo everything, but I was content with what I did get.

My keys to success:

1. Paypal is a must.

2. Charge the customer exact shipping. Weigh your stuff beforehand and add a few ounces for boxes and packing material if you need to. If you're working on a large deal on DP, weigh everything before quoting.

3. Understand that paypal and ebay fees are part of doing business by using those services. The customer should in no way be responsible to help you recoup those fees. I've never done that, and I even had a couple buyers throw me a couple extra dollars because they felt like being nice.

4. Don't charge your customer for gas, packing materials, or other intangibles. They're bidding on the item, not the item plus everything needed to get the pack the item and get it to the post office. Besides, you can get free boxes from the PO anyway.

5. Combine shipping, or at least provide a discount for multiple wins. I'd be pissed if I bought two items and had to pay double the shipping, only to have the seller ship the two items in the same box, pocketing the difference.

6. Try to keep your terms simple and concise. I may not speak for everyone, but I don't even bother with auctions that have some long, drawn-out list of terms and conditions.

[Anthony1]

What the hell is that Anthony1? A blatant scam attempt? mario2butts, good detective work.

Anthony1, you really should edit that auction and state the facts!

-GAC-

You know, you're right, that was wrong of me. It's just the dude that sold me the cable never mentioned it either, so I was thinking, why should I mention it? I also figured that the person buying it would probably not use it for a turbotap, and it wouldn't matter, but wanted to throw that TurboPad statement in there as more of a warning, without directly stating it. If I was trying to completely hide that fact, then I wouldn't have mentioned anything about the TurboTap at all. I mentioned it, so that the person knows that "it might not work with a TurboTap".

But having said all of that, I agree, that's definitely bad karma on my part. I went ahead and updated the auction.

[joedick]

This thread is heartbreaking. I really hate seeing people not have enough money for their theater room. A little sensitivity, people?

[Anthony1]

You know, there are a couple of things that occured to me while reading this thread.


1. Shouldn't this be moved to "Everything Ebay", since 90 percent of the discussions going on in this thread are Ebay related? I definitely didn't start the thread with it being a Ebay thread, but it's obviously degenerated into a "How Not to Sell on Ebay" thread.

2. Why do you people care so much about my troubles anyways? I mean seriously. This thread is getting WAY MORE run than it deserves. This was just a throw away topic, nothing major, and it turns into a 3 page flame fest? The thing that amazes me, is that I will do a post that I think might be cause to put on a flame retardant suit, and nothing happens, and then I do an innocent post and it turns into world war 3. Just kind of strange to me. I think part of the reason that there is such a strong reaction to this thread, is that there is a subconcious fear with alot of the haters, that your collections might be worth half as much as you think they are, just like mine is. So you search for any possible reason why my auctions aren't successful. I'm not saying I'm like Master Ebay salesman of the year or anything, but I do have 100 percent feedback with 368 transactions, and have been selling stuff on Ebay off and on for the last few years. It's not like I have absolutely no clue how to sell stuff on Ebay.

The thing is, I've been selling stuff on Ebay for a number of years now, and this is the FIRST time that I've had such a dismal result. I've always done the same thing. I've never shipped to Canada or combined shipping or any of that crap. I've always done the same style of selling, and it always worked great. BIN's are a new thing for me, but that's just because of the fact that I don't like using reserves. Anytime I see a reserve in an auction, I run the other way. I'm not going to do anymore 99 cent auctions, and hope for bidding wars, cause it's too freaking dangerous to do that stuff right now. Just last year I would have done that with the vast majority of my auctions, but nowadays, that's just too freaking risky.



Then maybe you should have listed them on DP's Buy and Trade Forum with set prices. You definately would had customers snapping up games like Liberty or Death. Instead you went the shady ebay seller route complete with astronomical shipping costs, high starting bids, lousy item descriptions, and stock photos. How can you possibly scream foul when your shit doesn't sell?

I do have a thread in the buying and selling forum. That's where I started. Personally, I can't fucking stand Ebay or Paypal anymore, and I'm so glad that once I'm done selling off all this shit, I won't be using it anymore. At first it wasn't too bad, but after awhile, all the damn fee's just negate every positive. I'd much rather sell stuff to other gamers here, and was doing that, but what typically happens in the Buying and Selling forum is that your thread is hot for a couple of weeks, and then it cools down rapidly. I wasn't getting anymore requests from anybody, so started throwing crap on Ebay. I also put some stuff on Craigslist locally, but most of the Craigslist crowd is interested in modern gaming stuff, and not so much retro.



This thread is heartbreaking. I really hate seeing people not have enough money for their theater room. A little sensitivity, people?

I'm suprised it took so long for this angle to show up. The whole "Anthony is really a rich, spoiled, videophile asshole". Remember that my theater room is actually a freaking garage, and also, that I'm cutting every possible corner to try to get that room done. I'm doing all the work myself (with tremendous help from my father-in-law), and I'm only paying money for the raw materials to get the job done. Yeah, I am selling off a ton of stuff, and using that money to help finance the theater thing, but that's just because I don't have any other source of funds to draw upon. If I was really this rich, spoiled SOB that people think I am, then I wouldn't be doing a theater in a freaking Garage.

[bangtango]

I think part of the reason that there is such a strong reaction to this thread, is that there is a subconcious fear with alot of the haters, that your collections might be worth half as much as you think they are, just like mine is.

I mostly play sports games and the occasional first person shooter while eschewing rpg's, imports, "music" games, $200+ games, most fighting games and oddball niche titles with low print runs.

It scares the shit out of me to know that my $0.99 copies of PS2 Madden 2001 and X-Box ESPN NFL Primetime might only be worth $0.49.

[Oobgarm]

Why do you people care so much about my troubles anyways? I mean seriously. This thread is getting WAY MORE run than it deserves. This was just a throw away topic, nothing major, and it turns into a 3 page flame fest?.

Emphasis mine.

So you posted this with no expectation other than to have everyone soothe you? That's surprising, especially with the way you parade around here.

LOL

That's the best shit I've heard all week.

[heybtbm]

Can you feel the love in here?

I think this thread has run its course...just saying.