chas_kit
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
The facebook groups are moving many, many high end records. Everyone pays 'as friend' so there are zero fees. Dealer reputation is important.
More Headaches For Ebay Sellers
- Thread starter tymespan
- Start date
Frantic
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2011
But there is still nothing better than a auction where bidders go head to head. And as a seller I like that.
chas_kit
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
I like it too. But if you consider ebay + PayPal fees totaling 14% or 15%, on a $500 record that's $75 in fees. That gives a lot of room for a seller to discount and make roughly the same amount as it might fetch at auction. Plus, fewer hassles.
The main drawback is a lot of records go unsold on the Facebook set-sale groups. On ebay, if you're willing to put a low minimum, most good records will sell.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
I'm sure we could. But the problem with charging fees even if it's only 2c per record, is that you become the bad guy and therefore responsible for everything that goes wrong in the world.
HarvestmanMan
Ikon Class
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Cincinnati
Just out of curiosity - does anyone have experience selling on sites like MusicStack?
Monster Mike
Ikon Class
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2013
HarvestmanMan said:
Gemm and Musicstack seem equivalent to slinging records in a back alley. Discogs seems great for sellers with lots of cheaper stock to shift. Facebook has to be the best I've dealt with so far by a country mile, though.
Monster Mike
Ikon Class
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2013
Although, after selling some records to a friend to shift on EBay and seeing my old copy of Thee Sixpence make $600...well, it makes me see the appeal of selling on there.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
From what I've seen (not much), it would be because the prices are over the top. It's quite funny to see some of the offers on the Facebook groups. Typically a $250 record will be offered for €400. Then about 6 people will "like" the offer (why?), but no-one buys it.
If I went to a department store and everything was twice the price it should be, I wouldn't go out of my way to tell the manager how much I liked his store.
Mr.Segment
Tennalaga Class
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2011
- Location
- Oslo
It's quite funny to see some of the offers on the Facebook groups. Typically a $250 record will be offered for €400. Then about 6 people will "like" the offer (why?), but no-one buys it.
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It seems to be a closed circle of dj's/collectors enjoying overpaying for everything. Condition does not seem to matter much either. As long as it plays "well"
chas_kit
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
There's some truth to that, especially on the condition side of it. But, for example, I bought a beautiful copy of the Huns at a reasonable price (compared to recent ebay sales). Why not a G45 central facebook page for selling records/talking records?
Outside_Lookin_in
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
I think that's a bit of sarcasm on the part of the likers.From what I've seen (not much), it would be because the prices are over the top. It's quite funny to see some of the offers on the Facebook groups. Typically a $250 record will be offered for €400. Then about 6 people will "like" the offer (why?), but no-one buys it.
If I went to a department store and everything was twice the price it should be, I wouldn't go out of my way to tell the manager how much I liked his store.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2011
- Location
- The shores of southern CT
I've posted good, collectible 45s on 4 different Facebook pages dedicated to buying and selling 45s. Only one is worth my (and your) time and effort. There is a lot of activity on it but that creates a problem - too many listings per day. Only those who are on it every second of every day have first dibs. Your post will get "buried" in the onslaught of posts, and few seem to have the diligence to scroll through 100+ postings per day. I certainly do not. You miss a few days and you will never see something you might wish to buy that did not sell right off.
The other 3 Facebook groups I was active with are for the DJs / poseurs / scenester sheep, all of whom buy and sell 45s at inflated prices, in conditions which are lower than their posted grades. I know, I have bought a few 45s from some of these people, and rather than go thru the hassle of trying to get a refund or call them out, I just chalk it up as a 'never again' lesson.
Ebay is the way to go if you want the highest potential price in front of the most people. Facebook will never match it. I can use keywords, limit searches, or scroll thru everything that might not be placed in a proper category. I don't see everything, but I usually do well enough for my invested time and effort. 15% fees are high, but if you operate your sales legally, like a business, you write that $$$ taken away from you on your yearly taxes. cost of dong business. Still worth it for the massive potential buyer / collector base, IMO.
I, however, will soon be offering some primo discs, and the place to find out is here on G45....not Facebook or ebay. Whether as set sale or best offer.
The other 3 Facebook groups I was active with are for the DJs / poseurs / scenester sheep, all of whom buy and sell 45s at inflated prices, in conditions which are lower than their posted grades. I know, I have bought a few 45s from some of these people, and rather than go thru the hassle of trying to get a refund or call them out, I just chalk it up as a 'never again' lesson.
Ebay is the way to go if you want the highest potential price in front of the most people. Facebook will never match it. I can use keywords, limit searches, or scroll thru everything that might not be placed in a proper category. I don't see everything, but I usually do well enough for my invested time and effort. 15% fees are high, but if you operate your sales legally, like a business, you write that $$$ taken away from you on your yearly taxes. cost of dong business. Still worth it for the massive potential buyer / collector base, IMO.
I, however, will soon be offering some primo discs, and the place to find out is here on G45....not Facebook or ebay. Whether as set sale or best offer.
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
I can also announce that a major 60s garage collection will (very likely) be offered set-sale here on G45Central in the near future. It's a collection that has taken over 40 years to build. A couple of thousand items in the $20-$75 range, and some higher priced stuff.
Mr.Segment
Tennalaga Class
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2011
- Location
- Oslo
Shit, there goes the holidays
chas_kit
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
eBay is making changes to give fewer free auction listings to both large and small sellers. Sellers with stores will continue to get free fixed-price listings, but free auctions will be limited to 100, with small fees charged for each one after.
For me as buyer and seller I think this is a good thing. As a buyer, fewer auctions means less junk to sift through. As a seller, fewer auctions = more views.
For me as buyer and seller I think this is a good thing. As a buyer, fewer auctions means less junk to sift through. As a seller, fewer auctions = more views.
Frantic
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2011
I feel just the opposite. They tripled my final value fee last year and now they take 25 cents for each one of my listings... fuck ebay!
eBay claims they want to promote auctions. In the eBay Bizarro world they do this by reducing the number of free auctions & charging an extra $1 for 1 and 3 day auctions.
The fee increases are going to hurt eBay's media categories. Why would you list a DVD, book or CD on eBay for .30 (up from .05) when you can list on Amazon for free?
Less selection ultimately means less buyers.
The fee increases are going to hurt eBay's media categories. Why would you list a DVD, book or CD on eBay for .30 (up from .05) when you can list on Amazon for free?
Less selection ultimately means less buyers.
chas_kit
G45 Legend
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2011
- Location
- Hudson Valley, NY
Because Amazon takes much more of the sale price - typically over $3 of the first $10. Even if it's a high priced item, say about $500, Amazon's fees will still come to about 20%. That's how eBay can get away with their final value fees (10% or 9% with store for records) - just a couple years ago this was only 5%.
Ebay's new policy doesn't stop the sellers with trashed 45s that nobody wants - they can still list this junk for free as a fixed price Buy-It-Now if they have a store. But after 100 auction listings (if they have a store subscription), they'll have to start paying to keep this stuff up as an auction. In the US alone there are over 600,000 Buy-It-Now 45s at any time. That number will stay high, so that inventory around if there's something specific you searching for.
What's good about the revised fee structure (I hope) is auction buyers won't have to look through as many of the same unsold 45s week after week. Ebay has over 25,000 45 rpm auctions EVERY WEEK. That's far more than any person can sanely look through, unless you want to devote 20+ hours a week to it. Most of those 25,000 are repeats from weeks before, many of which will never sell.
I think 10 or 12 years ago ebay was more fun for buyer and seller alike - there was a smaller (but still substantial) pool of better quality records. With all the protections for buyers (hassle-free returns, for example), reducing the number of junk auctions could make ebay a much better place to shop, which is a good thing for sellers.
