(not another ebay thread)

[captainsalty]

hi guys,

i know we have been talking/slamming ebay quite a bit over here.

still, i'd be interested in having a deeper analysis of the current state of the platform, or even garage collecting in general.

i'll start with the observation that ebay almost has no "real" garage records any more. while it was the land of plenty in the early 2000s, it has completely dried up now. i still check listings daily, but it often really makes me sick, wading through all that average or overpriced stuff.

as far as i can see, the funkman is the last man standing. if i spot a garage 45 in the listings, it's probably one of his.

so, my question is: where did all the sellers and their records go?

are most 45s in collections or in dead stock now?

there are the facebook groups, but the amount of completed sales is nothing compared to ebay 10 years ago.

private listings on websites have vanished completely, too.

it really feels like a wasteland compared to earlier times (and i only joined the "fun" in 2000 or so).

also, the prices on fb groups are mostly absurd. i'd like to grow my collection, but via fb, you have to have the deepest pockets. is there a new generation of garage collectors in which money plays not a part anymore?

i'd like to hear your opinions on this matter.

 

[cracker]

eBay has changed everything to the Amazon-lite model, it's no longer very user friendly, esp now that they're mandating their own payment method, and you have to wait a few weeks to get paid out. I don't think most random people with shit to sell want to jump through the hoops.

instagram and Discogs have taken over as selling platforms, it's much easier to list something for sale without any fees, you can do it in 10 seconds instead of 15 minutes. if recs are priced right, it all goes down in a flash before most people even get a chance to see it happen.

I know some people who do Facebook groups, but they all seem to have weird rules and controlling moderators, and there are usually a few sketchy people involved that should be booted, but they are friends with the mods, so it's like a weird insider club scene. nobody I know likes the groups very much.

I do get where MTM is coming from in the sales thread tho. it can be pretty infuriating scrolling thru ig feed and seeing what records sold within 9 seconds of being listed 8 hours ago. it's hard to get a shot at anything, I don't understand how people can be so on top of it.

 

[Frantic]

eBay has changed everything to the Amazon-lite model, it's no longer very user friendly, esp now that they're mandating their own payment method, and you have to wait a few weeks to get paid out.

i'm not sticking up for ebay (cunts) but all of my payouts have taken 3-6 days, usually 4 days.

 

[Outside_Lookin_in]

There are still plenty of bargains to be had on FB, especially when Peter Bryant puts up a list.

 

[captainsalty]

you may get a good deal on a record now and then, but it's really not the same amount of stuff. i remember digging thru 20+ pages of listings on ebay for the auctions ending saturday or sunday. that was crazy, all the stuff out there, and eventually you would get lucky and find some great record for cheap. it would happen to anyone, you would just have to stick with it.

now, with the fb groups, you gotta be super quick and lucky to get that vg++ copy of self centered girl for $600. well...

don't get me wrong, i don't wanna sound angry at all those collectors with a lot of money to spend. i just wondered why so few records are on the market.

 

[cracker]

I'd also wager it's a supply side problem... most internet sellers are resellers / middle men, and there's been a serious reduction in local availability of new stocks.

sadly as things have moved off eBay onto other platforms, I don't think the churn of eBay is likely to ever come back, it's too much of a pain in the ass for most people to ever want to deal with again. all that is left are the eBay stores chudblasters constantly relisting their unsellable garbage.

 

[Frantic]

I'd also wager it's a supply side problem... most internet sellers are resellers / middle men, and there's Abeen a serious reduction in local availability of new stocks.

You hit it on the head. And I happen to be one of those middle men. And garage 45s in the Sacramento area have pretty much dried up.

 

[MopTopMike]

Things constantly change. It would be fantastic to go back to mail order lists with loads of great 45s priced at $10-30 or the early days of eBay.
Those days are long past. You gotta run with REO Chudwagon and roll with the changes or find other methods to acquire collectible records. As noted, having unlimited cash funds tilts everything in your favor. For the rest of us it is pick and choose based upon affordability no matter what platform is employed.

 

[captainsalty]

yeh, you're probably right.

didn't even know that instagram was used for selling garage 45s. toyed around with it for some time. my verdict: fuck it.

 

[bosshoss]

Ebay is definitely past its prime for 60s garage. I lost interest when eBay started collecting tax for the government. The exchange rate + tax + postage just made it stupid. Also, the bidding competition surprised even me. I started losing most of the stuff I wanted because other crazed bidders beat me on top items. My solution...lower my sights away from big ticket items to the thousands of 2-star (4 or 5 on the garage-o-meter) discs I still didn't own. Collecting them is a lot of fun and many are almost as good as ultra rare obscurities, if you adjust your expectations a little. I try to buy them in batches to save postage.

I have high hopes that a couple of collections will be sold in the G45 Supermarket in the near future. If this happens, it will be pretty amazing. If the ball gets rolling, I'll probably gradually add some of my duplicates to keep it going.

 

[Heitkotter77]

After having sold off my psych 45s 10 years ago now, I find a lot of enjoyment in buying up oddball 45s of all genres and making mix CDs out of them. It's a nice little challenge to make a cohesive flowing mix from them. I've made one from each Allentown show I've gotten to, each year from my Frank Merrill purchases and just general online , record show & store purchases. I also create covers and make mini-LPs for each. I've got close to 100 already. That doesn't include the 20 volumes from the old psych collection. (I should get those online and put them up here at some point.)

 

[undertheclock]

you may get a good deal on a record now and then, but it's really not the same amount of stuff. i remember digging thru 20+ pages of listings on ebay for the auctions ending saturday or sunday. that was crazy, all the stuff out there, and eventually you would get lucky and find some great record for cheap. it would happen to anyone, you would just have to stick with it.

now, with the fb groups, you gotta be super quick and lucky to get that vg++ copy of self centered girl for $600. well...

don't get me wrong, i don't wanna sound angry at all those collectors with a lot of money to spend. i just wondered why so few records are on the market.

As far as prices. the market is very small and highly motivated, and the mobile inventory is scant--the classic recipe for high prices of anything.

 

[captainsalty]

well, i'm optimistic. someday, all those collections will be sold off and the 45 will hit the market again

i agree with mark and heitkotter, there's so much gold to be found on oddball discs or records that are low on TBM score. in fact, a personal favorite is "green eyes" by tommy & the night beats which gets a special mention in TBM for its low score

still it would be easier without the crazy postage rates. buying one 45 off ebay means a whopping $27 postage. kills most of the fun.

 

[Frantic]

well, i'm optimistic. someday, all those collections will be sold off and the 45 will hit the market again

i agree with mark and heitkotter, there's so much gold to be found on oddball discs or records that are low on TBM score. in fact, a personal favorite is "green eyes" by tommy & the night beats which gets a special mention in TBM for its low score

still it would be easier without the crazy postage rates. buying one 45 off ebay means a whopping $27 postage. kills most of the fun.

Where did you come up with $27 postage for one 45? From California to europe or Asia it's around $14.

 

[captainsalty]

the global shipping program says "hello!"



granted, there are still many sellers that still ship for $14 to $16.

 

[Frantic]

the global shipping program says "hello!"

View attachment 4503

granted, there are still many sellers that still ship for $14 to $16.

Ebay's global shipping program...who uses that?

 

[undertheclock]

hi guys,

i know we have been talking/slamming ebay quite a bit over here.

still, i'd be interested in having a deeper analysis of the current state of the platform, or even garage collecting in general.

i'll start with the observation that ebay almost has no "real" garage records any more. while it was the land of plenty in the early 2000s, it has completely dried up now. i still check listings daily, but it often really makes me sick, wading through all that average or overpriced stuff.

as far as i can see, the funkman is the last man standing. if i spot a garage 45 in the listings, it's probably one of his.

so, my question is: where did all the sellers and their records go?

are most 45s in collections or in dead stock now?

there are the facebook groups, but the amount of completed sales is nothing compared to ebay 10 years ago.

private listings on websites have vanished completely, too.

it really feels like a wasteland compared to earlier times (and i only joined the "fun" in 2000 or so).

also, the prices on fb groups are mostly absurd. i'd like to grow my collection, but via fb, you have to have the deepest pockets. is there a new generation of garage collectors in which money plays not a part anymore?

i'd like to hear your opinions on this matter.

RecordBoyUSA has become pretty active with garage lately, at least from my limited collecting perspective.

 

[captainsalty]

RecordBoyUSA has become pretty active with garage lately, at least from my limited collecting perspective.

yeah, absolutely, and i instantly got a cool bargain from him yesterday. I'm glad that he keeps selling stuff on ebay, he has had so many great discs over the years.

 

[captainsalty]

Ebay's global shipping program...who uses that?

well, ebay increasingly forces sellers to use it.

as much as i may complain, i can understand it from an economical perspective: receiving goods from the usa has been hit and miss for many years. will a 45 record be "held" by customs? if yes, you would have to pay the taxes (that, in all honesty, a country rightfully deserves). i've had $1000 guitars being delivered to my door, without customs bothering at all. sometimes you got lucky, sometimes not. i can see why ebay would step up and make this regulation that for every good, the seller has to collect the taxes.

from a collector's perspective, it's a nightmare.

i don't know for how long sellers still can avoid ebay's pressure. i've sold on ebay for 20 years, until i pulled all of my inventory in 2018. a month ago, i wanted to list my "masters of the universe" collection (look it up, kids), but the amount of shit (i.e. "documents") ebay wanted from me was so off-putting.

 

[tymespan]

I've been using ebay international standard shipping. An item under 8 ounces costs $13 to Europe and it includes $100 insurance.
The seller ships the items to a US address and then DHL delivers it.
Besides the advantages of insurance you can also track the package once it's overseas. The USPS doesn't offer tracking for most countries.
I've been using it for two months now without any problems but I haven't had to file any claims yet so we'll see.