Magazines, books and other publications

[mrmopar]

If any of you have tried to rid yourself of one of the bulkiest collectibles out there, printed material, and have had similar experiences as I have, you'll probably agree with this. Why is it that so many of the magazines, books, media guides and such are listed on ebay with RIDICULOUS starting prices? This doesn't even consider that there is usually a steep, but relatively fair shipping charge to mail these larger and heavier items. Are these sellers privy to a secret to selling these types of items that I have yet to discover???

I have tried to GIVE AWAY magazines and books frequently and rarely have takers willing to reimburse me for the cost of postage, yet ebay sellers continue to ask $5, $10 and more for these items, plus $3-10 shipping charges. Obviously there are a few items I am mildly interested in from time to time, otherwise this would not be a topic worth discussing. Yet, I watch many of these relisted over and over at the same asking price.

What are these people thinking?

On an somewhat related note, I have to wonder about the seller who has an unsigned candid photo of Steve Garvey in a 70s leisure suit with a 3x5 autograph listed for $100 BIN/OBO!!! That item has been relisted at least 10 times. I even tried to coach the seller out of pity, suggesting they check other recent ebay sales for similar and adjust their pricing appropriately (No, I don't want the item, but just seeing it listed there for $100 is painful and embarrassing to me).

 

[TheDogHollerer]

On an somewhat related note, I have to wonder about the seller who has an unsigned candid photo of Steve Garvey in a 70s leisure suit with a 3x5 autograph listed for $100 BIN/OBO!!! That item has been relisted at least 10 times. I even tried to coach the seller out of pity, suggesting they check other recent ebay sales for similar and adjust their pricing appropriately (No, I don't want the item, but just seeing it listed there for $100 is painful and embarrassing to me).

You think that is bad, check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300257361319&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Now, I am an avid autographed hat collector, and Piersall's hats generally sell for $15 to $30 delivered.... don't just look at the price, check out the shipping and handling....

And like the Garvey, this auction has been listed time and time again... and the price has actually gone up!

 

[OriolesFan8]

I agree. I have Becketts from three or four years in the attic. I'd like to get rid of them, but after seeing threads here, I decided not to even list them. I probably will either recycle them or have my 6 years old cut out the color player pictures and make a collage.

As far as the Ebay sellers, I think it is the same with a genre of sellers, it's the "I'll list this item and eventually someone who hasn't done their research will buy it at my overinflated price". Good luck there.

Garvey in a leisure suit, Groovy.

Todd

 

[jaderock]

If any of you have tried to rid yourself of one of the bulkiest collectibles out there, printed material, and have had similar experiences as I have, you'll probably agree with this. Why is it that so many of the magazines, books, media guides and such are listed on ebay with RIDICULOUS starting prices? This doesn't even consider that there is usually a steep, but relatively fair shipping charge to mail these larger and heavier items. Are these sellers privy to a secret to selling these types of items that I have yet to discover???

I have tried to GIVE AWAY magazines and books frequently and rarely have takers willing to reimburse me for the cost of postage, yet ebay sellers continue to ask $5, $10 and more for these items, plus $3-10 shipping charges. Obviously there are a few items I am mildly interested in from time to time, otherwise this would not be a topic worth discussing. Yet, I watch many of these relisted over and over at the same asking price.

What are these people thinking?

In regards to magazines and media guides...what would you suggest a seller do? $3 to mail an SI magazine/meida guide is very reasonable. If you want to agrue that a magazine or media guide "true" value is $0.01 at AUCTION, then what would motivate a person to list it?

 

[HoosierBuddy]

In regards to magazines and media guides...what would you suggest a seller do? $3 to mail an SI magazine/meida guide is very reasonable. If you want to agrue that a magazine or media guide "true" value is $0.01 at AUCTION, then what would motivate a person to list it?

What motivates a person to continually list items that DO NOT SELL? If something doesn't sell by a second listing, odds are, it's not going to.

 

[mrmopar]

That is not even a GU hat, is it? It's just a Sox cap signed by a still living Piersall? Yes, that seems a bit steep!

You think that is bad, check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300257361319&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Now, I am an avid autographed hat collector, and Piersall's hats generally sell for $15 to $30 delivered.... don't just look at the price, check out the shipping and handling....

And like the Garvey, this auction has been listed time and time again... and the price has actually gone up!

And to jaderock, I am not suggesting a seller do anything. I agree that $3-4 for a common magazine (one that is not too bulky/heavy) is reasonable...any more is not. I am wondering why so many people list the items for so much. Rarely do they seem to sell and my point was that giving them away is hard enough, yet these sellers insist on trying to get so much. I have grabbed dozens of boxes of magazines from shops that were free for the taking and kept what I wanted and usually recycle the rest. Why, because they can't even sell them in their shops w/o shipping added on top!

Yes, I'd like to land a media guide or a magazine for a couple bucks with reasonable shipping, but to see them listed for $15 just makes me wonder. I should also note I am not talking about highly collected and popular publications either...I am talking about run of the mill stuff.

 

[mm1sub]

What motivates a person to continually list items that DO NOT SELL? If something doesn't sell by a second listing, odds are, it's not going to.

Probably the same thing that motivates people here to continually bump a thread for cards that no one is interested in.

 

[mrmopar]

There is always a chance something ignored for so long will move. It just takes the right person and time to create that perfect condition. However, here is just a little time and effort. On ebay, listing things that won't sell cost money!

 

[teammaddux]

I agree. I have Becketts from three or four years in the attic. I'd like to get rid of them, but after seeing threads here, I decided not to even list them. I probably will either recycle them or have my 6 years old cut out the color player pictures and make a collage.

As far as the Ebay sellers, I think it is the same with a genre of sellers, it's the "I'll list this item and eventually someone who hasn't done their research will buy it at my overinflated price". Good luck there.

Garvey in a leisure suit, Groovy.

Todd

I wonder if we can send them to Tim Carroll and have him cut them up into something pretty

 

[mrmopar]

I bet we could, but therein lies the dilemma. Shipping them is such an uneconomical means of disposal! I think the USPS got wise to the flat rate boxes and redesigned the medium box (which was PERFECT for sending up to a dozen or more at a time) to be just too small to fit most magazines!

 

[ckinney]

I have the same issue you do on buying books or magazines... there are a few I would be interested in, but I am not looking to spend 10x the original newstand price just on shipping alone... but maybe someone is.

You would think that eventually the amount they have spent out weighs the profit they will get.

I gave all my old mags to one of the teachers at my school, they use them for art projects.

- Chris

 

[teammaddux]

Depending on the box you send them in, would it not be cheaper to send them via media mail? Magazines fall under such circumstances.

John

 

[ckinney]

Depending on the box you send them in, would it not be cheaper to send them via media mail? Magazines fall under such circumstances.

John

Magazines do not qualify under media mail, something to do with the advertisments in them...

- Chris

 

[teammaddux]

hmmm. did not know that...i've always sent them as such.