ebay vs 'Marketplace'

This may stir up some lively summer exchanges! Do you think HL sales on ebay have cut down on the activity in the 'Marketplace' forum? For sure the prices seem to be dropping. Ebay or a glut of "below retail" sales?

Hi Deb, ... It seems several dealers have been listing their HL stock on eBay. I guess they feel they would rather move the stock at a lesser profit than holding on to it with the hope it will sell at retail. Overall prices seem to be down a little this summer. Less people are sitting at the computer and bidding on eBay. Maybe someone could back me up on this but I think eBay items bring more dollars between November and March than the rest of the year. That is the way it has been with the items I've sold on eBay.

I still think you should always check the Marketplace before you bid on HLs on eBay. At least the Marketplace prices are stable and you don't have to worry about participating in a bidding war.

Bob

Bob,

We can back you up on the fact that the prices that we have gotten between early November through March, and maybe a bit into April, are usually higher than we experience the rest of the year.


We have gotten some high prices during these months that we have been amazed at. We feel that the dealers (or whoever it is out there doing it) who are doing what we see as dumping their inventory at extremely low prices are absolutely affecting the values and probably the sales in the Forum Marketplace. But if we were absolutely honest about it, we have had better success dealing with people on eBay on HL's than we have in our dealings with folks through The Marketplace and we have discussed this at length with St. John. (Can you imagine what our illustrious leader hears from all of us and our varying thoughts and opinions? Aren't we all very happy he is a patient man!)


In areas other than HL's, we are amazed throughout the year at some of the high prices our other sales bring. But with eBay you never know and there really seems to be very little rhymn or reason, except in catagories such as HL's and other limited edition items.

Michael and Karen

Hi Mike & Karen, ... Ebay does have the advantage of the positive/negative feedback system. I have had great luck through eBay and also through the Marketplace. I was a little skeptical at first when I was just starting to deal through the Internet. It's a little hard to swallow when you're sending hundreds of dollars to someone you don't really know too much about. Fortunately, everything has worked out well so far. I must admit I try to deal with the "regulars" on the Forums. Another great indicator of a reliable person is the HL Reunion Directory. If they took the time and spent the money to attend the reunion, I feel they are a very safe bet to deal with.

No bad experiences yet at the Marketplace or eBay. (Knock on wood!)

Bob

Bob,

We attended both reunions but do not have a copy of a Reunion Directory to the best of our knowledge. Where does one go about getting a copy?

In our over 200 buys and sells on eBay, we have had only one problem and that was from some plants that Karen bought and the sellers flaked out on eBay completely.

Michael and Karen

I like having ebay. I've bought a couple of pieces from them and have been quite happy. What I do is check the Marketplace, check the places on the net that post prices for secondary pieces. This gives me a good idea of what to bid on ebay. If I don't get it on ebay, I go for the lowest price on Marketplace or the net. It's just one more check and balance.

Dixie

Right now eBay IS THE marketplace!! I have noticed that The forum asking prices are often very high, better to take my chances on being out bid. Could the overall prices be affected by the constant stream of new issues by Harbour Lights since mid April?? I think the amazing prices for the older HLs are still out there, the bucks are just being spent on new releases. Buy in July,Sell in Feb.
Buy On
Tucker

Although there are some GREAT deals on ebay, my experience is that some of the VERY BEST deals can be found through the Marketplace Forum. Sometimes it helps to ask sellers what else do they have.

I've found the Marketplace Forum and eBay both to sometimes be high, sometimes low. I would expect that anywhere different people participate in selling pieces the pricing may vary widely. Some people are fishing to see what the market will bear and others may be fire selling. That's why I 'track' the pieces I'm interested in.

Here's a good example of how some auctions don't make much sense when you think about it. Today a Grosse Point HL piece closed at 3 bids, $51.00 and $7.00 shipping, MIB. There is another Gross Point ready to close by tomorrow and it has 13 bids, it's up to $66.00, shipping is $8.50 and is also MIB. It seems to me that some bidding may just be reactionary. I don't get it.

Joanne

I've just finished up my first experience om E-Bay. So far sooo good! I agree though, it seems there is a wide variety of price swings for the same HL. I think it's a "i'm not going to lose" attitude...

Tony

You're right, Tony. The prices do vary for the same piece on eBay. Some folks don't like to gamble and set a reserve or minimum bid so high that it's almost cheaper to buy it elsewhere.

I've processed around 75 deals through eBay so far and every deal went just fine. It's a gamble. I found you do better when there is no reserve and the minimum bid is set low. Once you get a few different people bidding on an item it almost turns into a contest to see who will win the right to spend their money.

My advice for new eBay users is to bid on the deals, know the actual value of the item, don't over bid, and watch the "feedback" ratings. There are deals to be had!

Bob

I haven't been following this, so I don't know if this is taking place on EBay, but there are other things to watch for in varing prices among the same piece.

-Edition number: Some people put a higher value on a lower edition number. A piece with a double or triple digit number could drive a price higher than the same piece with a 4000 or 5000 edition number.

-Lightning Rod: Pieces with lightning rods generally sell for more than those without.

-Country of origin: Pieces that were made in Canada or California are generally worth more than those manufactured in China or Malaysia.

It may be necessary to look at any or all of these factors as well when trying to draw a conclusion about the disparity of bid prices on EBay. Then again, maybe not.

-Todd

I checked both auctions to see if it was because of a low number or lightning rod or missing certificates. Basically no difference between the two pieces.

Joanne

I agree with Todd in most cases but I just purchased a 3 digit HL which was not bid on.
The two others of the same HL with high numbers #7000 were heavily bid on (1 before and one after - within 24 hours)and went for more than the opening bid on mine. I offered $25 less than the opening bid and successfully completed the transaction. Vendor had over 65 successful transactions.
So be awake and not in a rush and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Do your research is now my motto.

I just had a great time purchasing some 'wanted' lighthouses both on eBay and Marketplace. Two were purchased on eBay - one current at below retail, one retired at below market and retail. These were from a dealer I have bought from before so I trust the quailty. Two were purchased through the Marketplace - both retired - one at retail/market and one below retail/market. I am a trusting soul so I believe these will also be in great shape. (Shipping charges are ignored.)

Using both resources and the Greenbook price guide and Collector's Value Guide books for current prices I feel I did pretty good. I feel getting what you want for what you want to pay just takes time and some effort. Without my computer and the Internet I probably would not have been able to add to my collection as much as I have in the past year. Although I would have more money in the bank.

Jim