Understanding eBay's Place in the Collectibles Trade + What Should & Should Not be Sold on eBay!

[@MetalBum]

No one else covers collectibles with the long term historic and financial mindset like Shawn does. Thanks

[@bat2275]

My biggest mistake back in 1997 when I joined eBay was not hiring 20 people to help me flip more items quicker

[@raph-retro-comics]

Great video Shawn. I remember my early days on eBay as a seller and it was the 'Golden Age'. There was a lot less competition as there was a technological barrier for a lot of sellers. This was a time where digital cameras were expensive AND took terrible pictures. People didn't know how to upload images to an image hosting web server or use basic HTML. Couple that with a large buyer base and everything was selling. If you were a reliable seller who shipped on time and was accurate with your descriptions, you did exceptionally well.

[@ReservedInvestments]

💯

[@sunstruck]

Would love to hear you talk more about ebay. Thank you Sir

[@drathicusrex7244]

My first eBay sale was in 2007 - $60 for a Johnny Carson / Tonight Show Mug I paid 50 cents for at Goodwill. Ah the good ol’ days…

[@MISTERCARDMAN1]

Great video! I would love to hear more about your opinions on ebay and what you recommend to sell there and other places where we can sell antiques and collectibles and get more money for our items.

[@TheOriginalKvhups]

Another great one Shawn. Thanks a lot. Yeah! It is amazing to hear you talk about Ebay 👍

[@The9.9Newsstand]

I think of you as a neeesh guy, rather than a nitch guy. But my love for you is unconditional, and I won’t let that get between us. lol just havin’ a laugh. Great video!

[@stevenewsome5306]

I didn’t know the origins of buy it now. Such a cool video. I would love more on this topic. Thanks Shawn

[@markfiala6730]

Please more content like this

[@MetalBum]

MOOOOOAAAARRR

[@stevenewsome5306]

🎤🔥In the midnight hour she screams more more more. With a reserved investments yell she screams more more more. More more moooore 🎤 🔥

[@dansxmencomics]

Same

[@rickmiles5297]

The nice part about selling expensive cards on eBay over $250 is it gets authenticated by eBay so if you set it to no returns, the sale is final once ebay recieves the card and sends it to the customer.

[@drprocess2989]

As always, very informative and appreciate the history lesson! Thanks, Shawn!

[@crispyboi5341]

As someone who just recently opened a coin shop on eBay and has sold about 20 coins I can safely say it’s a great website to liquidate however the cut that eBay takes eliminates almost all profit margin. Word of advice, if you are gonna list on eBay wait until the value of the item exceeds 40% profit margin. Trust me

[@schoo9256]

This is so true. Every time I do the calculations I see it's just not worth it for lower level items and sell elsewhere. It makes me resent selling anything higher priced on Ebay!

[@geeksurge]

Thanks for a great video, as always! I'd love to hear a more detailed discussion of where you draw the dividing lines between Ebay and consignment auction houses, as well as more about which categories have strong alternative online platforms.

[@hartspot009]

Another great lesson on the Ebay-verse!

[@tatankaiyotake2098]

Great advice, lots of useful ideas to expand upon. I have used all from Hertiage to Great Collections. You need a strategy for each one. Also, Ebay does have its place in the market. Excellent work on its limitations as well.

[@heythere1626]

Would love to see your opinion on Vintage Silver Pours within the last 5-7 years some of these bars have 10x in value, people are paying multiple hundreds to thousands per OZ of silver on some of these pours. Thank You love all the videos!

[@MetalBum]

Wet interesting thanks for taking us deeper into these sales places and auction houses etc.

[@UKDark_Mark]

Excellent video again, thank you. I think eBay probably touches all our lives at some point; any chance of more content on it please?

[@jedirun]

very informative video, thank you :)

[@Mindokwin]

Conversely, certain antique items were common and cheap on eBay back in the. late 90's and early 2000s that are now almost absent and expensive,

[@forgottenhobbies]

Excellent point. I would like to see a follow-up on what it should be avoided for.

[@mymixture965]

I started on Ebay in 99 and it was exactly as you said. Jesus, that was really easy money🙂 I am sure that many sellers want the old times back.

[@fatheadcat9958]

It still is. You just have to move with the trends.

[@HoneyBunny-69]

@@fatheadcat9958 No it isn't! Ebay's higher rates make it so much more difficult to make a profit, the fact that a seller has to fill out tax forms to claim the amount of income a seller has earned, and how much Ebay has catered to retailers. Ebay SUCKS now!!

[@Ontario100]

Really enjoying this series. Where do you see Great Collections in the scheme of things? Thanks !

[@ReservedInvestments]

Specialty auction house.

[@monkey39128]

Wow, been selling on eBay for about 12 years (Since I was 16/17) and I didn't know half of this stuff. Very interesting.

[@esurfrider7687]

I think you could absolutely elaborate on Ebay tricks of the trade

[@jaybjorklund7338]

Great video. More eBay. I use it a lot and haven't run into issues yet but I'm sure I'm due.

[@Johnny_Ultimate]

That was a good analysis. I'm an ebay seller myself. Just about 10 years now. Pretty much sold every kind of thing there is, at this point. However my focus is Video games, vintage PC games and CD's. Video games speak for themselves but I wonder if you have some expanded thoughts on CD sales? My own thoughts are that we're on the cusp of a massive resurgence in CD popularity for, I think, some clear reasons. Those being: Nostalgia, the cost of streaming, general subscription fatigue, and lack of a tangible good to hold on to. I also think it's an obvious picking ground for "rarity hunting". Finally, I think it's just the next *thing* that hasn't been over exposed in the market place. I would very much appreciate your thoughts on what I mentioned and if you could add to them your own thoughts and discuss. Thank you.

[@cryptomon86]

What data or trend supports your thesis

[@Johnny_Ultimate]

@@cryptomon86 anecdotal. My own experiences.

[@Johnny_Ultimate]

@@cryptomon86 I wasn't talking to you.

[@cryptomon86]

@@Johnny_Ultimate get rekt loser

[@lowrollerscratcher3563]

Did you see a guy found wilt chamberlains rookie card in their basement. They graded scg 10. Now it sold 1.7 million dollars. Would you expect see this story in the future. A person found sports card their basement and became millionaire overnight.

[@andrewvanness1473]

I’m a full time collector these days. Great channel to follow for people who wish to do the same.

[@Minilopo18]

ebay is where i breakdown lower grade bulk lots of coins i buy off traditional auction houses. its a clearance outlet for several dealers in the ancient coin market in the UK

[@tomneijnens4048]

Thank you very much

[@michaelsacaccio]

Have you ever purchased on WhatNot ? I'm guessing not, but would like to hear your thoughts on the platform

[@ReservedInvestments]

I am not a fan of the overall platform...a video may be coming soon. I don't like to put out negative videos so I am split on how to present it without being too negative.

[@lowrollerscratcher3563]

What do you think upper Deck lose their marvel license in 2025? How does it effect upper Deck marvel card since they lost their license. Now fanatics and topps own marvel license in 2025?

[@DangerMousesEyePatch]

Shawn how's it going, what's the optimal grade for a vintage sports card?

[@CardCollectorOne]

It depends on the card. He has a video on optimal collecting grade and how to determine it.

[@DangerMousesEyePatch]

@@CardCollectorOne I think he covered CGC graded comics which was a 9.2/9.4 but I don't recall him mentioning sports cards. It's a vintage sports card, actually cut out from a magazine. I don't want to mention the card in the comments for obvious reason

[@bluemountain33]

Shaun what is your preferred ebay dollar amount limit as a seller? Thanks.

[@realryal8317]

Great video thanks

[@jaybjorklund7338]

Also i have a buddy that wants to get into selling vintage collectible sniper scopes. Is that a mature market like firearms ? Or is that speculative ? Thanks

[@monkeh86]

Unfortunately, in the UK ebay is still really the only option, we haven't got any well known alternatives to sell on which a lot of people would flock to.

[@troytutti5415]

More please

[@christophernash8221]

Interesting. I assume Funko Pops fall into the same categories of goods best for eBay? Awesome vid brother!

[@ReservedInvestments]

💯

[@Minilopo18]

Also ebay price arbitrage can be had if you can competently take a photo. Its amazing how many people dont display their products properly. Could you talk about photography and its importance to actually selling stuff? I find it amazing how lazy some people are and how much money they leave on the table not doing it properly

[@bd2864]

What’s the value cutoff for listing on eBay instead of Hake’s?

[@ReservedInvestments]

I put it at around $1K to $2K.

[@PeperonyChease]

Scammer buyers seem common in the US. Ive been selling in Australia for years over 1000 items now probably and never had an issue.

[@indivisibleman8596]

Ebay doesn't always side with fraudulent buyers. I won all disputed transactions against my sales to date, and no longer stock certain items to sell because of that seller experience.

[@zachb6135]

What’s your go-to defence against fraudulent buyers?

[@onetime3137]

Has reserved investments used WHATNOT? If so curious what u and others think about it.

[@ReservedInvestments]

Won’t touch it…

[@sidneyrivera3578]

The “AI” feature on eBay is making listing faster, but most sellers are leaving out details on the “exact” item for sale. Beware.

[@ricardoblikman2676]

I had ebay taking my money for boosterboxes without customer return then they delete the SALE and act like they dont know what you are talking about

[@rocketfighter8]

I won my first auction on eBay in 2001. I have over 1700 purchases.

[@Johndeplume.]

Shawn (and I open this up to the floor too)... what are your opinions on how Ebay charge their fees? For example... Ebay collect all taxes, charge an international currency conversion fee (where applicable) and bundle all that up, and charge their fees based off the cost of item, shipping, and all taxes that are included! They are making money off taxes. That is, surely, illegal in most jurisdictions! It might be convenient for U.S. sellers not to have to deal with the various (local) state taxes, but for the rest of the World, their fees on taxes are criminal. The seller, in turn, passes these fees on to the buyer (including setting international shipping costs high enough to cover fees). For certain products, Ebay is definitely worth it (for now), but their fees are creeping up, and the slice of the pie they take from the seller are getting to the point that it's much better to sell most things elsewhere.

[@rickmiles5297]

I flip on ebay fulltime with 2 people. It can still be done but it's a job.

[@jabezcreed]

Comic book people freaked out when eBay simplified the listings

[@PickUps]

Please add a shocked expression of you face to your thumbnail for maximum algorithmic appeal

[@UrAveragePlayer0]

Why does it seem like you have the opinion that manufactured rarity isn’t absolute rarity?

[@DeltaFH]

I think you forgot eBay

[@davidkennedy6612]

Ebay is dead. Most things don't sell. Buyers want items for nothing. Their fees are way to high. I give it 5 years

[@falsedichotomies]

Been hearing this for 15 years now... if your stuff isn't selling, you're selling the wrong stuff or it's proced too high. Try searching for your item, sorting by lowest price, and listing yours for $1 less than the lowest current price in comparable condition.

[@ToGuyFor]

Furrrrrrst

[@penguinlust6749]

I made a small killing buying and selling Magic the Gathering and early Games Workshop models/figures in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As to modern eBay, does the "Authenticated by eBay" change how to approach eBay as far as not quite at the bottom low end collectibles goes (I think the minimum is now $250), at least as far as the categories it covers are concerned?

[@KeyKiller74]

Now there known as Fee-bay