Just wanted to rustle up a little discussion about these.  (I'm talking about the long-term BIN-only items, maybe I'm using the wrong term.)

I hate them.
People put in items with absurd prices and let them sit forever.
On some searches, tons come up, and the prices are so crazy, I don't even bother looking.
I know, no one's forcing you to look or buy, and for single item targeted searches, you can use a price limit to filter.

But still, for less targeted searches a price limit doesn't work well.  And if someone were to ever put an item in with a reasonable price, I'd never find it.  And I suspect some sellers put a 'stupid price' item in the store, then put one out for auction to make it seem like a great deal ("Hey I can win this one for only $40, where the store is charging $80 for it!  What a deal!").  And it's just plain aggravating to have someone saying, "Sure, I've got one, and you can have it...for only $90!"

What are the eBay terms for these items, anyway?  Aren't there any meaningful charges or time limits for these time and space wasters?

I've actually gotten some nice deals from eBay stores, myself.

But, that aside, I think that the idea is good - a common marketplace where anyone can set up a "store" without mucking about getting a domain, finding the right web-template, then hoping for the best with whatever host they have and the added advantage of having a nearly built-in clientele.

Not too shabby, IMO.

mbassoc2003 wrote:eBay shouldn't be just a list of stuff people want to sell quickly, and its a great leveller as far as price goes. Items find their own value in the market and if the price is 'too high' then something won't sell.

Reality is proving this untrue, however.  Regular joes selling on eBay look up to these stores, and are starting to use them as a price guide.  So high prices in eBay stores are translating into high prices on eBay, period.  The items aren't "finding their own value", so much as their value is rising to approximate the price set in the stores.

mbassoc2003 wrote:

deimos3428 wrote:Reality is proving this untrue, however.  Regular joes selling on eBay look up to these stores, and are starting to use them as a price guide.  So high prices in eBay stores are translating into high prices on eBay, period.  The items aren't "finding their own value", so much as their value is rising to approximate the price set in the stores.

I could see that there may be a possible 'sway' in values of rares, but when you're talking about the bulk of what everyone buys on eBay, competition keeps prices as low as economically possible.

Our view as a board is distorted by our focus on the rare and collectable. And these items inevitably attract a higher price tag.

I don't hold out any hope of owning an ST1, Woody, etc., but I won't be pissed off or complain if someone sticks one on eBay at a $3K BIN. And if it happens to sit there for six months, I don't think that'll affect prices one bit.

I Agree, also there is enough of the common stuff on auction already and usually starts at much lower bids, not higher!

mbassoc2003 wrote:

deimos3428 wrote:Reality is proving this untrue, however.  Regular joes selling on eBay look up to these stores, and are starting to use them as a price guide.  So high prices in eBay stores are translating into high prices on eBay, period.  The items aren't "finding their own value", so much as their value is rising to approximate the price set in the stores.

I could see that there may be a possible 'sway' in values of rares, but when you're talking about the bulk of what everyone buys on eBay, competition keeps prices as low as economically possible.

Our view as a board is distorted by our focus on the rare and collectable. And these items inevitably attract a higher price tag.

I don't hold out any hope of owning an ST1, Woody, etc., but I won't be pissed off or complain if someone sticks one on eBay at a $3K BIN. And if it happens to sit there for six months, I don't think that'll affect prices one bit.

    I agree with everything Ian says  
    No matter what you price your item at, in the end the marketplace will correct itself.  It doesn't matter if one seller prices an L1 at $40, eventually lots will come along pricing the item at $9 and Seller #1 will sit on his L1 for a long time, if not forever.
    For an example take a look at Creepie's overpriced stock, it will sit in his store until eternity, he's only paying a quarter a year to have it there, but I really don't think it's having any sort of effect on prices for those items he's unrealistically pricing.
    I actually think prices in auctions sell for prices lower than the norm the majority of times. This is because of the compressed time stuff is in an auction versus a store.  You have to hope not one, but TWO potential buyers spot your item the same week and duke it out to get an above average (or sometimes just average) price. However, in a store, an item can sit for several months until a potential buyer comes along who wants the item for the price you have listed.
  I've gotten to the point where I am going to drastically cut down on the items I list at auction vs ebay store.  Most of my auctions only sell for the opening bid, the kinds of items I sell are not "duke it out" types of items and generate little interest in that regard...whereas in my Ebay store, I get the price I want pretty much everytime, even if I sometimes have to wait several months.   I guess if I was selling more rares or lots, auctions would benefit me more, and that may the case of many sellers on Ebay nowadays.

Mike B.

Prufrock wrote:...It definately plays into how high I'm willing to bid.  If I see a certain item in several stores for $50 or higher that lets me set my high bid at $35 or so.  The higher the store prices the higher my high bid is...
Martin

Tis true of my behavior as well. I look on various sites where I know I can get said item for X, and I base what I am willing to pay on the quality, S/H, etc... of the item.

Prufrock wrote:If I see a certain item in several stores for $50 or higher that lets me set my high bid at $35 or so.  The higher the store prices the higher my high bid is.

If I set my store price for an item at $50 and it pushes up the price people are willing to bid, I have no problem with that. But as Mike says, the market always levels itself. It goes through peaks and troughs with a high over Winter and another in Early Autumn, and lows in between.

And bear in mind that the rares and collectables that the board looks is a completely different product from the bulk of D&D sales.

deimos3428 wrote:

mbassoc2003 wrote:eBay shouldn't be just a list of stuff people want to sell quickly, and its a great leveller as far as price goes. Items find their own value in the market and if the price is 'too high' then something won't sell.

Reality is proving this untrue, however.  Regular joes selling on eBay look up to these stores, and are starting to use them as a price guide.  So high prices in eBay stores are translating into high prices on eBay, period.  The items aren't "finding their own value", so much as their value is rising to approximate the price set in the stores.

Ditto. I got priced out of buying a white box set because a guy wanted 75% of what someone had listed it for in their store--which was at least 60% more than it was worth. Didn't want to hear about prints, condition, etc. Chapped my ass.

That said, I like the stores, overall.

A general rise in Ebay RPG prices is likely to continue for the near future.  It strikes me that the current wave of active collectors is mid-30's to mid-40's in age.  Guys who were 20 when the D20 wave hit are likely to start more hardcore collecting over the next several years.  I don't know what these guys will want to collect, but "old school" remains "old school" no matter how many new schools there are.  (I think that makes sense...yes.   )

Mark