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Here's a couple of images I've borrowed from eBay of the very first Batman card from the '60s. This one card has an asking price of $199, plus p&p $17.23, and import charges of $50.28. That translates as £146.65, £12.63, and £36.93 respectively. However, another one has an asking price of - wait for it - $1,995, which is approximately £1,462.88. Postage is $57.75, which equals £42.35. Import cost isn't specified, as it says that international postage may be subject to... additional charges.
Now as we all know, an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and nobody's twisting their arm to buy it. However, do you think that some sellers are opportunistically exploiting the compulsive desire of those who are desperate to reunite with an aspect of their past; in short, out-and-out crooks who have no shame in asking for ridiculously high prices for items of nostalgic interest - or are they only ordinary businessmen trying to earn an honest buck?
Here's another question for you. Even if you could afford to, would you ever be prepared to spend an extravagantly-inflated amount like those above for something that you desperately wanted to own, or would you be able to resist the siren call to part with your money for something that originally cost mere pennies or shillings? Would you even be tempted? Feel free to make your views known in the comments section if you'd be so good.
23 comments:
Simply outrageous surely no one would be daft enough to buy a cheap card at that price. To be honest who would be the numpty in that scenario the guy selling or buying ( answer, it's the latter). I wouldn't buy it at that price even if I could afford it . Even if it was say a comic ( I don't collect cards) that I wanted I wouldn't pay anything near that kind of figure, £20 is my max in anything like this ( not counting someone selling FF issue 1 for £100 etc of course)
I find the fact that someone would even consider that card as being worth that amount of money simply staggering. However, gotta be honest and say that if there was something I really wanted (and could afford it with no hardship), I'd probably pay a bit more than it was usually worth. I've done so in the past, but the things I bought (comics usually) were nowhere near the amount of the more expensive Batman card.
I'm glad I bought two sets of the deluxe reissue of those cards back in 1989. They're probably worth quite a bit themselves nowadays. That's 32 years ago, so the time between then and now is longer than the time between the originals and then ('89).
I think we've all paid a bit more than we should have for things Kid but not massive amounts. I actually picked up a comic yesterday for waaay too much too much for me Daredevil issue 33 £19, I thought the sticked price was £10 ( didn't have my glasses) but was in a rush to get my train home to watch the Scotland game so just bought it, nice comic though
Well, that was still within your £20 limit, McS. I've paid many times more for a small handful of classic comics - sometimes more than they'd usually cost - simply because I wanted them in my collection ASAP and wasn't prepared to wait. Part of me thinks it's silly, but another part wants to complete a run so I fork out. I might not think the comics are worth what I've paid, but the higher prices are usually in an auction when several people are chasing an item. I'd rather have the comics than the money though.
That said, unless I was a millionaire (and maybe not even then), there's no way I'd pay well over a grand for a Batman card.
I've bought several comics totalling over £20 in one go. Years ago (1987 ish) I picked up 25 issues of Smash ( some Wham and Pows) for £55 but that was just over £2 a copy, but that was a fair amount back then But I balanced it out ( in my mind lol) by not going out that weekend with my pals. But I really object to silly prices like this.
These cards must've suddenly shot up in price, McS, 'cos they didn't cost as much just a couple or so years ago (that I recall anyway). All it takes is one person who can afford it to pay over the odds for something, and suddenly every seller thinks that's what the item's worth. No, it only means that price was no object to one person who really wanted something and didn't care what it cost. I suspect that's what's happened in this case.
Yeah that is indeed the issue if some rich dude wants to pay hundreds of pounds for a small card rtf then that's the game over for others.
Some sellers still keep a sense of perspective on price, but others are just mercenary in their approach. I've had some great bargains on ebay, and paid far less for various items than what they were 'supposed' to be worth. It still knocks me for six, though, when I see vastly overpriced stuff like this.
Incidentally, I've now found where I stashed that Leopard book, and I've now got another - Black Max Vol. 2. I'd like them to go to a forever home, but if you're going to pass them on once you've read them, would you give them to a charity shop? If you're going to keep them though, no problem. They're heavy books, so I reckon postage would be about a tenner. If you're not keeping them, might not be worth the expense to you. You can let me know.
I've never bought a single comic book online (unless you count Mile High), though I have bought many collected volumes off Amazon almost exclusively. The most I ever paid for a single comic was fifty bucks way back in the 1980's for Avengers #4. It was a big price form me then but a bargain all the same. The clerk wanted to renege but the price was clearly marked and the owner of the store stood by it. I've paid more than I'd have liked at times for collections and portfolios, but I will not pay stupid money for any collectible, though others might disagree with me on that who are not into the hobby.
I've noticed that Mile High can be quite expensive, RJ. They were selling a UK Marvel Annual for well-over £400 once, with £50-odd quid postage on top. You can get them on ebay for around a tenner, though it depends on condition obviously. I think so-called 'normal' people would consider anything over a tenner far too expensive for a collectable, but the buyer then has the item forever, whereas some people can spend £80 or £100 (and more) on a night out at the weekend and then only have a headache and amnesia to show for it.
There is a very big eBay bookseller* who sometimes increase their price AFTER someone adds it to their watch list. I've watched books from them a few times, either because I wasn't sure if I really needed it or couldn't decide if I'd read it before, and when I've went back to eBay the price has increased (on one occasion from around £4 to £20). That, I think is exploitative and underhand. I don't give them my custom anymore unless it's a) something I really want, and b) something I can't find anywhere else.
*their name may rhyme with 'Curled of Books'.
Something else that astound me is the price for P&P that some sellers charge. I saw one earlier in the week charging £5.90 for first class postage for a paperback novel! As a seller myself, I know that you don't want to leave yourself out of pocket by undercharging, but it costs £1.53 to send a paperback book by second-class post- by all means add a bit to cover the cost of packing material, but £5.90? Crazy talk.
They talk about their prices changing regularly to reflect 'market forces', DS, which means if they see someone else selling the same book on ebay for a higher price than them, they raise theirs to match it. And most of the time they use a stock photo, with the small print at the bottom of the page explaining that you might receive a different edition from the one pictured. Total chancers.
Speaking of p&p, I was charged around £5.90 postage for something I bought recently, but the price on the RM label said £1.64. As the wrapping was all pre-used with old addresses covered over, the extra £4.24 can't be accounted for by 'packing' costs. If the sellers are using brand-new material for wrapping, then obviously I don't mind them covering their costs, but some sellers take the biscuit.
If I have been looking for something for many years and it turns up on eBay at slightly more than I think it's worth I throw in the towel and just buy it.
If it's a price that looks like a computer key was stuck when the listing was made and it's ten or more times what it's worth it's easy to resist.
The one thing eBay is good for, is opening up the world wide search possibilities which is greater than magazine listings or touring around the country used to offer. Sooner or later pretty much anything you search for will turn up at a reasonable price.
Very true, T47 - about reasonable prices I mean. I only ever pay more than an item's really worth when I don't have the patience to wait for a less expensive example to turn up. I'm not getting any younger (who is?) and I'd like to complete some of my collections while I've hopefully still got a good few years ahead of me to appreciate and enjoy them.
I suppose it all comes down to what the market would bear. Anyone buying trading cards at those prices is either a dyed-in-the-wool fan who has lost touch with reality (and/or has won the lottery) or a serious investor looking for the very best quality version out there, where paying the asking price sets the bar for a future sale. Was the Batman card CGC certified, Kid?
If I recall rightly, it was in a sealed plastic case with the letters 'PSA' on it, B. Still far too expensive in my view.
I have that card, and most of the set, and I would never consider selling. Even if I thought some mug would pay a grand or more for the privilege. Same for the recent Dalek reprint - still to be found in some Smiths for £9.99 but going on eBay for £20 or more.
I've seen some sellers asking for nearly £50 for it, M. Some people have no shame.
The Dalek mag I mean.
Profiteers.
Is probably too polite a word for them, M.
I live in the US and have seen sellers trying to sell stuff for a ridiculous(sp.) amount of money. "There's a sucker born every minute" or however the saying goes. It's unreal.
It's the same over here, unfortunately. Seems as if a crook is born every minute too.
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