Ebay BIN- Where on Earth do they get these prices?

[Monster Bob]

$2999.99 for a "generic" Universal Park Phantom nodder. Buy It Now...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AWESOME-VINTAGE-PHANTOM-OF-THE-OPERA-NODDER-BOBBLEHEAD-PAPER-MACHE-JAPAN-/310376108814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4843db930e


"NOT THE DICK TRACY HOLY GRAIL BUT CLOSE"

Uhhh...yeah. To who? So where do these sellers come up with these prices? Three grand. Really. One of the most common sixties nodders, and especially in the Monster genre. There are more "mint/old store stock" examples of this particular nodder around than "used" examples (because, I assume, that they didn't sell well initially). So drop the decimal point back a space ($299.99) honey, and you'll be closer to it, and might actually sell it. Hmmmm. Maybe she just read "1960s Phantom nodder" and a price somewhere (and they meant the Lon Chaney Phantom nodder), and she came up with this? I don't know. But the bulk of ebay "Buy It Now" sellers these days have their head up their ass. That I know. And they say there is a recession....Pffft.

[ICEMANN333]

DOE'S NOT KNOW THE MONSTER MARKET............. I SOLD SAME THING 500.00 ----  BIG JOHN

[Hepcat]

But the bulk of ebay "Buy It Now" sellers these days have their head up their ass. That I know.

That about sums it up.

[Radioactive Rod Whitenack]

I guess it's fair to ask whatever you want, and hope there's some crazy fool out there snorting coke and surfing the Internet with too much money who needs to get rid of some of it. It's unlikely, but I guess crazier things have happened. It's more likely that people on monster websites will post about how crazy the seller must be.

[Monster Bob]

Yes, a seller can ask what they want, but when something has an well-established value and track record, to ask 10X retail is ludicrous. And there are dozens of them if not hundreds in Monster stuff alone. And so, this stuff will continue to clog my searches...as plaque clogs my arteries.

[Universal_Adam]

I find that most people on Ebay want rediculous prices.  Especially with the 8 inch sideshow figures.  You are lucky to find any for under 40.00 and lucky to find a Dracula for under 75.00.
Its crazy when I see stuff that is constantly relisted and make a (what I think is reasonable) offer, and these people won't take any less, it's like they are holding out for someone to pay that much and it just isn't happening.

[Anton Phibes]

But there is a problem that we, as buyers, arent looking at. The Specialty brick and mortars are few and far between. Ebay is a worldwide market on top of that. There are also only a limited number of vintage collectibles out there. If the seller in question isnt "in a hurry" to get his/her funds---then they can put these ridiculously high prices on things.... and sit back until someone with money to burn comes along.

When I was younger---money was no object when it came to my collection. Now---money is the only object. if I cannot get it at a reasonable rate: then I just dont buy it.

But there is a flip side to this argument. I also sell things from time to time on ebay. There are professional rip off artists/folks who cry poor when they have plenty of cash that are buying things on ebay. Folks who send messages bemoaning the high price of items, and beg for you to sell an item cheaper. This crap gets old. Especially if you already have an item marked reasonably.

I had someone message me recently asking me "whats the absolute lowest you will take for this item?" The item was a mint 1950's Disney item. I told her if she wanted one cheaper, I had one in lesser grade marked very reasonably, and she could purchase it instead. Not the answer she wanted. She disappeared and someone paid what I was looking to get for the item the next day. It wouldnt surprise me in the least if this seller has had to deal with these shenanigans....so he is pulling a few of his own just to get back at this crowd of re-sellers.

Not taking either side, mind you....but I have been a seller and a buyer. Neither are without their pitfalls. I doubt this fella will ever sell this item. He probably realizes he wont either. But is it really any less ludicrous than this listing?:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Michael-Jackson-Thriller-Signed-Vincent-Price-/170686287855?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bdb20fef#ht_739wt_1185

[michblk]

I wish there was a way in eBay that I could restrict items that I have already looked as they continue to come up in my search month after month of someone asking a price I'm not willing to pay.

BK

[Dr.Terror]

I think there has been an epidemic of overpriced Monster item BINs on Ebay.  I've even seen common stuff like Remco Frankensteins listed for a couple hundred.  It's gotten really bad with masks also.   My opinion, too much exposure over the last few years so folks outside the monster world think anything oldish and monster related is a gold mine.  I know for a fact that's whats happened to Don Post masks.   Now every junk dealer in the world thinks because a mask is stamped Don Post that it's worth hundreds of dollars.

I think they pull the prices out of their Azz's

[Monsters For Sale]

The seller IS taking offers.  Maybe he is listing at what he knows is a rdiculous BIN just to establish some kind of realistic market value for insurance reasons or to be able to set a price for someone outside of eBay who wants to buy it from him.

And if someone wants it bad enough to pay the full amount, that would be OK with him, too.

_______________________________________________________________________

I have had a lot of luck making low offers - especially near the end of auctions with too high BIN's that no one else even tried to make an offer on.  I've got a number of such items for anywhere from 40% down to 33% of asking.

It never hurts to ask.

[Wolfman]

Hey, at least the shipping is free! LOL

But there is a problem that we, as buyers, arent looking at. The Specialty brick and mortars are few and far between. Ebay is a worldwide market on top of that. There are also only a limited number of vintage collectibles out there. If the seller in question isnt "in a hurry" to get his/her funds---then they can put these ridiculously high prices on things.... and sit back until someone with money to burn comes along.

When I was younger---money was no object when it came to my collection. Now---money is the only object. if I cannot get it at a reasonable rate: then I just dont buy it.

But there is a flip side to this argument. I also sell things from time to time on ebay. There are professional rip off artists/folks who cry poor when they have plenty of cash that are buying things on ebay. Folks who send messages bemoaning the high price of items, and beg for you to sell an item cheaper. This crap gets old. Especially if you already have an item marked reasonably.

I had someone message me recently asking me "whats the absolute lowest you will take for this item?" The item was a mint 1950's Disney item. I told her if she wanted one cheaper, I had one in lesser grade marked very reasonably, and she could purchase it instead. Not the answer she wanted. She disappeared and someone paid what I was looking to get for the item the next day. It wouldnt surprise me in the least if this seller has had to deal with these shenanigans....so he is pulling a few of his own just to get back at this crowd of re-sellers.

Not taking either side, mind you....but I have been a seller and a buyer. Neither are without their pitfalls. I doubt this fella will ever sell this item. He probably realizes he wont either. But is it really any less ludicrous than this listing?:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Michael-Jackson-Thriller-Signed-Vincent-Price-/170686287855?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27bdb20fef#ht_739wt_1185

[bigbud]

The BIN has been a thorn since it started. There is a prompt that I  hit that says "Auctions only". It cuts out 75% of the items (BINs) in the category you are searching, but the prices are acceptable. BIN is a great ego boost...."Look what I got". They don't really expect to sell the item, just show off what they have......and then, maybe an absolute fool will come along, so they fantasize.

[Monsters For Sale]

The BIN has been a thorn since it started. There is a prompt that I  hit that says "Auctions only". It cuts out 75% of the items (BINs) in the category you are searching, but the prices are acceptable. BIN is a great ego boost...."Look what I got". They don't really expect to sell the item, just show off what they have......and then, maybe an absolute fool will come along, so they fantasize.

Many vendors are selling new stuff.  They just have a fixed price.  That could account for much of the 75% percentage.

BIN's can be a lot of fun.  There are a lot of vendors selling something they don't know anything about.  For some of them, anything rusty is an antique.  For some others, any old toy that once cost $1.98 couldn't possibly be worth more than twice the original price.

I once bought a just-minutes-before-listed Frankenstein ABG Pencil Sharpener (Purple) from a seller that listed it with the word "RARE" and included 4 large, clear pictures.  His price: $8.00 with FREE SHIPPING.  He was one of those sellers who demands immediate payment.  Until payment was completed anyone else could buy the item.  My fingers fairly shook as I tried to complete the transaction before someone else could.

EBay is like fishing in the ocean.  You never know what you might find.

(OK.  Before someone else says it:  It is also "like a box of chocolates".  There.  I said it.)

[John Pertwee]

I love the buy it now items that people with no idea what they have list. I missed out on an item when I was 17 that I really wanted. Last year, I found the Doctor Who Tardis Tuner radio with a buy it now of $15 and free shipping. I also love the listings with near miss spelling errors that nobody else checks.

[Radioactive Rod Whitenack]

The best deals I've ever gotten on ebay were items that were either misspelled in the listing or misidentified because the seller didn't know what he had. It does take some extra work and trial and error to find these listings. Sometimes you've got to get inside the head of someone trying to identify an item that they have no idea what to call. King Kong might be called a gorilla. Bionic Bigfoot might be called a "Star Wars" wookie. A Mattell Krusher might be called a "green lizard guy." You never know.