Chris,

I couldn't disagree with you more. I'll use the analogy of musky fishing. Rarely do you land that 40 pounder, but when you do, it sure is a great day. This can be said for selling high end items on eBay. It's hit or miss. I know many dealers and private collectors who wait for free listing day because they have high high-end collectables that they don't want to lose at a lesser price than expected. The free listing day eliminated the risk. Sure, you saw some pieces that were listed at above market rate, but on the other hand, the "Best Offer" feature was usually enabled. This gave the potential buyer a chance to feel out the seller and come to terms. Sure, some folks jacked up the prices, but it was also cool to see some of the rare and high-end pieces people listed. If I wasn't interested, I kept scrolling down.

I know I was planning on listing some items for more than $9.99, and now I am not. I bet there are plenty of others who were upset to see the stipulation as well.

Also, I like to search by the highest price first. Now I'm not going to be able to see all the new high end material, if any, posted today.

What a joke. I don't see any upside in this whatsoever.

Ned
Milwaukee

Ned,
I agree with your points if you are a seller. If you look at what I wrote, I wrote that it makes for better eBay surfing. If you are a seller, you may not be too thrilled with this new stipulation of the Free Day.

I have seen far too many outrageously-priced min. bids after one of these Free Days take place to not support this new system.

If you list the item with a high min. bid and the "best offer" option, that's one thing and I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is when someone just lists an item with a crazy min. bid, even though there is no way anyone is going to pay that amount.

As a general rule, eBay is supposed to be an auction. When someone lists an item at 9.99, this auction format comes into play. When someone lists a $1000 item with a $1000 min. bid, it is no longer an auction, it's a fixed price sale.

Ned, I am not saying that you do this, as you said you use the best offer option... I am just saying that a lot of people misuse the free day.

Chris,

That's great - for me as a collector, I get to see some of the finest collectables out there. I may not agree with the price, but is this really that big of an issue. I'll admit, I'm a small timer who looks forward to this day for 2 main reasons. 1) To view and potentially obtain some of the great high end pieces you normally don't see on eBay. 2) To possibly list some of my items with the "risk" factor taken away.

If I see something I like, I'll use the "Best Offer" or I'll email the seller to see if there's any wiggle room. Not a big deal.

In my opinion, eBay has been pretty dry the last year or so. Not too many "fresh" items have surfaced due to auction houses, eBay rates, etc.

I think they are shooting themselves in the foot on this one. I know I won't be looking around today like I normally would on "Free Listing" day. Nobody is going to take chances with their good material. Plus, even though I haven't listed anything, I bet they charge you for the thumbnail. It's a wash for eBay.

I can't believe you are in favor of this Chris. There is no benefit to the eBay community!! This will stop sellers from listing anyting worthwhile and also make it harder for buyers to find anything if they do. I see no positives either way.

Props to eBay for creating a miserable day for the community.

Ned
Milwaukee

Wow Ned...
You can't honestly mean to tell me that there are no positives to this day.
No matter what, more items will be listed today than a normal Wednesday. And there WILL be some nicer items listed that you normally wouldn't see, due to the higher quantity listed today. Also, the majority of items listed will sell due to the 9.99 min bids.

Either way you slice it, it is still a Free Listing day... let me stress the word "Free." eBay doesn't have to have this day.

I totally agree that eBay is getting much lighter, in terms of high-quality items... Chalk that up to the major auction houses.

Chris,

Take off your blinders! They're charging 35 cents to make up for the lost money on the insertion fee. It's a gimmick!

And if you like cheap items, today is your lucky day! Folks will think they're getting a deal when they're only saving a nickel and list low end stuff with a thumbnail. Thrilling! None of the big boys will start anything of significance at $9.99 and let it ride. It just doesn't happen anymore. Today is just like any other day on eBay (minus 5 cents and a guaranteed photo).

Ned

I don't mind its new system with this free listing day... I am sticking to that... That said, I think eBay's big problem is that they charge way too much to put a reserve in an auction. I think that if the reserve fees were cheaper you would start seeing better items and less shill bidding.

Now we're on the same page in regards to the fees.

I'd like your opinion tomorrow after all is said and done regarding what you saw listed today. So far on my end, nobody has taken the time to "risk" anything of value in my realm. I'm a Wisconsin collector such as yourself and enjoy unique items from all years.

Happy hunting Chris,

Ned

You know the saying that there is no free lunch? Well, there is no "free listing" in this instance. The point Ned made about paying for the .35 cent Gallery feature is well taken, it makes the listing fee, well, not quite free. This may be semantics, but EBAY basically said that we are giving a free picture gallery item to you who list items with a starting bid of $9.99 or less.

PROS: There maybe some sellers who put out stuff with a smaller opening bid to take advantage of the "special".

CONS: This is not the type of sale that brings out some more of the nicer, expensive stuff.

REALITY: They will probably have a higher than typical sales when compared to an average Wednesday during the summer.

This particular listing special does not get me that excited. It is not a super great deal.

I do not see a sellers personal strategy as misusing the free listing day in the past, I see it as just a personal strategy. If someone wants to list a 1987 TOPPS Barry Bonds card for $3000, go ahead and let them, they are not misusing anything, they are just a victim of their own poor judgement as they flush any hopes of a sale down the drain. EBAY sellers are like small businesses: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

These EBAY promotions are starting to morph more often than before with little twists, little caveats. Expect this trend to continue. I would not be suprised to see the next "Free Listing" to come with different stipulations than this one.

If an EBAY promotion makes sense for me, I will utilize it. This particular listing special was not good enough for me to list a bunch of stuff, or anything.

Good buyers and good sellers need to be patient and pick their spots.

After some EBAY surfing today, I noticed something interesting.

593- The number of signed Phil Rizzuto items listed on EBAY(not including the stores).

380- The number of all signed Pittsburgh Pirates items listed on EBAY(not including stores).

There is a ton of signed Rizzuto stuff out there. I would expect single signed baseballs to hold their value more than most items.

RIP Scooter.