The eBay Buyer's Market

When the hammer fell on this De Lorean owner's manual auction, it also brought to a close my days as an eBay seller.

During the past five years or so, I've sold more than a thousand pieces of ephemera (and other stuff) on eBay . My feedback rating is 99.9%, and I've received more than 780 positive comments from buyers.

In all those years of selling, I only received one negative comment--from some crank who bought a backpack (of all things). The backpack had only been used once and was virtually new. The buyer left negative feedback without cause and without ever communicating that he had a problem. I'm still bitter about it, and the incident happened four years ago! But that's not the reason I'm done selling on eBay . While it is still a viable marketplace--and still the best place on the Internet to acquire great pieces of ephemera for your collection--I can no longer justify selling there. For me, eBay isn't profitable.

In the early days, my eBay auctions stood a reasonable chance. It seemed like a 'fair' market. Somewhere along the line, things shifted. More often than not--from my vantage point--the savvy and patient buyer gets the better end of the deal. And that's why I still recommend <eBay as the venue for purchasing ephemera.

It's a buyer's market.