Is eBay killing the collectables market?

[ncmetrobus]

My speciality is transport images, original negatives and transparencies but what I am saying applies to quite a few similar collectables which are small, light and of generally quite low value.  It seems the various changes that are being made by eBay will kill a large part of this market.  It somehow seems ironic as Collectables is category number 1 on eBay which says a little about how eBay evolved.  The forum that eBay provides has been invaluable in this market as the material is really quite niche and as a consequence the market was much smaller in the past as it was very difficult match seller with buyer.  These products were not even good to sell at physical events such as swap meet or flea markets because you wouldn't want the goods to be handled excessively.

eBay then came along and suddenly as collectors we were able to find things of real interest that we couldn't possibly have seen before so our collections were very positively enhanced.  Similarly, those who wished to dispose of their collections now found they had a realisable value.  Both parties were satisfied and there were a lot of transactions which made sellers and eBay significant sums of money.

I have bought many more items than I've sold and have read the debates about Private versus Business Sellers and can understand the points raised.  Unfortunately in the areas I'm talking about here the issues can become very grey, not just within eBay's policies but even in terms of the law.  (I think the HMRC position is clearer.)

The thing about collectors is that they often 'trade', which can take several forms.  This can be just exchanging items, or buying/selling.  For someone like me one option (although not really exercised, more in theory) is to buy a larger lot of images at an auction house (usually not eBay), keeping what you want and then selling the remainder to defray costs on the ones you've bought.  Of course you could end up making more than you paid for it.  However, once you've sold those then you have nothing more to sell.  In my case I don't want to spend too much time selling as I'd rather spend it on making the most of the collection I have.  However, if there is something you really want coming up in an auction this is realistically your only way of securing it, but you may only want, say, ten out of fifty negatives.  I don't think of myself as a business and don't want to run a business, so is that really the only way?

As I read things, in a few months it will be prohibitively expensive to buy from a Private Seller and for this I will use an example of six negatives I bought from a Private Seller about a week ago.  I paid £20.10 for the six but the seller received just £15.18 following the introduction of BPF.  He offered Combined Postage as six 35mm negatives cost no more to post than one but could not invoice me for Combined Postage.  Fortunately we managed to find a way round that but Simple Delivery will mean he would have to buy six £2.75 postage labels from eBay, so presumably he would also have to buy five more envelopes on which to stick them.  I would therefore have had to pay £16.50 for postage which is totally disproportionate, as I understand combining items will not be possible.

The effect of this is negative to both buyers and sellers and both will stop trading.  Only those who wish to become business sellers can hope to continue.  Quite a few will not and will not want to just dispose of their items to a dealer, so they will cease to be available to anyone reducing the items available.

I feel very strongly about the adverse effect on my hobby, not to mention the many inconsistencies that have resulted from BPF which are not the subject being discussed here.  Sorry about the length of this post but I felt the detail was necessary.

[judydoodles]

I completely understand your viewpoint.  My older brother collects clippings photos etc regarding railway links with the town where we grew up and he has found the same problem multi-buying low-value photos or negs but has managed to negotiate the seller relisting his choices as single bundle with one postage and only one 72/75p surcharge. 

If I outlive him (we've had that conversation) I'd struggle to accurately list his collection because I'm not an enthusiast.  Potentially I'd bundle items together which might put off buyers, so gradually he's sorting through to part with as much as possible.  I'd likely donate his remaining items to the local railway club.  Either way fewer items in an already narrow field would find their way back to other enthusiasts as sales on ebay or any marketplace.  Thinking his collection might end up in landfill is heart-breaking.

[the-nutwood-collection]

I own land that used to be the lower grounds of a Victorian recovery hospital.  The hospital sold postcards, and I have been collecting these for around 30 years.  A social history of the people that passed through the hospital, including many from the military that were sent there during the two world wars.

Originally, I purchased them from antique fairs and because my memory's not too good, I ended up with lots of duplicates.  eBay changed this - I could check whether I had the card.

Fortunately, most of the sellers I buy from are a business, but I have discovered some real gems from private sellers of deceased estates.

I would be very sad if the eBay changes meant that private sellers just junked the ephemera, rather than listed it.  OK, each card doesn't yield a lot of revenue for eBay but, over the years, I have spent a lot of money on these cards and related ephemera - and there are lots of little purchases like me that add to the eBay bottom line.

[keepsakesandkollectables]

Simple one word answer:

YES.

Long winded answer:

It not killing it's already killed it years ago, it's now not even a rotting corpse, it's just dry old bones.

I have "Dabbled" in the ceramics & glass collectable market for more years than I can remember ( Yes I am that old ).

Now I know that items can go in & out of fashion, but some of the prices I can get items for now are so cheap it's almost beyond belief.

In fact I was in many areas getting upto 4x as much for certain ceramic items 20 to 25 yeqarsa go than I am getting now.

Which should not make sense, as the items are 20 to 25 years older, so in theory should be harder to find & increased in value if anything.

Some examples:

Goebel figurines ( You know the ones girls / boys on swings / apple trees / with animals by their side ) 20 years ago I was averaging £20 to £25.00 per figurine, today £5.00 on average.

Royal Doulton character jug, again the same time frames I was getting £30.00 to £50.00 a jug, today £`10.00 if you are lucky.

Beswick, mainly all types, have reduced in price by about 75%.

Even Clarice Cliff has taken a drop & that was always a sought after product.

The list goes on & on & I won't even start on the glass market.

Of course there are still some products that still hold their value & some that have increased, but these are mainly the harder to find / rarer items / top of the range bits.

Now you could argue that for a collector, that this is a good thing, if you can buy cheap, but is it?

I know a lot of collectors that not only purchased items, they liked, but also for future investment to a degree, now that is not going to happen if prices have dropped off by 75%.

The old answer used to be, as I always said, buy quality, quality never lets you down, but I am not so sure with now if I am honest that still rings true.

[dch2112011]

With SD the seller does not have to use the generated ebay labels - if they are not used the buyer is refunded  so order six seperate items and they fit in one envelope for the same postal price as one - the seller uses one label - the other five are refunded to the buyer.

The seller can use their own label even if SD labels are issued, as long as the seller does not use the labels the buyer is refunded.

With SD the buyer pays for the labels on behalf of the seller at checkout. 

Collectors may be required to claim the trading allowance under self assesment but are not a business necessarily !

As a buyer you need to asses the total item price and ignore the buyer fee - after all before the buyer fee ,a buyer was paying a 35p fee plus approx 10% sellers fee hidden in the advertised price - so if these seller fees have been passed onto you by the seller removing them from the item price the addition of the buyers fees 75p plus 4% may make the price lower.

Of course if the seller has kept the seller fees in the price and you add the buyers fees you will be paying both - but of course the seller will blame ebay - work it out yourself who is profiteering - ebay for charging for their services or the seller for pocketing the removed  seller fees ?