8mm Forum: Ebay and Film

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Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on December 30, 2007, 07:16 PM:

Is it just me but has ebay now concerning films become quite considerably " Watcher Central" these days but very rarely buyer.
Times were in the Christams holidays you could sell quite well to the blokes who got no film christmas pressies but even now its very watcher only quite often.
It surprises me as if you have a load of people watching surely some of them must want it.
I had a mint rare LPP trailer of brubaker on earlier in the year absolutely beautiful for £4.99 BIN sat for weeks, wish to goodness I`d kept it now.
Anyone got a copy, quite happy to pay more than that.
Anyway just wondering what other peoples experiances are as its making me think twice about buying so perhaps we could be on the edge of a snowballing effect type thing.
I suppose this relates to the post what future for super 8 as well as many do buy with a view to selling on at some point or when needs must and if that possibility goes away to a great degree???
Best Mark.

Posted by Mark Mander (Member # 340) on December 30, 2007, 07:53 PM:

Hi Mark,the problem is that most people will wait to the very last moment to bid on the item,but if they are out or sometimes in bed due to a late ending auction then obviously no bids will take place.Some people don't bid either to not bring attention to the item and again bid at the last minute.I personally think that ebay has made things more expensive due to the availability of everything,not like the old days when you went to a convention etc and had to wait for your purchase Mark

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on December 31, 2007, 04:33 AM:

Over the last months, Ebay has changed. It used to be a real treasure trove where collectors could find gems. For some buyers it is nothing more than a bargain bin now. Although i'm still on the lookout for potential items to purchase, i've considerably reduced the amount of my sales.

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on December 31, 2007, 05:39 AM:

I regularly have items of all kinds (not just 8mm) which attract watchers but no bids. It even happens on Buy It Now items! (Currently, I have a £4.99 Buy It Now 8mm film with two watchers!)

Two additional explanations: the watchers are dealers who want to log the price the item sells (or doesn't sell) for; the watchers are hoping for a reduction in the Buy It Now price, or minimum bid, before the item ends.

When I check my unsold items page, I find someone is still watching them weeks or months after the listing ends.

I do find I have more success, especially with 8mm films, by selling Buy It Nows than by auction listings.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 31, 2007, 01:35 PM:

Boy, i hear your pain!

I had a slew of truly rare super 8, features and otherwise on ebay and no bids, but a hell of a lot of watchers, getin me hopes up, (as we are hurting for cash), and nothing! Zilch.

So much of ebay is all about timing, sadly, and not about true value.

... and there's the good side of that too. I just bought (from one Jim Shrader, thank you, they arrived fine, and I'm sure Alan Riks package will arrive in mere days!), three Laurel and hardy silent shorts for just 9.99! (well, one is a crappy 200ft laurel and Hardy snippet from "A haunting We Will Go", but hey, worth one look!), and the optical sound feature for 11.00 as well ...

... so ebay does have it's perks!

All the best!

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on December 31, 2007, 05:28 PM:

I know what it's like to have hopes raised by the quantity of watchers but then no bids. But then I've sometimes watched something thinking "I'm likely to be selling a print of that sometime, so I'd like to know if it's likely to attract potential buyers." In my experience, it happens more with features than shorts.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 31, 2007, 07:29 PM:

Oooh I love to rant on this subject ....

A perfect example of the "watchers" problem, is a feature print of "Emperor of the North", (Lee marvin) I put it on once, had three people watching ...

No bids.

I was going to send it to Steve Osbourne, along with another feature, just to raise some extra credit with him, in case a juicy feature comes out of nowhere, but i thought I'd list it one more time.

When I listed it, i made sure to put on there, "Last time that this title will be listed." This time, six people were watching it ...

No bids.

What were these vultures expecting? I was just joking?
As promised, it wasn't listed again, and it went off to Steve Osbourne.

I really shouldn't be too hard, I guess. I have played the watching and waiting game myself, but honestly, if I see, "won't be listed again", if they don't have too high of a price on it, I'll bid on it, as I wouldn't want to miss out on it.

Posted by Robert Wales (Member # 502) on December 31, 2007, 09:31 PM:

Something to consider :

I will often put a watch on items I see listed that I also happen to own in order to see what the potential sale value might be should I decide to sell my own item. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[ January 01, 2008, 01:30 AM: Message edited by: Robert Wales ]

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on January 01, 2008, 04:00 AM:

Robert, me too.

I'm an habitual watcher. I often watch stuff I have no intention of buying because I have it in my collection and it's interesting to see what it might be worth.

Or, I'm thinking about buying something similar and want to see what a reasonable price to pay would be.

Or, I'm going to sell something similar and want to get an idea of the interest in it. And of course there are often things that have dodgy listings and I like to see if they suck someone in, Rare 400ft Star Wars - Buy it Now for $99 springs to mind! [Roll Eyes]

Mike

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on January 01, 2008, 09:05 AM:

It’s a funny old world isn’t it?
Only a year ago I was being named and shamed on this very forum as a buyer beware through ebay, yet since the strange attraction of some to have a go at someone who was at that time not even part of the forum and thus unable to defend himself I have in fact traded very successfully with a number of members here.

I have purchased and sold to many via ebay and as in all matters in our lives we do meet all sorts of folk, some good and bad. You will always find someone to have a poke at you if your name turns up enough, or if jealousy gets to play a part. But that’s just my fellings on the relationship between the Forum and ebay.

Ebay may well have done great things for 8mm as a whole. It has raised awareness that it still exists so much so it even has its own category now. But as far as buying and selling we all take a chance, even as sellers. For my part it has been good to make new film friends through ebay to the point where a few even come for a chat about film to our home, and we also visit them. Ebay then can be said to be more of a forum for film than this is perhaps in some respects and although we can come unstuck on ebay it has given us the chance to extend communication with other film enthusiasts which we may have never met before.

Yes I have mixed feelings for ebay, but on the whole it’s been good to buy and sell at auction door to door worldwide. You will always come across someone who wants to have a poke at you, but if you can live with that it will suit you.

Mark. Only recently I had one item listed with 145 people watching, but no bids. Seems some just want to be nosey and what sad lives they must lead with nothing better to do.

Having purchased from Mark he is one of the good guys, but it does make you wonder how much time people sit in front of this computer surfing and looking at ebay for the ultimate bargain.

Happy New Year and peace and best wishes to all.

Posted by Mike Peckham (Member # 16) on January 01, 2008, 10:09 AM:

Lee

Are you saying I'm nosey and have a sad life? [Frown]

Surely watching items on Ebay is no different to attending a "real" auction for interests sake and not making a bid, there's no rule that says you have to bid, and by watching auctions, whether they be "real" or "virtual" we are simply taking an interest in our hobby.

Mike

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on January 01, 2008, 10:42 AM:

Lee,

Then add me to the sad B****** list!
If you had 145 people watching and no bids then that must tell you something about the item, price or listing?
Like others, I will from time to time watch an item and eventually decide not to bid-it means it gives me time to think about it and with a very hectic life a chance to re-visit the decision without trying to locate the item again. Unfortunately I have little time to surf these days.
And for that matter whats wrong with the ultimate bargain? If someone is prepared to accept a low price for something on ebay they can't carp on about it if they let it happen. Can they?

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on January 01, 2008, 11:25 PM:

I'm always watching too. It helps me figure out what I want and what I should pay. I am a buyer, but you only become an informed one with watching.

I have been selling on ebay since almost the start when there was only ebay US. I always sell much more than I buy, but rarely sell films; I buy them!

I mainly sell other cinema/film related items. I always start auctions very low, generally $5.00 and always get bids and many watchers. I figure the very few items that are snapped up as bargains encourage more people to bid on my items in the future. It's the "Rats I knew I should have bid on that one!" syndrome.

David

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on January 02, 2008, 03:09 AM:

Not having a poke at anyone just in case someone decides to pick up the forum bashing stick. But like Mark it does amaze me how many watchers we get and sometimes no bids. It just tickles me folks.

Funny also Tony that the item with 145 watchers sold after ebay at a higher price, truth is stranger than fiction indeed.

Funny old world.

Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on January 02, 2008, 03:31 AM:

The formula for selling on ebay is really simple,if you start your item at a low emough price you will get at least a few bids,if you start too high you probably wont get any bids just lots of watchers.

I rarely have to re-list anything connected to Super 8 these days as it usually sells first time around.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 02, 2008, 09:57 AM:

Lee,

I was looking for that forum bashing stick.....I thought I left it in the chat room. [Big Grin]

Doug

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