I've been offering three late 1990s NASCAR cards for 100 points, free shipping. One can purchase listia credits, 1,500 credits for $5. Let's see. That's 300 credits per dollar. About 3 credits per penny. So, I guess I'm asking about 35 cents for three NASCAR cards. A dime each. I guess that they're dime cards. I bought them in bricks rather cheaply, so the cash doesn't bother me.
Now, what did I spend on the cards I won? For Mr. Castro, 707 credits. At 3.3 credits per penny, that works out to about $2.14. I didn't need it, but thought that it was nice.
 |
| 2010 Tri-Star Obak T-212 Mini Card Starlin Castro (card # 3) |
Mr. Burton? 101 credits. That's about 31 cents. Needed it for the collection.
 |
| 1992 Maxx Red Jeff Burton (card # 57) |
Mr. Nomo was a tad more. 1,511 points. That's about $4.58. I didn't need this one, either, but thought that it might be some decent trade bait down the road.
 |
| 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot - Sweet Threads Hideo Nomo (card # STS-HN) |
Now, one can buy more credits in volume and get a better price per credit. I don't buy credits. If I don't have them, I don't buy stuff on listia. My best auction (selling) was two Hoby SEC Alabama cards that went for over 1,900.
Want to see what I'm selling now? Visit my listia profile. Happy bidding. How are your listia auctions going?
I'm at the point where in my mind 1,000 = $1.00. I don't like to start many auctions below 499 because that's the price of a stamp (never mind the envelope, top loader, etc.). I still find myself selling some stuff for less than the 499 mark though just so I can get credits for stuff that I do want.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also around 800-1,000 credits per $1. The most efficient way to turn cash into credits is to buy a $5 or $10 online gift-card (like Amazon or Itunes), then list that in an auction. Those tend to go for a lot of credits. Then you email them the code and don't even pay for a stamp. :-)
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I missed that Nomo.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten into the whole "how much are credits worth" thing. I figured if I did that, my interest in Listia would stop being a harmless diversion and start being work.
I start out my auctions very low and I'm happy with whatever credits I get. All my auctions sell, the cards get out of my house, and I end up with enough to grab a cool card or two on the site ('55 Topps and '61 Topps and a serial numbered Nomo are plenty cool with me).
Ah, the trade bait hook getting some nibbles. Now, when to set the hook?
DeleteEven though I discussed the value of credits, I don't think that way. Postage is a wash. I ship something out when I sell, I get something when I win. I do think of it more as trading. Was getting that Castro card worth 21 NASCAR cards that I don't want/need? Sure. The Burton card for three NASCAR cards? Yes. Nomo for 45 NASCAR cards? You bet.
This form of trading is different than blogger trading. I don't really try to figure book value in blogger trades. If I'm willing to part with some cards that another blogger wants, that's fine. They're probably doing the same thing with me. But this is turning into a blogpost, so I'll get my thoughts together and make it one.
Still haven't tried listia. Something about it scares me. That Castro certainly sounds worth whatever small amount of fake currency you paid for it. I just won a /50 Casto Obak mini on ebay for the bare minimum.
ReplyDelete--Jon