[78-L] Does anybody actually bid on Hillbilly or CW 78's on eBay?

[Gregg Kimball]

I think that people are still collecting old time and country. A high 
percentage of hillbilly records on ebay are not all that valuable and are 
much more cheaply junked--at least they are here in Virginia. I know several 
pickers who will alert me to stashes of 78s that can be had cheaply and I've 
done a bit of buying and trading with with other collectors. As has been 
noted, when you add shipping to Ebay purchases the prices can get 
prohibitive.  I bid occasionally on rarer records in VG or better condition 
that I have a high interest in and that have reasonable starting bids. 
That's primarily how I use ebay, and I don't use it that often.

I also don't understand some of the very high Buy It Now prices on ebay. 
There are often interesting records there, but the ridiculous prices keep 
them on Ebay perpetually.

Gregg



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis Flannigan" <dennis.flannigan at gmail.com>
To: <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 2:03 PM
Subject: [78-L] Does anybody actually bid on Hillbilly or CW 78's on eBay?


> Thinking of selling on eBay, which each year I consider, and then don't do
> it. However . . .
>
> Today I checked blues and country 78s on eBay. It's been a while. So, 
> found
> quite a few blues 78s for auction, and five percent or so with bids. Four
> thousand plus records identified as blues were posted. Did not check them
> all. Then checked hillbilly, as well as CW seventy-eight listings (CW
> 78rpm, and Hillbilly 78rpm). More listed as hillbilly. Found only one with
> a bid offer ($5.00), checked more than 400 listings. Most had no bid, only
> Buy Now pricing. Still, only a Red Kirk record had any bid. Records ranged
> from prewar Columbia items, to later bands and artists.
>
> Has bidding on eBay expired as a serious option for collectors? Are there
> no country or hillbilly collectors in real life? Seems eBay would offer a
> hint of whether there is any interest. And it made no difference whether
> the record was posted at two dollar minimum bid, or $24.99 (popular
> number), there was only one bid. Ninety-five percent required Buy Now
> purchase, and prices were unlikely to attract buyers.
>
> Are there country collectors left to purchase records?
>
> Dennis
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