Comps API

Sold eBay prices as an API. 3 years back, not 90 days.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

eBay’s sold listings page shows 90 days and now needs a login. I built an API that goes back 3 years, and returns the real accepted Best Offer price instead of the asking price eBay displays.

https://t.co/JEtaI0IYOp

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@ephrim_k @riggybreaks Worth checking that average for Best Offer sales mixed in, if any of the last ten closed via accepted offer, eBay shows the ask, not what was paid, so the real average could be a bit under $52 even before your 5% buffer.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@Vikings95Cards Worth double-checking those $190+ comps for Best Offer flags, if any closed via accepted offer, eBay shows what was asked, not what was actually paid, so the real gap could be smaller (or bigger) than it looks at $190.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@coaster89 @MaxLonged Nice flip. Worth checking if that $400 tcg comp benchmark includes any Best Offer sales, if so it might already be lower than $400 in reality, eBay shows the ask on those, not what was paid, so your actual margin could be even better than it looks.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Worth widening the date range before giving up on comps, the public eBay sold page only shows ~90 days, so a card that “has no comps” there might still have sales further back. I run CompsAPI (https://t.co/e1aEd3Ubm1, full disclosure mine) for pulling sold history up to 3 years, catches a lot of cards that look comp-less on the default view.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@SlaySportsStore @BobbyBrewer20 Worth flagging, that $90 comp is tagged “or Best Offer,” so eBay is showing the asking price there, not necessarily what the buyer paid.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Agreed. The catch is volume: auctions are clean, but plenty of cards barely trade that way, so filtering to them can leave you with too few comps. The better fix is to flag Best Offer accepted sales and keep them out of the price signal, so you use every clean sale instead of dropping a whole format.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Checked into this, as of a recent eBay Community thread, it’s actually the opposite, eBay removed the strikethrough + “Best Offer Accepted” label that used to at least hint at it. Clicking into most sold listings as a buyer won’t reveal the real price, only the buyer and seller see that, via Order Details.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Fair point on urgency affecting price. Worth adding another reason comps can be misleading, if the last sale closed via accepted Best Offer, eBay shows what was asked, not what was actually paid, so a “low” comp might actually be even lower in reality, or a seemingly normal one could be inflated.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@CrypticCabe @solana If any of that eBay comparison data includes Best Offer sales, worth a caveat, eBay shows the asking price there, not what was actually paid, so the “spread” could look tighter or wider than it really is depending on how many offer sales are mixed in.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

That’s a smart workaround actually, auctions avoid the issue entirely since there’s no Best Offer involved. Worth knowing why filtering to auctions helps though, any BIN sale that closed via accepted offer shows the asking price on eBay’s sold page, not what was paid, so mixing those into “comps” is exactly what skews the number vs the app.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@FestSportsCards @BosCardHunter Fair point, and worth stacking on top of the Best Offer issue too, if the original sale closed via accepted offer, the number shown isn’t even the real item price before fees enter the picture. International comps have two layers of distortion most people don’t account for.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@joeyvowels Worth checking if that $6,845 closed via accepted Best Offer, if so the number eBay shows is the ask, not necessarily what was paid, could be part of the discrepancy you’re seeing against other sales.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Pricing from eBay sold listings? One catch: on Best Offer sales, eBay still shows the asking price. We checked 5,859 of them. 99% were too high.

How to see the real sold prices, free, no code: https://t.co/QHnTNoIyuG

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@TaylorUhls @Reiii_TCG Good distinction on sold vs listings. One layer deeper worth knowing, even sold comps can be off if the sale closed via accepted Best Offer, eBay shows the original ask there too, not what was actually paid. Worth factoring in before setting a max bid off those numbers.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Worth adding to that list, Best Offer sales are a separate issue from cancelled/unpaid, those are completed and paid, but eBay’s completed sales still show the original asking price, not what was accepted. Harder to spot than a $200-for-$50 red flag since the number looks totally reasonable.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

Agreed on the “look it up yourself” instinct. One nuance worth knowing when people do that on eBay specifically, if a sale closed via accepted Best Offer, the sold page still shows the original ask, not what was paid, so even checking it yourself can mislead without knowing to filter for that.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@PortalBoxLabs @beforethepop Yep, that’s exactly what CompsAPI returns, real accepted price on every row, flagged so you can tell it was a Best Offer sale. Free account at https://t.co/XZY0rnP4BP if you want to check it yourself, 100 searches a month, no card.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@dreamyard_ @Dear_Theophilus Good rule on requiring multiple sales. Worth folding in too, if you’re averaging “last sales,” filter for Best Offer ones first, eBay shows the asking price on those, not what was paid, so a few offer sales mixed into your sample can skew the average without any obvious sign.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

This is actually the bigger issue with eBay’s data than most people realize, we measured it across thousands of sales and found Best Offer sold prices read high on the public page in the vast majority of cases, often by double digit percentages. “Or Best Offer” rows aren’t just occasionally misleading, they’re the norm, not the exception.

[Comps API @CompsAPI]

@TaylorUhls @AcmePacks Appreciate the support!