eBay's preview says I would be Top Rated if the evaluation ran today. Perfect metrics, just short on volume. Next evaluation is Nov 20. That is the date circled.
The $20 cliff is real. A $19.99 card ships for about 60 cents in an envelope. A $20 card needs a package and costs 10x that to send. Price like you know it.
Upgraded my store from Starter to Basic last week. At 5 new listings a day I was paying insertion fees past the free limit. The math paid for the upgrade by itself.
Mail day: two 1989 Nintendo cards for the personal collection, a Little Mac and a Mario tip card. Not everything is a flip. Some of it is buy and hold.
Under $20, a card ships in a saver in a plain white envelope. $20 and up, top loader and bubble mailer. The $20 line is where eBay shipping stops being cheap.
New scam going around: buyers using AI to fake damage photos for refunds. My defense is boring and it works. I film the front and back of every card and put the video in the listing.
Repeat buyers are the whole game. One buyer picked up two Pedroia cards from my store in one order earlier this month. Sell it right and pack it right and they come back.
Listed 5 more last night: a Trout insert, a Murakami rookie, a Devers numbered to 199, a Pedroia numbered to 500, and a Devers prospect card from 2016. Five a day, every day.