eBay and Porn

**DARPA** · January 12th, 2012, 09:42 PM

Not sure this is the right forum for this subject so apologies if it is not.

As some know, I used to be a mad scanner (you really have to be mad to scan that much) and would stake out eBay to find new material. But that was almost a decade ago.

I stuck my head in there today for the first time in a long time. I have some stuff I want to unload on there but the site has changed so much that it's almost like starting over for me.

When I was an active buyer, the bidding wars could get pretty steep. I don't remember what the highest price was that I ever paid for a magazine, 8mm loop, or out of print VHS tape was...$150?...higher? But the people would know when the good stuff suddenly would turn up and that's when the fighting would happen. The worst of course would be when someone would try and put up something related to Traci and the bidding would go through the roof above $500 if eBay didn't find out first and kill the auction. I thought that was nuts to spend that kind of money.

But when I looked over eBay today the place looked like a porn wasteland with nobody fighting over anything. Granted, I didn't see anything particularly rare in what now constitutes the "ending now" category. But the action seemed muted. The prices seemed muted. Everything seemed muted.

So I guess my question is for those who have been actively buying or selling on eBay in recent years, has the market just totally collapsed? Or are there still opportunities available on eBay for porn selling if you have actual rarities?

qball2510 · January 12th, 2012, 10:14 PM

Ebay have tended to cancel such listings.

However, all is not lost. You can still buy stuff like this on up and coming auction sites like ebid.

For example, I have a shop selling vintage magazines (with many more to be listed)

**DARPA** · January 12th, 2012, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qball2510

Ebay have tended to cancel such listings.

I doubt that. eBay only cancels auctions that don't follow their rules. If anything their rules have loosened up from when I was active (they used to have a two pic maximum). I see a ton of porn on there right now. So I don't get what you are saying.

As for "up and coming" sites, we had those too back in the day and they couldn't hack it. I bought maybe one or two things from them but I never sold on them because I knew I would be missing out on a larger audience. eBay still is the site to list from.

However none of this really answers my question about the state of eBay activity these days with regards to porn auctions and whether bidding wars still break out.

I'm really trying to get an idea of what to expect. It's not 1999 anymore. I know I'm going to be selling at a loss no matter what I do. Some of my stuff is now trash can material because it's unsellable at any price (especially most of the 8mm films I have which I grabbed to scan the box covers).

I owned the Usenet golden age scanning stage for four years precisely because I would outbid all comers. When you consistently outbid everyone else it means rarely is anyone ever going to exceed your price, especially once the scans hit Usenet. These things don't appreciate over time in the digital age. They depreciate once they hit the internet in graphical form. And I'm fine with that. When you're on a mission, as I was back then, recouping your costs wasn't the issue. Getting the items was.

But some of this stuff is sellable. I didn't scan everything from every magazine, just what I was interested in. And some of this stuff hasn't hit the internet in graphical form. So there is some value. I'm just trying to figure out what that value now is and what still draws attention from buyers.

herbsmith · January 12th, 2012, 11:52 PM

Interesting topic.
IMO, your gut instincts are correct; it seems as if magazines are going for far less, that there are fewer bidding wars, and that a good number of middle-of-the-road mags are basically unsellable.

However, it seems like specialty stuff still sells well. Certain models, like Roberta Pedon, tend to touch off a feeding frenzy. Also, in this age of scanning, I'm surprised that individual photos still sell well, but they do (for example, on ebay, "yesterdays girls" always seems to sell a lot of pics, often at good prices).

As for whether or not ebay has relaxed its standards...there can be no doubt. These days, one can seemingly post damn near anything, including fully described Traci stuff and other stuff that is pretty hard-core.

I think perhaps there is a balancing effect from the past; that is, yes, there is a lack of guys bidding huge prices for merchandise, but there are also a lot more people aware of the site, and thus, good items seem to be able to snare decent prices.

**bjadoo** · January 13th, 2012, 02:04 AM

It's not about the restricted items, it's about the items being picked over. There are magazines and a few tapes that I've been scouting for years and they just never come about. That's the way it is.

**DARPA** · January 13th, 2012, 02:38 AM

I just went through my pile today and threw out at least 50 magazines I knew I could never sell. It was a bit painful but it was also a realistic response. I'm hoping the rest will sell but I'm not sure all will.

**DARPA** · January 13th, 2012, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjadoo

It's not about the restricted items, it's about the items being picked over. There are magazines and a few tapes that I've been scouting for years and they just never come about. That's the way it is.

I disagree to some extent. It took me six years of work to compile my almost complete list of Swedish Erotica magazines. And I found almost all the old out of print VHS videos I was looking for. Most mags, 8mm loops, and videos will eventually pop up at least once. There are some though that never have and some that take a long long time to show themselves. I believe I just got one such mag that was on my Holy Grail list after 13 years of trying, though I won't know for sure until it arrives.

hellspidey · January 13th, 2012, 03:08 AM

I am sort of looking for a place to sell my old porn and girl wreslting videos vhs and some dvd .Any sites would be helpfull

**Sirch** · January 13th, 2012, 03:51 AM

Anyone ever try naughtybids dot com? They have been around for awhile.

Regarding selling on Ebay, keep in mind the (world) economy has been in a funk for at least 4 years. Other places for over 10 years. Its a buyers market not a sellers market. Ive gotten so many great (non porn) deals off of Ebay the last four years.

I also assume you are looking in the adult section of Ebay for listings. One last thing. The fact of the matter a lot more ppl know how to find things they want "for free" today than they did 10 years ago. That's another variable to keep in mind.

**DARPA** · January 13th, 2012, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirch

Anyone ever try naughtybids dot com? They have been around for awhile.

I looked at them back in the day but they had shit for material. I'm surprised they're still in business.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirch

I also assume you are looking in the adult section of Ebay for listings. One last thing. The fact of the matter a lot more ppl know how to find things they want "for free" today than they did 10 years ago. That's another variable to keep in mind.

This is true. The Economy has been the suck for a while and the amount of free stuff out there is huge. And I'm directly to blame for part of that. Now I guess I'll reap what I sowed.

But I really want to get rid of this stuff so I trashed the stuff I know I can't move and have kept the stuff that should move. The only issue is will it move super cheap? Probably. But I want the stuff out of here as I don't need it anymore. I really should have sold it six years ago but I was so burned out on scanning that I just didn't have the will or the time to do it. I'm still pretty burned out but I've also reached near the end of scanning what's available in print that interested me.

January 12th, 2012, 09:42 PM	#1
DARPA Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Trapped inside a scanner Posts: 3,509 Thanks: 4,344 Thanked 62,214 Times in 3,419 Posts	eBay and Porn Not sure this is the right forum for this subject so apologies if it is not. As some know, I used to be a mad scanner (you really have to be mad to scan that much) and would stake out eBay to find new material. But that was almost a decade ago. I stuck my head in there today for the first time in a long time. I have some stuff I want to unload on there but the site has changed so much that it's almost like starting over for me. When I was an active buyer, the bidding wars could get pretty steep. I don't remember what the highest price was that I ever paid for a magazine, 8mm loop, or out of print VHS tape was...$150?...higher? But the people would know when the good stuff suddenly would turn up and that's when the fighting would happen. The worst of course would be when someone would try and put up something related to Traci and the bidding would go through the roof above $500 if eBay didn't find out first and kill the auction. I thought that was nuts to spend that kind of money. But when I looked over eBay today the place looked like a porn wasteland with nobody fighting over anything. Granted, I didn't see anything particularly rare in what now constitutes the "ending now" category. But the action seemed muted. The prices seemed muted. Everything seemed muted. So I guess my question is for those who have been actively buying or selling on eBay in recent years, has the market just totally collapsed? Or are there still opportunities available on eBay for porn selling if you have actual rarities? Last edited by DARPA; January 12th, 2012 at 11:41 PM..

January 13th, 2012, 02:04 AM	#5
bjadoo Vintage Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 695 Thanks: 10,866 Thanked 24,800 Times in 657 Posts	It's not about the restricted items, it's about the items being picked over. There are magazines and a few tapes that I've been scouting for years and they just never come about. That's the way it is. __________________ Bjadoo To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

January 12th, 2012, 10:14 PM	#2
qball2510 Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 66 Thanks: 10,370 Thanked 673 Times in 62 Posts	Ebay have tended to cancel such listings. However, all is not lost. You can still buy stuff like this on up and coming auction sites like ebid. For example, I have a shop selling vintage magazines (with many more to be listed)

January 12th, 2012, 11:52 PM	#4
herbsmith Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 233 Thanks: 11,859 Thanked 4,031 Times in 213 Posts	Interesting topic. IMO, your gut instincts are correct; it seems as if magazines are going for far less, that there are fewer bidding wars, and that a good number of middle-of-the-road mags are basically unsellable. However, it seems like specialty stuff still sells well. Certain models, like Roberta Pedon, tend to touch off a feeding frenzy. Also, in this age of scanning, I'm surprised that individual photos still sell well, but they do (for example, on ebay, "yesterdays girls" always seems to sell a lot of pics, often at good prices). As for whether or not ebay has relaxed its standards...there can be no doubt. These days, one can seemingly post damn near anything, including fully described Traci stuff and other stuff that is pretty hard-core. I think perhaps there is a balancing effect from the past; that is, yes, there is a lack of guys bidding huge prices for merchandise, but there are also a lot more people aware of the site, and thus, good items seem to be able to snare decent prices.

January 13th, 2012, 02:38 AM	#6
DARPA Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Trapped inside a scanner Posts: 3,509 Thanks: 4,344 Thanked 62,214 Times in 3,419 Posts	I just went through my pile today and threw out at least 50 magazines I knew I could never sell. It was a bit painful but it was also a realistic response. I'm hoping the rest will sell but I'm not sure all will.

January 13th, 2012, 03:08 AM	#8
hellspidey Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 17 Thanks: 2,994 Thanked 187 Times in 14 Posts	I am sort of looking for a place to sell my old porn and girl wreslting videos vhs and some dvd .Any sites would be helpfull

January 13th, 2012, 03:51 AM	#9
Sirch Vintage Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,216 Thanks: 18,391 Thanked 12,704 Times in 1,147 Posts	Anyone ever try naughtybids dot com? They have been around for awhile. Regarding selling on Ebay, keep in mind the (world) economy has been in a funk for at least 4 years. Other places for over 10 years. Its a buyers market not a sellers market. Ive gotten so many great (non porn) deals off of Ebay the last four years. I also assume you are looking in the adult section of Ebay for listings. One last thing. The fact of the matter a lot more ppl know how to find things they want "for free" today than they did 10 years ago. That's another variable to keep in mind.