https://blog.danlew.net/2026/01/17/dont-cite-unsold-ebay-listing-prices/

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Don't Cite Unsold eBay Listing Prices

  * Dan Lew

Dan Lew

17 Jan 2026 * 1 min read

Journalists, I beg of you: please stop confusing unsold eBay listings
for actual sales.

I'm ticked off after seeing this Patch post about NYC MetroCards
selling for $5,000 and this WSJ article about Trader Joe's totes
going for $50,000. Yes, someone listed these items for absurdly high
prices (MetroCard, tote bag). But no one has actually bought them at
those prices!

On eBay, people can list anything for any price. I could list my
belly button lint for a million dollars on eBay. The listing's mere
existence doesn't mean there's suddenly a run on naval fluff. It's
only noteworthy if someone buys it.

If you want to know what's actually selling on eBay, use the product
research feature (formerly known as Terapeak).

Here's what NYC metrocards have actually been selling for since being
discontinued (sorted by descending price):

Table showing sales of NYC MetroCards; the highest price paid is
$500, the average is $13.50

The highest price anyone paid is almost $500 for special, limited
edition metrocards. That's an order of magnitude less than the Patch
post claims, and it's for a special edition card. The average is a
mere $13.50.

Here's how Trader Joe's totes have been selling over the past month:

Table showing sales of Trader Joe's tote bags; the highest price paid
is $300, the average is $17.

There are indeed a lot of sales for Trader Joe's tote bags, but $300
is the highest price, not $50,000! And again, the average is far
lower - only $17.

Maybe these prices still strike you as absurd - I wouldn't pay $17
for a tote bag, let alone $300. But let's use actual sales data
instead of joke listings when discussing prices.

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