Don't Cite Unsold eBay Listing Prices

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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