What's the definition of "rare"?

I know the people here are not fans of eekBay, or is it @Bay, but I'm
hoping someone might help me understand the definition of "rare".
There are sooo many "antique" items posted there that are listed as
being "rare". They have a starting bid of ninety-nine cents and get no
bids. Shouldn't a "rare" "antique" item offered to all the e-world be
worth at least a buck?

Kris Baker...

eBay advises beginners to start things at 99-cents, to get a
flurry of bids going. It's also the way to list at the cheapest
price. Things normally do find their value, and most people
ignore "rare".

Unfortunately, when you do have an antique, your listing is
buried among the antique Corelle or antique Pyrex.

Jessica V....

Rare is a yabe, buzzword. There it means "I've never seen one of these
before" from a seller who either has no experience in the world of
antiques or one who has something in an area that is miles from their
specialty.

A rarity is something where there are precious few in existance. When
honestly rare items show up on yabe they reach or exceed the prices
that the deserve. What comes to mind is a piece of rare depression
glass that broke 10k a few years back, even though the seller had no
idea it was a rare piece, something like less than ten known to exist.

Kill your Television...

When you say none like it do you mean none being offered when you list
the item? Do you use "rare" if a dozen of the same item were listed a
month earlier?

The Tucker is a rare automobile. No one who knows anything about cars
is going to dispute the fact. To the best of my knowledge, the only
two that are complete are in a private collection, and owned by the
gentleman who used to own Louden in New Hampshire, USA.

So that's my take on rarity. It has meaning, but is grossly over-used
in the e-world.