on 8/19/03 4:41 PM, Fred at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Just a comment: It does seem as if some of the recent FS ads have > been "going for broke" for prices (so to speak). While certainly > not universally true (and I ~do~ mean that), it does seem as if some > sellers are really hoping to "make a killing" on unloading their > unwanted Pentax gear here. Considering that eBay prices and some > used dealers' prices have been slipping downhill over the past few > months, it seems especially noticeable when we see FS ads here > asking for "top dollar". Well, I guess no one should be criticized > for trying to make as much profit as they can from the rest of > us... > > <donning Nomex clothing> > > Fred > > >
Fred - I don't know whether to say "I resemble that remark" or not. For what it is worth, my approach to pricing stuff for sale is basically to try to avoid too much of a loss. I look at what I paid (when I can find it), think about depreciation with the passage of time, and pick a number. I have hardly been on eBay for 6 months, have no sense of whats going on there. After I posted my stuff last week I went to KEH and did a check - all of my prices are close to or below their "bargain" prices, and all of the equipment I'm selling is far beyond that level of quality. If anything, I have probably underpriced most of the equipment. I would also comment that it really is inappropriate to make this sort of broad assertion without naming names and giving examples. By coyly saying that you don't mean every seller but by not naming the exceptions you have, you wind up painting all sellers with the same brush. I think it would be much more useful if you addressed particular sellers, or even better particular lens prices, and instruct us as to why they are "too high" and what is available elsewhere. Then both buyers and sellers can benefit from your wisdom. With our approach all are left wondering what you really mean. Having now finished with being defensive, I'll make a couple of comments about your general point: are the posted prices of current/recent sellers too high? I would say no. If they are, the market and the buyers will decide. I remember a couple of auctions on eBay 3-4 years ago where you were willing to bid more than me, and you bought some lenses I wanted. On an M*300 or a A*300 (I don't remember which) you went $100+ higher than I was willing to. Does that mean that you paid "too much?" No, it means that the perceived value of the lens to you was greater than to me. By the same token, the fact that you see prices today as being "too high" may reflect your own current perceptions, but may be quite reasonable for someone else. By analogy, I have been in situations where I bought a new car for $10,000 (made up numbers, for sake of example). I bought it because it was worth that much to me. So someone down the block buys the same car on eBay someplace else for $8,000. It really is totally irrelevant to me. It was worth the price to me, it is still worth the price to me. A different analogy, closer to home. I bought an MZ-S from my local dealer for the MSRP, about $975 as I recall. Others at the time were buying from B&H for $795 or so. Doesn't mean that my dealer was charging "too much", or that I paid too much, just that I included different elements in my own "value" equation. Enough rambling, I need to get back to packaging items I've sold... Stan
