Dang it! Sometimes you're the windshield ....

[Thumper]

... sometimes you're the bug.

Do you ever go against what you know is right ... for no real reason other than maybe laziness?

I have no clue if I f'ed up or not, but I always get suspicious when I list something on eBay and it sells super fast. Where did I "f" up you say? Well, normally, when I have something to list, I research it to see what the market is. I can "usually" find most anything on eBay to see what a like item has sold for in the past, then use that as a basis for my pricing. I'm a bit lazy ... or maybe more impatient than lazy, but really don't care for auctions very much. I just want to list it, sell it and move on. With an auction, I list it and wait a week (or 10 days), THEN see what happens. But, I have a personal policy ... if I have no clue what something is worth and feel there's any possibility it may bring a decent price, I'll go ahead and auction it. I'll let the bidders establish it's worth.

Well, Friday I bought an old pool cue. It was in pretty rough condition and the faux mother-of-pearl handle was cracked all to hell. I researched the thing but never could find an exact match. Now I'll admit, some of the vintage cues made by this company are bringing into the $1000's ... but on the other hand, many are bringing $30-$50. I started to auction mine, but had second thoughts (didn't think it was worth anything) and threw it up as a "buy-it-now" for $65. I figured if it didn't sell, I could always lower the price at a later date.

Ok, I posted the listing and began putting the cue back in it's soft case when I was alerted to a sale. I looked and the dang thing had sold before I could even get it back in the case! I did ok I guess, heck, I only paid $3 for it, but I just can't help wondering how badly I f'ed up. :(


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[Bwana]

Perhaps a difference in personalities or maybe just because your are the Emperor of Ebay but I can't understand why you wouldn't auction nearly all of your sale items. Seems to me instead of establishing a price that could be either too high or too low, why not let the people pay what they are willing. Wouldn't your average selling price increase?

[BarryBobPosthole]

That stick was prolly used by Minnesota Fats.

You blew it Pumphead.

BKB

[Thumper]

That's the way my luck runs P-hole! :(

Bwana, it's one of those "to each his own" type of deals. Personally, I HATE auctions. It's like going to Home Depot to get a part to fix your leaky faucet. The leak isn't THAT bad, just a drip, so you can wait a few days if you have to. You get to the store and they tell you the part is out of stock but they'll order it for you and it'll come in anywhere from a week to 10-days from now. BUT, the clerk tells you the price is $2 today, but by time it arrives, who knows what the price will be? MAYBE it'll still be $2, but it "might" be $20, who knows? To make matters worse, once it comes in and it's marked $20, if Joe Blow off the street walks in and offers $20.01 two minutes before you get there to pick it up, ol' Joe gets that part you've been waiting for all week! Now they tell you they'll order another one if you'd like, but they're now on back-order and they have no clue when or even IF they'll get another one in, so just keep checking in from time to time to see if they might have another one in the future.

Now back up to day one. You have to order the part from Home Depot (that you may or may not get and although it's priced at $2, you have NO idea what price you'll pay by time you get to the cashier, IF you even GET to the cashier). That said, there's a Lowes 1 block up the street that has one in stock but the dang thing is $4.00! Are you a gambling man with time on your hands? You MIGHT get lucky and get yours at Home Depot next week for $2. Your choice. BUT, if you chose to wait and didn't get it, THEN you run down the block to Lowes and guess what? They're sold out! Problem is, that leaky faucet is now a steady stream instead of a drip!

Is that clear as mud? ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

I think I'd switch to Lowe's.

BKB

[Thumper]

And that's what I thrive on. People buy from me since 99.99% of my listings have a BUY IT NOW price even though it may be higher than the guy down the street running the same item through an auction. I think people are looking for instant gratification most times. ;)

[Chicken Dinner]

I love auctions. But, I'm kind of a bottom feeder when it comes to used stuff.

[Thumper]

That's one thing I hate about "up north" ... most of the estate sales are actually "estate auctions". I've been to 3-4 auctions and don't care for them at all. I hated the learning curve too .. I bought an item at my first auction and got a pretty decent price. When I went to pay for it, they added tax, a "buyer's premium" AND wanted to charge a percentage for using my credit card! By time I was finished paying all their stinkin' fees, I was at retail! Of course, I knew what I was doing at the following auctions, but just didn't care for them. I like to walk in, see the price tag, pick it up if I want it, pay what's on the tag and walk out. I'm lazy that way.

As for eBay, many buyers feel like I do. Number one, they want to know what the price will be up front (they can take it or leave it), and number two, they want it NOW ... not 2-weeks from now.