@BStrauss3 said:
Go figure... in November 2019, $60 wouldn't do it. Carrying costs from November --> August and $56 is good enough...
It's a mistake to judge his business practices based on one sale. You're not accounting for the ones where he wouldn't take $60 and ended up with a higher offer (or even a full price purchase) the next day. It happens.
BStrauss is just talking about the one item and not the seller’s business practices in general. I agree that it could make sense to not take an offer right after something is listed but when the item has several relistings, it is odd to not even counter on something that is close to the ask.
@U1chicago said:
BStrauss is just talking about the one item and not the seller’s business practices in general.
I didn't mean in general, I was talking about how the seller decides to deal with offers. So one deal doesn't turn out as well as it could have- that's just the way it goes. Others will go better- you can't win them all. What counts is whether or not you're ahead at the end of the month.
I'm what one might call a legitimate watcher. I watch items that are BIN only and have a BIN price that is a bit high but not completely unrealistic. I'm looking for the seller to make me a special offer by email or to drop the price. If the item includes a Make Offer and is in the realistic range, I make an offer. I also watch just as a flag and come back later when I have time to evaluate the item more carefully. Not all of us watchers are just curious or looking at comparables, but I do know the frustration sometimes, especially in an auction format (not just eBay) when I get all excited with a large number of watchers and then few or none pull the trigger.
I had a discussion with a seller a couple years back who explained the economics of the forever-bin-listing to me.
He uses it primarily for mid to low value items; most of which he picks up when he buys a collection - to get the coins he wants to sell, he has to include the slow selling stuff in his offer.
Some of that dreck will never sell, but he's into it for maybe $25 on an "$100" item.
In those days, with a store, eBay didn't charge for insertions and rollovers were automatic. So he could put it out there and ignore it.
New buyers show up all the time and if somebody bought it for $100, it was gravy.
Once every year or two, he would run a sale and discount the dreck to only 2x what he paid instead of 4x. With the time-value of money and "free" shipping it wasn't much better than break even, but it freed up a lot of capital for the next buy.
Edit to add: Different seller than the one I was previously discussing.
-----Burton ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
@BStrauss3 said:
I had a discussion with a seller a couple years back who explained the economics of the forever-bin-listing to me.
He uses it primarily for mid to low value items; most of which he picks up when he buys a collection - to get the coins he wants to sell, he has to include the slow selling stuff in his offer.
Some of that dreck will never sell, but he's into it for maybe $25 on an "$100" item.
In those days, with a store, eBay didn't charge for insertions and rollovers were automatic. So he could put it out there and ignore it.
New buyers show up all the time and if somebody bought it for $100, it was gravy.
Once every year or two, he would run a sale and discount the dreck to only 2x what he paid instead of 4x. With the time-value of money and "free" shipping it wasn't much better than break even, but it freed up a lot of capital for the next buy.
Edit to add: Different seller than the one I was previously discussing.
Why include a best offer option at all? Or did that person not have one (which would make more sense if he was just going to leave it at the same price and ignore it for an extended period)?
Comments
BStrauss is just talking about the one item and not the seller’s business practices in general. I agree that it could make sense to not take an offer right after something is listed but when the item has several relistings, it is odd to not even counter on something that is close to the ask.
I didn't mean in general, I was talking about how the seller decides to deal with offers. So one deal doesn't turn out as well as it could have- that's just the way it goes. Others will go better- you can't win them all. What counts is whether or not you're ahead at the end of the month.
I'm what one might call a legitimate watcher. I watch items that are BIN only and have a BIN price that is a bit high but not completely unrealistic. I'm looking for the seller to make me a special offer by email or to drop the price. If the item includes a Make Offer and is in the realistic range, I make an offer. I also watch just as a flag and come back later when I have time to evaluate the item more carefully. Not all of us watchers are just curious or looking at comparables, but I do know the frustration sometimes, especially in an auction format (not just eBay) when I get all excited with a large number of watchers and then few or none pull the trigger.
I had a discussion with a seller a couple years back who explained the economics of the forever-bin-listing to me.
He uses it primarily for mid to low value items; most of which he picks up when he buys a collection - to get the coins he wants to sell, he has to include the slow selling stuff in his offer.
Some of that dreck will never sell, but he's into it for maybe $25 on an "$100" item.
In those days, with a store, eBay didn't charge for insertions and rollovers were automatic. So he could put it out there and ignore it.
New buyers show up all the time and if somebody bought it for $100, it was gravy.
Once every year or two, he would run a sale and discount the dreck to only 2x what he paid instead of 4x. With the time-value of money and "free" shipping it wasn't much better than break even, but it freed up a lot of capital for the next buy.
Edit to add: Different seller than the one I was previously discussing.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Any more than one offer & counteroffer is a waste of time. Stay professional whether the other side does or not.
I knew it would happen.
Why include a best offer option at all? Or did that person not have one (which would make more sense if he was just going to leave it at the same price and ignore it for an extended period)?
eBay often does helpful things like adding options for you (of course you wanted a BIN option and forgot to add it).
And he probably would have taken $85 without a qualm. Just $50 was too little until the sale.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")