Ever make and Offer on somethign that gets denied, then it sells for less than the offer?

[Mark17]

This thread is simply Economics 101.

Seller has an item they paid $200 for. They want to sell it for $300 if they can, so they list it at that price. Somebody sees it and right away offers $200, but the seller, at this point, wants to see if he can make a profit so he declines.

After a couple months and no interest at $300, the seller tries $250. Still no interest, so now he has learned that $250 is too high, and that just breaking even is a more realistic goal. So he offers it at $200.

After a few weeks of it still not selling, the original guy comes back and offers $180 and the seller agrees, figuring the constant listing fees were starting to add up, and he gave it his best shot at higher prices, but in all that time, just this one guy was showing interest. So he takes a $20 hit to get 90% of his money back and have the whole thing concluded.

This scenario, to me makes a lot of sense. I think the implication of the thread, though, is that the seller was an idiot for taking $180 when he could've had $200. What isn't factored in is the value of the possibility that he would've found a more eager buyer at a higher price.

[jake33]

This statement "What isn't factored in is the value of the possibility"
is what causes everything to drag on and hope for some buyer to overpay.

Possibility is not reality though, just like "Potential."


I look at things not necessarily in the "right" way. However, I never really understand why someone who SERIOUSLY wants to sell something and is willing to hold on to it for an extra 6 months to a year over trying to get $50-$80 more for it.

Is waiting an extra 5-6 months to sell an item for $350 instead of $300 really that big of a deal? To me I would rather have the cash to reinvest in something else or to purchase something else for my own personal collection. Most likely, I would think there would be an opportunity that would come up in 5-6 months where actually having the money from that sale helps something else in their life or in business.

[jake33]

I have listed things on ebay that I have had the attitude of I don't really care if it sells or not, but I know a certain listing will attract viewers/tire kickers/people that just want to add that item to their watch list with no intention to buy it and the extra views I will use that allow me to promote other auction(s) that I have listed, by making mention in the listing to "view my other auctions."

[Mark17]

This statement "What isn't factored in is the value of the possibility"
is what causes everything to drag on and hope for some buyer to overpay.

Possibility is not reality though, just like "Potential."

Suppose the scenario I described involves 10 items instead of just one, and the seller does get $300 for three of them, and $250 for another one, and then $200 for two more. He dumps the last 4 at $180 each.

In this case, he's made $270.00. This is how dealers, and people moving large chunks of their collection, think. You can't just isolate one of the items he's trying to move and from that conclude his strategy is flawed.

[Mark17]

I have listed things on ebay that I have had the attitude of I don't really care if it sells or not, but I know a certain listing will attract viewers/tire kickers/people that just want to add that item to their watch list with no intention to buy it and the extra views I will use that allow me to promote other auction(s) that I have listed, by making mention in the listing to "view my other auctions."

Excellent point. I do the same with Metropolitan Stadium seats - I'll list a couple just to have them out there, and most of the business those listings generate take place outside of ebay, as customers want something a little different from the listing, or a slightly better price, or they want to save shipping by arranging pick-up, and so on. I figure each seat I list on ebay generates about 3 sales.

[jake33]

Correct, but in that scenario it sounds like someone getting the EXACT same margin loss on 10 items all at the same time? The odds of that are pretty slim. I know I never have listed even 5 items all at once with the exact same value. In game used, every item is a one of a kind.

And if those identical offers came from 10 different people, wouldn't that be a fair amount of evidence of providing more true market value for those items?

[jake33]

Furthermore, why would you list 10 of the exact same item at once and flood the market on yourself?

[jake33]

Again, yes sellers can do what they want.

Whether you sell items as a hobby or as your profession, sales is a black and white industry in terms of these points

1) Did it sell?
2) Did the buyer pay?
3) Did you lose or make money?

It isn't well maybe this and maybe that. It is just yes or no. It isn't like saying, "Oh she is sort of pregnant."

The original point of the thread though is the negative flip of these strategies. Offering more for an item,, getting that declined, then the seller sells it for less than what the offer was initially.

[Mark17]

Furthermore, why would you list 10 of the exact same item at once and flood the market on yourself?

It was an example. I could've made the price points all different to be more realistic (and also more complicated.)

Here's my current real-life situation. A friend is helping me offer about 100 1960s bats for sale. Some are in the 100 range, some 200, several much more, and so on. I've come up with a number I'm looking for, for the entire bunch.

I know that since the last bats I sell will bring less than I want (by definition, the last ones I sell are the ones with the least interest,) the first bats that get offers need to sell for something above my original estimate.

Think of it this way. Say you go to a dog breeder, who tells you they have a litter of 8 pups and need to get $4000 total to cover all expenses and stay in business. That averages out to $500 each. Now, if you want pick of the litter, it will cost more than $500, but if you tell the breeder you'll take the last one left, you'll probably get it for less than $500.

The breeder probably has no idea which pup will be sold first, since markings on dogs, and personality, is subjective. But the breeder knows, there is value in someone having first pick vs. 8th pick.

Same general concept when selling several memorabilia items. The ones you sell first are, by definition, the ones with most demand, and the ones that linger in inventory will eventually be sold for less.

For all the examples in this thread of sellers settling for less than they wanted, there are also many times when sellers get their asking prices almost immediately, and end up wondering if maybe they sold too cheaply.

[jake33]

I assume the 100+ 1960's bats vary in use and vary in which player(s) used them, so those all do not have equal value across the board.

Also, with dog breeding, I bought dog before from a breed for about 50% value because the dog was born with a hip issue. So that too, not every single item or product is 100% equal