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ebay seller weirdness....raising prices

gustafson

Diamond
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Location
People's Republic
So as many do I search ebay for things I have an interest in, not really looking to buy but you never know

So I trip over a machine that is cheap, updated and with a travel I didn't even know was available on that machine. But as every one of these machines it has a dead spindle drive[I am being vague as to not call the guy out, he seems nice]

So I message him and tell him it looks nice and give him a little advice to mention the updated control and longer travel and man if you fixed the drive it would sell in a heartbeat. Now when you do such a thing you get ignored, told to FO, and occasionally responded to. HE took it as it was intended and sent a nice note back.

Never updated his ad, at all. months go by. I briefly[very briefly] ponder making a Kessel run with the trailer to go get it, but I don't need it.

months later he raises the price by a grand.

[shakes head] I guess if you are not going to sell it, you might as well not sell it for a grand more.


Nuther guy, selling a single wheel for my car [that I don't need], make offer, He kicks it out. Hey no problem, but you would expect maybe a counter. NBD.

Next day he raises the price 30 bucks.

4 months later it still sits.

Neither guy is a professional seller, I mean, I know I wouldn't have the brain space for it

hey, people is diff'nt
 
I sell a lot online and it's just as ridiculous looking at it from the seller's perspective.

It's crazy how you can raise the price and suddenly something sells (Perceived value?).

Something else to consider, sometimes a seller actually has maybe 5000 of something and they're not selling. So you change the quantity available to 1 or 2 and then there's a panic and they start selling.

It's kind of like the businesses that are constantly going out of business.
 
As a seller I have yet to figure out ebays weirdness. Its almost like the stock exchange, prices, based on supply today, can change. I too have experienced the raise the price a bit and get more sales:nutter:. If I list same item, same pics, same description under 2 different stores, one gets thousands of views and sells well, other gets 3 views a month and no sales:nutter:.
 
Ebay has a vested interest in promoting higher priced items. iPhones are a status symbol because they are expensive, not because they work well
 
Yup, there's a craigslist seller (IIRC Detroit) trying to sell an old Optical
tracing torch....started at $8k, now is up to $9,900
 
Yup, there's a craigslist seller (IIRC Detroit) trying to sell an old Optical
tracing torch....started at $8k, now is up to $9,900

And it's worth $250.

Ebay lets you automatically reject offers below a certain amount. I've had to make 3 or more offers before one actually reaches a human.

It's not a good system, but there's nothing better at the moment.
 
As strange as it seems I have found changing the price some times does the trick.
I usually reduce the price a small percentage monthly.... and at some point I start adding back to the price.
After several years of this I have noticed the item often sells right after I start the upward pricing...

If you wanna experience Ebay strangeness call customer support...
 
Sometimes the owner is running through one broker, it doesn't sell, then they list it with someone else. Ebay is often a secondary/advertising channel for these guys. Not expecting to sell there, just bring in eyeballs.

Or, sometimes the guy is selling it for X because he owes X. But now his rent is one more month unpaid, so his total indebtedness is X+1000, so that's the new price. Often totally divorced from a concept of market value.
 
Let us not forget "The more you pay for something, the more it is worth" haha.

I too raise prices back up on some things. Sometimes you need the money or the space so the price goes down trying to get a sale, but as time goes on you no longer need to sell as bad so the price comes back up. Also sometimes like already said something will list at a low price and never sell, but sell right away at the higher price. People complain that the price went upwards, but then again those people didn't buy it at the lower price and probably never planned to buy it anyways.
 
I have often wondered at many weird things on ebay.

As a made up example I have had real experience with, I sell a Ford widget on ebay. There are 10 other sellers that sell the SAME EXACT part on ebay. I just bought the last 100 parts that I know of for sale anywhere in the world. I am going to start raising my prices as my inventory sells out.

BUT

If you look at the 10 competitors I have, MOST are 30% higher in price than I am. Several are DOUBLE the price.

I looked at one competitor who has his priced at exactly double my price. Remember they are exactly the same item. He has sold 1/3 the number of parts, at double the price. If you search for the part, you'll see both of our parts. Why on earth would someone pay double for the exact same part?
 
So I message him and tell him it looks nice and give him a little advice to mention the updated control and longer travel and man if you fixed the drive it would sell in a heartbeat. Now when you do such a thing you get ignored, told to FO, and occasionally responded to. HE took it as it was intended and sent a nice note back

Sounds like you're a veteran in window shopping and giving advice to online sellers who haven't asked for it.

Some might consider that weird.
 
I often forget this myself, but advertising actually does pay off. Pay for ads on Ebay and/or Amazon. It does work.
 
Why on earth would someone pay double for the exact same part?

Because if its more expensive, it must be better!

I comparison shop before listing anything, and price accordingly. At least once a year I go thru and look at all the non-moving items and check what the competitors are asking, sometimes it is much more than my price, so I bump price up, and they start selling, go figure.

Last 2 years I did everything I could to just empty shelves in Tx warehouse, many items went to auction with .99c opening bids, and nobody even bid, so much of it went into the phucket bucket.

For those that complain about pricing on ebay, I laugh, you did it to yourself, go buy one from China!
 
Earlier this year I bought an import demagnetizer, around $60.00. Someone was selling the same thing for $500.00. I looked through the feedback and he had actually sold at least one at that price. Money laundering?

Bill
 
It also could be the seller raised the price because similar items have sold and the item has become currently scarce. I scrapped out a couple machines a few years back and sold the electronics on E-bay. Some of the daughter cards sold like hotcakes and I noticed the quantities available on E-bay bounced around a lot. If something wasn't moving I always compared my prices to others. I noticed if E-bay stock on a particular board got low some sellers raised prices. Same thing with servo motors, they could all cost similar prices new, but the lowest asking prices seem to be dictated by volume.
 
So as many do I search ebay for things I have an interest in, not really looking to buy but you never know

So I trip over a machine that is cheap, updated and with a travel I didn't even know was available on that machine. But as every one of these machines it has a dead spindle drive[I am being vague as to not call the guy out, he seems nice]

So I message him and tell him it looks nice and give him a little advice to mention the updated control and longer travel and man if you fixed the drive it would sell in a heartbeat. Now when you do such a thing you get ignored, told to FO, and occasionally responded to. HE took it as it was intended and sent a nice note back.

Never updated his ad, at all. months go by. I briefly[very briefly] ponder making a Kessel run with the trailer to go get it, but I don't need it.

months later he raises the price by a grand.

[shakes head] I guess if you are not going to sell it, you might as well not sell it for a grand more.


Nuther guy, selling a single wheel for my car [that I don't need], make offer, He kicks it out. Hey no problem, but you would expect maybe a counter. NBD.

Next day he raises the price 30 bucks.

4 months later it still sits.

Neither guy is a professional seller, I mean, I know I wouldn't have the brain space for it

hey, people is diff'nt

Just follow the money... Ebay loves high prices as well as sellers.. When dealers took over there, it was the end of any "deals" for someone who just needed something and intended to buy from someone who just didn't need something anymore...

Example: I bought a Kearney and Trecker cherrying attachment for 35 dollars and it was never used on a machine... Now if you find one well worn you pay ten times that...As stated before, ebay loves it, the seller loves it, and the buyer gets stiffed.. Cheers; Ramsay 1:)
 
The psychology of pricing is interesting. A good friend remodeled his kitchen a few years back and ended up with a perfectly good dishwasher getting replaced. He set it out at the curb with a "Free" sign on it. Sat there for several weeks. I suggested he put up a new sign stating "$250" - it was gone in under an hour - by gone, I mean stolen!
 








 
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