Stubborn eBay Sellers...what's their game plan?

[the blob]

well there's a difference between the guy with the $28,000 raw VF+ copy of FF 254 up and someone who is just 50-150% above "market." some of these chronic overpricers do sell stuff. they are probably more flexible with the best offer on some books than others. look at the feedback. I've heard many people kvetch here about DTA Collectibles being ridiculously overpriced, but the guy has 30,000+ feedback and apparently sold at least 3100 items in the last year.

 

It has made me wonder if a store with only pretty decent stuff (legit FMV of over $25 or so) could still generate nice revenue if everything is still priced 50-100% above market.

 

ovepricing a bunch of 50 cent books as $8.00 books would waste too much in fees i'd think.

[kav]

I recall a seller here in town back in the 90s who would have let a $250 book sit on his wall for years rather than sell it for $240. He simply didn't believe in giving discounts and if no one bought it, he'd let it sit. Whenever you'd ask if he'd come down or if you shot him an offer, he'd just say "Nah, that's the lowest I can go."

 

On or off Ebay, there are some sellers that think flexibility in price is a big no-no.

merely buy it, open a SNAD and return a german newspaper.

[the blob]

and then there's stuff that's $50 in guide that only seems to sell for $15. is it a shock that some dealers prefer to stick it up for $50 with a willingness to sell for $35-40 but otherwise hold tight?

 

nova 1 was a $15-$20 book in guide for a long time but i picked up plenty of nice copies for $1-$2 when it was. the dealers who priced it at guide and sat on it rather than blowing it out for $1 are probably happy they held it. ditto x-factor 6, new teen titans 2 ($6 in guide not that long ago!)....

[kav]

and then there's stuff that's $50 in guide that only seems to sell for $15. is it a shock that some dealers prefer to stick it up for $50 with a willingness to sell for $35-40 but otherwise hold tight?

 

nova 1 was a $15-$20 book in guide for a long time but i picked up plenty of nice copies for $1-$2 when it was. the dealers who priced it at guide and sat on it rather than blowing it out for $1 are probably happy they held it. ditto x-factor 6, new teen titans 2 ($6 in guide not that long ago!)....

i guess any book will eventually catch up with guide of 20 years ago but pricing 20 years ahead of market is not a great sales model

[bushwood]

I know i've seen books on their for years and years-they will never sell, ever....

 

Oh heck yeah! I sometimes wish I had the cash to just buy the junk to get it off FleaBay so I don't have to see it anymore, but then they would find more junk to post!

[bushwood]

What's the game plan?

 

 

 

Exerting control in the one and only place for which the universe allows them.

 

 

From the petty postal clerk, to the petty bureaucrat, to the petty eBay seller, to the petty middle manager, there's nothing quite like exercising control over other human beings in a limited capacity.

 

 

That might be the post of the year.

 

 

[CAHokie]

I tried to make a best offer on an item today on a $50 item. The most the buyer would budge is 50 cents. Not a dollar, not two dollars, but .50 cents. Why bother listing a best offer if that is the best you will move? Oh, and no I did not send an original low ball offer.

[kav]

I tried to make a best offer on an item today on a $50 item. The most the buyer would budge is 50 cents. Not a dollar, not two dollars, but .50 cents. Why bother listing a best offer if that is the best you will move? Oh, and no I did not send an original low ball offer.

good lord that's what I'm talking about. don't these people know how to negotiate?

no, they don't. post his item so we can all swamp him with lowball offers.

[CAHokie]

Nah, that would be a bit extreme. He has the right as the seller, just doesn't mean it is a good practice.

[N/A]

Haven't seen this mentioned yet: there are sellers who value their books more highly than the market does, at least at the time of the listing, and are perfectly content keeping the book until and if they meet someone who likes the book more than the seller does.

 

In other words - not really looking to sell. (thumbs u

[rjpb]

I tried to make a best offer on an item today on a $50 item. The most the buyer would budge is 50 cents. Not a dollar, not two dollars, but .50 cents. Why bother listing a best offer if that is the best you will move? Oh, and no I did not send an original low ball offer.

 

Yeah, Best Offer can mean anything, I've had 10% off offers rejected, and 50% off offers accepted. I've also found some sellers are willing to give a decent discount for the asking, especially on a relist, even if they don't have a Best Offer. Sometimes "off ebay" and sometimes they will just add the BO option so I can use it.

[kav]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

[the blob]

like the guy at the show selling 3 for $10 books who gave me grief when i had 31 books and i wanted to give him $100. i should have just walked away as in hindsight i had gotten carried away and at least 6-12 of them weren't really even $3 books, but i had just spent the last 30 minutes of the show going through his boxes and pulling these.

[PowderedH2O]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

Exactly. I recently saw a guy on ebay that had a book that I wanted for $49 OBO. So, I offered $35. The $49 wasn't really a bad price, but I figured since he had the best offer up there I would at least take a shot. He countered with his exact same $49 price and a comment "The $49 is really the least that I can accept. It is really a good price." And it was...

 

BUT, you had the best offer option. And the mere fact that you had the best offer option up and didn't come down even 1% tells me that you are someone that I don't care to do business with, even if your price is decent.

[Jiminy_Cricket-migration]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

And on the flip side... If someone won't pay a lousy $5 more for an item they really want, they are either incredibly foolish or too poor to be buying comics in the first place.

[Jiminy_Cricket-migration]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

Exactly. I recently saw a guy on ebay that had a book that I wanted for $49 OBO. So, I offered $35. The $49 wasn't really a bad price, but I figured since he had the best offer up there I would at least take a shot. He countered with his exact same $49 price and a comment "The $49 is really the least that I can accept. It is really a good price." And it was...

 

BUT, you had the best offer option. And the mere fact that you had the best offer option up and didn't come down even 1% tells me that you are someone that I don't care to do business with, even if your price is decent.

 

I'd just like to say thanks for leaving that item there, for someone else that doesn't take nonsense like this personally, to come along and snatch the item up.

[kav]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

And on the flip side... If someone won't pay a lousy $5 more for an item they really want, they are either incredibly foolish or too poor to be buying comics in the first place.

I'm saying don't use the best offer function if you have no intention of entertaining offers. If you'll only going down 50 cents then for god's sake just price the item 50 cents cheaper and stop wasting everyone's time. If you're so poor you need that 50 cents then htf did you ever buy a comic.

if you buy a lot of comics $5 here and $5 there can add up. that's like saying if you have to use coupons you're too poor to be buying food in the first place.

[Jiminy_Cricket-migration]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

And on the flip side... If someone won't pay a lousy $5 more for an item they really want, they are either incredibly foolish or too poor to be buying comics in the first place.

I'm saying don't use the best offer function if you have no intention of entertaining offers. If you'll only going down 50 cents then for god's sake just price the item 50 cents cheaper and stop wasting everyone's time. If you're so poor you need that 50 cents then htf did you ever buy a comic.

if you buy a lot of comics $5 here and $5 there can add up. that's like saying if you have to use coupons you're too poor to be buying food in the first place.

 

I hear ya. The seller who doesn't take $5 less on a BO is ridiculous. But so is the buyer for denying himself something he really wants over $5.

 

If a buyer is running into this $5 scenario more than once or twice in his lifetime, he is really unlucky or just keeps making offers to the same stubborn seller. So the $5 here, $5 there story doesn't hold water. The coupon analogy is apples to oranges.

[CAHokie]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

And on the flip side... If someone won't pay a lousy $5 more for an item they really want, they are either incredibly foolish or too poor to be buying comics in the first place.

 

Yeah, because poor or foolish are really the only two possibilities.

[Jiminy_Cricket-migration]

if someone wont take like $5 less for a $50 item ebay should revoke their best offer privileges.....

 

And on the flip side... If someone won't pay a lousy $5 more for an item they really want, they are either incredibly foolish or too poor to be buying comics in the first place.

 

Yeah, because poor or foolish are really the only two possibilities.

 

You're right. Thanks for making my point for me. (thumbs u