Absurd Prices On Ebay

[ljudice]

I often check Ebay to find a locomotive or car that somehow I missed picking up at one point or another. I've also sold things on Ebay, here on Trading Post and on N-scale Yard Sale and have always tried to price fairly. I think I have a basic understanding of the value of items and the rules of supply and demand for rare stuff.

Obviously a lot of folks on Ebay are dealers or part time dealers and need to recover their investment, inventory, expenses, etc. But things like $109 for a Walthers/LL/Proto GP38-2 or $130 for a Kato SD40-2 make me wonder - does anyone buy this stuff?  It seems to stay listed forever.

Is there a strategy I don't understand here or what?

- Lou

[Bendtracker1]

I often wondered about their marketing logic as well.

In a discussion with my LHS once, he said "Well look at it this way, If they sell only one at the higher price, it would be like selling two at normal price"  my reply was '"Yeah, but how much do they loose counting the number of times they Re-list the item(s)"?  The higher selling price will cover most of that, or could I suppose.

Granted, if they are a store, then it doesn't cost near as much to re-list or even list an item as it would for the casual list'er who wants to dump a few items for cash or thin the herd a bit from time to time.

I would think if you listed the item for 25-35% over wholesale, that you would be more apt to sell the item and keep the capitol flowing, rather to set on it for any length of time.  Or even use eBay as a place to dump old stock so that you can reclaim some working capital to get new stock in your store.

I think mainly it's just greed and most of these sellers are praying on the buyers who don't pay attention to price.

There is one seller who lists all his stuff at full MSRP +, but if you read the fine print in his description, he states that he will except any reasonable offer.  Of course, his auction listing will not have the "Best Offer" button listed in the header, you have to take time to read the description.  I would think this work against you rather than for you.

I know for a fact that he does not have a "Brick and Mortar" hobby shop, as he is located here in the same town as I am and I know who owns both shops and he's not one of them.

I think this seller is just casting lines for the un-suspecting buyer/browser and he happens to sell it at a higher price, it becomes just a little bit more gravy on his plate.  I have also heard rumors that what he does is once he sells an item, he then orders it from his distributors and has it dropped shipped or he ships it when it gets to his place.

I can't imagine how little his over head could be if he is working out of his basement or garage.  So at that point, if he sells it for the higher price, he could stand to make a little more from one sale rather than two.

Like you Lou, I have a decent idea of what things should sell for and when I see sellers with prices like these, I just skip right past them and mutter, "Good luck"!






 

[SkipGear]

It doesn't cost anything to relist if an item doesn't sell. You can leave it on their indefinitely the last time I listed something.

Absurd prices are the Trix 2-10-0 that sold for $140.00 + shipping.

[Bendtracker1]

Tony,
You might be right about the re-listing fees.
It's been a long time since I've had something not sell and I re-listed it.

I know that you could re-list it a second time for free, but if it didn't sell the second time, then there was a charge.  But that has been a long time ago and there has been a lot of changes since, so I could very well be wrong.  It would only make since to not charge if the item doesn't sell.

[Alwyn Cutmore]

I have to agree. Look at the guy who paid $62.50 for a tyred set of Kate Mikado wheels only to have it announced a few days later that they will be re-run in Nov/Dec 2011. At $7.95 a pair that has to be the best over pay I have seen.

Regards

Al Cutmore
If It Aint Pennsy It Aint Modelling
Australia

[johnhale]

eBay's sole purpose is to prove PT's saying: "There is a sucker born every minute."

[rogergperkins]

I agree that bidding on e-bay can really run prices up and that some items minimum bid is ridiculously high.

I look at e-bay for time to time. Over the past 6 years as I look at n-scale items, I think I see a tread of many "e-tailers" listing on e-bay versus the everyday Jane or Joe who is selling items.

It is rare that I bid on an item, but recently saw a car of interest which had a exceptionally low minimum bid.  I made the first bid, but lost in the last few seconds by 50 cents...  The final price was about $5 less than some of the buy now prices for the identical car and about $7 less than the identical cars that is still listed.

[delamaize]

What really gets my goat on Ebay is the idiots who try to sell broken, beat, abused, or only good for parts for outragous prices, then get offended when you make them a reasonable offer, with proof that their price is though the roof. Their was a guy on there about 2 months ago that had what I would consiter a parts locomotive on there, and was asking full retail for it. Missing parts, and the whole "Motor spins, but wheels don't" diagnosis, Missing most of the valve gear (Steamer) and painted with a gold sharpie. I e-mailed the guy and offered him $35+shipping for the locomotive, and also advised him, Politley that if he didn't want to sell to me that he should at least consittering lowering his price if he wanted to make a sale. I got a very nasty reply back from him, basiclly accusing me of harassment, and threating to tell ebay about the whole interaction.

Another one that urkes me is the people with more money than brains. same time period, I watched a white box bachman 4-8-4 with a white box 2-8-2 go for $350! Another one, is the people I like to call "Snipers for profit" these scum of the earth are the people who sit on a auction untill their is less than a miniute left, then place their bid, and bit it up untill they win. The once the get it (or Sometimes before they even receive it, less that 24 hours in some cases) turn around and resell it starting at the same price they paid for it, sometimes even using the exact same verbage from the orginal auction, usually selling it. Because of this I have a list of sellers I refuse to buy from. I almost never buy anything from there anymore, unless it has a buy it now price that is reasonable. Sometimes it feels like boxing with a ********, their is no way that you are going to win.

[unittrain]

I was just checking for the new Bluford releases on the bay and some idiot has one of the 86 footers listed for $29.85  and on top of that the shipping is I think $6 which is absolutley rediculous! I purchased my stuff from MBKleins. I used to buy alot on E-bay but recently have purchased less on there.

[Bendtracker1]

Ebay isn't a bad play and snoop on if you can learn to weed through the Idiots and Thieves.

The good deals are sometimes few and far between anymore, but I recently picked up two new Atlas locos: B30-7 and a  GP-38 for $25 apiece BIN, and the shipping was combined for around $6.  This isn't as common as it use to be.

If I see something that look's like a good deal, the first thing I do anymore is jump onto MBK or BLW and see what they are selling it for.

What always astounds me is what I seen a few years ago, two buyers were bidding an a new LL Monon BL-2.  They took it up to just over $100.00 and ending within a few days, there was a 2nd one in the same condition from a different seller that had it listed for $25.00.........it never took a bid!
Don't they bother to look around a bit?  I guess they get wound up into the bidding wars and just forget.

I don't think $6 for shipping is too out of line if they ship it as Priority with or without ins.  Most online E-tailers will not ship a single item for less than $6.95.  Most are $7.50 to $8.50 that I've seen.

Another thing that bites my caboose is when a seller charges for Priority shipping @ $6-$7 and then it shows up being shipped as 1st class for half the price.  I won a GHQ kit once for a low bid and he charged me for priority shipping.  The price was still fair.  When it got here he had shipped it for 1st class.  What really surprised me was this guy was Preacher, he used a pre-printed address label that had his identity printed on it.  I sent him a email stating that I paid for priority and that he owed me the difference of about $3 for shipping and that he didn't refund the money that I would just turn it over to eBay.  Also noted that he should be ashamed of himself, a man of the clothe stooping this level. 

I went on to tell that if he needed more money that he should start preaching a little more "Hell Fire and Brimstone" in his sermons to increase the tithe from his flock!  In about hour I had the refund show up in my PP account and not a word said otherwise. 

[PacRail]

I do enjoy seeing a few people getting into a crazy bidding war that has insanely high bids being made on an item that also has a high shipping fee.  What usually makes it even more entertaining is seeing the same item just a couple of postings below with a low Buy It Now price and free shipping. 

I do feel sorry for those who pay crazy prices for those Readers Digest cars.  I have seen the engine listed as a GP-38, GP-40 and even a GP-60.  The sellers have even stated these cars and engines are "rare" or a "special run", with a winning bid of $39.95 and $10.00 shipping.

P.T. Barnum would have loved and made a fortune off eBay.

[fcnrwy]

Ya Ebay is a circus.   (or like a cheap carnival).

I have sold enough and bought enough, over the years.

What I am looking for, I have already won before or know what the retail prices are.
So, I usually bid the total of what I am willing to pay (total includes shipping cost) and forget it.  If I get it, they'll let me know.  If not OH WELL.

$6 for shipping and insurance is not that out of line.    In selling, $6.75 > $8.00 would be more correct amount.

Bottomline is...
Buyer Beware!

Jerry Gunderson (ebay survivor)

[FrankCampagna]

quote: "In a discussion with my LHS once, he said "Well look at it this way, If they sell only one at the higher price, it would be like selling two at normal price"

Kind of like the old joke of a little girl selling lemonade for $5000 a cup. Someone asked her how many people would buy it at that price. Her response: "Well, I only have to sell one."

Frank

[Denver Road Doug]

I'm with Jerry G. I think.   I see a lot of these types of posts and while I fully support the post and the opinion, I personally don't get why people get so worked up over eBay.

I think a lot of it happens when someone has something somebody else wants and they are asking more than that buyer wants to pay.  So, they're not "being fair".  Well, they can ask whatever price they want.  There are all kinds of business strategies, and not all of them involve deep discounts.   It may not make sense to you, and over time it may not sustain continued business operation, but there's not much you can do other than let the market take care of things.

There are some pretty good reasons that products will fetch retail (or higher) prices and a lot of it has to do with the willingness to ship overseas.   I used to sell some computer parts from time to time and often had people from Europe buying things at huge prices simply because I would ship to them.   And I wasn't "working the system" or anything.   Actual shipping costs/charges, etc.  Another reason is just having the right item on at the right time.  Some people have enough money that waiting around for a "deal" isn't productive...they just want to buy it and get it NOW.   So, I think that is where the $100 GP38-2's will eventually get snapped up, or at least that is the strategy the seller is exercising.   They may not sell a LOT at retail or retail+, but if they stick to their guns it probably works for them. (ala $5000 lemonade)

[ljudice]

Jerry, Doug,  don't get me wrong....  By and large I really like Ebay - it's the best way to find things that otherwise may be totally unavailble.

I was specifically talking about the listings that just seem totally out of whack.  90 listings of Kato SD70ACE's for $69-89.  And then a couple listing it for $150 - well above list price (without a decoder).

It just seems odd to me that anyone would waste the money to list without checking the prices, but I am sure they are hoping for someone to come along not knowing...

- Lou