Posted by Rick Denney on December 19, 2003 at 13:39:41:
In Reply to: Re: Re: EBAY or BBS posted by I C on December 19, 2003 at 10:05:22:
In that case, they've priced it too aggressively for the seller. That's why I added "perhaps not" to the statement that maybe it would sell eventually.
The point is that the higher the price, the smaller the market. The smaller the market, the longer you might have to wait for that market to see and desire your product. If you price it low enough, the market will be huge, with a high likelihood that some part of it will be watching when you offer it up. I would only use ebay for achieving the price likely to produce a sale in a week. You can get higher prices, but not in a week.
Yes, things do get stale when they stay on the market too long. But they are getting stale with people who have already decided they aren't in the market for it. They are not stale for the person happening upon the listing for the first time, who is prepared to buy that item at that price. Of course, it's possible for the price to be such that the size of the market is effectively zero. Some of the folks who offer instruments for sale on this forum don't really want to sell them, but will if the price is high enough. They are in no hurry and can afford to wait, even if it means waiting forever. Yet those instruments often do eventually sell.
Rick "who thinks ebay only gets the one-week price, though can benefit from lucky timing if the once-a-year buyer happens to be looking" Denney