A clue for the clueless


If you are going to use the Auction route to sell your item, do not list it with a reserve at or near the normal sales price. Hello...an auction means you will let the market decide. Sure, put a reserve on it, but that should be a low safety net price, not full value.

Man I see this often. Some clueless person lists their item for auction starting at $0. It gets tons of bids, but never gets past the reserve. Figure it out people. That's not an auction, now is it. If you want top dollar, list it as a regular classified and then wait 6 months for the perfect buyer. Sheesh!
jaxwired
Well, I know Jax was just blowing off a little steam and so was I really. But in the end we were trying to help the inexperienced sellers too. So much for this being a COMMUNITY of hobbyists. I personally think that having equipment listed with appropriate, informative descriptions and detailed pictures at reasonable prices ultimately helps us ALL - but maybe that's just my naive attitude showing through. Go ahead and pop for those $15K amps and speakers listed for $2K. You'll find they ship from a deposed Nigerian prince in exile. Better yet, just buy your gear off of fleabay. That way you can use PayPal and they can bail your lazy butt out because you didn't want to contact the seller and get to know them before buying.
Liz is right but I wouldn't pass on a good deal because the seller is not experienced in the ways of selling on A.G. The worse the add the less competition you will have when dealing on a product and likely realize a better price.

Years ago we went to look at a used Levinson amp in a near by town. When we went into the house we found the owner also bred expensive F1 cats. When we went into his music room we found two small cats curled up and sleeping on the amp. My young daughter who came along for the ride was extremely happy with the purchase, until she started loading the cats into the car and found out they weren't part of the deal, cried all the way home and well into the night. We returned the following day and collected the two critters.
Realizing you are an idiot is the first step of a 12-step program...I am on step 3.

I have a question for the OP, or anyone else who knows, is the originator of an auction allowed to accept the high bid, even if it doesn't meet their reserve?
Elizabeth is right men. My plan WAS to draw pictures of my amps using crayons. But now I got the clue; and you’ll have to read my forum posts to find out that I’m an idiot.
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I personally don't view the auctions when I log on. IMO the seller is not serious about selling, but fishing. I especially like pictures loaded sideways. Also pictures of expensive equipment on a dingy couch irk me.
An addition peeve about pictures in ads -- why bother to take pictures and then post them without rotating them to the proper vertical or horizontal orientation? It seems to happen amazingly often so I should be used to it and yet every time I see a vertical picture lying on its side it drives me nuts.
Jax and Dick got it right. Sometimes I'm amazed at some listings where they use someone else's pictures or stock pictures. Also too how some sellers just use 1 picture or none at all is amazing to me. Pretty much every phone has a camera today that is quite good. A'gon also includes 3 or 4 pics at no charge. People should take advantage of that.

My other peeve are the one line descriptions. I'm not saying write a 15 page essay but some basic details would be enough.
Agreed. I'd also add that, when you take pictures of your item, LOOK AT THEM BEFORE YOU UPLOAD THEM. If they are blurry, take more pictures. If all you have is a crappy cellphone camera, buy or borrow a decent camera to take them. Try to get plenty of light on the gear before taking the picture so that you don't have to use a flash. Finally, clean the item before taking the picture. I saw a pair of (very nice) speakers the other day and the bases looked like they had never been dusted. Psychologically this has a huge impact on a buyer's perception of the condition of your gear. Dick