Sellers: When do you drop your price?


Selling my first piece of gear.  I've had a lot of views but no offers. It's been about 5 days. Great condition, 2 years old, offering about about 1/3rd off. No original box.

Perhaps all gear is particular, so if that's so, we can end this thread right here. But in case there's a general bit of advice, How long do you let an ad marinate before adjusting the price?
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I often keep things listed for weeks or months before dropping the price. I'm never in a hurry to sell things though, it's always something that I've made an upgrade from and want to find a new home for. 

If you need the money or want it out of your house right away, drop the price every few days and it will sell. 

Otherwise wait for the right buyer to come along.  There are people that browse ads daily and there are those that only look when they decide they want to buy.

Here are some things I do when selling.

- Use hifishark to see what similar items have been listed for and start with my price in the middle of that range. 
-  Always price things a little higher than what I actually want for them.  If I get my asking price, that's a bonus.  If someone wants to play "let's make a deal" then I've left some room for them to feel like they are a super duper negotiator.  Know beforehand what the lowest is you'll accept.  If they ask "what's the lowest you'll go", don't tell them.  Tell them to make an offer and consider it based on your pre-determined limit.  Stay in the driver's seat, but make them feel like they are getting a good deal.
- Take good photos.
- Be descriptive.

I disagree with the person who said rating it a 9 is not realistic because others have owned it.  I use the Audiogon rating scale and grade the condition on... yes, the condition.  If it's been taken good care of and is in good cosmetic condition, it doesn't matter how many owners, at least not in terms of grading.  Some people are interested in the "history" of the item, how many have owned it, how it was kept, if there were smokers, pets, etc. (which are all valid), so keep that in mind.

When buying used gear, unless it's a really highly sought after piece and hard to find, I rarely pay more than 50-60% of the original retail price.
As others have said, no rush to drop price, of you are not in a hurry.
That said, +1 yogiboy, jperry.  Unless it is a "hot" piece, in basically new condition, I'm looking to pay around minus 40% or less for used kit.
For a second owner (condition therefore 8 tops, usually) piece, introduced in 2014, minus 33% certainly seems ambitious.
Personally, although I don't churn kit, when I do sell, I ask on the low side; things move fast, with happy buyers, with less haggling.  Worth passing on a few bucks for me.




@big_greg 

I usually underrate items I sell to avoid discussions about the rating. The Audiogon scale in addition to appearance states 9/10 is “light use”. I would not rate something as light use unless I was the only owner and knew personally that the use was “light”.

Again, just my opinion.


I would really like to rate it eight and a half! So many people are making very good points and I think I'll just wait a little while and see what happens and then perhaps just drop the price and the rating a little bit. I truly believe it is an excellent shape but I see your points and I do want to sell it but I am not in a hurry. I appreciate you passing on your experience to me. I am not churning gear I am simply moving to a better amplifier, solid state.
+1 on jperry on erring to the side of underrating condition.
It's a personal choice, but I find good value in forgoing some money to forgo some hassle.