Baffled by Pricing Strategy

Scared to death to buy anything used? It may work out but what if it doesn’t.

Keep in mind anything you buy retail immediately gets marked down 50% when you trade it in. Maybe you’ll get a little bit more selling it on your own used. Solid-state probably sells better than anything with tubes. Well-known brands do better.

But if you buy an amplifier or heavy preamp and then it requires repair out of warranty good luck.

At least if you buy something new and plan to keep it for a while you’ll be better off in the long run.

Don’t cheap out when you buy something that’s on the pricey side.

Why don’t they sell more used cables? This would be tempting.

Estate sale purchases can be awfully good if you’re lucky

@testpilot said:

Unfortunately, buyers are constantly low balling sellers, therefore, in some instance, a seller will inflate their price to help offset the low ball offer. It’s just a stupid game.  

As an occasional seller, I have in fact noticed that no matter whether I price something high or at a bargain low, buyers ask for, and often insist on, a reduction in the selling price. $)#*@

I am an active buyer and seller of gear and other stuff. Over the past 20 years of being an eBay member and a user of Audiogon, Craigslist, FaceacheMarketplace, etc. I have come to a few conclusions:

1) Sellers often hallucinate that a lottery winner will magically overpay for their item.

2) Sellers price a thing at what they wish it was worth. 

3) Sellers recall how much they paid at retail and imagine they should recoup as much of that high number as possible. 

4) the Seller doesn't really want to sell- unless a fool longs to part with their money.

In the end when a seller and buyer are similarly motivated a fair market price is achieved. Normally neither will think it was an optimal transaction. That's how you can tell it was actually a FMV transaction.

On the flip side if a seller is panicked and or must sell he will wind up with a low number. 

Here's my theory; 1/2 the time guys don't really want to sell items, and this is true of other stuff like box sets, but to establish or maintain a market value for future speculation.

Best JS

Every time the price changes on a listed item, up or down, I get an email in my inbox notifying me of a price change on a watched item. I look at the email, which would seem to me like free promotion of their listed item.  A reminder that it's on your watch list and it's still for sale - a wiggle of the worm.  And it's for Free.

As for the strategy of raising the price, perhaps they are at their bottom line for an item and still want to send the free advertising out.  Who knows.  It could be delusions of grandeur.  If something has been for sale for 6 months without a lot of interest, then the market forces have spoken and the item is priced wrong.  It's a tougher concept for some to accept.