Are your used items selling?

My used Subie sales are down 40% this year. With a only one daughter's tuition to pay it's not as bad as it could be, but retail is a mess right now. I just over-haggled with my dealer to buy a new 36" Panasonic TV at only $200 over cost, and he was pretty pissed when I expected a deal on delivery charges. I explained that MY retail is down 40%, and he retorted that he doesn't even look at the books monthly anymore...too depressing. It was easy to jump on capital purchases when I was feeling flush from 8 sales-per months, but at barely ONE per week, I wonder why the hell I'm buying TVs, treadmills, etc. I do my part, but ALL sales are more difficult now. A good friend of mine runs a $2mil musical instrumentation biz (guitars and pickups), and he says his sales force is "losing bandwidth because they have to 'work' each sale much more". Well put.
The guy who was about to buy new will buy your used stuff without much work because of the savings, but the normal used-purchaser is either paralyzed or if unafraid, will grind you. So it's much harder all around. And the bushman
hides his illegal tradings by starting a war? Sigh....

I haven't been having any problems. Plenty of offers. You might try placing a 'Sale Pending' tag on your ad. I only have one open item currently, and I was receiving about 1 e-mail a day for the first 4-5 days. Once I reached a verbal agreement and placed the sale pending sign, the offers really started pouring in. It doesn't make sense to me, but next time I place an ad, I'll be sure to put the sale pending sign on the original ad.

Subaruguru,

"And the bushman hides his illegal tradings by starting a war"????? Come on now, don't be so vague and cute. Spit it out. Step up to the pump Mr. Car Salesman and tell us what's on your mind. Can we pronounce Nevill Chamberlain?

Jmcgrogan,

I put 'sale pending' on my last ad once I had a committed buyer. Offers didn't increase. I think your experience was coincidence.

Personally, if I see 'sale pending' on an ad I don't bother making an offer. Maybe I just haven't seen a deal I thought was worth it yet.

Finally... if I say I have a buyer but I don't, what does that make me?

Tobias,

I agree with you. I don't look at "sale pending" adds. I also agree that it would bother my conscience to say I had a sale when I did not. Plus, if I did, I don't think I would write it in a thread. I hate sales situations where the people or businesses are untrustworthy and manipulative.

On used equipment sales:
Industry retail sales are low for equipment and music. Both are frivolous purchases and people aren’t as free these days with their discretionary income. I have a friend who owns a high-end store who also does Home Theater Installations. Both are down tremendously.

Of course used sales would follow the same path…sort of. Because new sales of equipment is down, those who are buying are looking for better deals so it would seem logical that more people would turn to used equipment. Also, because people are hurting financially and more people are out-of-work (I have been since April until last Thursday) more people are selling equipment because they need money.

It seems there is more equipment for sale and that, in general, prices for the equipment is much better than it was before. A buyers market if there ever was one. Because sales prices are dropping competition is up so the gap between those who sell and those who don’t is getting wider.

There are so many variables in why an item does or does not sell.
1. Perceived value. The greater the perceived value the better chance for interest and ultimately the sale.
2. The Add. There is almost nothing I will buy anymore if there isn’t a picture. In fact, I won’t even look at a add if there aren’t pictures…unless I am already intimately aware of the product. I won’t look at equipment that doesn’t show the original retail. And, if the person inflates the original retail (like when new models come out at higher prices people will try and say their item is the NEW higher retail), I immediately close the add and would not consider buying from them.
3. Feedback. The lower the feedback the less comfortable I am to buy. And I would only consider 0 feedback under extreme circumstances.
4. Equipment model. How well known is the product? How much in demand is the type of equipment? How rare is the model? How diligent is the manufacture in protecting distribution and pricing? How good is the strategy for new model introductions by the company?
5. Availability. How easy is it to get, how many of them are out in circulation.

charles