Bundy74Also, the buyer either may not be patient enough to wait for someone else to sell the item at a lower price, or so they buy the first one they find (I'm guilty of this myself occasionally).
I've cross my "too much to pay" line twice once for a set of handrails for my RS-1 and the other for my Summerset SW1500 which was used but,has a beautiful ACL's purple and silver with thin gold stripe scheme.
Another thing the buyer may do is buy within the first 5 pages. I usually go 25-30 pages if I'm browsing e-Bay.If I do a search for a specific item then I will look through every page that was returned in the search.
A prime example is my LL P2K SCL GP38-2.On the first three pages the prices was around $80-90.00 but,on page 4 of 6 there she was #509 BIN for $55.00 with free shipping from the same shop I bought #500 from at the same price with free shipping..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
One thing to consider may be the availability of the item elsewhere, and the immediate perceived "need" to obtain it by the buyer. The item in question could be the last piece needed for a project, and therefore its percieved value is higher than normal. If the only one available is at a high cost, the buyer may be ok with that for completing a project or finding an item they've been looking for for a while.
Also, the buyer either may not be patient enough to wait for someone else to sell the item at a lower price, or so they buy the first one they find (I'm guilty of this myself occasionally).
Modeling whatever I can make out of that stash of kits that takes up half my apartment's spare bedroom.
Tom,My guess is they think the item is literally worth its weight in gold.
I use 5 different e-Bay stores and all are B&M shops that decided e-Bay stores was better suited for their needs then having a regular web site.All have competitive BIN pricing.
Yeah, a lot of those ebay stores list B-I-N prices higher than many LHSs. In some ways, all of that talk about how online sales are cheaper and more efficient than brick and mortar shops is just marketing dogma.
When it could be just the same dynamic as ever. Undercut the competition until they go under, consolidate, then charge what you want. I think we are starting to see internet sales of everything beginning to charge what they want. Hopefully, there will be enough competion to keep prices honest.
Ebay is still a place for people to sell used goods. I just set my settings to "auction". I notice it cuts down the available products to about 15% of the number of items lised for sale so it saves time having to wade through those shops trying to get 90% of MSRP.
- Douglas
I have bought a number of items off eBay; most of which have been model railroading-related and I've been very happy with the purchases and the sellers. I've gotten anywhere from a fair price for an item or items to a few amazing deals. I knew what I was looking for, I knew what the going rate was for the item, I knew the maximum that I wanted to spend, and I knew how to be patient.
That said, I'm still mystified that some sellers even stay in business who constantly and consistently charge two to three times what other sellers are selling the same item for AND the same condition. (And I'm not talking about rare or vintage items either.) One in particular and who shall remain nameless has 14K+ sales and has even been deemed a "Top Rated Plus" seller. With a 100% feedback rating I guess they treat their customers very well.
Yes, I understand that seller's can sell whatever they want at whatever price they think that they can get for an item. I also understand that buyers will put a value on an item and pay whatever price for what they consider worthy of their money. I get that. Even with FREE shipping - I just don't understand why buyers continue to buy from a seller who demands top-dollar plus for EVERY single item they sell???
To each his own. I just shake my head and look for sellers who can sell me an item of interest at reasonable rates. Most of the time I can generally get something on eBay for 20-30% off MSRP and have gotten VERY nice pieces for as much as 70% off with a bit a patience.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.