Selling stuff on ebay at astronomical prices

[futuristicoldman]

I was snooping about in ebay land looking at a bunch of ludicrously priced kit on buy it now, the kind of prices that make you laugh out loud. It struck me that I might be missing a trick by posting stuff at reasonable prices, has anybody here had any success putting items up in a silly way and getting sales? I suppose if you dont know the true worth of your item and you put it up at 10 times its value or "nearest offer" it could be a useful way of determining its real value with the potential added bonus of actually turning a tidy profit! Of course the Idea of selling knackered stuff at a high price does not fall into my train of thought here, im talking more along the lines of a mint m900 mech etc selling for £300 and daft stuff like that.
I would be interested to hear about anybodies "jackpot" moments...... I would just like to add that im not actually a greedy vulgar capitalist at heart, i'm more just interested in putting bread on t table and thought it could make the difference between eating white sliced or a fig and walnut batard or a similar pompous loaf.

 

[xxnick1975]

People will pay a decent price for good items, but you won't make a living taking the P155.

i've only ever turned a profit on dvd box sets

 

[retrojohm65]

the idea

what some people do is put a massive buy it now, if you contact them they may do a cash deal to avoid ebay fees! a bit like a street hooker asking if you're looking for business..

 

[futuristicoldman]

Im sure that on the whole you are right. It just got my mind whirring after seeing said items, I wasn't sure if anybody actually bought any of it. If I sell a bike that I think is worth £100 for £100 does that make me a fool when It could be worth £300 to the next man? Is there too much of an assumption that value is the driving force behind the fingers that press the buy button?

 

[MADJEZ]

I direct you to the amusing :

The official : Nobody wants it dude, give it up Ebay thread.

There are quite a few items which get relisted continuously as crazy price (some for over a year) presumably in the hope that some mug will take them up.

 

[Barneyballbags]

You're not the only one who's seen these ridiculously priced bits... There's a set of used Cook Bros cranks on eBay at the moment with a $850 BIN :roll:

The thing is though, if you were building a bike, and needed a NOS M900 rear mech to complete it (and you had the money to spend on one obviously), would you wait for what could possibly be months for one to pop up for £60-70, or would you buy the ridiculously priced one on eBay because it's there, and because you can afford it?

I'm just speaking from my own point of view here, but if I was that desperate for one, then I'd fork out the cash if I could afford it.

The mech definitely won't be worth £300 to 99.9% of people, but there will always be that one person who needs it, and who will pay the premium to get it.

 

[NeilM]

I'm pretty new here, but it's clear, just as Barney said, that there are those who can, and will pay those prices. To me, it's the difference between the 'riders' and the 'restorers'. I have seen this in the British motorcycle world and also with American cars. Those looking to put a machine back into pristine showroom condition will pay silly money for the part they need to finish the job, how about $50 for a 1966 brake pedal rubber, or $200 for a working dash board clock (they are usually broken... as they are rubbish).

Speaking personally, there is a limit to what I will pay, even for something comparatively rare like a particular pair of handlebars or a stem, and I would prefer to use something else, rather than pay over the odds for the right item.

Last thought is that we are generating these prices. Just look in the for sales, and see how quickly certain items sell and for how much. Are they all sold too complete a project? No, most of the time they are being hoarded JIC. This encourages others to raid the parts store (or old chest of draws full of spiders in the garage) and put their identical item up for sale a tenner more than the one that just sold, and on it goes.

Years ago, I used to attend a lot of motorcycle autojumbles, and pick up good stuff at sensible prices. Now, the jumbles have nothing but boxes full of rusty cr*p and the stuff on ebay is so expensive it means that it is no longer affordable to get old motorbikes back on the road.

We need to be careful the retro bike scene does not continue to go that way.

 

[futuristicoldman]

As a yorkshire man I am blessed with the ailment of being incapable of buying anything unless it is very cheap. I have a natural protection mechanism against this kind of thing and count myself very lucky!

 

[NeilM]

As a Scotsman, I have the same affliction

 

[JeRkY]

As a yorkshire man I am blessed with the ailment of being incapable of buying anything unless it is very cheap. I have a natural protection mechanism against this kind of thing and count myself very lucky!

As a Fellow Yorkshireman but exiled in London, I am blessed with a development of that trait, being able to buy at a price, so long as I am fairly confident I can bung it back on ebay and at least get my money back. It is a subtle but I like to think important difference.