Q: Why remove price when item is sold?

[drewellison]

Some folks remove the sales price after the item is sold. Why?

[chiasticon]

I don't. I think it's in the sticky too that sellers not do this.

I think it helps in the future, should someone list the same/similar item. that's why I leave it.

[eBAUMANN]

OK, so, this might get long...

The only argument FOR leaving prices it to create some sort of record of what something is worth for future sales of that item or others like it.

There are a few issues with this, as the set price of an item can vary widely depending on several factors:

1 - time of year
2 - seller motivation
3 - size/spec of item

You get the idea...

To say that a used _________ is worth ________ because thats what it sold for in January from a seller who makes six figures and doesnt give a sh*t about money...is not really accurate or helpful for anyone.

-----

Personally, I HATE when people call out others on prices, linking previous sale threads or ebay listings. Its annoying and childish.

If its a fair price, it will sell.
If its not a fair price, it wont.

An item is worth what the market is willing to pay, not what it happened to sell for on ebay a month ago at 4am in the morning...

-----

This is not a forum for PUBLIC sales...everything here is bought and sold through PRIVATE sales between 2 (or sometimes 3, 4) parties...thats it. The terms of the sale are dictated by these individuals at that time and should have no future bearing on any future sales of the items in question or any others like it.

If a seller wants to delete the entire thread once the item is sold or repurpose it to sell another new item, thats their prerogative, as far as im concerned.


K, im gonna stop there.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

1 - time of year
2 - seller motivation
3 - size/spec of item

You get the idea...

Don't get me wrong, but add some human intelligence and reading between the lines when assessing those parameters above, add factors like condition, feedback by fellow forumites (e.g. "deal of the day" etc.) plus how long it took to sell (or not) and it gives you a pretty good idea of what it is worth to Paceliners.

[eBAUMANN]

It is the duty of a seller to do right by themselves in selling their items, and that means different things to different people.

Some people just want it gone, they want to give someone a deal, their time and space in the garage are worth more to them than the extra $500 they might make holding out at a higher price for a couple months.

Thats cool and all, good on them, I aspire to reach a place of financial comfort one day when I too can do the same.

But this is the exception, not the rule.

Most sellers (who want to get the best price for their item) will do a little poking around online (ebay, forums, etc) or ask friends to figure out what the going rate for their item might be.

On the flip side of this, most buyers will also do their research before making a purchase. If you have an eye on a particular item (of which there is more than one), you really should watch a few auctions to see what things are selling for before buying.

Paceline is a place of informed (maybe even OVER informed) buyers and sellers...if you dont know what something is worth, just ask someone who might have a clue via PM.

[ColnagoFan]

Long, but informative. I think I've both removed and left prices on my ads, I guess depends on if I'm thinking about it or not.

I do get the point where it could be useful for someone to see what something might have sold for in the past, either as a buyer or seller. But also the flipside is Eric's point.
I've sold some stuff at some pretty rock-bottom pricing to "just get it gone," not because I can afford to, but because I needed to cash it in. In my opinion, those items went for below market value, and I didn't want that to skew future stuff.

I always poke around other forums, around eBay, etc, before posting stuff here. And 10 out of 10 times I will price my stuff lower here than if I were selling on other sites. A few times I've been off, simple mistake, and I've had a friendly PM from a PLer to help me out, and I've adjusted.

Anyway as a buyer & a seller, I see both sides of it, I don't know whether one is right or wrong, really.

Man, mine was long too...sorry!

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

OK, so, this might get long...

The only argument FOR leaving prices it to create some sort of record of what something is worth for future sales of that item or others like it.

There are a few issues with this, as the set price of an item can vary widely depending on several factors:

1 - time of year
2 - seller motivation
3 - size/spec of item

You get the idea...

To say that a used _________ is worth ________ because thats what it sold for in January from a seller who makes six figures and doesnt give a sh*t about money...is not really accurate or helpful for anyone.

-----

Personally, I HATE when people call out others on prices, linking previous sale threads or ebay listings. Its annoying and childish.

If its a fair price, it will sell.
If its not a fair price, it wont.

An item is worth what the market is willing to pay, not what it happened to sell for on ebay a month ago at 4am in the morning...

-----

This is not a forum for PUBLIC sales...everything here is bought and sold through PRIVATE sales between 2 (or sometimes 3, 4) parties...thats it. The terms of the sale are dictated by these individuals at that time and should have no future bearing on any future sales of the items in question or any others like it.

If a seller wants to delete the entire thread once the item is sold or repurpose it to sell another new item, thats their prerogative, as far as im concerned.


K, im gonna stop there.

[cpsqlrwn]

+1 on this thread, lots of interesting comments

[marciero]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

This is not a forum for PUBLIC sales...everything here is bought and sold through PRIVATE sales between 2 (or sometimes 3, 4) parties...thats it. The terms of the sale are dictated by these individuals at that time and should have no future bearing on any future sales of the items in question or any others like it.

Debatable whether you could consider this private forum, or what the distinction between private and public might even be. Even ebay has "make offer". But public, private matters little. It's still a market. Advertised prices, whether they differ from the actual sale price or not, give information on the market. Even if that information is not shared, it correlates with future sales prices, at least in the sense of averages over many sales. Every market is subject to fluctuations, has outlier prices, etc. My impression of the market value of something is usually informed by dozens of listings, not a single one.

On the other hand, I dont have a problem with sellers removing the price or deleting if they want to.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by drewellison

Some folks remove the sales price after the item is sold. Why?

I always do. What is sold and the terms of that sale are between the buyer and the seller. It's no one else's business.

If someone sends me a private message and asks me what I sold something for because they are interested in purchasing something similar or wanting to sell the same item, I will give them that information.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

I always do. What is sold and the terms of that sale are between the buyer and the seller. It's no one else's business.

If someone sends me a private message and asks me what I sold something for because they are interested in purchasing something similar or wanting to sell the same item, I will give them that information.

Aren't those two different things: asking price in the ad vs. actual price that the item sold for?
I can see your point for the latter but the asking price has been out there in the first place and DOES help to determine some kind of market value.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

Aren't those two different things: asking price in the ad vs. actual price that the item sold for?
I can see your point for the latter but the asking price has been out there in the first place and DOES help to determine some kind of market value.

What if it sold for 1/2 the price in the ad? No determination of market value.

[brockd15]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

What if it sold for 1/2 the price in the ad? No determination of market value.

This is true, but my assumption is that if it did sell for lower it wouldn't be that much lower. A little, but not half, so the original posted price is still relevant.

[KJMUNC]

eBAUMANN hits it squarely......there are so many variables to every sale that you can't ever use a single occurrence here to indicate "market value". Heck, we have people GIVE AWAY stuff here, literally....or sometimes sell stuff for really cheap prices compared to what you'd pay on eBay etc.

I don't mind it....it's not like this is the only place to gauge pricing. As a seller, if you do check pricing here you're often better off selling elsewhere if all you care about is getting the highest price.

I typically delete prices, mainly because I don't really care for people second guessing my pricing after the fact.....and making sure my wife has no idea what I buy/sell stuff for!

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

.....and making sure my wife has no idea what I buy/sell stuff for!

[/end]

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by brockd15

This is true, but my assumption is that if it did sell for lower it wouldn't be that much lower. A little, but not half, so the original posted price is still relevant.

You would be surprised at what things are selling for these days. It's TRULY a buyers market!