Q: Why remove price when item is sold?

[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.

[OtayBW]

^ No disrespect, but you seem to be overthinking it - at least the way I'm trying to describe it. You may disagree, but trying to get your full cost back after you bought something and used just isn't how I roll. Some good faith adjustment is a cool thing to do, especially among friends. What you do is up to you! But this is now pretty good thread drift, and I'm sorry for that.

[RobJ]

I personally like seeing the original asking price being left in the posting. It does provide some sort of market value especially for older/harder to find items, where someone may have more expertise. I realize there are factors involved and most here are providing a better deal than elsewhere, but if I can't find it here and go to eBay or CL etc. at least I know close to what I should be paying with the other sites probably slightly higher.

But wouldn't deleting the sales price also possibly lead to flippers? Buy the product, delete the price, sit on the item for a short time, repost it at a higher price? Especially where someone was offering a forum discount of sorts, flipper knows full well they have room for margin on a resale. Not saying anyone here does that, but it could open the forum up to such a behavior.

[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

[eddief]

but if we create a new one we have to get rid of two old ones. Just leave the price in your ad. What difference could it possibly make if you advertised for one price and then sold it for less? Leaving the price in the ad creates another good data point for those bros wanting to better understand the marketplace.

[seanile]

set your price. if someone buys it, goody for you.
if no one buys it, lower your price until you don't feel you're getting your due.
that's supply and demand..regardless of what price-record is in another thread.

i delete my prices so i can sell another of the same item down the road at a higher price without getting tsk-tsked. if the market can bear it at the price that i want out of it, what the same stem sold for 7 months ago is irrelevant.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by eddief

but if we create a new one we have to get rid of two old ones. Just leave the price in your ad. What difference could it possibly make if you advertised for one price and then sold it for less? Leaving the price in the ad creates another good data point for those bros wanting to better understand the marketplace.

Again, there is NO "better understanding the marketplace " if you listed something for one price and it sold for 1/2 that price.

Where is the understanding? Unless the seller discloses ALL the terms of the sale...( packing costs, shipping, insurance, PayPal fee's, trades, etc, etc, etc)...there is no understanding.

And I for one feel it's a private matter to not tell the world what I bought or sold something for. Maybe it was the way I was brought up, but it's no ones business!!!

On a similar note, I truly hate when someone asks me what I paid for an item. Makes me cringe. I am always polite and tell them ( in a polite manner ) it's none of their business!

[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!

[eddief]

I defer to you...regardless of your upbringing.

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

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

[dustyrider]

I'm going to point out that there is way more happening on this forum with private messages than I've ever experienced. And if you really want to know what the market is doing you'll have to look beyond the paceline. I've sent off items as a donation, others have as well, we deal in trades and take personal checks. It's part of the reason this place is so special. Folks genuinely care!

Sure we get those folks, who will remain nameless, that push our buttons and fire off an irate pm. But they're only human! Thanks to the countless hours our generous moderators put in, and those dollars from those sponsor at the top of the page, we've got a smooth running ship for the most part. Of course there is February...

Basically what I'm saying is to try and remember that your personal freedoms end where mine begin. If someone wants to delete the price, and I don't like it, how can I say they shouldn't? It's a relative thing price, value, worth. I'd rather we make an effort to include frame size in the title! Cause this 58cm bike rider thinks all the bikes 56cm and smaller are worthless.

[Hilltopperny]

I end up deleting the price of my posts most of the time, but I also tend to sell things cheaper here than any other place due to the buddy system that this forum has. I've bought, sold, traded, given and received on this forum and have rarely had a bad experience. As stated above by ebaumann and others this is not the place to guage value as their are tons of bro deals that go on.

For those that are trying to get top dollar for your items this certainly isn't the place. I gladly sell on here for less to avoid places like ebay and Craigslist and avoid the headaches that are involved with them. I post my items here for a couple of weeks before listing elsewhere.

If I am looking for top dollar I'll list on ebay or craigslist. If I want to pass on one of my better bikes that I want to be appreciated it will get listed here at a discount to what I would ask elsewhere. It is what it is and the current market will dictate if it sells.

I am personally shocked at the prices on current listings that aren't selling. I have seen at least 5 top level bikes in my size that if I were in the market or just had the extra cash to blow would be here with me now. Unfortunately the winter market here for high end bikes is slow if not kind of dead.

[Dale Alan]

When I see the price removed my first thought is the seller feels like they screwed somebody... Either in the past ,present, or plans to do it again in the future . Just my opinion of course,I believe in honesty and full disclosure. If a person feels good and honest about how they do business why hide anything ?

[cmbicycles]

Shouldn't this be in General Discussion?

I don't think it really makes much difference one way or another whether people leave prices or not. If we are honest, most folks here spend too much time looking at bike stuff and have a good handle on prices and the myriad factors that affect them. If someone wants to leave a price on a listing, or delete it, that is their business and it does no good to jump to conclusions on what their motivation was/is... maybe they just want some semblance of internet privacy.


This post will self-delete in 30 seconds.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by cmbicycles

Shouldn't this be in General Discussion?
...

Agreed