I think Antiques Roadshow is responsible for a lot of this, now everyone thinks their garbage is worth millions.
For instance, in the late 90s, I bought a Laura Branigan CD used off eBay. I was happy with the price I paid, but when the item arrived I received not only the CD I bought but a whole stack of other CDs by her. The seller put a note with it, “I can even give these away, they’re your problem now.” So I got a bunch of Laura Branigan CDs, which I love.
I can’t imagine anyone doing that on eBay now.
The price scheme of eBay amazes me too. You often see buy it now prices MUCH lower than the auction items. You really just have to shop around and know what the item’s worth.
Places like Freecycle seem to be a total mess. I’ve been given the runaround about seven times since I joined in June. People offer and give you fake addresses, or say they gave it to someone else. I’ve yet to get anything from anyone offering on that site.
So I guess it’s used by a lot of people for fun, for sending people on a wild-goose chase. And you’re not paying any money so I guess they figure, it doesn’t matter
Even on sites like eBay and on message boards, I see prices on old digital cameras, LCD monitors, and LCD and plasma televisions priced fairly close to the purchase price for a new equivalent. On Something Awful, posters sell computer gear for fairly reasonable prices, but when it comes to monitors, forget it; it’s “I paid $250 for this on Newegg a year ago, but I’m letting it go for only $225”. People here have said that “electronics don’t hold their value”, but I wonder if that’s changing thanks to Craigslist and other venues online.
I hate people who look for bargains and then want to dicker.
I was selling a diamond ring. I asked a nice round $2000 for it. Just picked a number, not bothering with an appraisal, it was my exe’s and I just wanted to get rid of it. This guy comes out to see it, insists we go to the closest jeweler to have him say it’s a real diamond. Okay. Then says “I want it but I must get it for less because I’m Chinese and I will lose face paying full price. Even $20 less, what do you say?” I said, I don’t like people who drag me to jewelry stores and then want to change the price. Take or leave it. He left, and the next guy bought it. Some clever negotiator he was.
I’ve had good luck with a site like that in Yahoo groups Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos
I got a free microwave and some attractive storage basket cases. I gave away some exercise equipment. The good thing about sites like this is they are really local. Craigslist got me callers from all over the metro area. I tried to talk one guy out of buying my old cell phone, because he would spend two hours getting to me, but he insisted. When he arrived he said that was dumb, but he was hot for the identical model to the one he’d lost so he wouldn’t have a learning curve. To each his own.
On a local tv station’s forum a woman was lamenting that she wasn’t getting any bites on the camera she listed on CL. Yeah, it didn’t work but she was only asking $90 for it and she paid $150 barely a year ago, she complained. Surely somebody would want to snatch up that great deal in the hopes that it could be easily fixed.
I looked it up and the same camera could be had on Amazon for $75.:rolleyes:
The fact that some people advertise electronics for silly prices doesn’t mean that other people are willing to pay silly prices for used goods.
In the example i gave above, why would i spend $1000 on something that i one year old when i can buy the exact same thing, brand new, with a full factory warranty, from a reputable dealer, for $899. The fact that this woman was asking $1000 for the camera kit didn’t mean that someone was going to give her $1000.
I guess there might be people stupid enough to pay more for used equipment than for new, but people who don’t do a bit of research have only themselves to blame if they get screwed.
ETA:
I had another good Craigslist experience today.
I’ve been looking for a bodyboard, but because i’m not at the beach every day and am not an expert rider, i didn’t want to pay a lot. I found a guy who’s been in San Diego for a couple of months, and was looking to get rid of his bodyboard before he left for a part of the country where there are no beaches. The board was, as advertised, in perfect condition, and i paid his $35 asking price for a board that is currently selling online in the $75-90 range. I was happy with the price, and i wasn’t going to start dickering over 5 bucks once i got out to his place. Craigslist is, like eBay and other similar markets, a place that works really well when people enter into it in good faith and with the intention of being honest and upfront.