# How much do you pay for used merchandise? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533 "2019-12-08T00:14:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/21 "2019-12-09T01:30:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Ten-year old electronics for 25% of the retail price, lol you’re funny. Most of what I buy are code (motorcycle) readers and more tool/work related pieces - not something like a tv. Although I will admit that with a couple radios I really like ---- basically as new or N-OS and I’ll bite at 25% or even more. If its something I need to replace something that gave up the ghost, I can justify it at least to myself. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/22 "2019-12-09T23:31:55Z")
When I’m pricing things on craigslist I often just go to eBay and see what things are selling for. No need to use a rule of thumb percentage when there’s a very good transparent marketplace right there. I can usually get eBay price - 10%, which is often a win/win for me and the buyer. We save the eBay/Paypal/shipping cost, and the buyer gets to examine the thing beforehand and make sure it’s what they want. Bulky/heavy items will get a further discount, since there’s extra cost and hassle avoided in not shipping them. Furniture is rarely worth as much as 50% of new unless it’s very new or from a very specific time period that’s currently in style. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/23 "2019-12-10T02:01:02Z")
It seems to be a common thing for sellers on craigslist to over value the things they’re selling. It may very well be the [endowment effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect) at work, where merely owning an item causes people to place a higher value on it. On some car forums the phrase “No low balls; I know what I have” has become kind of a running joke, referring to a phrase sometimes found in craigslist car ads from sellers who seem to be under the delusion that the old clunker they’re selling is in fact some sort of valuable classic, and thus ask an unreasonably high price that they’re not likely to get. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/24 "2019-12-10T02:52:17Z")
What WildaBeast said, especially about cars and motorcycles. Folks don’t seem to realize that other people can look up NADA and Kelly Blue Book and Carfax and other history reports and comparison shop as well. Electronics, I got nothing. I’ve bought a few used phones off ebay for as much as 60% of original retail and been very satisfied but other computing and gaming devices…eeeeehhh I’d rather buy new just cause. ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/25 "2019-12-10T11:26:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > It seems to be a common thing for sellers on craigslist to over value the things they’re selling. … There used-to-be a weekly classified ad magazine (The Want Advertiser) where the seller only paid a commission if the item sold. This, like Craigslist, encourages people to over-value the merchandise because the advertisement costs nothing. Even a token amount, like $1-per-week, would give sellers a pause to consider a reasonable price. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/26 "2019-12-10T18:59:19Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > It seems to be a common thing for sellers on craigslist to over value the things they’re selling. It may very well be the [endowment effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect) at work, where merely owning an item causes people to place a higher value on it. There’s also a strong survivorship bias. Stuff that’s undervalued or correctly valued doesn’t stay up on craigslist very long at all. If you are looking for something in particular, subscribe to an alert for it. You’ll see the good stuff come up, and if you’re quick on the trigger, you’ll get it for a great price, or you’ll see the posting go down an hour later. You’ll also see the same ads asking too much renewed forever. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/27 "2019-12-10T19:39:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > 1. They want to get the item off their hands, or would rather get _some_ money for it now than a possibly larger amount at some time in the indefinite future. I do this. I don’t want to wait around to find out how much someone will eventually pay for it. If I’m selling it then I need it to go. When I was younger I occasionally sold things because I needed the money and that meant I didn’t have time to see how much more I could get. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/28 "2019-12-11T18:49:30Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > If I’m the seller I try to get as much as I can, if I’m the buyer I try to pay as little as I can. > > /rocket science Yes, but… I used to trade in photo gear on eBay. I bought as cheap as possible and sold for whatever, with my listings ALWAYS starting at one US dollar. A Nikon “nifty fifty” at a buck draws much attention, and then the bids start piling up. If bids are IMHO too low, cancel and try again a month later. I doubled my money overall so I must have done it right. (Profits paid for my own select gear.) Old electronics sold for almost nothing unless a bit rare, like a Teac quadraphonic tape deck or a Roland analog synthesizer. Power amps did okay. Consumer electronics? Meh. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/29 "2019-12-11T21:31:52Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > If bids are IMHO too low, cancel and try again a month later. Wow. That is seriously bad behavior. You deserve lots of negative feedback for that. I’ll go even further–you should be banned by Ebay for holding auctions in bad faith. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/30 "2019-12-12T02:02:32Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Wow. That is seriously bad behavior. You deserve lots of negative feedback for that. I’ll go even further–you should be banned by Ebay for holding auctions in bad faith. Not bad faith; I always set 10-day auctions. eBay rules have long allowed for cancellation up to so many hours before an auction closes. [The current rule is](https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/cancelling-listing?id=4146): > [@](#): > > You can end your auction listing early if… There are bids on your item, and you don’t want to sell it to the highest bidder, but there are 12 or more hours left in the listing. In this situation, you’ll need to cancel all active bids before you can end your listing. We charge a fee for ending a listing in this way. No, I did not do so regularly; I’ve all positive feedback in 21 years on eBay. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/31 "2019-12-12T02:07:20Z")
Has it always been that way? Seems pretty deceptive to allow people to cancel their auctions if the bidding (the terms of which the seller sets) aren’t going their way. I know that _I_ wouldn’t want to bother bidding on something from a seller who does that. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2019, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533/32 "2019-12-12T03:22:24Z")
Not to mention, the O.P. was asking about how to price your stuff. If people are going on eBay and selling, I dunno, a used Rolls Royce at a hundred bucks - and then cancelling their auction - that throws off people who are researching Rolls Royce prices. Which was the topic of the O.P. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-for-used-merchandise/844533.md?page=1)