Do you sit tight or drop prices?

JustAnotherSaver

LondonZ17 said:

JustAnotherSaver , I love the car analogy. With cars they get older much faster so keeping to a high price for years seems odd. I often see items on Ebay that have been there for years and it makes them look less desirable if no one else has wanted them. There's a Victorian turquoise ring, for example; the seller is obviously selling it at the price she bought it, which is the jeweller's price, and few people will pay this on Ebay as jewellers add a huge mark-up.

The hope, I suppose, is to find a buyer like me. I buy on impulse, within a day of having seen the piece I want. Very bad, as these are the things I'm then stuck with as no one will buy them for the price I paid (which is far lower than what a dealer would charge, as I buy from individuals). So I find I am making a loss on really nice pieces of jewellery. I have worn and enjoyed them, but it feels wrong to sell them for less, and I wonder if the market will pick up again in a few years. 

I appreciate that cars and jewellery are completely different so the same rules may not really apply. As I said earlier, I don't really sell much but when I have, be it eBay or FB Marketplace, I quickly found what it was like on the other side of the fence .... buyers want things for free and sellers want to retire off one sale.

Obviously doesn't apply to everyone.

If you're playing the game and keeping tabs then you can see if someone has been trying to sell something for a while. I don't really have the time for that so buyers generally like someone like me - someone who can't be bothered to haggle and will just say sod it and buy it.

Had a few cheeky sods in my short time as a seller though....

* Someone who wanted a set of Sennheiser headphones that I bought for £250, used once, was selling at £180 ... for £50. Oh and he wanted me to pay to deliver them to Manchester too.

* Someone who wanted a set of (4) tyres that I was selling for £50 with reasonable tread, collection only, to drop my price because he was coming from Glasgow (3hr drive). Sorry pal, you could be coming from next door or the moon, it makes no odds to me. Don't like it don't buy it. Nobody is putting a gun to your head.

* Someone who got very shirty when I basically would've give a car head unit away. Offered a fraction of my asking price and when I said no for the 100th time told me well you wont sell it then. Correct pal, I'd rather not sell it to someone with that attitude.

And the classic FB Marketplace which has happened so much...

* hello is item still for sale?

* yes

After this there is variation...

either never hear from them again, hear from them with the same question next week or they say they'll come to pick it up tomorrow and you never see them again. Idiots.

gt94sss2

Ironically, the price of used cars has gone up as a result of the pandemic and the resulting shortages in computer chips affecting the production of new cars..

LondonZ17

JustAnotherSaver ha ha, yes buyers are a nightmare sometimes! The jewellery buyers take the !!!!!! too, although not as much as car part buyers, by the looks of it. Some idiot bought a 9ct gold pendant, but couldn't find the hallmarks (they were tiny so needed a jeweller's loupe, which is not unusual) and wouldn't take my word for it that it was gold and hallmarked, so returned it  and forced me to pay return postage too...

GadgetGuru

I always sit tight - generally items I do not need or want after reviewing them on my YT channel. I do try to check online prices regularly and if prices drop then I tend to stay in line and undercut a little, but otherwise I tend to just keep relisting at every discounted FVF offer. I list as auction but allow best offer.
Sometimes its taken me over a year to sell an item, sometimes just a few days. Although I do feel eBay sales have definitely slowed down. Have had some luck with other avenues, such as Facebook or Gumtree for instance, but in general things have definitely slowed down for me

jon81uk

I think you actually need to address your shopping habits. Ask do I need it? Will I use it? Can I afford it? Is it worth it?
Sounds like you are buying things that you don't need and don't use. Thats the bigger issue.

I am similar in that I will often buy a "sale bargain" then find a few months later it still has the tags on and I didn't wear it. But as it was in the sale anyway the fashion had already moved on a lot and it won't sell on eBay even for what I paid in the sale, so I accept a few quid just to clear things out. I've tried much harder to not buy things in the sale I might not wear/need in the first place. I've actually bought a lot more full price (or just with a discount code) clothing recently and then worn it as it was something I wanted, rather than just a bargain price.

So my current eBay sales have been one or two items I thought I would like and didn't after a few years (one still with tags) and the rest is stuff I have worn for a few years and is more likely to go to the charity shop. I'm happy that my new with tags stuff sold for an OK price, but I think quite a bit of the used stuff is going to charity in the end.

TripleH

I bought almost a whole new work wardrobe in December 2019 then 2 pairs of work trousers in early March 2020. The trousers sit in my wardrobe with labels on them unworn. I hope never to wear them as I am pushing to loose some weight.

Not very MSE but if I do sell, it will be to get rid of them to a new home. I could hold out for the highest price but I have written off that money long-ago (pay off credit cards each month) and I would rather have the space in my wardrobe.