This is not a hijack. because...

It's a rule of the pawn shop world: the person who offers a price first is at a disadvantage in negotiations. At the shop, if you come with an item and want to sell it, the first question is: "How much do you want out of this?"

No matter what they answer, at that point they have given us information.

If they come in with a $200 item, which we would normally buy for $80, and they ask $20 for it, deal is done; we are giving you $20. That is the nature of the business, with few exceptions. If they want $100, they have to be dealt with differently. If they want $500, they have to be dealt with differently.

So, getting their number is so important, that we will always go a second round.

"How much do you want out of this?"
"Aw I dunno just give me what you think it's worth."
"No really, did you have some amount in mind?"

But it's also a rule that everyone in the transaction walks away satisfied, if not happy. You would not have set a price that you would not be satisfied with. And in that, a lot of strange things happen. Your number for fair market value could be way off, AND the buyer's number could be way off, and the transaction could still wind up done and everyone happy.

Many times the shop has bought in a $100 item only to find that it has a special add-on or condition that makes it worth $300. And, many times the shop has bought in a $100 item, only to find it's broken and can't be repaired, and sells for parts at $20.

I read some trendy pop economics/psychology book a year or so ago. It may have been The Tipping Point, but it may also have been something else.

Anyway, in this book, they cited a study where negotiations occur, and in that study they found that the person who gives a number first in a negotiation has the greater power because that first number acts as an anchor. And the effect works, even if the people doing the negotiation are made aware of the phenomenon.

Now clearly, the first offer has to be within the ballpark of reality, or else it is dismissed outright. But supposedly science says it works.

My problem is that I didn't (and still don't) know what the player was worth.

The whole thing is kind of fascinating to me, because when there is virtually no established market value, the buyer and I are basically making this up as we go along. We just set the value of this thing for future transactions.

If I'm not being too nosy, what did eBay make off this transaction?

I'm not really sure. They don't release the money to me for some time because I'm still new. And then they send a monthly invoice, which can be paid from my paypal surplus balance. But it was ten percent last time, plus a bit for doing Buy It Now. I'll come back and post when I figure it out. I suspect it will be $30 or so.

On the subject of "worth":

I'm reminded of something my Dad said once when I told him that his newfangled VCR thingy (with a wired remote, to give you an idea of the vintage) could have been had at the local electronics store for $X when he paid $X+something at *gasp* Sears. He told me, "V, a good deal is a state of mind."

Not unlike real estate, hm?

Yup. Free Market sez you just proved your DVD player was worth $281.

A lot of the things we take for given are in fact fragile illusions.


In terms of ebay's cut, usually you can figure that low volume people are losing about 12% to ebay and paypal, high volume a few percent less. They take their cuts out of the total price (item + shipping), so I think I think glatt will end up with about $220-215 in hand.

Typically when you add up all the fees to ebay/paypal you lose about 15% of your take. That's one reason I don't sell shit anymore on ebay.

:speechls: JFC! I almost choked on a Dorito.

They have a good business model. What do they do? Run some servers?

I'm doing all the work. And they get $30-35.

How much would you have had to pay for advertising to reach the same number of potential buyers? Marketing. It's what they do. It's what you pay them for. ;)


Sent by thought transference

They also own the bank (paypal) that they require you to use.

CHA CHINGGGGG!

Not for long; they are splitting up. B'iness community thinks they will do better separate

Yeh, I'd much rather hoard that shit in my basement for .... ever!

I had an experience that fits in this thread the other day. I took some jewellery that I was tired of and sold it the other day to a second-hand jewellery dealer in the nearest Big Smoke. I had a little scrap silver (two broken chain bracelets and a broken necklace) which the jeweller didn't want. They suggested I go to a pawn shop who would buy it.
Counter Girl at the pawn shop explained that silver is priced in pennies. I said I'd rather have pennies than the scrap bits, what else was I going to do, throw it away? Counter Girl said "it's your choice" as though she really thought that was something I might consider. I was dumbfounded. Eventually, after going through the process of getting registered as their client and being read a stock statement about the items not being nicked, being mine, and me being happy for my details to be given to the police in the event of problems with my items I received a pound (dollar and fifty cents).
(I didn't have any of that rigmarole with £130-worth of jewellery sold to the jeweller).
I absolutely get that they were two very different establishments dealing with two very different types of customer. I absolutely get that I was not a typical punter for the pawn shop and that Counter Girl might have wondered why I was bothering to offload scraps for just a pound. But I repeat: what else was I going to do? Bin it? And I cannot fathom why Counter Girl seemed to think I really might consider that option. Surely their regular punters would be happy for even a pound?



Sent by thought transference

Same problem worldwide: people think silver is worth a little less than gold. Maybe half the price, after all it is only one medal away. In fact, the price of gold is 70 times the price of silver.

So people routinely go into reverse price shock when told their silver is worth a trivial amount, so you go into every silver transaction with the weary notion that you are going to be called a thief. It's worth so little that it would almost be worth it just to not deal in it.