Buying second hand items, HOW MUCH????

[robbeech]

Has anyone else noticed some of the ludicrous prices people are asking for stuff on places like F*cebook Marketpl*ace and groups in the last couple of years?

What are people thinking ? I have often thought I just be out of touch with the value of stuff but it just seems like people want astronomical prices for things.

For those who don’t know, which I assume is most, I work in the entertainment industry on the production side so regularly deal with equipment for live events, amplifiers, microphones, stage lights, musical instruments, and I’ve noticed certainly in my field that people are flogging any old 30 year old tat for 3 and 4 times what anyone would have reasonably given for it a couple of years back. These items aren’t in high demand either, and usually never get sold It’s baffling how some people seem to ask for more than the new value and get quite upset when someone calls them out on it.

Has anyone else noticed this, particularly if you have a bit of a niche area?

 

[Busaholic]

Has anyone else noticed some of the ludicrous prices people are asking for stuff on places like F*cebook Marketpl*ace and groups in the last couple of years?

What are people thinking ? I have often thought I just be out of touch with the value of stuff but it just seems like people want astronomical prices for things.

For those who don’t know, which I assume is most, I work in the entertainment industry on the production side so regularly deal with equipment for live events, amplifiers, microphones, stage lights, musical instruments, and I’ve noticed certainly in my field that people are flogging any old 30 year old tat for 3 and 4 times what anyone would have reasonably given for it a couple of years back. These items aren’t in high demand either, and usually never get sold It’s baffling how some people seem to ask for more than the new value and get quite upset when someone calls them out on it.

Has anyone else noticed this, particularly if you have a bit of a niche area?

When I sold new books, I sometimes found secondhand copies of the same edition being sold for twice the cover price locally. Caveat emptor.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Sellers who abuse the practice of "drop shipping", for example, spivvy second hand book resellers who don't actually have the stock they're listing themselves but hope to obtain it from a third party and then have it on-forwarded to you in the fullness of time at a considerable mark up.

And if they can't obtain the item, your order is quietly cancelled.

 

[Gloster]

Sellers look and see something that they think is the same at a high price and miss that that it is a top of the range variant in pristine condition, while theirs is the cheapest version in poor condition. Or they spot a price that was current when the item was new and in short supply, which it isn’t now. Or it has all the optional extras. Buyers make the opposite mistakes: thinking they are getting a top of the range item when it is a basic one, etc.

But the the main reason is a combination of stupidity and cupidity: the desire for a bargain means that judgement and sense are forgotten.

 

[bspahh]

If it is free to list things, then if you offer stuff at a high price, you might find someone who pays. They might be gullible, or the cheaper items might be out of stock. For audio hardware, some things will gradually decrease in value until they are worthless. Others might become classics and go up in value.

 

[Springs Branch]

I've observed this phenomenon (at arm's length) from the seller's perspective - and agree with the OP, it's often a bit mad.

My wife's nephew has a regular job, wife & child - plus a busy sideline in selling stuff on free-to-list FB Marketplace.

Rather than niche or specialty items, it's mostly everyday household stuff which has become surplus to requirements. Whenever any family member has something to go in the wheelie bin or take to the tip, we always give him first refusal - and more times than not he manages to sell it for a worthwhile sum (keeping the proceeds himself).

Two recent examples are a box of used decorative tiles which had been chipped off a wall during a renovation, and a set of 1970s-era heavy velvet curtains from his mother's house. The curtains were in reasonable nick considering their age (house-proud old lady), but dusty, a bit faded on one side and obviously suitable only for a particular size of window.

Everyone in the family is astonished at the old tat he is able to sell, and the silly prices people will pay for it.

Some of the transaction are understandable (e.g. grown-out-of baby's cot, barely-used children's toys etc.) but based on descriptions of some of the characters who come to collect some of the more random things, I wonder if a good fraction of them are hoarders who blow their pensions or life savings on accumulating junk.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

They are asking prices for non-essential goods. Look another time for lower prices.

As for books, I get more than I can read for free, lots of interesting stuff that I never knew of. Just have to invest time and energy cycling to the Little Free Libraries.

 

[telstarbox]

In 2020 second hand bikes were going for high prices as there was a shortage of new ones to buy. Also as bikes have less to go wrong than cars I assume the depreciation curve is flatter?

In my experience Facebook Marketplace (and Gumtree) are the opposite of what the OP said - people sell for low prices to get rid of clutter rather than making money.

 

[deltic]

Ebay is full of overpriced items probably for the reasons @Gloster states. Free listings just incentivises people to keep on listing items at unsalable prices and clogging up the whole site. I also wonder if there is an element of money laundering going on sometimes.

 

[DelW]

One example I encountered in the books line, was Joe Brown's Birmingham and West Midlands Railway Atlas. I missed hearing about it when it came out in 2016, and by the time I found out about it, the first edition had sold out. However an internet search did produce one copy available - on eBay at around £400! I'd have liked a copy, but not at anywhere near that price.

From a quick check just now, there are currently no listings for it at all, so either that seller withdrew it, cut its price, or someone paid well over the odds. Fortunately a second edition is due out in April at a much more reasonable £30, so I'm waiting until that appears.

 

[WelshBluebird]

One example I encountered in the books line, was Joe Brown's Birmingham and West Midlands Railway Atlas. I missed hearing about it when it came out in 2016, and by the time I found out about it, the first edition had sold out. However an internet search did produce one copy available - on eBay at around £400! I'd have liked a copy, but not at anywhere near that price.

From a quick check just now, there are currently no listings for it at all, so either that seller withdrew it, cut its price, or someone paid well over the odds. Fortunately a second edition is due out in April at a much more reasonable £30, so I'm waiting until that appears.

To be fair that sounds more like the case of limited availability causing a high price, not really to do with second hand items being too expensive! If there is literally just one copy you can find for sale, it isn't exactly surprising that someone would be asking for a high price - that happens with pretty much anything that is limited in supply!

 

[dgl]

I know on one live audio forum I frequent they were talking about the lack of offers on new stuff at the moment, we'll my response was at the moment "in stock - ready to ship" is the best offer, and unfortunately that is true, especially if you are bidding for a job.

 

[gg1]

One example I encountered in the books line, was Joe Brown's Birmingham and West Midlands Railway Atlas. I missed hearing about it when it came out in 2016, and by the time I found out about it, the first edition had sold out. However an internet search did produce one copy available - on eBay at around £400! I'd have liked a copy, but not at anywhere near that price.

From a quick check just now, there are currently no listings for it at all, so either that seller withdrew it, cut its price, or someone paid well over the odds. Fortunately a second edition is due out in April at a much more reasonable £30, so I'm waiting until that appears.

For rare items like that I make use of the saved search function on eBay which emails me when an item is listed at a price I'm willing to pay. In the case of that specific book, one sold for £7 in October:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304168770903?epid=0&hash=item46d1df1d57:g:ts0AAOSw~9phVuYI

 

[DelW]

For rare items like that I make use of the saved search function on eBay which emails me when an item is listed at a price I'm willing to pay. In the case of that specific book, one sold for £7 in October:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304168770903?epid=0&hash=item46d1df1d57:g:ts0AAOSw~9phVuYI

That's very reasonable, and only one bid for it too. Maybe I should have done that.

 

[bspahh]

For rare items like that I make use of the saved search function on eBay which emails me when an item is listed at a price I'm willing to pay. In the case of that specific book, one sold for £7 in October:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304168770903?epid=0&hash=item46d1df1d57:g:ts0AAOSw~9phVuYI

This works really well for shopping for branded things like shoes. If you find a pair where you like the fit and style, set up an eBay search for the exact product code and size, for a Buy It Now listing. You can set a lowish maximum price, and subscribe to get an email when there is something that matches. If you buy exactly the same style and size, then it should fit the same as the pair that you already have, and you don't have the hassle of shopping around finding shoes that fit.

 

[DannyMich2018]

I picked up some very nice Nike af1s the other week through FB Market Place. You do have to watch out cause some people really try it on with prices, even for used ones! These were great for 40 quid. Very little use. RRP new is 100+

 

[BluePenguin]

Ebay is full of overpriced items probably for the reasons @Gloster states. Free listings just incentivises people to keep on listing items at unsalable prices and clogging up the whole site. I also wonder if there is an element of money laundering going on sometimes.

How can you launder money on eBay? You must own the item you are selling else that would be fraud

 

[py_megapixel]

How can you launder money on eBay? You must own the item you are selling else that would be fraud

Basically they order the item from somewhere else, only after you have paid them for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_shipping

 

[BluePenguin]

Basically they order the item from somewhere else, only after you have paid them for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_shipping

Drop shipping is not illegal or money laundering though. The perfume I ordered for someone at Christmas was probably dropshipped from somewhere due to arriving without a personalised invoice with a price

Money laundering is the process of cleaning money that has come from criminal proceeds, which drop shipping is not :-/

 

[gg1]

This works really well for shopping for branded things like shoes. If you find a pair where you like the fit and style, set up an eBay search for the exact product code and size, for a Buy It Now listing.

Exactly what I've done with Solovair boots in my size

 

[deltic]

How can you launder money on eBay? You must own the item you are selling else that would be fraud

You earn £10k from say selling drugs. You open 2 ebay accounts - one selling overpriced items the other buying them from the first account. You can then demonstrate a revenue stream from ebay sales if anyone asks where your money is coming from.

How can you launder money on eBay? You must own the item you are selling else that would be fraud

You earn £10k from say selling drugs. You open 2 ebay accounts - one selling overpriced items the other buying them from the first account. You can then demonstrate a revenue stream from ebay sales if anyone asks where your money is coming from.

 

[peri]

Would a company such as eBay have a duty to report suspicious transactions like this?

 

[deltic]

Would a company such as eBay have a duty to report suspicious transactions like this?

There are huge amounts of fraud taking place on eBay that they seem to do little about unless pushed by big brands or the authorities

 

[Bevan Price]

Some railwayana is grossly over-priced in my opinion. People who can pay five figure sums for loco nameplates must have more money than sense.

And beware of buying things from Amazon if you are not a paying member. I looked at buying some CDs from the Amazon website and found that some advertisers might charge a little more than Amazon, but typically charged £1.26 for post & packing. However, being a non-member of Prime, they wanted to charge over £4 for post & packing, making Prime the most expensive choice.

 

[BluePenguin]

You earn £10k from say selling drugs. You open 2 ebay accounts - one selling overpriced items the other buying them from the first account. You can then demonstrate a revenue stream from ebay sales if anyone asks where your money is coming from.


You earn £10k from say selling drugs. You open 2 ebay accounts - one selling overpriced items the other buying them from the first account. You can then demonstrate a revenue stream from ebay sales if anyone asks where your money is coming from.

I understand, it sounds like a lot of effort though