I find it interesting that often sellers are willing to take a much lower price than what is listed on eBay. Now this is not uncommon, but what I find odd is how frequently a seller is willing to come down to reality from a crazy high price. In some cases it’s a big price drop and it makes you wonder… “Why not simply start there?”
Here are my two recent examples. I wanted a first edition PSA 9 shining gyarados, but had no luck at auction, so I decided to pop a few messages to sellers that were asking ridiculous prices of $350. Sure enough, one immediately dropped down to $250 and I bought it immediately. It made me think I could have gotten it for less, but it was fair and I got 10% eBay bucks.
Another example was today. I wanted a first edition PSA 9 Raikou holo from revelations. There are a ton listed, but all for $135-$150, but at auction is seems to always sell under $100. I suggested this to one of the sellers and he immediately offered the card for $95 and then I used the summer coupon to make it $80. It went from ridiculous to a great deal!
It’s just odd that some sellers will let something sit at a super high price, but then are willing to knock it down a huge amount. I suppose someone may just want it that badly. I know I’ve gotten lucky like that as a seller.
Has anyone else had a similar experience making a low or fair offer and getting a sweet deal?
Its a strategy I have seen some people use at least
People like to naturally bargain, if you set the price higher than you actually want you can then offer the “experience” of bargaining to someone without actually really losing much on your end. If a seller lists an item however at the price they want with best offer available, that seller might theoretically have a harder time selling because people still want to bargain.
If the market shifts and prices raise it’s less likely you undersold if you priced the item higher than the shift. As you did, people are willing to make offers; even better for the seller, some are willing to pay full price. There’s the psychology in sales that some people just need a win to make the purchase, the best offer option allows people to get that ‘win’. It makes the value of the card seem greater, allowing same items lower priced to be bought up easier till yours is the cheapest option.
I’d like to highlight the fear of being undersold. Ever had a card purchased immediately? You probably left money on the table. I’d rather let the market adjust upward or me adjust downward. The only downside of listing high is time and maybe a nominal listing fee. I’d rather leave a transaction where both the buyer and seller are satisfied. The gradual grind towards a fair price builds confidence in a transaction.
Option 1: List at $100 with best offer.
Best result: Someone is desperate and buys it at $100, you make an extra $50.
Worst result: some sly negotiater takes you down to $50 and you sell at your minimum.
Option 2: List at $50 no best offer.
Best result: sells at $50
Worst result: sells at $50
If you’re not in a rush to sell, which is the better option?
I usually have the opposite luck with sellers. They list the item I want for a very high price and then won’t come down to a more rational price. sigh. In that case I guess you just don’t buy and eventually hope they are willing to come down to make the sale.
From a sellers perspective, I would naturally list high and accept an offer I like. No need to list an item too low and leave money on the table.
I’ve watched auctions that are listed way above market value. If it’s a 30 day listing, I’ll wait till the last week then offer something way below market value. Time builds desperation in some people or good deals for those who wait.
This doesn’t just happens with collectables but also with house prices and there could be a lot of variables involved. Some buyers are straight up just intimidated by prices and other times sellers might just want to see how much people are willing to offer. When we bought our house we visited many open houses were the seller straight up said “this is what the house appraised of and we won’t accept any less” sometimes doing this purposely to create bidding wars between buyers (this happens a lot in our area). However, a lot of times we had realtors say as we were exiting the open house, “Just send us an offer with what you are willing to pay, the sellers are flexible”. In conclusion, just like with houses, sometimes you have desperate sellers, buyers who just want the card without the negotiations and so on.
I forget who it is (@cullers ?), but I someone here on E4 (eBay pokemonplace) has always had a 1st Ed. PSA 10 Base Set Charizard for something like 2x the market price on eBay for years, adjusting the value as it slowly creeped up. I remember when their card was listed for 5k and people said that was way too much, and now it’s listed for 50k, which we all say today is way too much.
doesn’t mean you’ll get that but never know may get some bites on it 