Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2011 1:37 pm
Consider this.
Many good, honest, just-like-you-and-me users of QTH.com and other ham related classified sites throughout the world really don't know what our sales item are worth in today's market. I include myself with this group.
So what do we do. Eventually, we "Google" our sales item to see how other sellers have priced the same item in the same condition. What do we find? Prices "all over the map." Often as not, our initial "gut-feeling" worth of our specific item, will be much lower that some of the top prices being asked by others.
[By the way, the prices asked by "others" is a sample of available market values for our items--this is called the estimated market value price spread].
Now I have a pricing range for my sales item. What price should I going to choose for my QTH.com Classified Ad? What are my options?
1) List the price range (lowest to highest price range)? No. If we do, it will look like we don't know what we want for the item.
2) List the lowest price? No. We don't want to cheat ourselves.
3) List the estimated average price [Highest price - Lowest price divided by 2.]? No, this is not a true average.
4) List the highest price? Perhaps, but we are not sure.
Finally we are forced to let the buyers decide what a good price will be. We use the highest price in the estimated market value price spread and let responses to our ad determine what price to use.
But wait, we have priced our item at the highest price. We are going to be perceived as being GREEDY and UNCARING and etc. Perhaps, but in today's world of Internet-fast communications technology, this is the best way to find out what something we want to sell is worth. Setting a so-called "high" price is the start of a very different type of price negotiation--one which is very similar to a "call out" auction. The Internet has become our "auctioneer" and our bidders are the readers of our ads. If they choose to "bid" our high price, that is what THEY think the item is worth. [If we AGREE, we sell it to them at the highest price.] If our listed price is too high, and they offer a lower price, that is what THEY think our items is worth. [If we agree we can choose to sell it at a lower price.]
Conclusion: High prices listed in classified ads to sell simply means the seller is allowing the world MARKET to set his price. It does not mean he is greedy, uncaring, dishonest, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Black, White, Green, etc. etc. It just means he has learned how to use the Internet!
Respectfully,
K4ICL
Many good, honest, just-like-you-and-me users of QTH.com and other ham related classified sites throughout the world really don't know what our sales item are worth in today's market. I include myself with this group.
So what do we do. Eventually, we "Google" our sales item to see how other sellers have priced the same item in the same condition. What do we find? Prices "all over the map." Often as not, our initial "gut-feeling" worth of our specific item, will be much lower that some of the top prices being asked by others.
[By the way, the prices asked by "others" is a sample of available market values for our items--this is called the estimated market value price spread].
Now I have a pricing range for my sales item. What price should I going to choose for my QTH.com Classified Ad? What are my options?
1) List the price range (lowest to highest price range)? No. If we do, it will look like we don't know what we want for the item.
2) List the lowest price? No. We don't want to cheat ourselves.
3) List the estimated average price [Highest price - Lowest price divided by 2.]? No, this is not a true average.
4) List the highest price? Perhaps, but we are not sure.
Finally we are forced to let the buyers decide what a good price will be. We use the highest price in the estimated market value price spread and let responses to our ad determine what price to use.
But wait, we have priced our item at the highest price. We are going to be perceived as being GREEDY and UNCARING and etc. Perhaps, but in today's world of Internet-fast communications technology, this is the best way to find out what something we want to sell is worth. Setting a so-called "high" price is the start of a very different type of price negotiation--one which is very similar to a "call out" auction. The Internet has become our "auctioneer" and our bidders are the readers of our ads. If they choose to "bid" our high price, that is what THEY think the item is worth. [If we AGREE, we sell it to them at the highest price.] If our listed price is too high, and they offer a lower price, that is what THEY think our items is worth. [If we agree we can choose to sell it at a lower price.]
Conclusion: High prices listed in classified ads to sell simply means the seller is allowing the world MARKET to set his price. It does not mean he is greedy, uncaring, dishonest, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Black, White, Green, etc. etc. It just means he has learned how to use the Internet!
Respectfully,
K4ICL