posted on May 4, 2003 07:43:07 PM new
What do you say to those folks who feel justified in asking eBay (or retail) prices for items they're selling at flea markets or garage sales? I think it's hilarious in a way -- the stuff never moves and the sellers won't haggle because they say their price is the going rate.
I'm just looking for a snappy (not snippy) reply to these people.
I run classified ads in my local paper looking for the items I sell on eBay. Once in awhile I'll get a call from someone who has "done research" and expects me to pay them what they "could get for it on eBay." I am never quite sure what to tell them -- I want to educate them without insulting the hell out of them!
posted on May 4, 2003 08:05:57 PM new
What I do is if they are firm on their prices I walk away. If I was to advertise and someone called me I will tell them I want to have the items priced when I get there. I won't quote a price. If they don't want to do that then they can keep it. A garage sale is not a eBay sale. When I have a garage sale my items are 25 cents. If someone can make a profit on any of it more power to them. I won't sit and haggle with anyone over garage sale prices. I never ask for a lower price. But that's me. I hear it all the time from other customers but I won't do it. The price they mark on their item is what they want and if I don't like it I walk away. I never tell anyone I sell on eBay.
[ edited by Libra63 on May 4, 2003 08:07 PM ]
posted on May 4, 2003 08:16:07 PM new
rarebourbon: I don't think they can be educated. I understand you wanting to try. I used to run ads in local papers, too, and I did find some fabulous buys that way, but there were a lot of time-wasters.
Just ask Kiara, I'll bet she has a ton of stories about people bringing stuff in and expecting to be offered a retail price for it.
--
"It has been my great privilege to be your mother. To you, my dear and faithful son, from earth to heaven I salute you..." Julie McPhillips at the funeral of Marine 1st Lt. Brian McPhillips, killed in Iraq.
posted on May 4, 2003 08:20:03 PM new
Oh, I meant to add:
In some situations, you can simply say, "This is as high as I can go" and then pull a wad of bills out of your pocket. Count them out, slowly, to the total of your offer and watch the seller salivate.
As long as the discussion remains hypothetical, it's easier for them to turn you down. But people lose their cool when they see cash. Known fact.
I have recommended this book before, but it truly is worth a read:
_The Flea Market Handbook_ by Robert Miner. Wallace Homestead Publishing, I think.
And he talks about precisely this buying problem.
--
"It has been my great privilege to be your mother. To you, my dear and faithful son, from earth to heaven I salute you..." Julie McPhillips at the funeral of Marine 1st Lt. Brian McPhillips, killed in Iraq.
posted on May 4, 2003 09:10:13 PM new
I tell them that if they want eBay prices to sell it on eBay, providing of course they mention eBay, and if they don't want to sell it on eBay rent a space in one of the local antique malls. Suddenly it isn't quite so valuable.
I also might mention the item that sold for $35 last week and $4 yesterday. Half the time the printout they show you doesn't even have a bid but is just the asking price. Then I walk away and they still have their item and I still have my money.
posted on May 4, 2003 10:36:11 PM new
Yes, doesn't it just make you sick?! Get up really early, pour some coffee down your throat, get dressed and comb hair, etc. etc., grab wallet, glasses, yard-sale addresses, and hit the road. No breakfast. Zombie-tired.
And then you get that crap about how much it "goes for" on ebay (when they only know what is being ASKED). $34 one week, $4 the next is a good answer.
We live in a very small town so I need to be careful here. I've been working all winter on a letter to the editor of our weekly paper addressed to people who do yard sales. I have a lot of gripes (if you're postponing the sale to another day or week, put a sign BY THE ROAD so we don't have to park, get out, trip over roots to get to your front door, and then see that it's cancelled); if you say "no early birds," MEAN it. . . etc. you get the drift. One of my items in the letter is "don't tell me what it's worth on ebay; YOU go ahead and sell it on Ebay, then and see how much work is involved, and how much risk."
My latest thought is to prepare and carry with me small sheets of paper that detail ALL the work for ONE ebay item, starting with researching how they're selling already on ebay (10-20 minutes), take photos (10 minutes), edit photos (10 minutes), upload photos into Vendio or wherever, (10 minutes), write the description (10 - 30 minutes), DECIDE CATEGORIES (can take lonnnng time), etc. etc. These times are approximate--sometimes things take longer, sometimes a little shorter. And then there's all the work around a completed auction. And the fees if the item doesn't sell at all.
And be sure you have scissors, tape, stapler, copier, computer, priority supplies, bubble wrap, noodles, boxes.
posted on May 4, 2003 11:22:27 PM new
I make offers quite often if I think the price is too high or I have something to trade.
I'm always ready to walk away. I could care less what someone else would pay.
Ebay or anywhere else. That's their opinion of what the item is worth to them not
me.
When I bid on something on Ebay I just figure out what the item is worth to me and
subtract the shipping handling. That's my top dollar and I usually bid that amount
letting the proxy worry about it from then on. Out bid notices usually mean I'll go
back and look for the item and maybe reconsider my bid but not often.
I also ask for a contractors discount wherever I shop. Hardware stores, plumbing
supply stores and electrical stores all give contractor discounts. I'll ask any store
though. Been surprised a few times when the clerk said, "Sure. 10%".
Ever go to a department store, especially at Christmas, and find those box sets
that say "$29.00 Value" or something like that. And the thing is worth about Two
dollars and sells for $4.99? And someone gives you the set leaving the stupid
$29.00 Value sticker on because it "wouldn't come off". I hate that stuff. It's always
some tightwad that's trying to make you think they like you and spent big bucks
on you. That same mentality that sells and gives those kinds of items often quotes
Ebay prices. Tacky and Shady.
Of course the Ebay price is a measure of value. If you absolutely want the latest
craze collector's item and it sells on E-bay and in stores for $60.00 if you can find
it then it's reasonable to pay $60.00 at a yardsale or flea market or else let the
next guy get it. Well, ask for the contractors discount then. Hee Hee. You might
even get it.
posted on May 4, 2003 11:30:52 PM new
I hear more and more unknowledgeable flea market sellers using phrases like these go for $100 on ebay or you can easily get $40 for it on ebay. Of course the items are usually super common and not worth very much on ebay. I really feel like replying then why aren't you listing it on ebay yourself?.
posted on May 5, 2003 01:34:24 AM new
I never insult the person giving the yard sale by telling them to "sell it on ebay", I just smile and walk away, and I never tell them I sell on ebay.
you can usually tell these people after looking at the first couple of things on the table, then I leave. these are the same people who leave truckloads of stuff outside the Amvet box on Sunday night after it doesn't sell.
now I have been known to say, rather loudly, "we don't want to stay here too long, their vacation in Bermuda must start soon"
posted on May 5, 2003 01:47:10 AM new
I once walked up to sale and saw a lovely Roseville Vase. I asked how much and the lady said $400.00 - I know I can sell it on Ebay for that?? I replied "You might - but Ebay is really slow right now - I sell there" - She immediately started asking me how to go about selling on Ebay. I replied "Well first you need to go out and buy a digital camera" - She asked "How much will that be?" About $400.00!!! And with a little smile I left!
This was a little while back - so I know you can get cameras for less now but I think she got the point.
posted on May 5, 2003 03:51:07 AM new
Say nothing to the overpriced people. It's a waste of your time & serves no useful purpose. UNLESS the item is an absolutely must have item and we all know how seldom you'll run across them. Just yesterday morning I ran across a seller attempting to sell a broken Minolta camera worth $20 for $125 and 15 feet from him a seller selling $500 worth of Ikelite underwater photography gear for $30.
posted on May 5, 2003 07:29:28 AM new
Why say anything to them? As far as I know, yardsales and fleamarkets are not there for the specific purpose of selling stuff cheap to eBay sellers.
Why do people feel the need to "educate" people? It's their stuff. They can ask what they want. Why get mad if they won't take less? Is it your problem if they can't sell it for their prices? It's their problem last I knew, just as it's not their problem if you can sell your junk at your prices. Trying to get "market" prices or more is a business decision they make. If it's wrong, who cares? Not your call.
If anyone can find a rule that says yardsale and fleamarket people have to sell cheap to eBay sellers (or to anybody), please educate me by pointing it out to me.
posted on May 5, 2003 07:45:42 AM new
I've got a story that's completely backwards from you guys.
Second edition top-loading NES Systems sell quite well on eBay. They almost ALWAYS go for $100-$125 on eBay without fail. These are the rarest of Nintendo video game systems.
I got one in and set it out in our retail store for $100, unquestionably on the low end of what they get on eBay.
For the next three weeks, every single person who looked at it had some smartass comment about how they had one in their closet at home or saw one at the thrift store for $10 (This is NOT the standard NES game if they had taken time to actually look).
FIVE people brought in their old Nintendos to sell us and got huffy when we offered them $5 (Not the same model again)
After three weeks of this foolishness, I set a SOLD sign on it and listed it on eBay. 10 Days later I mailed it out after a $130 Paypal payment.
posted on May 5, 2003 08:24:18 AM newWhy do people feel the need to "educate" people? It's their stuff.
Agreed. Someone has something you want...and you decide to lecture them on their selling techniques.
C'mon, folks. You catch more flies with honey, etc., though I could never figure out why anyone who wasn't a frog would want to catch flies anyway.
Garage sales and flea markets are pure serendipity. You cannot depend on finding anything at a reasonable price. The delight is finding something fabulous or getting a really great deal on something you need. I went to an amateur radio flea market with my partner, and believe me, those events are Old Fart Central. There isn't even any decent man-watching, not to mention girlie stuff, just piles of ancient radio gear. BO-RING!
However, I did find someone who had cases of Seiko/CoStar labels (which work in the three Dymo LabelWriters we use constantly) and got them all for $25. That's $500 worth of labels, easy.
Next time we went to that market, nothing.
Set your expectations low and you'll never be disappointed.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on May 5, 2003 08:25 AM ]
posted on May 5, 2003 08:57:22 AM new
I never try to educate the sellers either. I try to determine a few prices and if they are super high then I leave. Why waste time?
The best sellers are the ones that truly want to get rid of their unwanted stuff.
My father use to get the left-over garage sales items from people in his church as they were too lazy to take the items down to the GoodWill or too embarassed. He would go to their house and come back with boxes of stuff with hefty price stickers on them. I'd ask " Why didn't they lower their prices or set reasonable prices in the first place? Now they make zero on the stuff instead? "
posted on May 5, 2003 10:11:04 AM newTomSwift - I agree with you, it's their perogative to sell for whatever price they like, and it's their problem if they don't sell. I guess there's no reason and no way to give someone a Business 101 class in five minutes or less. But sometimes I feel sorry for the ignoramuses and instead of just walking away and laughing, I want to help them out.
The ones that are particularly hard for me to deal with are the ones who call me in response to my classified ad. They keep yammering on about their research and they know how much it's worth, etc., and I just don't know how to politely shut them up!
posted on May 5, 2003 10:45:06 AM newBut sometimes I feel sorry for the ignoramuses and instead of just walking away and laughing, I want to help them out.
I thought the idea was to make a smart buy?
Anyway, I'm not so sure all these people are ignorant. I vividly remember my last garage sale. One dealer-type showed up at 8 am (sign said 9 to noon) and when I turned him away, he insisted the sign had said 8 to noon.
This is not the way to endear yourself. I told him to get lost and not bother coming back at 9.
My sales are open ONLY to the neighbors from the time I first start setting up until the stated start time. And I stick to it. We quit at noon, too, regardless of the groans of people who wander in late.
So here's why I think not all garage sale sellers with high prices are ignorant. You guys, you pickers and scroungers, you're easier to spot than you may realize since you make a beeline for anything that looks valuable. Your manners are often atrocious. You grab things out of other peoples' hands. You make offers while someone else who got there first is trying to buy the object. Sometimes you paw through a box of items and leave them all over, not bothering to put them back. You offer 25 cents on a $10 item.
"I can get $400 for it on eBay" gets rid of you right quick.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
posted on May 5, 2003 11:05:06 AM new
I admire the ones who can haggle and get good deals. I have difficulty and I seldom go to yard sales anymore. If I do I can quickly spot what I want and I know if it's worth buying and I seldom haggle.
When anyone brings in anything to sell it's really hard to get a price out of them. If I tell them I don't make offers and ask them what they want they always say "I don't have a clue, you're in the business so you should know. I've been told it's worth a lot, I trust you to be fair".
Believe me, they do have a clue and if they want $100 they want me to go first in case I offer them $200 or $500.
If I finally wrangle a price out of them and consider the goods and agree to pay them the $100 they think I'm ripping them off. If I know it's only worth $80 to me and I tell them they think I'm ripping them off. On the odd occasion where I may know that it's worth at least $150 and I offer that because I want to be fair, they think I'm ripping them off. They expect to get ripped by every dealer out there, no matter how honest you are.
When the item is out on the shelf they cruise back in or send friends or relatives in to check the prices and if it is over what they sold it to you for they just know that you ripped them off.
If you can, buy by the lot. Never let them piece it out because as they look at each item they will head down memory lane and sentimentality adds up to 3 times what you plan to pay. Take into account that no matter how closely you inspect things you will later find damage, usually the best piece that finalized the deal.
Be warned about grandmas. Especially the ones with the tinted mauve or blue hair and the scary bright colored lipstick that's all crooked and they usually live in a nice place and have one of those yippy little lap dogs that never shuts up. Don't get excited when you see their house brimming with treasures. They are not sweet naive old ladies, they are cunning, ruthless, greedy old foxes. They have all the price guides and for years they have religiously tracked the "book price" of their goodies. They invite dealers over to show off their stuff but they never part with any of it. Then one day they kick off or get quickly transported to a rest home and some distant relative blows into town and lets it all go for a song. And guaranteed, that is the one sale you missed going to.
posted on May 5, 2003 11:32:21 AM new
Oh Kiara! How true! LOL at your last paragraph especially! I swear, its eeery....and I thought those ladies only lived in my neck of the woods!
posted on May 5, 2003 11:45:46 AM new
My mother and I still joke about the yard sale we missed. My great uncle was a pilot who spent some time stationed out of Germany after the war. While there he would regularly send his wife home packges of figures of quaint little children like the ones they would have when he got home. By the time he returned, she had about 75 of these quaint little figurines better known as Hummels. About ten years ago he was put into a nursing home with with Alzheimers. While there, my great aunt died suddenly and the child they had eventually had came out to deal with clearing the estate. My mother contacted him one day to see what was to become of the Hummels only to find that they had been included in the "Yard Sale" where he just opened up the house and let peolple roam and buy what they wanted. He was thrilled to have gotten an offer of $1000 for the whole lot of those "ugly little figures" he had apparently always hated so much. 75 hummels, all 50 or more years old...... if only we had been there.
[ edited by neonmania on May 5, 2003 11:46 AM ]
posted on May 5, 2003 01:21:42 PM newneonmania and kiara, I was once on the other end of one of those "great deals." My grandmother collected Royal Doulton ladies starting around 1960; she had about three dozen, and a list that showed which of her four granddaughters was supposed to get which ladies after she died.
When she developed Alzheimer's, my parents moved her into their home and my brother and sister-in-law moved into my grandmother's home. Shortly after my grandmother's death, I drove over to visit my brother one Saturday and found my sister-in-law packing up from a yard sale in which she'd "cleared out some of that old junk." She was thrilled to have netted about $185 for all the figurines and a crystal-and-walnut lighted display case they were always shown in. There were single figurines in the collection (all of which sold before dawn) that were worth twice that in dollar amounts, and were virtually priceless in terms of sentimental value. She basically let people into the house and they rummaged around and made bottom-dollar offers on things.
Also gone: My grandmother's set of stoneware and lacquerware from occupied Japan, several Hummels, a teak sideboard and dining set ... it was a staggering loss and she had no clue of what she'd done. ("I was planning to split the money with you guys" )
Since then, I've been somewhat leery of estate sales, for fear that one heir (or non-heir, as the case may be) is selling off items promised to others. I kept imagining how gleeful that dealer must've been to get my grandmother's figurines, and how devastated my sisters and I were when we realized that the ladies we'd looked at all our lives and associated so closely with our grandmother were gone.
[ edited by msincognito on May 5, 2003 01:22 PM ]
posted on May 5, 2003 03:19:15 PM new
Edited to add:
msincognito
What a terrible loss for you! I had this happen when my grandmother died. My aunt-in-law ended up with things that should have been my mother's. A lot of things were sold or given away that belonged to my mother according to my grandmother's will. It's a terrible thing to lose things that belonged to someone you love! Jeers to the dealer (and your sister-in-law) and Kudos to you for not taking someone to court over the whole thing. In the end, "stuff" is stuff and your memories are what are the most priceless!
When I go to the flea market, I run into this all the time. I can tell a "dealers" table from an ordinary Joe's table. And of course, the tables of those who put sticky fingers to use for a living. I simply tell them "no, thanks." I remember them each week and don't bother with their tables. I love the guy that each Sunday will give away all that he has left. Well, practically give away. You can take as much as you can carry in your arms, pockets, box, etc. for $1. He doesn't want to have to take anything home. What he doesn't get rid of, he throws away. If people get smart, they'll ignore the table both Saturday and Sunday morning and wait until 1 hour before the flea market closes! LOL.
posted on May 5, 2003 03:34:19 PM new
If she'd had any inkling as to what she was doing, my brother would be a widower today. She did feel horrible. In the end, we just had to forgive and move on ... but I still can't help projecting, which is why I'm a lousy yard- and estate-saler.
posted on May 5, 2003 04:43:52 PM new
I agree they can ask what they want and furthermore, they shouldn’t have to hear rude remarks about it. It could be they want to sell it for a certain price or would rather keep it. Their choice. Their sale.
The last two garage sales I went to I met the “pickers,” “eBayers” or “flea marketeers” from hell. Last year’s garage sale had a dealer who spouted his bountiful knowledge trying to get the owners to lower their prices. He was acting like a real jerk. Then there was the man who just missed my car as he barreled off to the next yard sale. You know the type. Big van, already full at 9:00, squeezed in to a small space whether he has to hit your car door or not. He is in a hurry. He runs through the sale, making loud obnoxious comments about pricing and the antique piece that would take a huge amount of time and effort to restore and as someone said, dumps everything and leaves it all over the ground. He might even be carrying a coffee, soda or cigarette and not at all concerned with spilling on the items as he rapidly moves along. Some dealers are some of THE rudest people in the world when they are out slithering around for a bargain. I also volunteered for two non-profit thrift stores in the past, and we all recognized the types.
Happens at thrift stores too. If you arrive before the doors open, you can spot the
pickers ready for battle. Even though they are about 10th in line they magically make it to the head in no time at all. One couple heads straight for the books. They shovel and throw the stuff into their baskets. They grab all they can and put it back later if not wanted. In the mean time they are not paying any attention. I had a heavy book fall on my head while two dealers I recognized worked the shelves. I let them
know they were rude and obnoxious and will do so again if I see them doing it. Another man checks out the glass wear. He places them back so they clink because he can’t take time to be careful. If he bumps
into clothing and it falls, he just leaves it on the floor to be walked on.
As someone said it takes TIME to list on eBay, but it also takes TIME to have a successful yard sale. When I had them I made quite a bit of money but it was a lot of work. I would start about 3 months before
cleaning and stacking items to sell. I would make sure everything was washed be it clothing or hardgoods. I would iron clothing, put jewelry on cards and put small items in plastic bags. My signs were hand lettered and artwork added, usually bright balloons to attract customers. I would plan my strategy on where to place the signs around the area.I might pay for an ad. I would set times for the different
signs to be hung.
I would have to take time to find tables to display items, as do people today, so YOU don’t have to bend over. I would make up a box for the children’s free stuff—although YOU might get it first. The yard would be mowed the day before, the hedge would be trimmed. The glassware would be spotless, the books stacked so people could see titles and little parts would be attached to items so they didn’t get lost.
The brightly colored poster boards, markers, tape, ads, plastic bags, and tags all add up. I always made quite a bit on the sales even after expenses. I am sure there were more expenses I missed, but I haven’t had one in at least 8 or 9 years. I just couldn’t stomach the type of people that I was inviting into my yard; like the sloth I mentioned above. I donate everything to three different thrift stores now, they can deal with them. This way I don’t have to have it around for months either. I haven’t looked back and never want another yard sale.
Edited to say I am not talking about relatives selling for pennies (what a shame)
I am talking about people being slammed because they don't want to give it away to some dealer buying it for .25 and selling for 25.00!
posted on May 5, 2003 05:11:29 PM new
I have been doing garage sales, but to be frank, I think everyone already knows about ebay. I used to go to estate sales, but I feel like I am in the visitation by the ghost of christmas future! Tearing curtains off the dead guys bed to make a buck! And get pushed around in the process.
I used to know a Peter Pan type, one of those star wars geeks, who cleaned up selling his stuff. He loved to brag about his take, and it wasn't bad, he was doing star wars since the get go, but in listening to the lengths he went to get stuff (hitting toy stores miles apart, waiting in line, hours and hours of online researching etc), I think he's really in denial about his break even point.
Although, now that the plastic dolls aren't hanging around the living room, maybe he can get a second date after all...so who knows.
Just thinking out loud...
J
posted on May 5, 2003 07:47:46 PM new
I don't feel the need to educate them, but one time someone (at a flea market) was selling a video for $25 (it was WAY overpriced) and commented that he could sell it for $250 on ebay. I asked him why he was trying to sell it to me for $25 when he knew he could get $250 for it, but alas there was no answer...
At garage sales, when I make my offer. I am prepared to walk away from it if I can't get it at a price I want it for. If their offering price is profitable for me and I just wanted to get it cheaper, I would still buy it. If it is something that I no has no chance of being profitable, why sulk over it or try to educate them? I just move on to the next garage sale...
posted on May 5, 2003 09:33:18 PM new
<<<<I went to an amateur radio flea market with my partner, and believe me, those events are Old Fart Central. There isn't even any decent man-watching, not to mention girlie stuff, just piles of ancient radio gear. BO-RING!>>>> Fluffy...I'm surprised at you. What person in their right mind would waste time on a diamond ring or a ruby pendant when for 1/10th the price they could get a lifetime supply of silver mica capacitors, precision resistors,fets and mosfets? If you had bothered to REALLY look, you could have found a beautiful Tri-band antenna and a 70 foot tower which would add class to any neighborhood. With a 1000 watt transmitter in the spare bedroom, you would be the talk of the neighborhood. There's nothing like a good case of television interference to get to REALLY know your neighbors. After 35 years as a ham radio operator, I've been there, done that and have the tee shirt.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on May 5, 2003 09:43:01 PM new
sparkz: You must be kidding, our back yard already looks like an abandoned missile silo with all the satellite dishes. The 70 foot tower isn't there only because I've threatened to leave if he gets one.
The spare bedroom is already full of transmitters...most of them non-functional.
Let's not even discuss the ATV stuff in the attic.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
