Posting on CL is an interesting process. I have placed items on there that i wanted to get rid of where I guessed at the value. As noted by a couple of the posts here, when the phone rings off the hook and the emails explode, I probably priced it too low. I usually sell the item anyway but I am talking about househokd items and not collectibles. Also, I am not selling these items out of necessity either. Not eating cat food yet!
When buying, if I see something that is underpriced, I try to jump on it. If I get it, I get it but I don't lose any sleep over it if I miss out. I have from time to time offered more than the asking price to be fair to the seller and secure the item. I assess the situation before I try to haggle someone down on their price in most cases. If I am getting a reasonable price and it looks like the seller really needs the money, I am going to pay full asking and move on. One of my Stoner Theaters is a good example. They had it priced reasonably but I probably could have talked them down quite a bit; however, it was a mother and daughter selling off their recently deceased husband/father's collection. I just paid asking for the machine and then I helped them research the value of the rest of the signs, etc. so they did not end up giving them away or being taken advantage of by a dealer. Would I do that for someone who is a dealer, probably not. It just depends on the situation. In most cases I am not usually buying with the intention of flipping though.
While I don't agree with this sellers use of Craigslist--it would be better to pull the ad and do your research once you realize you are underpriced and repost when you decide on the new price or clean the item up, put it on Ebay and let the chips fall where they may--I can't fault him for wanting to get the most out of his item. I don't see Tim's post as an angry one, rather he is having a little fun calling us all out for something we are all guilty of from time to time. As buyers--We joke when somebody prices something too high and complain when somebody beats us to something that is priced too low or when the price changes because the seller got a call from somebody else who told him the item was worth far more when we knew it was way under-priced. Conversely as sellers, we are bothered when somebody tells us our price is too high or tries to "insult" us with a lowball offer because we want max dollars. Both sides are part of this game and Tim is just having a little fun pointing something out that we all know in our minds to be true.
Keep Calm and Collect On!
Tim
Well said Tim...I agree 100% (except I have been known to flip an item or two...or 10!)
