posted on April 8, 2001 02:05:46 AM
A relative and I were considering selling some of her collector plates on eBay. She gave me a sheet which listed "market prices" for the plates, and I also found another such reference online. Not being a collector of much of anything, I looked up "market price" in the dictionary, and it said words to the effect of "price an item will fetch on the market." Sounded reasonable enough. But the prices the plates are getting on eBay are about 25% of the "market price." Shouldn't the eBay price and market price be much closer together? Does anyone actually sell these things at the "market price," when they can be had so much cheaper on eBay?
The first possibility that comes to mind is that the market price lists are put out by the manufacturer, with inflated prices to try to boost their value. Neither list seemed to have any connection with the manufacturer, but do you think that's what's going on?
posted on April 8, 2001 02:20:53 AM
roundvine, You'll run across this all the time. Very often price guides and the like will indicate a price, which in reality is seldom attained.
The bottom line is that a thing is worth only what someone is prepared to pay for it at any given time.
More often than not you will find that the selling price of an item on Ebay is far less than "Guide Price". That is a normal fact of life.
Welcome to the crazy world of on-line auctions!
Bob, Downunder but never down.
posted on April 8, 2001 07:58:30 AM
Market price on sea food items at a restaurant reflects the price a customer might have to pay for that meal. It could change daily and is not printed in the menu.
As dubyasdaman pointed out... there are may factors that effect the price of items on ebay.
One of the biggest reasons for lower prices is a hard to find item in your area can now be found in multiples on ebay. This might be that collectors and dealers selling their extras.
Most price guides on collectibles are base on values that collectors may have paid for items at one time and have noting to do with current trading prices. .
