Buyers' mentality these day?

[774553]

Warning, this is a rant.

It has come to my attention that it seems that it is increasingly hard to earn a decent net profit* on used items. It appears that buyers like to offer prices that only covers or barely cover the shipping cost, which leave me with nothing or negative balance.

Also does no one realise what the seller had to pay for those items which they are selling? To illustrate that, let use the following example:

I sell games most of the time. Now, when I bought them new in the shop, it cost $100 to $150. Or if they need to be imported, I went to Play Asia and paid for $150 to $200 (not including Shipping). Now, say that I want to make a bundle of them old games (bought from both places), would you not say is fair to price them around $500? Unfortunately, as of today, some idiot offer me $20 for them and call me a troll.

So my question here is, is the idea of trying to get half back from what I paid for is nothing but a fantasy?

Also, base on the formula logic below, it is easier to archive a net profit with a negative value and impossible to archive a positive value, even just for as little as $5 (net profit).   

*in case you don't know what net profit mean. Net profit = selling price - price that the seller had paid - shipping cost

[davewil1964]

Don't offer 'best offer'. Or set the auto-decline to the minimum you are prepared to accept.

Simple, pain-free.

[amber-eyed-girl]

What Dave says.

Don't let buyers play with your emotions. Not worth it. There will always be people trying to get something for next to nothing.

[cathyjoyjoy]

Some sellers of second hand items sell for 10 times the amount they paid for it.

Some people sell items they obtained for free.

It is important that you list an item for the price that you are willing to let it go for & no less.

As others have said, only include Best Offer if you are willing to manage the Best Offer option.

[saarzi]

In my opinion your items are WAYYY overpriced.  Did you research what each game is selling for on Ebay and elsewhere before putting the price on them?

Your first listing, for example, the "PS3 Games Collection" - each game sells for between $10 - $15 second hand.. theres a couple that MIGHT sell for $20. (Deus EX Human Revolution sells for about $10, Bioshock 2 you cant get brand new sealed for $20 with used for $5-8,  is around $10-$15, etc etc).

Thats $105 total for the games youre offering, but you have them for sale for $345.

In other listings you have Genji Days of Blade for $35 (inc. postage), but average price on ebay is $12 (incl. postage).

So yeah, it does kinda look like youre trolling.

25% off RRP for a USED game, thats not real popular, AND several years old is pretty expensive. You can get that in store for a brand new game thats on sale.

You can choose to sell them for whatever you want of course... but youve got to expect people offering you much less, and low sales.

[imastawka]

Add to that the fact that 3 out of the 7 games you, yourself bought 2nd hand

The 'pre-owned' labels give that away

[774553]

Yes and I paid over $300 for them, brand new. All I want is half back of my initial investment. And I based my pricing on market value based on popular site like Play Asia.

[774553]

What if they are so? Their retail price are still at high, according to Play Asia, Would not be logical to sell them half of what PA is selling?

[imastawka]

You can only get what people are prepared to pay.

You have listed them 5 times already, and couldn't get a $50 starting bid

Yes and I paid over $300 for them, brand new. All I want is half back of my initial investment. And I based my pricing on market value based on popular site like Play Asia.

$345 is not half of $300

[digital*ghost]

What a seller pays for an item has always been irrelevant to buyers, pretty much since the dawn of retail. The only time it really comes into play is when there is blatant profiteering on items with limited availability (eg the practice of ticket scalping, which many people find offensive).

Here's the real question - what makes the games you're selling worth more than the same games others are selling at a fraction of the price?

If the only point of difference is what you paid, no one (and I do mean no one) is going to pay more for it just so you don't lose too much of your initial outlay. That's just not how this works... (I'm not trying to be harsh, just realistic).

If, on the other hand, there is something different about the versions you have (in terms of content, not place of origin), then the only thing you can do is make that clear and wait / hope that a buyer who puts the same value on that point of difference that you do eventually comes along.