Not much selling

[xelasnave]

Consider the supply and demand rule. High supply means lower prices that is the fundamental rule of the market economy. Its not new.

The supply is increasing. The factories turn stuff out retailers sell it and you can buy on a world wide market with ease. The supply of everything is over the top thats why retail prices are so cheap, relatively, look at any manufactured item. When I was a kid a watch was a big deal now you can buy them everywhere and they are so cheap.. The supply has driven prices way down, cars, computers and phones... My first mobil was 5k I purchased a smart phone recently for $30... Over supply is the answer to why sales are so and lower price is the only answer.

I gave away my boat which once was worth $25k if you could buy one...giving it away saved me 5k in repairs so why wait for a price that would never happen.. That was 4k if I was lucky.

A great deal of demand has been satisfied as those in the hobby often have a collection of scopes.
Newcomers are probably reluctant to buy second hand particularly when there is so much new stuff on offer.

I find the prices of second hand stuff generally relatively expensive in Australia and more so with astro gear. For the seller they are selling their pride and joy but the buyer does not expect to pay a premium for that, they are buying a second hand item and expect it to be a give away price. Frankly I am only tempted to buy second hand if it is a steal and even then I am very worried that it has some problem that has not been mentioned.

There is so much stuff in the world these days and the money gets spread over buying a wider variety of goods..

Then there is ebay...

If something does not sell drop the price or withdraw it and offer it again later.. But if something does not sell fast it vets "stale" and becomes hard to sell even at a bargain price.

Also in my view an add should never mention any negative and be written "to make the phone ring" to arrange an inspection. Even with the net selling is best done face to face.
Alex

[casstony]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Also in my view an add should never mention any negative and be written "to make the phone ring" to arrange an inspection. Even with the net selling is best done face to face.
Alex

I understand that's the general rule in the world of advertising, but I'm not sure it's a good idea in our little community. If someone's going to drive a distance to inspect a scope they need to know what to expect before arrival.

[MortonH]

Originally Posted by casstony

I understand that's the general rule in the world of advertising, but I'm not sure it's a good idea in our little community. If someone's going to drive a distance to inspect a scope they need to know what to expect before arrival.

I agree. I always disclose anything that I would want to know myself if the situation was reversed.

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by casstony

I understand that's the general rule in the world of advertising, but I'm not sure it's a good idea in our little community. If someone's going to drive a distance to inspect a scope they need to know what to expect before arrival.

I agree but hold back the negatives until you have given a run down on the good points.. EG.. I can seperate x double with this scope which you must admit is great and the scratch on the ota fails to worry me...
I notice many adds include a ware and tear account which is off putting.
I think Raymo mentioned some dust. Some dust is almost a given and if you have been in the game for a while you understand what that means but that may be a complete turn off for a newcomer such the phone wont ring. All I suggest is it would be better left out and raised when the buyer has been given a run down on the good points.. "well if you are a perfectionist like me you will notice a little dust, you may not, but I would leave it as it is really negligable" "it still seperates x double which suggest the optics are perfect".
When buying folk do not think of the reasons they should go ahead but really do focus on why they should pull back.
I was a professional salesman and say there is more to selling than most folk realise and you do not have to con but really get their mind focused on how happy they will be with their new item.. They want it help them not to talk themselves out of going for it.
Alex

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by casstony

I understand that's the general rule in the world of advertising, but I'm not sure it's a good idea in our little community. If someone's going to drive a distance to inspect a scope they need to know what to expect before arrival.

Couldn't agree more Tony, it is a small community and as such I believe different rules apply. I have had a few buyers keen on some items but once I have discussed it with them, I have advised them against buying as the items did not suit their need. I even talked one member here out of buying one of my Takahashi refractors as I knew it would not suit their needs.

I often travel to collect items in person and would hate to arrive after a few hours driving and find that the item was not as described.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

'Did not suit their need' is a different criteria from what Alex is talking about. I recently bought a secondhand car. I expected to find small wear and tear issues, minor though they may be. I was prepared to accept usage to get the features and price I could afford.
I look at astro stuff in the same way, my Lunt has a chip in the OTA paintwork, performance wise it means nothing. The Seller informed me of it after we discussed all the good stuff it could do for me. THEN I decided whether to go ahead.

Alex is right, what you as the proud but reluctant seller sees in a piece of gear is not what the buyer sees, he wants performance and value for money. He may become the second proud owner eventually but until he buys the item it will sit on your shelf gathering dust. Some prices on IIS have been a little unrealistic IMHO, near new cost is not going to work.

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Consider the supply and demand rule. High supply means lower prices that is the fundamental rule of the market economy. Its not new.......

I gave away my boat which once was worth $25k if you could buy one...giving it away saved me 5k in repairs so why wait for a price that would never happen.. That was 4k if I was lucky.

Alex

Boats are far worse than astro gear. I had built a beautiful Murray Isles designed 6.5m Javacat power catamaran, which took me five years of my life and around $30k all up to complete. Looking at the commerical pop-out boats of that size, they sell for $100k plus. I had to sell my boat to pay my divorce lawyer and got no where near what I had even spent on materials.
It comes down to your equipment quality and your level of desperation to get any return in a short period of time. Even trying to wait for a perfect buyer may not produce one. At least on IIS you have a catchment of shared interest, the downside is that they all think they know what something is worth, until they try and sell it themselves.

[Kunama]

Seems like some prices being asked are very reasonable, I note that there is a beautiful Tak FC100 setup being advertised at a bargain price, yet no buyers??

If someone doesn't buy it soon I will have to check my bank balances again!
I guess there is room for one more.....

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Seems like some prices being asked are very reasonable, I note that there is a beautiful Tak FC100 setup being advertised at a bargain price, yet no buyers??

If someone doesn't buy it soon I will have to check my bank balances again!
I guess there is room for one more.....

Putting too many conditions on a sale doesn't help the sale. First there was no price and now there's still the issue of not splitting up the package - there's a lot of accessories there which a buyer doesn't necessarily want. When you sell Matt I might be interested in just the scope

Sellers need to be flexible, even if it sometimes tests one's patience - the customer is always right (except when the customer is a scammer)

[Kunama]

I think if one was to buy that system, and split it up, a decent profit could be realised.

[Atmos (Colin)]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Seems like some prices being asked are very reasonable, I note that there is a beautiful Tak FC100 setup being advertised at a bargain price, yet no buyers??

If someone doesn't buy it soon I will have to check my bank balances again!
I guess there is room for one more.....

Recently bought an FC100

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by Atmos

Recently bought an FC100

You need to update your signature to reflect the current situation Colin!

[Atmos (Colin)]

Originally Posted by Kunama

You need to update your signature to reflect the current situation Colin!

Done!

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Couldn't agree more Tony, it is a small community and as such I believe different rules apply. I have had a few buyers keen on some items but once I have discussed it with them, I have advised them against buying as the items did not suit their need. I even talked one member here out of buying one of my Takahashi refractors as I knew it would not suit their needs.

I often travel to collect items in person and would hate to arrive after a few hours driving and find that the item was not as described.

I think there may be a misunderstanding as to the point I was trying to make.

The add should not be negative and wait until you are actually talkinh to your potential buyer before you raise ware and tare issues.

I am not suggesting you hide anything in fact I thought it was clear from my post that when talking to the buyer that it is then appropriate to raise all matters.

I can not see how what I said suggested one would hide something from a buyer other than perhaps my use of the words "face to face" which I point out should be taken as personal interaction for example a series of pm s or ondeed a phone call.

To be clear hiding anything at that point would be dishonest and certainly something I do not condone or practice.

All I am suggesting is simply not to frame an add that causes the phone not to ring.
When folk look in the market place they are in a process of eliminating all the items they can cross off their list.. It works this way and protesting that it does not denies a certain reality..

You do not sell via an add generally it is best seen as a way of getting buyers to contact you.. Wait until they do so you can present good and bad.

Again I am not suggesting you hide things or have someone drive hours before you tell them the lens is chipped I am sorry that anyone could form such an impression from what I wrote.

Moreover my comments were made in an effort to help members understand why the phone may not be ringing for them.

The add construct does not however solve the supply to demand issue which is probably the main reason sales may be slow and unfortunately price is the only other variable in the supply demand equation.

Good luck to all.

Alex

[Kunama]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

......

The add should not be negative and wait until you are actually talkinh to your potential buyer before you raise ware and tare issues.
.........

Alex

I doubt that anyone thought you were suggesting anything dishonest Alex,
however, I would rather the seller give an idea of how the item departs from its original condition in their advertisement. That saves me wasting my time and the seller's time in PMs or phone calls.

I have noticed that when someone submits a post saying "PM sent" seems others consider that they are too late, often that PM is only an enquiry about the condition of the item. I have been told by other interested parties that they were waiting to see if the first enquirer had bought the item or not.

On the price front, some of the asking prices for used equipment several years old are actually higher than that item cost new. That may be putting the buyers off.

[xelasnave]

Yes I take your point Matt.
Interesting you mention the PM sent thing.
I find my interest dies when I see such.
I take it the item is sold when of course the sender may be only asking if you have one in black.
I dont get it.. Who needs to know..
Thanks for your reassuring post. It was not easy being an honest real estate agent so maybe I was a little unnecessarily sensitive... But strangely honesty paid off in the long run.. You know I even had one investor say when I found her two units to buy.. Go ahead Alex if you say they are the best out there that is good enough for me... Her solicitor made her chech curtains a d blinds before settlement but she exchanged on my say so. I could go on but if you are a straight shooter in the real estate game you stand out and that means good business.
Anyways I wish all our sellers the best of luck.
Alex

[FlashDrive (Poppy)]

Eyepieces are getting a lot of attention, and sales to.
I guess ' smaller ' items being more affordable attract the buyers at the moment.

Pop ....

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Freight costs. I have passed up literally dozens of items because im not interested in pissing substantial amounts of money away to the post man.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Seems like some prices being asked are very reasonable, I note that there is a beautiful Tak FC100 setup being advertised at a bargain price, yet no buyers??

If someone doesn't buy it soon I will have to check my bank balances again!
I guess there is room for one more.....

If I didn't have a spectacular FS-102, I'd be all over Richard's FC-100.

Sadly, 2 x 4" scopes is not an option.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Call me a peasant but I'd prefer the ED120 on IceTrade for $1300; if it's in good nick that's a great deal for a very capable big refractor.

Sad to see Glen's cooled & debayered mono modded 450D not selling. Would be a real shame to tear it down.

Why do I even look at the ads when I know I cannot afford to buy? Masochism.