question on the selling forums, why do folks remove the prices

jp_over

jp_over

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Friends,

I'm curious as to why folks in the selling forum remove the price after an item has sold. Is there a rule to do so (I haven't seen one but perhaps I missed it.). It would be nice to see the values for historical reference or similar sales. Is it that "closing" the thread doesn't go far enough to end the sale?

Just wondering.

Thanks!

Joe
 
I suspect that leaving the price can result in continued inquiries. From a site related to another hobby, I can attest that marking an ad SOLD doesn't really help. It would be nice if there was an option to delete ads; but that wouldn't help anybody trying to check prices.
 
Usually its to respect the privacy of the buyer. Picture this. A desperate person has a sebenza and needs to unload it fast. He sells it for considerably less than its worth. If he leaves that price up two negatives can happen. Later on if the new buyer decides to sell it people will automatically assume that he needs to sell it for that same price though we should all know it really doesnt work that way. And also since people always try to refer to past sales to measure the legitimacy of someones asking price if that price is left up some will point to it as the sign of value for future sales which also isnt true. I personally look at as it being the business of te buyer and the seller.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Usually its to respect the privacy of the buyer. Picture this. A desperate person has a sebenza and needs to unload it fast. He sells it for considerably less than its worth. If he leaves that price up two negatives can happen. Later on if the new buyer decides to sell it people will automatically assume that he needs to sell it for that same price though we should all know it really doesnt work that way. And also since people always try to refer to past sales to measure the legitimacy of someones asking price if that price is left up some will point to it as the sign of value for future sales which also isnt true. I personally look at as it being the business of te buyer and the seller.
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I think this is a big part of it. Also, the seller may have accepted a lower offer or accepted a trade+$$. If you will look in the 'Feedback: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly' subforum, there are some threads on this topic.
 
I always leave the sold price (actual price of sold knife) posted in the closed thread and tell people up front that I'm going to leave the price up.

The only reason to remove the price is so that the players can take advantage of less opportunistic fellow members at a later date. Buyers always have whatever privacy they need, either because they use their forum name or because they can buy the knife through pm or email.

It's sad that the forum doesn't require prices to be left up because that is a good way for everyone to have a chance to buy and sell at a price fair to both buyer and seller. Ebay is more consumer friendly than this forum.
 
Twindog said:
I always leave the sold price (actual price of sold knife) posted in the closed thread and tell people up front that I'm going to leave the price up.

The only reason to remove the price is so that the players can take advantage of less opportunistic fellow members at a later date. Buyers always have whatever privacy they need, either because they use their forum name or because they can buy the knife through pm or email.

It's sad that the forum doesn't require prices to be left up because that is a good way for everyone to have a chance to buy and sell at a price fair to both buyer and seller. Ebay is more consumer friendly than this forum.
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I agree with you. But there is no way of ensuring the asking price is the sale price. people who wish to will find some way of making the system unreliable, as to actual price paid.
 
The only rule about removing prices is that there is no rule. It's up to the seller whether he wants to remove it or not.
 
I suspect a somewhat darker reason for some in addition to others. Removing prices impedes research and my also serve as an evidence eliminator so that something doesn't come back to bite the seller in the future. I used to remove the price in my early sales threads, but I haven't done so in recent years as I see the value in leaving them in the thread.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Usually its to respect the privacy of the buyer. Picture this. A desperate person has a sebenza and needs to unload it fast. He sells it for considerably less than its worth. If he leaves that price up two negatives can happen. Later on if the new buyer decides to sell it people will automatically assume that he needs to sell it for that same price though we should all know it really doesnt work that way. And also since people always try to refer to past sales to measure the legitimacy of someones asking price if that price is left up some will point to it as the sign of value for future sales which also isnt true. I personally look at as it being the business of te buyer and the seller.
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This is exactly my reasoning. If I sell something for fair market value I leave the price.

Occasionally though, I'll need to move something quickly for whatever reason so I list it for less than it's worth. In that case I remove the price so the value of that model isn't ruined for future sellers.

Of course some sellers have shady motives for removing the selling prices, but that isn't always the case.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Usually its to respect the privacy of the buyer. Picture this. A desperate person has a sebenza and needs to unload it fast. He sells it for considerably less than its worth. If he leaves that price up two negatives can happen. Later on if the new buyer decides to sell it people will automatically assume that he needs to sell it for that same price though we should all know it really doesnt work that way. And also since people always try to refer to past sales to measure the legitimacy of someones asking price if that price is left up some will point to it as the sign of value for future sales which also isnt true. I personally look at as it being the business of te buyer and the seller.
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PURPLEDC nailed it!
 
Sosa said:
What bugs me is when they delete the pics.
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I agree! A lot of times, better pics are available on sales threads here than on web stores. I like to browse the latest knives here.

I do not expect to research prices though, and the Exchange rules allow sellers to leave them or delete them.
 
I suspect that in many cases it has to do with protecting inflated secondary market prices for knives, especially custom knives and LEs. Many also do it to avoid being criticized for profiteering.

I don't buy the logic of "protecting the next owner" if you sold a knife for a lower price than the "current market value". I can't imagine why someone would be interested in protecting someone who is purchasing a knife with the intent of resale for a profit.

One thing I have noticed is that sellers who are constantly flipping knives don't leave their prices up very often, if at all. In my experience, sellers who aren't interested in profiting from the hobby and who list knives because of necessity or to give others a chance to own a particular knife tend to leave their prices up, and they are usually lower prices than what others are asking.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Usually its to respect the privacy of the buyer. Picture this. A desperate person has a sebenza and needs to unload it fast. He sells it for considerably less than its worth. If he leaves that price up two negatives can happen. Later on if the new buyer decides to sell it people will automatically assume that he needs to sell it for that same price though we should all know it really doesnt work that way. And also since people always try to refer to past sales to measure the legitimacy of someones asking price if that price is left up some will point to it as the sign of value for future sales which also isnt true. I personally look at as it being the business of the buyer and the seller.
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^^^^^ Exactly!!!!!

Who wants to hear what such and such sold for today, yesterday, or any other date for that matter?!?! Certainly not I :-)! And before you assume that I'm one of "those" kind of sellers....... check my feedback. I've only ever bought from this website.

I just find it RUDE and DISTASTEFUL to try and "make" a Seller sell his merchandise for "way" below his asking price, because another person did so earlier.

By the way, yes I've stated the value of something to alternate the asking price or trade value of a sought after piece. And yes, I've directed Sellers/Traders to past transactions to justify what his/her items were worth to ME. But you see the key phrase in that last sentence was....... worth to ME.

In the end....... I understand that what an item may be worth to ME, may not be the same for the Seller/Trader I'm transacting with. And you know what....... that's okay! You either take it or leave it. Not try and stuff it down the persons throat until they accept your LOWBALL offer.
 
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knarfeng said:
The only rule about removing prices is that there is no rule. It's up to the seller whether he wants to remove it or not.
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This is correct and also a question that has been asked with great frequency. Sellers prerogative. A seller sets their price, terms, and payment method. The rules allow for as much freedom as reasonably possible towards both buyers and sellers. Remember, just because a knife sells for a certain amount at one point in time, doesn't mean the value/asking price will stay the same a month, six months, or a year from now. The price is like a snapshot in time, it reflects what one person was willing to pay for something, reading any more into it is like guessing. Would it be nice? Sure it would. Would it be useful? Not always.
 
I always leave my "asking" price up. I feel it helps benefit the community and in a small way a way for me to give back. I know that I find it useful in trying to price a knife to see what it has sold for recently, or even not so recently. Especially rare or discounted models.

As far as pic's I do delete them, but only after the sale is complete and the buyer say's they are satisfied. This allows plenty of time for them to copy or refer back to them if necessary. The reason I delete my pic's is I use a free image hosting site and have problems occasionally posting pic's. The more pic's I have in my library the more problems I seem to have so I try and keep the number to a minimum.
 
Sellers choice..
Their thread..
Their way they choose to delete or keep it up..
Holding the SELLER/TRADE accountable for handling
Their thread they way you feel they should handle the thread
is simply absurd..

Your thread..(Follow the rulz) After deals are complete.
You do with what you wish.
I personally as of lately have removed my price. ALTHOUGH my choice..
But for a few ..I left the pictures for further reference in the future.
 
asdf12345 said:
I suspect that in many cases it has to do with protecting inflated secondary market prices for knives, especially custom knives and LEs. Many also do it to avoid being criticized for profiteering.

I don't buy the logic of "protecting the next owner" if you sold a knife for a lower price than the "current market value". I can't imagine why someone would be interested in protecting someone who is purchasing a knife with the intent of resale for a profit.

One thing I have noticed is that sellers who are constantly flipping knives don't leave their prices up very often, if at all. In my experience, sellers who aren't interested in profiting from the hobby and who list knives because of necessity or to give others a chance to own a particular knife tend to leave their prices up, and they are usually lower prices than what others are asking.
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Actually, if anything I think this works in the reverse of your claim.

I think it keeps future sellers from having an inflated sense of their knife's value.

As soon as someone sees a new hot knife sell for double, they think their knife is immediately worth double. Now we all know the prices start trending down over time until they level out.

What happens when a future seller sees his $500 knife sold for $1000 3 months ago and then feels that's what he should get for it.

The road goes both ways and either way, in the end, it hurts the community because it doesn't give an accurate snapshot of the present market.

Do you think the Hinderer market would be so soft right now if everyone left up the 600-700 prices they were getting a year ago?
 
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