Why do people cover up

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JohnnyO

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their asking price for a knife after it has been sold? I always felt checking the sale ads was a good way to determine what a person should either ask or expect to pay for a certain knife.
 
At first I thought there was some kind of silly Bladeforums rule against leaving the price up or something, but I really don't know.
 
I've heard a couple reasons for it in the past that make sense (can't recall them right now, though I'm sure others will fill in the blanks). I just wanted to go on the record that it drives me CRAZY. I hate when the price is removed after the sale.

I think one of the reasons was that the buyer might not want a future buyer to know what he paid for it in the event the value increases significantly (like a carbon V trailmaster or a BM Rukus). All I know is it doubles my time to try and figure out the value of a semi-obscure knife that I'm considering.
 
For a Custom knife maker it may be that in the future they have to change prices. This allows them to do so as needed without a previous reference.

For a private sale of a production blade, I don't see why it's a common practice. I think I left the price in my last sale on the exchange.
 
I find that if the list is long like 7+ items to be sold and the price is still there, even boldly marked sold people still ask for trades on it and such, thus no price, obviously sold or its a serious loss to the seller.
 
I always just thought it had something to do with a courtesy to other sellers who have to be supporting forum members, to set their own price without a disadvantage. But honestly, I just go with the flow :D
 
JohnnyO said:
their asking price for a knife after it has been sold? I always felt checking the sale ads was a good way to determine what a person should either ask or expect to pay for a certain knife.
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A lot of people are here to make money. If you watch the exchange long enough you'll see flippers pounce on good deals and sell the stuff a few weeks later for a considerable profit. I'm not saying it's wrong, but that's what it's about.
 
I do it because I the first few times I sold knives here, I received quite a few PM's saying I was selling for less than "market value" and hurting other member's sales. I find it easier to edit the price than tell a dozen people to kiss my ass.
 
SpookyDriver said:
I do it because I the first few times I sold knives here, I received quite a few PM's saying I was selling for less than "market value" and hurting other member's sales. I find it easier to edit the price than tell a dozen people to kiss my ass.
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Oh, I hadn't thought about it like that. That makes sense.
 
I agree. There isn't really a good reason for sellers to cover up their prices. I think most people in this hobby recognize that prices change, and letting the prices stay as a reference isn't going to ruin the market.
 
shunsui said:
A lot of people are here to make money. If you watch the exchange long enough you'll see flippers pounce on good deals and sell the stuff a few weeks later for a considerable profit. I'm not saying it's wrong, but that's what it's about.
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SpookyDriver said:
I do it because I the first few times I sold knives here, I received quite a few PM's saying I was selling for less than "market value" and hurting other member's sales. I find it easier to edit the price than tell a dozen people to kiss my ass.
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These. I've had some emails from members offering low ball, and in my mind disrespectful offers. When I countered that with a quick search I could see several of the same knives selling for either much more (when they tried to buy from me) or much less (when they were trying to sell to me) they stopped responding.

I'd suggest doing research before you make any sales/trades so that you don't get the short end of the stick. It might only be $10 or $20 at a time, but it can add up if you do a fair amount of buying/selling/trading.

What really irks me is when a deal gets agreed to, but then they start asking for more things from your end. Like pay for their shipping. lol
 
I keep em up. Other forums insist that prices remain intact. Seems more on the level to me. wish other people would follow suit.
 
SpookyDriver said:
I do it because I the first few times I sold knives here, I received quite a few PM's saying I was selling for less than "market value" and hurting other member's sales. I find it easier to edit the price than tell a dozen people to kiss my ass.
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So it's as bad as price fixing then? Rather than a seller dictating the price other members are trying to dictate what the market values are for that seller? That's crap. :grumpy: I'm not able to sell items here but I sure as heck wouldn't let people dictate to me that I'm selling lower than they are willing to because "I'm hurting other members sales".
 
Kru03 said:
I've heard a couple reasons for it in the past that make sense (can't recall them right now, though I'm sure others will fill in the blanks). I just wanted to go on the record that it drives me CRAZY. I hate when the price is removed after the sale.

I think one of the reasons was that the buyer might not want a future buyer to know what he paid for it in the event the value increases significantly (like a carbon V trailmaster or a BM Rukus). All I know is it doubles my time to try and figure out the value of a semi-obscure knife that I'm considering.
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Same here... even if I will kick myself for not having checked the boards sooner, I still want to know. I feel like if more people knew what great deals you can get, the exchange boards could get even more movement
 
If this forum's intent is to be a valuable resource for collectors, it seems like the practice should be banned - keep the prices up so that we can have a valuable resource as to the "true" value of the knives we have and the knives we want.
 
This is definitely something that irks me. I think the price should stay. Gives you an idea of the current market price.
 
OvalmanPA said:
So it's as bad as price fixing then? Rather than a seller dictating the price other members are trying to dictate what the market values are for that seller? That's crap. :grumpy: I'm not able to sell items here but I sure as heck wouldn't let people dictate to me that I'm selling lower than they are willing to because "I'm hurting other members sales".
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No, no one has ever commented while the sale was active. I sell for whatever price I want. I received my "complaints" after the sales were completed.
 
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