Why Remove the Prices?

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Lou Castle

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I'm curious as to why some folks in the exchange remove the price from their posts after the sale is complete? I leave the price in, after marking the thread as "SPF" or "Sold,"so that others who are looking for the same or similar item can get some idea of what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.

Why do some people remove them? What am I missing?
 
I leave mine, it gives an idea of values to others when they try to sell. Maybe for some its a privacy issue??
 
Search "price, pricing" in the titles (advanced search) of the tech forum. There are pages of threads asking and answering the same thing.

It always has to do with potential resale valuations, and privacy for the interacting parties, not for the sake of the uninvolved.

Coop
 
People want prices removed so they can gouge/rip people off and artificially inflate prices. Why do I say that? Because no one cares what you paid for the item two years ago, or what someone else paid last week. True market value is whatever someone is willing to pay, regardless of what someone paid previously, or will pay in the future.
 
I wish prices were left up more often, it gives me a going price for something for when I see it again.
 
I suggest a rules change to mandate that the original asking price be left in the post. The idea of this forum (at least in part) is to provide information that's of value to the knife community. Most every auction style site has a feature to show the offers made so that users can get an idea of what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.

I suggest an alternate for those who want the rule to remain as it is now. If you don't want the post to show the price after the sale, remove the entire first post, including the subject line. That way, it won't turn up in a search if someone was looking for a reasonable price for a knife. As it is, it makes these searches difficult, since about half of the posts leave up the info about the knife, but delete the price, the very reason that people are doing those searches.

Thanks for the suggestion to search in the "Tech Forum" for previous threads on this. I tried a search of all the forum but got hundreds of "price drop" posts, so many that I could not find the topic.

"Privacy" seems to me to be a reach. This is an open forum. The rules require that a price be posted in every for sale post. The fact that a knife may sell for less than the asking price IS a private matter and leaving the asking price in place would not affect that in the slightest.

As to "doing something just because you can." ... "Just because you can," doesn't mean you should.

I saw one criticism from a Mod who said that it would be too much trouble to "chase editors all day long." If this was made a rule, you'd have some who would "not get the memo" but most would comply. This occurred when the rule about bumping was changed due to abuse. Some (me among them) kept bumping our posts. All it took was a reminder and I conformed. It wasn't out of a blatant disregard for the rules, it was because I didn't see the rules change. It would take a few reminders from mods (I hereby volunteer to be "that guy") to get people to change their habits. If it continued then a suspension for a couple of months would be in order.

I've read some posts from sellers who think that it's to their advantage to remove the price so that it doesn't affect a future sale. It seems to me that those folks want an unfair advantage in their sales. It seems that they want to take advantage of uninformed buyers.

I see that quite a few vendors and knife makers remove the prices from their sales. I guess they want potential customers to visit their website or inquire in email or PM what their prices are. While I might be interested in one of their knives, I'm usually not interested in the nuisance that's involved in this. Call me lazy, I'll still be here. Lol

I saw one suggestion to quote the OP in an "I'll take it post" and that way, the original price would be preserved, even if the OP removed it. But that would require those who are searching for prices to read entire threads to find those posts (FURTHER complicating searches) and not everyone would do it.
 
Wow this has been discussed a lot. I still don't understand why people care. Leave the choice up to the seller. It's their choice to sell or not. If they want to remove the price, go for it. There are soooooo many references to what price is. Go to any knife dealers site and get a base line price. Crying about a handful of sellers on the forum removing prices seems rediculous to me. Don't make mountains out of mole hills. Price is and will always be what someone is willing to pay. Seeing past threads with prices won't change anything IMHO.
 
I always leave mine up.I just shade them like this $100 SOLD.

Bottom line is people can do with they want with their sale threads.We don't need anymore rules IMO.
 
jtoler_9 said:
Wow this has been discussed a lot.
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Topics that interest people tend to be "discussed a lot."

jtoler_9 said:
I still don't understand why people care.
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Didja read the posts? I think it's pretty clear why some people care.

jtoler_9 said:
Leave the choice up to the seller. It's their choice to sell or not.
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No one is discussing "their choice to sell or not" Rather, it's leaving the price up after the sale has been completed, that's being discussed.

jtoler_9 said:
If they want to remove the price, go for it. There are soooooo many references to what price is.
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None that are as current as what a knife sold for "yesterday, or a couple of days ago," as is the case with the sales on this forum.

jtoler_9 said:
Go to any knife dealers site and get a base line price.
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That might be months old and often they remove the prices as well. Those sites are privately owned, don't have members, and therefore are not subject to requests as to how they're run. This site may be.

jtoler_9 said:
Crying about a handful of sellers on the forum removing prices seems rediculous to me.
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I have yet to see anyone "crying." Rather I'm asking for a rule change and judging by the posts, quite a few agree that prices should be left up after the sale.

jtoler_9 said:
Don't make mountains out of mole hills.
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I don't think that asking a question is "mak[ing] mountains out of molehills." If reading these posts is too much for you, then I'd suggest not reading them.

jtoler_9 said:
Price is and will always be what someone is willing to pay. Seeing past threads with prices won't change anything IMHO.
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It will supply people with information that they now can't get in every for sale post, the price that the knife sold for. Some people want that. Some don't want to leave it. Some don't care either way.
 
I agree that more rules aren't always a good thing but in this case I think it would be of benefit to the community as a whole. The rules are the rules and the owner has the absolute right to set them as he pleases.

I just think it would be nice as a reference only, that the original asking prices are left in the post or sales thread.

For what it's worth I'd support a rule change keeping the original asking price in the thread.
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...move-asking-price?highlight=Remove+the+Prices

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...r-a-knife-is-sold?highlight=Remove+the+Prices

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ange-Forum-values?highlight=Remove+the+Prices

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ter-an-item-sells?highlight=Remove+the+Prices

Mike G said:
The staff have discussed this issue several times, and the consensus is that we merely provide a venue for buyers and sellers to get together, and ask that they follow a few simple rules. The price the seller asks is his business, and what the buyer pays is a deal strictly between them. We aren't here to get in the middle of their individual transactions.

In the end, the market will decide the selling price.
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Removing the price can be a benefit too; some folks here liquidate knives (read; devalues) for lower than they probably should when they need a quick buck; at least that's how it appears to me. So, by not having the lowball price left visible, the community is able to retain higher resale cost... Or something like that. :foot:

In summary,taking out the price could be seen as both a positive as well as a negative depending on whether you're buying or selling... ;)
 
Lou Castle, I've always wondered about that myself... It's kind of like fighting the tide trying to get a straight answer, probably because there is more than one good answer. In one of the previous threads about this very topic someone mentioned the site "lionseek" google that. Most of the time the prices are still up... notice i said "most of the time" I for one wish the prices would stay up... I don't remove mine and i would love to have some sort of reference on value.
 
Lou Castle said:
................

I suggest an alternate for those who want the rule to remain as it is now. If you don't want the post to show the price after the sale, remove the entire first post, including the subject line. That way, it won't turn up in a search if someone was looking for a reasonable price for a knife. As it is, it makes these searches difficult, since about half of the posts leave up the info about the knife, but delete the price, the very reason that people are doing those searches. ............................
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I disagree with this. There are times when I search the threads for info other than price.
 
I remove my prices because I actually had a buyer ask me to do so once he didn't want people knowing what he paid for a knife i had for sale so i did it and have been doing it ever since. It is just a privacy thing for the buyer, thats my reason anyway, but people have also pm'd me and asked me what i sold a certain knife for and with buyers permission I have told them in private.
 
Allen R. said:
I remove my prices because I actually had a buyer ask me to do so once he didn't want people knowing what he paid for a knife i had for sale so i did it and have been doing it ever since. It is just a privacy thing for the buyer, thats my reason anyway, but people have also pm'd me and asked me what i sold a certain knife for and with buyers permission I have told them in private.
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I agree with this 100%
I've had the same experience with buyers asking me to remove the price and also to keep our transaction private and not list who it was sold to.

Another reason is PayPal's policy of tracking the forums for knife deals.
My account was closed last year because they were tracking a member here with the word "knives" in their PP account address.
They matched a payment from him to me for the exact dollar amount of a knife I marked sold on the same day. He did post "I'll take it" which also proved that the knife was sold to him.

They reopened my account after I signed an online affidavit agreeing to never offer PP as a form of payment for item in their "restricted items" list.
They even agreed that it's not illegal to sell these items but they choose not to allow their services for them. Total BS!!!

I've removed the prices ever since. And also remove all the info from the original listing once I confirm the knife has been delivered and they are satisfied with it.
 
Czechmate said:
In summary,taking out the price could be seen as both a positive as well as a negative depending on whether you're buying or selling... ;)
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Correct. And since only SELLERS are supporting the site with $$$, the system tends to sway to their needs. Any Registered Member can buy.

Of course the potential buyers want to know what the past (purchased) pricing is, as much as I'd like to walk into a store and ask what the retailer purchased their products for, so I can see if it's a good deal for me. LOL!

I realize these examples are leaning to the right, but the points are clear.

Lochsa's were selling for $650 not too many years ago. ;)

Coop
 
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