Seller prices for vintage Italian art glass.
Just an observation. I have been selling vintage Italian art glass on eBay for many years. I have recently noticed that many sellers are jacking up prices so high on Items that is no where close to fair market or actual value. I believe there should be a fair price policy that better controls pricing on certain items or categories. Thoughts?
20 comments
lb23cavaliersmvp
·8 months agoI sell and collect art glass. The Viking swing vase that you sold for $180 is a piece that I would never buy for $10; so what? Free market, free choice of what appeals to you and let's hope it stays that way.
kandf_vintage_finds
·8 months agoHere's my thoughts:
I sell a diverse mix of items.
I also run into the competitor items that I feel are way over priced. I often wonder if they pay too much for their inventory?
So I swoop in and undercut most of the competition since I pay very little for my inventory.
I also pass on the eBay shipping discount to my buyers.
Who do you think makes the sale?
bashort
·8 months agoThis is a very popular idea not for Italian art glass but for things like rent and gasoline prices. from 1979 to 1981 the united states implemented gasoline price controls, the result was a gasoline shortage.
When rent prices are controlled it causes a housing shortage
mamacassidy
·8 months agoI think a Porsche is too expensive.
I believe there should be a fair price policy that better controls pricing on these cars.
I want a new Porsche for $25,000.
Let's fix this broken system.
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoWhat you are suggesting comes close to price-fixing which is often illegal. Ebay's lawyers are unlikely to allow such an initiative to be made.
There are sites which are taking action to deal with these high prices, and many sellers on those sites are frequently upset by the efforts.
Amazon compares prices on many of their popular items to a secret list of competitive Internet sites (that does not include Ebay) and suppresses the Buy Box on catalog pages which have no offers close to competitive pricing. I will remove listings which are outrageously high.
Amazon sellers are frequently irate at the actions against their offers. Particularly when the bot is comparing the item with an incorrect product on another site. Many comb the net looking for a lower priced offer and cannot find one, yet they do not succeed in appealing.
It is unlikely that Ebay's programmers would do any better than Amazon's.
reallynicestamps
·8 months agoNot to mention that some of those "high prices" may include shipping (as "Free Shipping")
reallynicestamps
·8 months agoAlso worth noting.
EBay has two versions of Best Offer.
Many sellers opt to allow buyers to make Offers on listings.
We can even set up an automatic Reject/Accept point and never actually deal with the customer at all.
We can also make Eligible Offers to potential customers who have looked at our listings.
The two systems can be combined, so a Viewer who thought the price too high, and moved on without noticing they could offer a lower price, may be tempted by a Offer from the seller.
stuff4divas
·8 months ago@opto40
it's called Capitalism
an argument could be made that u r selling too low, therefore devaluing the items
luckythewinner
·8 months agoAbsolutely not.
eBay has absolutely no business trying to regulate prices.
If you are selling vintage Italian art glass and all the other sellers are priced too high, that just makes your item more attractive.
glenvonnie
·8 months agoIt's inflation, everything is costing a lot more.
adamcartwright
·8 months ago@opto40
They are allowed to set their own prices. That's how the free market works.
If you're not interested, then don't buy from them.
jameshen1
·8 months agoMy thoughts are that this is ridiculous and I can't believe this is being proposed. If you are a seller with what your call "fair prices", seems you would benefit from other sellers pricing too high.
I suspect you are actually wanting to buy at this point. You have nothing listed for sale and have waaay more feedback as a buyer than seller.
kibble-net
·8 months agoThere is a fair price policy. It's called Adam Smith's Invisible Hand. If sellers don't make any sales, they will have to lower prices if they want to make one. Plain and simple.
This is literally middle school economics. It's not ebay's job to determine what is a "fair price" that is for buyers and sellers to figure out, in an open marketplace.
rudy2828
·8 months agoNo, no, no. The market decides what a fair price is. If it doesn't sell it is too high.
Separately, especially for art glass no matter the country of manufacture: No one wants it. All the collectors are dying off and younger people aren't into buying "old fogey" stuff. I inherited a boat load from my dad and I'm lucky to get 20% of what he paid for it. Some I have even tossed because no one cares. Hope he understands...
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoAs a believer in free markets, I accept the fact that the value of an item is what a willing buyer and a willing seller agree it is, but add that that is at a given time and at a given place.
The art market has been highly documented for many years. Sale prices of art were collected annually in expensive subscription bound volumes before lots of free data became available on the internet.
Many similar works by an artist sold for wildly different prices depending on where they were sold. Multiples varied even more. Often the first offering of a rare multiple brought the best price, and other examples emerged for sale because of this success and they never equaled the previous high price.
During Q4, I noted some items I was about to list on Ebay had reached price levels which exceeded my experience selling them. The Terapeak price was what I thought was astronomical. I decided to offer these items on Ebay auction. The prices they brought was significantly higher than the Terapeak price.
Years ago I knew an antique dealer and auctioneer who had a remarkable skill. He would buy estates and route the items of greatest value to a sale venue where it would bring the highest price.
He ran his own auctions in Massachusetts, and consigned to auctions from NY to ME. He had a retail "junk shop" as well. He had a huge amount of merchandise coming and going and did this for years before a major fire destroyed his inventory and business.
I learned from him, though never was as skilled.
There may be a better place to sell your father's glass, or it may be worth as little as you think. If you have the time and want more money, experiment.
tools*
·8 months agoeBay takes a hefty cut of a sale, shipping is expensive, glass is fragile and requires elaborate packaging, and the art glass market is soft. The sellers are probably older and wealthy enough that they don't care if it takes a long time to sell on eBay, or if it sells elsewhere, or if it sells at all.
onlinecentral
·8 months agoThe phrase "what the market will bear" refers to the maximum price that consumers are willing to pay for a product or service. It indicates that selling prices are determined by consumer demand, meaning businesses should charge as much as customers are willing to pay. This pricing strategy focuses on customers' willingness to pay rather than just costs or competition. Essentially, it reflects the price that potential buyers will support in the market.
If buyers want to go out on a limb and pay a speculative price, that is their prerogative.
simba6
·8 months agoPrices in venues lie this vary as the crow flies. I have noticed more and more sellers are " fishing " for a high price. There are still good buys but, you do have to search a lot more. A down side to free listings. Nothing " prunes the dead wood " .
klhmdg
·8 months agoWho would decide whats "fair"?
Items will sell for what they sell for.
IF a seller prices their items too high, it wont sell.
eBay cannot and will not dictate to sellers what they can price their items at.
dhbookds
·8 months agolol........and who is going to decide the "fair price"? This is a free market........if the prices go up too high.......gives a better chance of selling to those who price at a"fair price".......which I presume you would.