Price in the title of a product and market prices

[Seeds for Africa 10]

Hi

 

I wonder if someone can fill me in on what the rule is on bob, as to market prices and prices that are put into the product title.

 

1) Sellers are inflating the market price of items, to give buyers the perception that they are getting a better deal. Surely the market price inserted should be exactly that - a market price?

2) In my mind if a seller sells an item one week for 1 000 rand and offers the same thing up for sale the next week and indicates the market price is 3 000 rand that is just not true as a precedent was set for the market price being that bat which it was last sold at.

3) Moving onto prices in titles - look in the gemstones category, and you will see a large amount of items sold in the region of R 1 000 that have values in the tital of R 20 000 plus. This is just deceptive.

 

I am bringing this up as I referred someone to bidorbuy this week. Their question to me was how do people sell things at 1/20th of the market price? How many new buyers are getting mislead thinking they are getting a great deal as they think they are saving so much?

 

I only put market prices in if I have sold that item at that price previously.

 

Anyone got some thoughts and comment on this?

 

Thanks

 

Grant

[bitesize 10]

I have also wondered along the same lines. Alot of sellers are also buyers on BoB so it works both ways.

I know that the market can change and prices can go up, but sometimes the inflation is over-inflated.

For prices that are below value, for gemstones I can't really answer except that you need to look at the qualities and then compare with a jewellery store. This could give you an indication on what to look out for. Also, in some cases you do need to be careful because you could be dealing with fakes. I've never sold gemstones, I have bought and have been happy with my purchases.

Some items may be below cost, but it depends on where the seller buys their products. I go according to the cost, and the competitive market as well as who is selling what at what price on Bid or Buy. It's pointless to sell an item for R200 when someone is selling it at R100 on BoB.

But I guess the seller has the right to put their price on an item. It's the same as buying milk in one shop that sells it for R17 when another sells it for R13. The buyer just needs to do a little research and compare prices on BoB as well as other sites.

I know this doesn't give you a clear answer. You need to go to the help section of BoB on selling to get the rules. If you still aren't clear and can't find an answer here (which I'm sure you will because there are alot of experienced members here as well as admin) then contact BoB directly. I've done that in the past and they have been very helpful.

Hope this helps.

[Libertas Computers 10]

One thing that I am able to tell you, but it is quite different in the computer business is that our market prices are compared to a preselected number of competitors in the market, is that we select our price to sell it for on BoB and then get an idea of what our competitors are selling it for and then take that price and use it as our market price.

 

Sometimes our suppliers will have bulk load buying specials or better yet they got a better price for importing in bulk and we are offered a cheap price for a certain item. Other than that I can't explain why you can sometimes sell at amazingly cheap prices. The only explanation I can think of is the costs involved in running a store, such as the rent, staff, displays, etc. And in jewelery that might become an expensive thing.

[Seeds for Africa 10]

Hi

 

A good example is a gem that was auctioned. Valued @ R 90 000 - sold for R 4 000. Thats just misleading. If it was worth R 90 000 why sell it for less than 5% of what its worth?

[bitesize 10]

Hi

 

A good example is a gem that was auctioned. Valued @ R 90 000 - sold for R 4 000. Thats just misleading. If it was worth R 90 000 why sell it for less than 5% of what its worth?

 

There could be a few reasons, two come to mind. One, the item isn't valued at R90 000 and is just a draw, or something is very fishy and you should be careful. Anything too good to be true needs to be checked.

I once sold a pair of True Religion jeans that I was given as a gift. The price tag read R4950 and I sold it at R2000. Would make you wonder why right? I didn't want the item so sold it at a price that was reasonable but not too low. I also gave the codes on the jeans so that the buyer could check with the True Religion suppliers.

If the person doesn't provide enough information for you to check up on then you should avoid naturally. A gemstone worth R90 000 should have a valid certificate that can be checked beforehand.

The whole thing hinges around what the buyer is willing to believe. I know sellers are misleading but unless a buyer reports them with a valid reason they will still list the item until someone does report them. The buyer has to be aware that on any site there can be con artists, if they aren't given enough information then the buyer should realise something isn't right.

I personally would never buy a gemstone with that value at such a low price, would you sell your R100 000 car for R1000? It's a learning process, and being aware weeds out the bad guys.

[MsPlod 10]

I only put market prices in if I have sold that item at that price previously.

 

Anyone got some thoughts and comment on this?

Then you are one of a number of honest, fair sellers who will slowly but surely build up a strong client base who will keep returning to you for business and who will refer others to you. :smile: