I think I realized why many don't like resellers...

[megasdkirby]

NOTE: I posted this on AtariAge as well, but I decided to post it here as well since not everyone is a member on both sites. :)

On Ebay, a CIB copy of Title Match Pro Wrestling:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Title-Match-Pro-Wrestling-Atari-7800-RARE-Boxed-Atari_W0QQitemZ380091581816QQihZ025QQcategoryZ1399 73QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Decent price? Not considering how much the seller won it for:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alex-Demeos-TITLEMATCH-Pro-Wrestling-for-Atari-7800_W0QQitemZ260329556914QQihZ016QQcategoryZ11988 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm all for selling and making a profit, but at the same time, I understand why many despise resellers.

And yes, I know the copy wyatticog is selling is the same one staff6987512 was selling. How do I know? Because I had contacted staff6987512 and asked him for pictures while the listing was still active! These were the pics:

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/4826/img1151ax0.th.jpg (http://img234.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1151ax0.jpg)

http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/445/img1152ne6.th.jpg (http://img75.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1152ne6.jpg)

Hmm... Could it be a coincidence?

Again, I am all for reselling. But now I understand why many hate it. To see it won at a decent price, then to see it again sold over ten times more...it does make me cringe a bit.

[Dark_Sol]

You know i've been thinking a lot about this...e.g: reselling. And came to some conclusions.
I think there are two types of resellers. First are gamers first of all. In heart and in everyday life as well. They enjoy collecting games as well as playing them. They buy and sell and resell mostly to refund some cash for the other purchases. They still play games.
The other ones are just people thinking of profit only. They do not play games anymore cause they have no time/fun. But they see games as some investment and profitable business. And they use it. They scan ebay daily for cheap deals, uninformative listings, bulk lots. They are not gamers nor collectors. They may deal with videogames for some nostalgic feelings, but they are long buried under the cash flow. This is the type i hate.

[bcks007]

FYI, there feedback number for both the seller and winner, are the same exact number. So of course it will be the same person. :p

[SpyHunter]

You know i've been thinking a lot about this...e.g: reselling. And came to some conclusions.
I think there are two types of resellers. First are gamers first of all. In heart and in everyday life as well. They enjoy collecting games as well as playing them. They buy and sell and resell mostly to refund some cash for the other purchases. They still play games.
The other ones are just people thinking of profit only. They do not play games anymore cause they have no time/fun. But they see games as some investment and profitable business. And they use it. They scan ebay daily for cheap deals, uninformative listings, bulk lots. They are not gamers nor collectors. They may deal with videogames for some nostalgic feelings, but they are long buried under the cash flow. This is the type i hate.

So reselling is OK if you use the profit to buy more games but if you use the profit to pay your rent or buy food then its not OK?

[Dark_Sol]

Well like megasdkirby said it makes me cringe a bit :)
Reselling for the purpose of reselling is a scrooge illness.
I don't mind reselling something if i found a really cheap deal. But some people make it a way of life. And not to mention these people kill collectors and push prices to the limits of gold bars.

[megasdkirby]

I knew I would get critisized severely in AtariAge...and I was right! I think the seller is a member at those boards!

This is what I posted over there...

"I understand making a profit, and that's awesome. But to gouge the price like that...well, it will only cause the game to stay listed on Ebay for many years without any "bites", mainly because of the condition of the box.

It's funny because there was another person bidding for it (lost, btw). It was another reseller called "masterkanaargames", but lost to the current buyer/seller. I was going to bid, but the box was in nasty shape, so I decided against it. Awesome too, since I found it miles cheaper and minty from a friend a few days later. :)

Still, why not relist the game for 3-4 times more instead of over 10 times more? I would presume a more realistic price of $50 BIN would entice buyers instead of over over $150+.

I just hope the seller does not complain and wonder why it hasn't sold...for over a year! Because it's bound to happen, unfortunately."

[Trade-N-Games]

Its a fine line to walk! And this is the same topic for the 100th time this year. So I would guess it really will never change. I see a bunch of resellers start the price fairly high BIN and then they still have it a few months later and they have lowered it down more inline with the current market.

[Felixthegamer]

Resellers don't bother me. Let 'em buy and resale all day. I don't like people who price gouge. To me, that's what this reseller is doing. If he was reselling it cheaper, would anybody really care?

[ryborg]

I bought and resold large lots of video games to fund my college education during the golden age of ebay so I guess I'm a horrible horrible monster.

[Dark_Sol]

Because of you now i have to pay nearly 450$ for a sealed Super Mario RPG

[megasdkirby]

I bought and resold large lots of video games to fund my college education during the golden age of ebay so I guess I'm a horrible horrible monster.

No.

As I mentioned previously, I am all for reselling games. If it makes a profit, awesome.

The problem lies in inflating the price to such a degree, that's it's simply unfathomable to think about it.

Sure it's not something I am concerned with, but those who resell and resell at a very high price...do they really expect to get that amount after it went for a much lower amount? Or is it just "wishful thinking"?


Its a fine line to walk! And this is the same topic for the 100th time this year. So I would guess it really will never change. I see a bunch of resellers start the price fairly high BIN and then they still have it a few months later and they have lowered it down more inline with the current market.

True, but there have been sellers that simply keep the price no matter how long has passed. I know of a seller who once listed a copy of the game for $400 and it never sold. You would think that this should tell the seller that the price is high, correct? Then why, for over a year, has the price remained the same?

I think it's because sooner or later, the item will sell. I rather sell it sooner than later, though.

[wrldstrman]

If people wouldnt buy the games from the resellers than there wouldnt be any. Good example the stores I looked at have oscar for the snes listed for 39.99 dollars, I won my copy on ebay for 99 cents. But there are those that cant wait and pay the 39.99 hence forth the reseller wins.

I also think resellers ruin finding out what the actual going prices are for games. just like metal warriors for the snes. I would like to see how much a few cib auctions would end at on a regular auction.

[Vroomfunkel]

It's always easy to be righteously indignant - but what good does that do? If someone is fool enough to list an item over and over for a year at a price it will never sell at, then why should that make you mad? The seller is gouging only themself, since they will have to keep paying the listing fee over and over!

Plus, it's not always as clear cut as you might like to think. I got all kinds of sh!t about 6-12 months ago when I listed a PAL Mortal Kombat Trilogy for £100 - accusations of 'gouging' etc. Thing is though, I have collected for the PAL Saturn for 10 years, and I knew for a damn fact that game is easily the rarest PAL game out there. It sold after a couple of listings.

I haven't seen a single copy since, until last week when a one was auctioned ... and ended at £172. Is it such a high price because of my listing it a few times at £100 BIN? No ... it's because over the last year, people have realised that the game really is impossible to find! Plus, prices fluctuate. Perhaps the copy I sold was actually a bargain ... or perhaps now people have seen the latest auction, a few more copies will find their way onto the market and the price will drop. Who knows?

It's complicated, and the bottom line is that this is how the hobby is ... sometimes the games you want are going to be sought after, and there will always be people offering them for far more than anyone with a brain would pay. But that just makes it all the sweeter when you finally pick one up from a yard sale for a buck. It's exactly the same with first edition books. If you go on Abebooks then you'll see plenty of people touting books that I want for hundreds of pounds, when they were only printed a year or two ago for £20. I could get mad at that and rant and rave about it - or I could just be happy that I got my copy of "Shiver" for £20, and hope that I can eventually pick the others up for a song sometime.

[megasdkirby]

It's always easy to be righteously indignant - but what good does that do? If someone is fool enough to list an item over and over for a year at a price it will never sell at, then why should that make you mad? The seller is gouging only themself, since they will have to keep paying the listing fee over and over!

Good point. There is no reason to get mad, but I do find it highly amusing and think to myself "Doesn't he get it?" (regarding the seller).


I haven't seen a single copy since, until last week when a one was auctioned ... and ended at £172. Is it such a high price because of my listing it a few times at £100 BIN? No ... it's because over the last year, people have realised that the game really is impossible to find! Plus, prices fluctuate. Perhaps the copy I sold was actually a bargain ... or perhaps now people have seen the latest auction, a few more copies will find their way onto the market and the price will drop. Who knows?

Completely agree. I have a few games on CtC that I've been critisized for being "too high: Buster Douglas and Shinobi World. There is a catch, though: BOTH games have gone much, much higher after I listed my copies. I listed my copy of Shinobi World for $30...and a few have sold recently over the $35 mark. My copy of Buster Douglas is listed for around $50-$60 without manual...and some recently went for over $100 (and one close to $100) without manual as well. So I don't think my copies are expensive at all.

Still makes me think about what the seller thought when he listed. Cool if he sells it, though.

[evil_genius]

Wait a minute.

This guy is trying to sell something for more than he paid for it.

What a jerk.

[ryborg]

The problem lies in inflating the price to such a degree, that's it's simply unfathomable to think about it.

Sure it's not something I am concerned with, but those who resell and resell at a very high price...do they really expect to get that amount after it went for a much lower amount? Or is it just "wishful thinking"?

I swear I've explained this a billion times on this site, but here it is again:

Cost to list a game, fixed price listing, forever, for $50: $.15/month
Cost to list a game, fixed price listing, forever, for $200: $.15/month

Unless you absolutely need the money right away, why on earth would a seller NOT do this? No, you might not sell the game for $200, but you may get an offer for $125. This is the only positive change ebay's made for sellers in like three years and I can't believe how few people understand it.

[megasdkirby]

I swear I've explained this a billion times on this site, but here it is again:

Cost to list a game, fixed price listing, forever, for $50: $.15/month
Cost to list a game, fixed price listing, forever, for $200: $.15/month

Unless you absolutely need the money right away, why on earth would a seller NOT do this? No, you might not sell the game for $200, but you may get an offer for $125. This is the only positive change ebay's made for sellers in like three years and I can't believe how few people understand it.

I'm not debating that either. He could do whatever he wants to do.

What I am trying to focus is that, if it doesn't sell, he should not wonder why it doesn't sell, because it's obvious. I've known people that simply question why it hasn't sold because they think it's cheap.

[ryborg]

What I am trying to focus is that, if it doesn't sell, he should not wonder why it doesn't sell, because it's obvious.

How are you supposed to know what some stranger selling games on the internet is wondering? Also, who cares?

[megasdkirby]

True, it's his problem.

But working with customers every day just makes me think about things like this. :p

[Dark_Sol]

mass reselling at higher prices inflates market in general. that's for sure. I don't speak about an occassional deal and that someone decided to make a quick buck. That's ok. But there are people who do not care about competition, about auctions, and about...well.... games....

[The 1 2 P]

If someone is fool enough to list an item over and over for a year at a price it will never sell at, then why should that make you mad? The seller is gouging only themself, since they will have to keep paying the listing fee over and over!

I've been saying that in different threads over the last several months. Let those dumb asses continue to waste money. I even coined this practice "show pieces". These sellers are only listing these items to show them off with no real intention of ever selling them.

Although resellers like this can be shady, it doesn't bother me. I resell stuff too. Thats how the world goes around. But I won't be listing any rare SMB/Duck Hunt carts for $1,000 anytime soon......unless theres a sale on listing fees that month:wink 2:

[jb143]

I'm not debating that either. He could do whatever he wants to do.

What I am trying to focus is that, if it doesn't sell, he should not wonder why it doesn't sell, because it's obvious. I've known people that simply question why it hasn't sold because they think it's cheap.

It's also possible that some people do this to generate hits to their auctions. If I listed a SMB cart on ebay for $350 then how long would it be before someone points it out on here or another site? Those links(I believe) will cause it to go higher in googles ratings as well leading to even more people visiting the listing and maybe checking out my other listings, which may be actuall deals. It's just a theory but it's plausable. Bad publicity is still publicity.




I also think resellers ruin finding out what the actual going prices are for games. just like metal warriors for the snes. I would like to see how much a few cib auctions would end at on a regular auction.

That's what I don't like about EBays new policies. They said they're moving toward more BIN auctions because by now, sellers have a good idea what things are worth. But markets fluctuate and auctions are a better indicator of what somethings worth rather than what a few crazies out there are willing to pay. Those higher prices are the ones that thrift stores and pawn shops have started tagging their items with. I've seen goodwill tape an ebay printout of a similar item to one they were selling before to explain to people why they priced it so high. Looking on EBay though, only a few had actually sold for that much.

[tmlfan]

I think this is the way ebay is going because of the way the fees are structured and all the changes they have made. People are now doing high buy it now auctions with Best offer options. So if you dont know what someone is willing to pay they put a high buy it now and let the offers come in, it doesnt mean they expect 10x the value of it or are gouging but you might run into that one person who wants of more than anyone else and offers a nice price.

But spending more than 1 second caring about what someone else buys and sells is a huge waste of time and energy IMO, if I dont like the price I move on