Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion 2 different ways to participate in this hobby.

2 different ways to sell on ebay.
2 different ways to make an honest buck in the hobby.
2 different perspectives on the value of a piece.

I'm not saying either way is better than the other.
I'm not saying anyone is doing anything wrong or improper here.
I'm not throwing anyone under any busses.
I'm not saying anything. I'm just sayin', I'm just sayin'.
Oh, and I'm laughing too.
But there is one moral to the story. If you're new to the hobby, be careful. Educate yourself as much as you can before going and spending hundreds of dollars on items within the hobby. It's a dog eat dog world. Sometimes.

Great point Steve...If your not sure about something just ask!! The only dumb question is the one you DONT ask!!

Nicely put Steve!!! Value is in the eye of the beholder!!

All I can draw from that; is that, seller # two considers rust to be an expensive commodity.

NO- I would simply say 1 seller has a general idea of his/her items value, the OTHER is clueless!!!
This world is Dog eat Dog! Not just this hobby! Ruff!!!!

Got that right Tom

Value is a relative terms as far as collectibles go. Your just getting a general number that is by no means set in stone. Something is worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. Meaning sometimes you take less for something that you see as more valuble, because it was all you were able to get someone to give u for it. Or, the flip side, your able to get more sometimes. Sale prices seem to me to depend mostly on sellers need to off load an item. If you need to get rid of something asap. You are likely to get less for it than you would if you stayed firm on your price and held onto item until you got what you wanted out of it. Bottom line, if you want to purchase something bad enough and dont do ur homework as far as alternatives go. Or you arnt willing to wait for the smart buy and have to have it now. There are plenty of people out there who will take your money, shirt, shoes, and house if your gonna give it to them.

I think Brian pretty well sums it up in his last few sentences there. The 600.00 example has been floating around ebay for quite some time now.

I can't speak for the person that has the listing shown here, but sometimes it's not as evil or sinister as some portray.

A very common practice on ebay now is to list items far above retail with the ability to make an offer on the item. Buyers offer substantially less and often get the item. For some, maybe it makes them think they got a bargain.

I've bought several signs for a third of their initial offering. I wouldn't sell that way but I see it going on all the time.

A real relic..

I agree Ohio. I think the business plan with these sellers is to mark items up double or triple what they sell for regularly. Put a make me an offer option on their post and hope for the best. They know exactly what they have and what its worth. Im sure they sell most items for the highest amount possible, even if they dont get original asking price. I beleive that part of this problem is created by buyers and all the wheeling and dealing that goes on. Plus, some buyers not doing their research. If you put a reasonable price on something and allow people to make you an offer. The seller is then bombarded with other dealers trying to steal it from them so they can buy it for resale. When the first question most people ask if they are interested is, will you take less than what your asking. Some people decide to be proactive and factor that in from the jump. Eliminating interest from other dealers by making sale price so high, that to purchase for re sale isnt reasonable to consider. Then seller doesnt have to deal with the non stop back and forth negotiations. Negotiations that involve someone, mainly other dealers, using as a negotiation tactic. To be over critical of everything they can find and attempt to convince seller item isnt worth asking price. Just simply trying to get you to take less. Allowing them to make most money possible and get your item for a price that still leaves them a no doubt profit margin. Generally, wanting to be able to get ur item low enough to be able to sell it around what you are asking for it. The same price they ironically claim is to high and your item isnt worth when negotiating with u. All i know for sure, is that these people must be doing something that is paying off. They seem to be making money and maintaining. I know some collectors dont agree with it. But, this is America. Were there is a demand for something people will buy. Someone will recognize that and fill that demand. Just capitalism at its finest.

You know what the "Bearded Charmer" would say while trying to steal your sign. "I can't pay that there's no meat left on the bone" then he'd chisele you down and ask more than you wanted to begin with when he sells it.

In regard to several ebay sellers. It's like they have created a sign sellers MSRP (Manufactures Suggested Retail Price) Artificially high like cars, furniture, jewelry and any thing else you can possibly buy for less than sticker. Reminds of my old retail days when you could still make a good profit selling items at 50% off. Always ask, 50% off of what? What they are doing is effective promotion and obviously they are selling signs. However as in the OP, you better know what you have in relation to other sellers or you will own it a long time.

Plus bustermonty, you better pray when this market eventually falls off a cliff, like it will no doubt do at some point. You arnt stuck with 500,000 dollars invested in a bunch of signs you cant get 90,000 for. Which to me is why you cant really hate on them for what they are doing. They are gettin it while the gettin is good. All at the risk of getting stuck with a huge loss. Collectibles are not something most savvy investors would depend on and feel secure being tied up in. No money manager is telling anyone to go buy a bunch of petroliana as an investment.

mine did... I went to a place called RedHotInvestments