[Ti] Help selling a powerbook...

[Erik Gaderlund]

At 06:21 PM -0600 01/18/05, Benn wrote:
>On Jan 18, 2005, at 11:49 AM, Rod Duncan wrote:
>>I'm confused. What gamble? Put a reserve price on it and let the 
>>bidding begin. You don't ship until you have the money. The real 
>>gamble is always on the purchaser's end. When buying, we always do 
>>it blind. The vendor holds all the cards. Maybe I am missing your 
>>point.
>
>First of all, thank you all for your responses.
>
>As for eBay, it is my impression and experience in selling that 
>reserves often scare off potential buyers, as they are unsure of 
>what price they will need to bid in order to get the machine if they 
>win the auction.  And, selling without a reserve, well, that's quite 
>a gamble I think.
>I am also hesitant because of the fees eBay charges (even though 
>they are minimal) and the cut they take.  I'd feel better through a 
>private sale.  Perhaps I'm being unreasonable though.

On 'study' I read about, found that starting with a low, or no, 
reserve usually gave better results (higher final price) than 
starting with a more moderate reserve.  They suggested to start the 
bidding at $1 and with no reserve seemed to give a better final 
price.  Certainly people are more likely to bid on something that 
isn't already set high.

erik g