JimBo said:
I'm not saying you didn't get a nice cue, I'm just pointing out the law of supply and demand. Of course you think it's a good deal, that's why you bid what you did, it's just that others didn't agree, there just isn't any steals on e-bay unless it's a cue that is unknown or misrepresented or hiden. I saw the cue and wasn't willing to spend that much for it I also assume many others here saw it, but hell what do I know, enjoy the cue, Skip does nice work.
Jim
What you're saying is true in a narrow sense but very general. There are a lot of variables. The ad content, layout, quality of photographs, sellers rep, and auction format have a lot to do with the final value. The other issue is the limited scope of time E-Bay offers, as opposed to say a "for sale" site where a cue might sit for a year.
With E-Bay it's more "price of the moment". I've seen the same cue with same seller can fetch $800 one day and $1300 another (when the deal fell through) , depending on who's seriously looking at that particular moment. That's quite a swing.
Because I buy and sell a lot on E-Bay (mostly buying lately), I get a lot of questions about values on the cues I trade a lot. It's difficult to project a value because the auction format, luck of the draw, and quality of the ad makes a huge difference in the final value.
A year ago, I thought a no-reserve, no minimum auction was the way to go (because they help stir interest). Now I am coming around to thinking that it might be better to fix the price of the opening bid at the minimum value expected, trying to catch a selling bid, then to let bidding happen from there, que sera sera.
I'm amazed at how so many prices are determined by just the final two buyers fighing over an item. For example, I really wanted a particular Palmer for my collection so I set a pretty high price bid with my bidding software. One of the posters here did the same thing and won (I think it was Chris Hightower). We were a good $400 - $500 higher than everyone else! If I already had that cue in my collection, I wouldn't have bid, and he would have saved a lot of money.
Having sold on E-Bay for several years now, the interesting thing is I have found that the buyers on E-Bay turn over a ton. There are, of course, a lot of regulars. My observation is that the regulars support the wholesale prices. I'm also pretty convinced that what drives up the values is when they are outbid by the newcomers who are in the process of building collections or buying more expensive playing cues. They will tend to pay up more than the usuals. I have found that these types change over in short periods, from days to weeks to months. For example, I sold a couple of high end cues to guys who had rec rooms at the house and just wanted a fancy cue on the wall. They come in and buy one or two, or take up collecting for a short time and disappear. Anyway, it's very complicated.
Some bidders go on a roll and overpay for everything. Suddenly everyone expects their cues to get the same price and they are disappointed when they don't. I received an e-mail from a cue seller asking my opinion on a cue's value. I told them $400. I saw the cue listed for $800 and it sold. In a strange quirk of fate, I got a call from a novice buyer on e-bay who paid $800 for a cue and wanted my opinion. These cues were commonly offered for $300 - $400. I told him he overpaid. But did he? Was I wrong? Maybe they
are worth $800 now. When the next one sells for $400, will the seller be disappointed?
The other angle is, if you would like to compare that to Jeff walking into a dealer's shop and paying $1400 for the same cue, then I think it would give you a better idea of how well Jeff did on this deal.
Chris
Of course, that's just "my" opinion.
