Removal of prices in exchange threads

[illumination]

I'm not sure about anyone else, but I really like the exchange section for more than just finding things to buy or sell. I also like to use it to help me value items. However there are often times when the prices of items are removed, or replaced with 'Sold' or the items are removed from the thread completely. Once that happens the threads are completely useless.

I found a post by OakleyBoss on another thread where he mentions that as one of the reasons for deleting threads, but I was wondering if perhaps we could come up with a way for people to easily mark sale threads as sold. Something like adding a 'Sold' prefix so people can change the thread from 'Sale' to 'Sold' or something like that?

Along with maybe a sticky post to remind people that it is better to leave the prices in the threads and that they can mark them as sold and lock the threads?

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks for your time.

 

[Nortika]

Actually it's a preference of the seller to leave the price, and you can close your own threads if I remember right. There is a thread on prices just go to search on the top right of the forum, you also can look on O-review it shows the original price of the glasses when they were sold.

 

[qtrain23]

I agree. It's pointless and pretty annoying when trying to value something.

 

[mercat]

I usually look in the exchange thread to look up current prices..but some are already $old!

 

[kronin323]

I agree it would be preferable to leave the prices on; it's been discussed quite a bit before, including possibly having exchange posts as a form instead of free text. Didn't go anywhere.

But really it's the sellers' right whether or not to leave up the sale price, like it or not. And really there's no guarantee that's the actual sale price; there's often negotiation going on in PM before a deal is made, and who knows how sale compares to list...

 

[OakleyBoss]

I agree 100% with everyone - I just went in to tweak the settings so that you can only edit your own exchange posts for a limited time. I think that any changes should be made in additional posts as opposed to continuously editing the first post.

This does also mean though that if you are selling 10 items in a thread you cannot keep editing the first post to tell people they are sold. There are pro's and cons so we'll see how it plays out.

 

[illumination]

All good points, thanks everyone for the discussion.

I agree it would be preferable to leave the prices on; it's been discussed quite a bit before, including possibly having exchange posts as a form instead of free text. Didn't go anywhere.

But really it's the sellers' right whether or not to leave up the sale price, like it or not. And really there's no guarantee that's the actual sale price; there's often negotiation going on in PM before a deal is made, and who knows how sale compares to list...

You could also argue that it isn't really the sellers' right to leave the price or not. Given that it is a private forum and market place they are using to facilitate the sale, they need to abide by the rules of the market place. Don't get me wrong, I understand that that's not the case and may never be the case, just speaking to the point. I also believe that we don't want too many rules as we want to encourage sales and not make it too arduous for people to list or complete sales.

I also understand that a lot of the time there is still negotiation that goes on in the background, but the final list price still gives you an indication of the price. If a seller starts too high, you will often see price drops until it gets to a range the market agrees with and then negotiations start. I generally make the estimate that the sale will be within 30% of the final listed price depending on if the price has been dropped before or not. Might not get it 100% every time, but it's the process I've been using and it has definitely helped me to improve my valuations.

I agree 100% with everyone - I just went in to tweak the settings so that you can only edit your own exchange posts for a limited time. I think that any changes should be made in additional posts as opposed to continuously editing the first post.

This does also mean though that if you are selling 10 items in a thread you cannot keep editing the first post to tell people they are sold. There are pro's and cons so we'll see how it plays out.

That's great, thanks @OakleyBoss.

Just to be clear, I am new and I'm not trying to cause trouble for anyone. I really like the forum. There are loads of great members who sell fantastic items and are always willing to help other members out. And I do really appreciate the exchange section, I have found a number of great items through it. I just feel that it could be that much better, if we were able to keep all prices around - It would then add value to more people than just the current seller and buyer.

 

[Dallas O Hog]

Well the market does fluctuate on these so if Joe buys it for 250 but value goes up to 500 and he sells it for that you have people trying to bash him for it saying he only paid 250 give them a deal. I don't put p.m. in threads as I don't want people knowing what I buy and for how much or what I sell it for. Or you get well so and so sold theirs for only this much why are you asking this. Value thread is most used tool for me on items I dont know about

 

[fretburner79]

I like the idea of leaving the selling price up. I recently sold something and the buyer asked me to remove the price so he could turn around a trade up and his buyer wouldn't know what he paid for it. I literally shook my head.

 

[illumination]

Well the market does fluctuate on these so if Joe buys it for 250 but value goes up to 500 and he sells it for that you have people trying to bash him for it saying he only paid 250 give them a deal. I don't put p.m. in threads as I don't want people knowing what I buy and for how much or what I sell it for. Or you get well so and so sold theirs for only this much why are you asking this. Value thread is most used tool for me on items I dont know about

Yeah, I have seen that before. People commenting on how much someone paid for an item off of ebay. The thing is, what a person paid is irrelevant. It's about what the market is willing to pay. If a seller managed to get an item at a bargain, good for them. Nobody is going to pay over market price just because a seller bought while the market was high, so it's not really fair to expect a seller to sell below market value because they got a bargain. I don't think it should make a difference. It's all swings and roundabouts in my opinion.