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rkr4cds Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)
suburban Chicago
Posts: 2,044

In Canada we expect about 1/3 to 2/3 new price. is it the same in UK

Can a few of our northern neighbors weigh in on something? I have a rather expensive Fiber Art tool on auction and received this question from a viewer. She thought I lived in UK - I'm in surburban Chicago - but her rather cryptic note leads me to believe that she expects to purchase auctions between 1/3 to 2/3 of original price. Her bid reflected that amount.

The tool has not lost its value, indeed it includes an extra part that doubles its purpose that is no longer made or available from the European company. My reserve is the original price I paid.

Any opinions? THX!!

WildThyme Wild Thyme Originals
Hudson, Ohio
Posts: 3,115

You know Bobbie..... on eBay things are "worth" whatever someone is willing to pay for it at that particular moment in time.   bear_tongue   I know that's overly simplistic, but really, I think it's the truth.  You can put something up one week and people are fighting like cats and dogs over it and the next.... no one gives it a second look.  In my opinion, if it's something that I can go purchase at a store 5 miles from my home, then I expect to get a deal, otherwise it's simply not worth it.  If it's something I simply can't get here, then I might be willing to pay WAY more than the original purchase price.

Of course I'm talking here about tools and fabrics, and STUFF... not handmade items....

Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals

WildThyme Wild Thyme Originals
Hudson, Ohio
Posts: 3,115

OOOHHHH Bobbie!!!!!!  I got nosey and took a peek at what you were referencing in your question above!  OH MY GOSH!!!!!  Now, personally speaking, I'd give my eye teeth for a complete set up for making bobbin lace

I've wanted to try that my whole life!

I have some gorgeous little pieces of lace that my Great Grandmother made that way.  And I just LOVE the old Elizabethan era portraits of women holding a bobbin or two!   bear_wub  bear_wub  bear_wub  bear_wub  bear_wub

Oh, would that I had the TIME!!!!!!!!

Super cool!

Kim

nandesign Posts: 361

Well said Kim...I agree it is whatever someone is willing to pay at the time. I recently was bidding on some shoe button eyes...a large lot. I kinda drove the price up probably more than the other bidders would have liked...(great for the seller), but in the end, I did not win, because I was not willing to go high enough...I had a set price and that was it. I also agree with Kim in that I would love to have a bobbin lace set...but I would decide how valuable in terms of use it was going to be for me...am I going to get just to say I have it or I am really going to use it.

Anyway, just my thoughts...
Hugs, Nancy

edie Bears by Edie
Southern Alberta
Posts: 2,068

Well, Bobbie, I don't know how that lady could speak for all of Canada like that - if she did a poll I wasn't included -  bear_grin I don't think there is any such thing as expecting to get something at a set percentage on ebay - it really does depend on how available the item is and how many people want it at that particular time. Anyone selling on ebay is entitled to ask what they want for an item. Don't let her intimidate you!

rkr4cds Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)
suburban Chicago
Posts: 2,044

Thk You one and all!  When I answered her I asked if she meant she was allowing for the $ difference in our 2 currencies or to explain herself a little more fully. She had found the one same US online retailer that  does carry this brand of lace pillow, but the round bolster is the only one availble now.

The flat one makes it 10x more adaptable. So I listed it with my adjusted purchase price as my Reserve (first time & a little scary... but I have 2 other outlets in case it didn't work out.) She bid to the current retail price of $275 as currently available, with the one round bolster, and stopped bidding.

The reserve price was reached this afternoon in a funny way:
someone else wrote to say she'd put in a 310 bid but it stays listed at 295. She didn't know how to make it show her true bid and was afraid it would get away from her. Her main question was - Could I tell her my Reserve price or is that unethical?

Well, I don't know the ethics of this but I laid out what the individual parts had cost me and cut about 30% off that for a Reserve.

I also explained how proxy bidding works, that she stays top bidder and the price shows only what it takes to top the next highest bidder until it reaches her upper limit. I'm not sure she quite got that, as within a few hours there were several more of her bids, raising her to the Reserve cost, where it stayed until the end. Best of all, she lives about 6 miles from me - I'll deliver and save her the Insurance & Shipping and me the trouble of packing up this very large tool.   

It was Win/Win and I thank you all for giving me your opinions! I should say win/win/win, as I just gained a little bit more room and a clearer conscience (divesting myself of these items that I'm not likely to use again and putting them into the hands of others that will use them!

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