The prices on adverts have really gotten ridiculous

swingking

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the asking prices on a lot of gear on adverts is just ridiculous. I'm seeing people selling 400D kits for very high.

Are people purposely doing this to make people think they are getting a better deal when making an offer?

charybdis

They've always seemed high to me, often unreasonably so. I just don't use it.

Fajitas!

Some of the actual offers on Adverts are also ridiculously low, so I guess it's to help make the actualy buy settle somewhere in the middle.

Thecageyone

I've noticed that too. Same with Gumtree. I've seen the likes of Nikon D60 on there with asking prices of €500, with just a kit lens and maybe a camera bag and memory card. Thing is, they seem to be selling.

But as mentioned above, you see say, a Canon 400D package, and first offer will be €60

DaireQuinlan

Seems to be a general rule on adverts to start high in the expectation that people will start offering ludicrously low and everyyone will end up around the middle somewhere.

Thecageyone

I have found ebay much more successful for selling, better chance of getting your asking. And every now and then you find a peach on adverts when buying.

oshead

I think it's called the ancient art of........

Haggeling.

More info here.

Thecageyone

Yeah, but people are so bad at it these days.

Nikon D90 for sale, 3 lenses, bag, 4 memory cards, tripod - €1000

First offer: "Will offer €100 and can collect tomorrow"

punchdrunk

Seventeen. My last word. I won't take a penny less, or strike me dead.

dazftw

Yeah most offers are very low. Its full of chancer's.

Say your selling your camera you paid 900 and would like 500. If you put it up for 500 some chancer will offer you 300 or 400 but if you put it up for 800 - 900 some chancer will offer you 500 - 600.

Nforce

At the end of the day it's a buyers market. For what it's worth I've seen numerous items selling for less than the equivalent ebay product.:)

democrates

Some people are buying and selling as a sideline and seek fools, caveat emptymewallet...

Fionn

theres still bargins to be had on adverts from time to time - wasn't there some large white lens sold a while ago at knock down prices - the body work was knocked about but the glass i believe was in good condition on them.

I've had one or two people try to make offers after agreeing a price and meeting up, but i suppose you cant blame a person from trying to get as good a price as they can eh?
If i'm selling something i usually estimate the value based on the average price of a comparable item on a few sites and have a few % for wiggle room, anyone making ridiculously low offers should just be ignored.

Thecageyone

Everything I own camera related, bar a mini-torch, cheap tripod, a rocket blower and the lens cloths, have been purchased through adverts, Gumtree or ebay. I'm getting good at sniffing out bargains and getting what I want when selling too.

I've bought 2 cameras, 6 lenses, and loads of filters/a cam bag/flash unit/books etc ...

I've sold a bridge cam, 4 lenses, my old Xbox 360 [before they came right down in price ] with games, also some Dvds to pay for my purchases.

If sellers won't budge on their asking, and your offer is reasonable [check ebay for similar used items, inc postage, good indication of what you should be paying] then just move on to the next. The one you're after will pop up in time. I looked at dozens and made loads of genuine offers on cameras before I hit the right note.

I can say that every single buyer or seller I've met to date, has been sound as a pound. And I'm sure they'd say the same about me Every one has been a painless transaction. Only this week a girl came to the house to view a lens I had up on another site - done deal in 5 minutes She'd brought her D40 to check would it AF on it, I had told her it probably wouldn't - it didn't but she bought it anyway - without trying to haggle a few euro off.

.Longshanks.

Fionn wrote: »

theres still bargins to be had on adverts from time to time - wasn't there some large white lens sold a while ago at knock down prices - the body work was knocked about but the glass i believe was in good condition on them.

I've had one or two people try to make offers after agreeing a price and meeting up, but i suppose you cant blame a person from trying to get as good a price as they can eh?
If i'm selling something i usually estimate the value based on the average price of a comparable item on a few sites and have a few % for wiggle room, anyone making ridiculously low offers should just be ignored.

A 200mm f1.8 L that went for the price of a decent night out? I think i know the one your talking about

TinyExplosions

I think it's a combination of things -first is the fact that it's so well policed and the T&C's are so tight that it stops people from saying "You're having a giraffe, it's going for (amount posted on adverts - 50%) on ebay, lower your prices".

Also, I seems like the prices are roughly similar to what you would pay in store in Ireland for the stuff, which is more expensive that most savvy people would pay on here.

-For example, sticking a D200 up for 550 -it seems like it's not a bad price, as Berminghams have a second hand one for 600, but folk round here know that 400 is a fairer sort of price.

At the end of the day, there are bargains, it's just searching out for them and making a fair offer -there's a lot of piss taking in the offers too!

101001

I was a little in love with adverts for awhile but I havent found the percentage differences from new to second hand in the photographic equipment worthwhile. I have bought a lot of music stuff but the way people are pricing things now is ridiculous. Id like to see a fair evaluation of what the user thinks the value is then 50-100 wiggle room or something depending on amounts dealt with.

Ive just stopped using it really, even if you make what you think is a fair offer you just get a response of too low... Then whats your bottomline? and of course they cant say 'what about this price' because that then that becomes the asking price

FoxT

As a seller on adverts, you can never, ever, raise your asking price. The rational response to this is to set the asking price at a point that you know will not be exceeded.

As a buyer, you need to recognise that the seller is doing this, do your research, and make what you think is a fair bid.

There are always lowball buyers at first. Some may be chancers, some may simply placing a dirt-low bid so they get email notifications as the sale progresses.

Like the earlier poster I have bought most of my kit on ebay/adverts & have been happy with the savings I made & the quality of what I got. It is critical to do market research though, and this can be time consuming. Overall it has been fun, though.

- FoxT

101001

FoxT wrote: »

As a seller on adverts, you can never, ever, raise your asking price. The rational response to this is to set the asking price at a point that you know will not be exceeded.

- FoxT

Thats actually a fair point... but the levels that are sometimes set are arbitrarily high. I do feel for people that have shop bought equipment that is almost twice the price of online.I think this effects how people price... what they paid for something and its actual value.

Gone are the days of buying a delicious 70's marshall head that was found while cleaning out a shed, in almost pristine condition, for 100 euro... that deal is still stored in the wankbank... speaking of which... excuse me

bbbbb

Adverts works for me. It's very easy to research previous items on adverts (& ebay) to see what they actually sell for. For relatively common items it's easy to see where the market it.
Adverts is cheaper than ebay, no fees or postage costs, so can be a "win-win" for buyer and seller.
Sometimes there isn't a market on adverts, e.g. I was selling a nikon 18-55 kit lens. I could see previous ads generally hadn't sold, but tried anyway. Predictably, I only got 1-2 low ball offers. Sold it for closer to what I was looking for on ebay, but it's more work.

kumate_champ07

It's not just cameras, its bikes too. some of the offers are insulting.

i think when you see a nikon d40/d60 or olympus e410/510 on adverts for a high price its usually because the seller payed a ridiculously high price in a shop for it and doesnt realise they were overcharged compared to the web.

I saw an e510 secondhand on adverts for a higher asking price than what I payed for one new over 2 years ago!