Those ridiculous ebay prices

[Gary L. Sanders]

I agree, that an auction is an open marketplace, in fact, ebay is the ultimate open
marketplace due to it's size and demographics. When you go to a swap meet, even a large
one, you have a limited group of customers, compared to the large group that potentially
would be interested in the item all over the country. A rare Heath receiver being sold at
a garage sale in a town with 5000 population, might get no takers at all; but that doesn't
mean that it doesn't have a significant value elsewhere. Ebay opens the market up to a
much larger potential customer base. Now, on ebay, the supply is also greater, however,
the effect of the larger supply can be overwhelmed by the emotions of the bidders, since
there will be more bidders. Anyone who watches the Antiques Roadshow on TV learns quickly
that "condition is everything" in a large marketplace; and someone with a true "mint"
condition (boy, is that word ever being misused these days!) can create a huge bidding
frenzy on ebay. I would argue that an ebay price is a more accurate gauge of the true
value. When you are that rare person in the town of 5000 who wants that item at the garage
sale, and you are the only one who wants it, you can get quite a bargain, and I understand
that these conditions can spoil you; and it can create some false expectations of the
availability of bargains in a larger marketplace.
Gary

Bill Coleman AA4LR wrote:

> On 3/10/00 7:54 AM, Steve Harrison at ko0u at OS.COM wrote:
>
> >This is a flat out distortion of the truth. The final bid is the price that
> >ONE buyer is willing to offer that is higher than all other bidders can
> >afford. It is NOT the price at which the item will sell in an open
> >marketplace since an auction IS NOT AN OPEN MARKETPLACE.
>
> You're kidding.... Certainly the auction is an open marketplace. Anyone
> can place a bid.
>
> It's difficult to judge the value of an item based on the selling price
> of a single unit. But to the seller, and the one buyer, the "average
> value" is of little concern. So long as both the seller and buyer are
> happy with the price, you have a market.
>
> Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at radio.org
> Quote: "Boot, you transistorized tormentor! Boot!"
>             -- Archibald Asparagus, VeggieTales
>
> Sponsored by the City of Tempe
>
> Listserver Submissions:  heath at listserv.tempe.gov
> Listserver Subscription: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - "subscribe heath 'name' 'call'"
> Listserver Unsubscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - -"signoff heath"

--
Regards,
Gary L. Sanders
"The fog is wine, the sun is my gold!"

Sponsored by the City of Tempe 

Listserver Submissions:  heath at listserv.tempe.gov
Listserver Subscription: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - "subscribe heath 'name' 'call'"
Listserver Unsubscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - -"signoff heath"