Question of Values...

[jordan]

Bill:

That's it

MJP:

I agree with you about eBay's ability to show realistic prices of collectibles. It truly shows what BUYERS are willing to pay for an item; and that's its true value. Tomorrow, I can put my copy of Second Coming up on eBay for a buy it now of 300.00. But, of course that does not make the book worth 300.00.

Some sellers just throw stuff out there, ridiculously inflated, in hopes of getting a bite. And, I guess they sometimes do, but those prices skew calculations if someone is hoping to find a median value.

I guess maybe the best thing to do is just ignore the inflated listings. BTW the same holds true for any collectible. For instance I've seen prints and posters listed on ebay at what you'd expect to pay in a retail setting. Actually that is a good way to look at it. Items highly inflated could be viewed simply as retail value, not auction value. I think the three values are insurance, retail, then auction with the highest being insurance then next highest retail, and lowest being auction.

joe

i still don't think you can accurately assess how much buyers are willing to pay for anything after only one week on the market. if booksellers didn't get the prices they list at, they'd go out of business... of course, there are ones that just don't add up (like gregor books), but for the most part, i think that you can list at a higher price on the possibility that someone will find the book after 90 days than just after 7 days. i've even seen this happen on eBay... one seller (collectiblebooksandmore) lists signed books at really high prices, and some just keep getting relisted week after week... some eventually sell at his prices, and some don't.