Does this selling method make any sense?

[smotan_02]

I'll admit I thought this was interesting when I first saw it, but it was about 20x more than I was willing to pay for it.

First listing ($7,500)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HISTORICAL-V...item4ac37c1b90

Then he relisted at a third of his first listing price ($2,500) for a 24-hour auction. Ok I thought...this is at least somewhat heading the right direction.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HISTORICAL-V...item4ac484d683

Didn't sell and did another 24-hour auction at same price ($2,500)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HISTORICAL-V...item4ac3bd5663

Didn't sell and a couple days later he list it at an $899 auction or $999 BIN.
Ok, I thought, its getting close to what I was thinking. Only another 1/3 price cut. (URL not needed...you get the point.)

Didnt sell at $999 and relist at $2,500 24-hour auction (dang it).

Didnt sell and then he does the crazy...list it auction style for $40,000.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-HISTORI...item4ac5170929

I could maybe understand an absurd BIN of $40,000 with a Best Offer option, but anyone have any idea why a seller would use this strange tactic?

Note: This art was not the design used for the actual game program.

[Scott Garner]

Maybe this eBay seller is best friends with the Shoeless Joe Jackson "Brown Betsy" guy in the recent thread on net54?

[perezfan]

Just more of ebay's "PT Barnum Syndrome". I can't take credit for the term, as it was coined by Al....

When there is no interest at a given price, these specimens feel compelled to raise the price significantly. A common affliction among ebay sellers, which appears to be multiplying. There is apparently no antidote or cure, as the infection is becoming more wide-spread.

Experts say the best way to avoid spreading the disease is to completely ignore these greedy sellers, who now make up 90% of ebay. Do not fall prey to them, as it will make them even more prevalent... much like offering up your blood to a Vampire.

Hope this fool sits on his $40,000.00 Poster indefinitely.

[thecatspajamas]

The only cure is to go back to the old fee structure where the listing fees were proportional to the starting price on auctions. You get fewer people willing to jack up the starting price when it costs them money up front to do so, regardless of whether the item sells or not. Let them list for free, at any starting price they choose, and this is what happens.

Sellers like this guy view selling on eBay more like playing the lottery than running a business, except in this case, they don't even have to pay for their scratch-off tickets.

Oddly enough, this was actually a factor you could see keeping several startup competitors from gaining traction early on. They would often advertise how it was FREE to list on their site, compared to the greedy eBay who actually charged you to list your stuff. As a result, they were flooded with items priced starting at high-end market values and going up from there, very little of which actually sold. So the Free Listings they were using to draw traffic to their site wound up killing them in the end due to human nature. If there was no outlay of cash for listing fees on the front end, sellers didn't really care if their unrealistic pricing never actually resulted in a sale, and casual visitors to the site were put off by the high asking prices vs. what they were seeing on eBay.

[smotan_02]

I just think it is really strange. If you get no bites for $800-$7500 (wi at least one watcher - me), then why do you think you will get traction at $40K. The mortal working man might pull the trigger at $3-7K if it is an absolute cant live without must have, but $40K?!?! Your marketing an incredibly niche piece to a clientele that probably doesn't scan ebay everyday (or ever).

Guess if anything it got us talking about it. No such thing as bad press.