Comments on: To Buy (It Now), Or Not to Buy (It Now)

By: jason

jason — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:42:34 +0000

Hey Cellery – I just started to follow a few folks from here and other places…just started building a cool relationship with folks. When they posted I commented and asked if they had it for trade or sale and it went from there.

I usually tag records I’m listening too with nowspinning, bluenote, artist name, etc. it’s cool to connect with people!

Find me at JasonH5 on Instagram.

By: cellery

cellery — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 08:06:46 +0000

That’s intersting jason, could you say a bit more about how you go about selling via Instagram, for instance what tags you used? I flip the occasional record to keep expensive hobby affordable and am always interested in finding new ways to connect with potential buyers.

By: jason

jason — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 18:02:40 +0000

I have some bigger ticket items listed on discogs, but the funny thing, I’ve connected more and more with other collectors on Instagram and have some great set price transactions through there. Sold some higher end blue notes on there and the transactions have gone really smooth.

By: Brian Anderson

Brian Anderson — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 02:53:34 +0000

The big trouble with auctions are the unscrupulous buyers who have implanted spyware of some sort and thus are able to see the bids that are made which are supposedly “confidential”. They are able to bid at the last second or two and grab a desirous title by use of their less than honorable method of knowing what they will have to bid in order to get the records. “Buy it now” eliminates this game playing and has a much more professional feel to me than some of the horsetrading that goes on with some of the auctions I have experienced. This is a business transaction after all.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:29:23 +0000

I think your reporting is spot-on. You mentioned BIN listings occasionally and they’re interesting. However, the true market value of an item is best illustrated in an auction where multiple buyers indicate the value through their bids.
I usually sell as BIN for prompt payment, and the “built-in” reserve. Often an item will sell very quickly and I wonder how much better it would have done at auction. In that case, I see that listing as having indicated a “clearance sale” price instead of a “retail” price.

By: Ethan

Ethan — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 12:26:58 +0000

Auctions feed the “gotta get it now!” mentality that many people express in their hobbies, I prefer set price selling as a seller but I see why auctions are so fun.

By: lennib

lennib — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 10:56:05 +0000

When I decide to sell something on eBay, which is rare for lps these days as I am bulk shipping them to Dusty Groove, I use BIN. Because when I decide to sell, I want it gone. No lingering on as in a dying love affair that neither party wants to terminate yet should. Currently I list cds for $.99, just to get rid of them. And with eBay taking what seems to be 10% from sale price and from shipping, I feel eBay is getting to be less and less a useful means for collection eradication.

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 07:15:05 +0000

from the seller’s point of view, BIN is risky because either you put a price which is too low, and you sell, or one which too high, and you don’t sell. If you sell, you will feel that you should have put a slightly higher price.
As a buyer I find that BIN prices are always too high for what the item is really worth. One never sees an item in BIN which has not something to detract from it. NM/NM or better are seldom in BIN, in those cases the auction format prevails.
As a seller I am often surprised by the level of realized sales. I would have put a lower BIN price myself. In stead of putting a reserve price, I have reasonable starting bid levels which cover me against ridiculously low bid outcomes.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 20:29:50 +0000

As a buyer, I prefer BIN w/Best Offer as it takes the games out of buying.

As a seller, I consistently get higher prices when I list at Auction. When I’ve listed as BIN w/BO it frequently ended as no-sale/no offers but when relisted for Auction, sold for 20-50% over the original BIN price. I have no explanation for this.

By: Gregory the Fish

Gregory the Fish — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 18:27:24 +0000

BIN works in my favor sometimes as a buyer. Occasionally a wanted record will show up as a BIN for a little bit lower than I would expect, and I can afford it, so I grab it. This happens once or twice a year, though I did just get lucky with a mono original of “The Pepper-Knepper Quintet” on Metro Jazz for a very low price in VG+ through a BIN. Planning to audition it this week.

More often, though, my scores for low prices come through bidding, and that is what I prefer, though I am not averse to any one method of selling.

As a seller, I don’t sell many records, but the things I do sell are posted as I get promotions for free listings from eBay, and so I get about half and half auctions and BIN listings. I find that things work out about equally well on both ends, though even though all my BIN listings have the offer options, very few people take it, and I end up selling a lot at the full price. Weird.