10 Apr
1998
10 Apr
'98
7:35 a.m.
On Fri, 10 Apr 1998, Uncle Roger wrote:
Well, "actual market value" is exactly what
eBay is -- the value of an
object (i.e., what it sells for) on the open market. Ya can't get much
more open than eBay, what with it's internationalism.
I would not call it market value. The prices on Ebay can be both too low
and too high. Too low? Yes because the way Ebay's auction is setup,
people can wait till literally the last second to send in a bid and outbid
someone else by some minor amout. Too high because people often times
don't even know what they're bidding on and tend to inflate its value.
And anyway, an auction price could never be considered "market value".
Its only based on what a small segment of the market would pay, and that
amount gets inflated when people are competing against each other for an
object of desire and their emotions override their logic.
As to whether prices on eBay represent what
experienced, knowledgeable
collectors will pay, that's another story.
Exactly my point. I'd rather base valuations on what experienced,
knowledgeable collectors will pay. People who have a better idea of how
many of a certain item were produced, how desirable a certain something
is, the history of an item which warrants its desirability, etc.
That's a tough call. Do you sell it to someone
who will use it and
appreciate it for what you paid for it, or do you put it on eBay so you can
pay the property taxes? I haven't got an answer to that one yet.
I do...sell it to me :)
Sam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
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