eBay = Mkt Value? (was: my objection to recent postings) - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

9 Apr 1998

At 01:07 AM 4/9/98 -0700, you wrote:
...
 I agree.  Ebay is definitely NOT indicative of
"actual market value".  Its
all based on scarcity, and scarcity varies from area to area around the
country and the world.  Someone thinking they got a great deal on a
complete C64 system for $25 got ripped off since I can pick up something
similar locally for less than $10. 
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.  

As to whether prices on eBay represent what experienced, knowledgeable
collectors will pay, that's another story.

And lastly, yes, values are determined in large part by scarcity.  Here in
San Francisco, a postcard with a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge will
cost me 25 cents (or so).  In New York, I'd probably have to pay a bit more
for one, and still more if I were in, say, Ayr, Scotland.

Here in the SF area, a lot of computers are readily available, and
affordable.  This is a very technically aware locale, and a lot of the
people here were early-adopters of computer technology (unlike, say, parts
of Pennsylvania that are primarily Amish.)  So they'll be cheaper here than
elsewhere.  So people in PA can either pay higher prices there, buy over
the net (including eBay), or hop a plane to SF.

As a side note, it always makes me laugh when at antique shows when I see
some item for sale for $15 that I know can be bought at Disneyland, brand
new, for $3.  But people pay those prices, because not everyone goes to
DLand every year.

...
 Ugh!  Don't do that!  Sell it to someone who would
appreciate and
actually use it (like me! :)  
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.

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