A tip for buyers or just an observation really

Ray

There is a tips for sellers section so I thought I'd just throw this in and I dont know if it's really going to go down well in the classifieds so I'll just stick it here. Possibly going to be considered in bad taste or something but at least I'm consistent hey.
We've all been sharked at least once or a few times in our lives. And then again there's no reason why that shouldnt happen here. It’s something our species is engineered for. And I've been in a bit of a buying frenzy just of late and looking seriously at what's going on in classifieds here and elsewhere. And I see people offering stuff for sale here and then people buying it and really happy with the great deal and the seller gets listed as a good deals with and there's so much love it's quite syruppy.
Now, when I see something for sale and it pricks my interest, I start some research to get a bit of a feel for how much of a bargain the thing actually is. I try to find out who the distributor is and get a price from them and also other dealers because somehow or the other sometimes they sell it for less than the agent. And I also try to get a bit of an idea what the 2nd hand price should be. There are places that you can get these ideas from.
There was an item up for sale recently. A good product but the manufacturer had an upgrade with a whole bunch of new features and improvements to existing features and so forth. And it was a product that I had an interest in so I started my checking. And all the while there were people chiming in about what a wonderful item and sale this is and how they wish they had the cash and arent getting married or not burying their granny or something. Well, there’s a bunch of folks that do that maybe to get to hero status or something. Anyway, I found the upgraded item brand spanking new for two hundred bucks ZA less than this advertized item and the oke who bought the thing was so happy he could hardly see straight. And I’m damned sure the seller was even happier because maybe he saw he could now buy the upgraded product and still have a bit left over. And the buyer paid for shipping as well. And there have been more cases like this.
There are good deals to be had but don’t expect everything to be just too good to be true. Smilin faces sometimes ……. So, have I upset anyone?
Now, about the Rode microphone I have for sale…….. . And I smile so deadly.
See you later.

Jericho

Ray wrote: There was an item up for sale recently. A good product but the manufacturer had an upgrade with a whole bunch of new features and improvements to existing features and so forth. And it was a product that I had an interest in so I started my checking. And all the while there were people chiming in about what a wonderful item and sale this is and how they wish they had the cash and arent getting married or not burying their granny or something. Well, theres a bunch of folks that do that maybe to get to hero status or something. Anyway, I found the upgraded item brand spanking new for two hundred bucks ZA less than this advertized item and the oke who bought the thing was so happy he could hardly see straight. And Im damned sure the seller was even happier because maybe he saw he could now buy the upgraded product and still have a bit left over. And the buyer paid for shipping as well. And there have been more cases like this.

Perhaps it was an honest mistake from the seller or ignorance from the buyer (not knowing the item was available for cheaper brand new?) but if you knew the item was cheaper new and the seller was taking the buyer for a ride, you should've said something. Starting a thread about it long after the fact helps no-one.

AlanRatcliffe

Ultimately caveat emptor applies. But still, there's nothing stopping you from PMing the prospective buyer and saying, "By the way...".

Keira-WitherKay

well there is a huge problem in our music retail industry here in SA .......and we discussed it a 1000 times........ that they have a ticket price which is usually 30 % higher than what they will sell it for ....and i guess some people will NOT question this and pay higher prices .......

if i recall at the moment there's a Fender usa standard tele on gumtree 2nd hand .....for about 12K ..... just recently i bought a brand new fender usa standard tele from a store ........it was marked about 19K the initial ask was about 13.5 K then after a chat to the owner i eventually got it for 11K flat ......which is more in line with what the usa price would be

so that means i bought my tele brand new (which means guarentee's ect) for 1 K cheaper than what someones trying to sell a 2nd hand one of the same model .......

BUT i do understand that maybe this seller did not negotiate as well or maybe not at all........ so maybe he paid 16K for it thinking it was a great deal cos it was initially 19K then decides to sell and now thinks 12K is 4K less than he paid and 7 K less than the ticket price so it must be a great price .....WRONG

so the moral of the story is if you don't get a fabulous buying price new ,........and you sell within 5 years ...........face the fact that to be competitive in the market you will lose prob 50% or more of the value of the instrument to sell it ............so forget trying to value something to what the retail price is in SA cos what things are worth on paper (as in ticket price) is mosly exagerated and most anyone can get 30 - 40 % discount if they push for it on a new item .......

so ask and push for deals when buying

the only market that will not lose value is the vintage market .......because of the demand .......and unavailablity of old instruments .... however sales can take very long cos in this depressed economy we living in ....... so thats why we see the same top end instruments which are gorgeous and prob worth the money but they take months even years to sell ...

so yes it's decidedly a buyers market and the sad part is some people did fall foul of the pricing system and buy at inflated prices......... only to attempt to sell at what they think is a good price but it's not ..

i blame the current retail system in SA ......NOT the sellers......and besides as buyers we have the right not to buy what we think is overpriced or to offer a price to that seller that we think is acceptable........

IceCreamMan

Ray , u is right , as always.

I see stuff on here second hand , used ,with warranty elapsed for more than i can get it new for ...due to the smoke an mirrors used in the musical instrument retail business. I believe the sellers are generally acting in good faith though as they prolly paid retail.

As Alan mentioned though , caveat emptor is always the rule , however very seldom mentioned is caveat venditor which also applies.

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: Ultimately caveat emptor applies. But still, there's nothing stopping you from PMing the prospective buyer and saying, "By the way...".

I did that once. The price was dropped and somebody else snapped the thing up :'(

christh

...just to add to the above,...all well and good, however, 'let the buyer beware...' and put the time in to do the research and know what you are buying. If you really want it, be prepared to pay a bit of a premium to get it before someone else does and always know your walk away point.

Ray

I'm not meaning to be malicious or anything here people. What I'm saying is that there appear to be buyers who have a taste for what they want and when they see the thing or similar up for sale here they might just get the feeling that this is heaven sent opportunity. It must be nearly six months back that I started another thread asking for some direction regarding this subject. That particular case was a power supply (but I didnt mention it) and I had just bought the damned thing for quite a lot cheaper actually a hell of a lot cheaper brand new. But just recently there have been a number of such cases and I am not going to interfere with the workings of capitalism. All I'm saying is that you are spending money you work hard for and so you owe it to yourself to just be a bit thorough about your checking and so on. It's a low feeling when you think you got a bargain and are all excited only to find out a bit later that it wasnt good at all.
And remember people, this is my thinkings. You may be the soul that bought this stuff and you may be very happy. And you may be the oke that sold the stuff and you may be unaware of the actual reality. In these cases there really isnt a problem. Tell me, do any of the sellers ever PM or call the person that they sold something to, to find out if they are still comfortable?
If someone is selling something that he or she is telling you is so great they've jsut got to get rid of it for some or other reason, do you ever think to yourself why the heck are they getting rid of something that they so obviously love more than life itself? Who are all these other people singing the praises of the item and the seller?
BTW right now there are a number of really lekker things for sale here that I've done some research on and it seems they could well be serious good buys. But I've got so many things that I bought that I just have absolutley no use for.

Norman86

I have seen this happen...
A certain acoustic guitar on the forum was bought at around r2000 or something.
Seller then tried to sell it at triple the price.
And no one budged.
His stupidity though, he shouldnt have mentioned what he paid in the first place!
But ja, this is not cool. and not on. pity though that people do this!!

Caveat emptor surely doesnt apply in this case?!
The seller is knowingly trying to screw the next person over!!