EBAY Hustle

As a seller of goods now, it occurred to me that most people share the same psychology behind the system. If you’ve never bought or sold on EBay, the online store allows you to put an item on your “watch list” this shoots an indicator to the seller that they have a person watching it. Just to push interest. More than likely, as a buyer, keep an eye on the item. Well, the real issues is that most of the buyers, what they do is they put something on a watch list that seems overpriced, in hopes that when it’s relisted, the price will go down. I’ve had it happen to me, and I’ve done it myself. I’m not sure there is a formal term for that, but it does make things shittier for the seller. It gives them a sense of false hope.

I recently put up a camera for sale. I priced it extraordinarily high, for two reasons 1) it is a REALLY rare camera. I’ve seen one, in person, in my years of shooting with motion picture film cameras. This is the unicorn of cameras. I acquired actually by accident. That’s another story 2) I don’t really care if it sells or not. I’ve always got a home for wayward cameras. The issue being, if this camera sells, it will be a person who truly feels its value.

So, there is a watcher on this item now. I sense he does what I usually do. Which is park on it, hoping the price drops or you break down and offer a “buy it now” price. Hard cheese for that person. But it does make you wonder how serious this person is. Maybe since it’s so far out from the auction end. Who knows. I’m pretty sure some people understand this psyche. There have been times where I parked an item in my watch list, hoping the same thing would happen. That they’d drop the price or offer a flat rate for it (instead of auction). That asshole raised the starting price past the original number. Therein by telling all us on his watch list to fuck off. Without telling us to fuck off. In their frustration, they raise the price to stick it to us…lurkers. Why do this? Angry, alone and pussy-less. Habits really do paint a picture.

I’m not that way. If something doesn’t sell, I just leave it at that price for start auction when it relists. People who do the latter, are just plain dickheads to be dickheads.