Calling all dealers
Posted: 22 Jan 2004 11:56
Hi I find myself writing this after reading CHtoys posting and Clemens reply in the Trading websites section
This is not meant to accusive or agrumentative just constructive, my question is ,dealers, how are your prices set.
MY View is often dealers state prices based upon market demands. I usually use ebay as a benchmark for this, as the market itself decides to a degree the market worth.
I would then imagine that a dealers list price would be a percentage higher to allow for running costs, supply and demand in the sence that you have the item I want there and then.
But I have found that some dealers prices are usually around 50% higher than ebay average end prices. I know factors have to be taken into account like dealers (usually) have a code of conduct and if the item had been damaged, repaired, faded of have repro parts that it will be included in the desciption.
Also there is the running costs for a dealer to have a shop where I can view the item. As an example I am after a vintage white Tie Fighter but as these can suffer from severe yellowing I can only buy one from a shop where I can view it first.
But as many dealers now have only an internet shop even this may not be a factor.
What worries me is that as an Action Man collector as well as Action Force, I have seen some dealers almost kill the Action Man collecting scene, if anyone has been to the Action Man day in chesthunt they will now what I mean.
A dealer charging ?200 for a figure that could be found in ebay for ?50. Bearing in mind that some dealers have figures costing ?1100 it was only a matter of time before costs drove collectors to ebay.
The dealers response to this was to keep their heads in the sand and carry on charging obscene amounts for these figures, as a result this event is now pretty much dead.
To an extent it is these dealers who helped ebay to become as big as it is for toy collecting.
I do not have anything against dealers as there are doing their job and also offering a service to collectors, but as they no longer have the monolopy on supply and demand, I think some of their prices might reflect this.
As I said before there is no acusations meant here, just my views and fears, but I would love to hear views by dealers on this, have you found it is harder because of ebay or has it created a different buyer for you. Do you have/had a shop? Where do you see the future?
This is not meant to accusive or agrumentative just constructive, my question is ,dealers, how are your prices set.
MY View is often dealers state prices based upon market demands. I usually use ebay as a benchmark for this, as the market itself decides to a degree the market worth.
I would then imagine that a dealers list price would be a percentage higher to allow for running costs, supply and demand in the sence that you have the item I want there and then.
But I have found that some dealers prices are usually around 50% higher than ebay average end prices. I know factors have to be taken into account like dealers (usually) have a code of conduct and if the item had been damaged, repaired, faded of have repro parts that it will be included in the desciption.
Also there is the running costs for a dealer to have a shop where I can view the item. As an example I am after a vintage white Tie Fighter but as these can suffer from severe yellowing I can only buy one from a shop where I can view it first.
But as many dealers now have only an internet shop even this may not be a factor.
What worries me is that as an Action Man collector as well as Action Force, I have seen some dealers almost kill the Action Man collecting scene, if anyone has been to the Action Man day in chesthunt they will now what I mean.
A dealer charging ?200 for a figure that could be found in ebay for ?50. Bearing in mind that some dealers have figures costing ?1100 it was only a matter of time before costs drove collectors to ebay.
The dealers response to this was to keep their heads in the sand and carry on charging obscene amounts for these figures, as a result this event is now pretty much dead.
To an extent it is these dealers who helped ebay to become as big as it is for toy collecting.
I do not have anything against dealers as there are doing their job and also offering a service to collectors, but as they no longer have the monolopy on supply and demand, I think some of their prices might reflect this.
As I said before there is no acusations meant here, just my views and fears, but I would love to hear views by dealers on this, have you found it is harder because of ebay or has it created a different buyer for you. Do you have/had a shop? Where do you see the future?