[geeks] eBay question

[Dan Sikorski]

Hicheal Morton wrote:
> Dan,
>
> You wrote, "I've never considered it that way".
>
> And that is the whole point.
>
> When it is a so-called "seller's market", do you run out and buy that item
> because the seller tells you to buy it?
>
> Or do you delay your purchase?
> Do you make do with what you have now?
> Do you choose not to buy?
>
> If you don't run out and buy the item, you have effectively declared it to
> be a "buyer's market".  That is, I will spend my money the way I choose to
> spend it!
To illustrate these terms, you have to apply them to a non-perishable 
commodity.  Let's say that i buy and sell gold, I have a both a stash of 
money (USD), and a stash of gold.  Right now gold is selling for $680 
per ounce.  I think that is a fair price, but i have enough gold right 
now, so i'm not buying any, and since i don't feel that selling it makes 
me a big profit, i'm not doing that either.  Tomorrow that price drops 
dramatically to $600 per ounce.  All of the sudden, i go out and buy 
gold, because i think it's a deal.  That means that i think the market 
price favors buyers of gold, hence, a buyer's market.  Now, over the 
course of the next week, prices creep up, and by thursday, the price 
reaches $750 per ounce.  I think that's a high price that favors the 
seller, or a seller's market, so i sell gold at that price.
> We may be dealing with semantics--there are times when a seller has an
> advantage as there are times with the buyer has an advantage--but the buyer
> always has an advantage since she chooses to spend or not.
>   
That assumes that the seller is always a seller, and that the buyer is 
always a buyer.  This is not how an open market works.  The radio that i 
bought last year on ebay is the same one i'm selling this year on ebay.  
The house that i bought this year is the same one that i will sell in a 
few years.  In a few years, the car i bought last year might be sold 
back to the very dealership that i bought it from last year.
> My stepdad taught me this more than 40 years ago!  It was quite a shock.  I
> discovered that it is, nonetheless, true.  If I raise the amount that I will
> pay for an item, it is my choice and perogative to do so.  If I choose to
> not to raise my price, it is also my choice and perogative.  The seller
> loses if I choose not to buy.  The seller has a long-term vested interest in
> selling the item to me for my price because I will buy from that seller
> during a so-called "buyer's market".  He helps me and I will help him; I
> have a vested interest in keeping honest and fair sellers within "arm's
> reach".  And the seller should have a long-term interest in having co-called
> "loyal" buyers.
>
> Another thing that my stepdad showed me was that there is "always" someone
> will to selling cheaper!  You just have to look.
You are assuming that the buyer is always a consumer, and that the item 
in question will be consumed and not resold later.  What you are saying 
would apply to the way i buy milk.  If i am not willing to buy unless 
it's less than $3 per gallon, I simply do not buy it when the price is 
over that threshold.  Unlike my stash of gold, I never sell milk, i 
consume it, so i never become a seller, so no matter what the price of 
milk climbs to, i never perceive a seller's market.  However you are not 
looking at the full picture. To those who buy and sell milk:  grocery 
stores, distributors, etc., there is a seller's market.  Similarly, the 
Farmer never perceives a buyer's market.  He has plenty of milk, so he 
either sells it, or he doesn't.  Based on your logic, from his 
perspective, there is no such thing as a buyer's market.  It's just 
marketing hype to get him to sell more milk.  But if the price is too 
low, he can simply choose to stop selling milk.  The fact is, both the 
buyer's market and seller's market exist, you may just never be a part 
of one of them.

    -Dan Sikorski