[geeks] eBay question

[Hicheal Morton]

On 9/5/07, Dan Sikorski <me at dansikorski.com> wrote:
>
> 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
> _______________________________________________
> GEEKS:  http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/geeks



Dan,

In all of the transactions described there is a buyer and a seller for the
item.  The seller or the buyer may be a middle man.  Every item is a
commodity--even milk, even gold, even houses, even cars, even a college
education, or a plane ticket.  Someone sells it as an item.  The seller must
find a buyer.  Someone must choose to buy it.  If no one buys the "precious"
item, it is has no $ value.  It is always a buyer market.

I do not approach this from a financial point but rather from a
philosophical point as my stepdad did.  From a financial view point, you are
correct and I do not disagree, that is, we are not writing about the same
thing. Life should not be lived on the level of buying and selling.  Living
is meant to be lived on a higher level.  Others have stated this a variety
of ways.  Another is the question, "Do you work to live or live to work?"  A
kiss on the cheek cannot always be purchased.  Those times when it is freely
given are joyous, don't you think?

hike