[Boatanchors] Hamfest Pricing

[W8KZW]

	>> Therefore, our stuff is mostly worth whatever we can find someone
willing to pay when we decide to sell it.

I agree - " ...when we decide to sell it".  But I hardly limit my "when" to
the 6 hours I'm at a hamfest table.

When I decide to sell a radio, for example, I consider my available sales
channel:  eBay, hamfests, Craigslist, QTH, QRZ, HF swap net, VHF swap net,
word of mouth ... carrier pigeon.  How I go to market, which venue I use,
might change - and I typically do not limit myself to only one.  There may
not be a swap for months.  It's an Astron RS-20A ... heavy and not scarce so
a local sale through Craigslist and/or the Sunday night 2 meter USECA
Traders Net on 147.180 might best suit.  Or it's a Collins SM-3 ... light,
rare and the large eBay audience is my best bet.  The width of my "when"
window is more of a driver than "where".

Let's say there is a hamfest around the corner and because I think the fun,
friends, and club support outweighs the work, I choose to grab a table.

If I was forced to sell at the swap, and everyone at the swap thought that I
should sell "6V6's for $2.00" or be labeled a bottom feeder, then the
comment

	>>One's equipment may indeed be worth less **at that hamfest**  to everyone
there, except you. They're not hungry for it. You might change your mind to
match theirs and sell cheaper.

..is spot-on.  But I, like many, am not forced to sell at the hamfest.  I
indeed can

	>>take it home and look for someplace where maybe someone is hungry enough
for it to agree with (my) valuation and buy it.

My objection to the "Worrisome / Harmful" poster was his audacity to label
me and others like me a "bottom feeder" because I won't give my gear away at
his arbitrarily contrived notion of what HE should be able to buy it for at
a hamfest.  Because he doesn't demand it does not mean someone else might.
I choose to price for the buyer - scarce as he may be at the swap - who
recognizes the value of my offering and I have other sales options if that
buyer is not attending.

And guess what ... that Collins KWM-2A on the table for $50.00?  Chances are
9 out of 10 that it will be resold on eBay in a week.  So, because it's
priced "right" for mister Worrisome/Harmful, that "hamfester" seller is a
good-guy and I'm not?  Amazing.

	>>buggy whip companies went out of business when the desire for them faded
away. If our selling prices don't keep pace with what buyers will pay, we
risk holding on as offers fall 		ever lower and one day finding no one wants
it at any price.

I confess you lost me on this one.  Technology change erased the buggy whip
market.  If buggy whip manufactures sold them for pennies, they'd lose money
on every sale and be gone regardless of quantity demanded.

Finally, as I previously mentioned, I do account for not having to pay eBay
selling fees when I price an item for sale at a swap.  That, coupled with
the buyer not having to pay freight, and often times throwing in a "nice guy
/ see you next swap" discount, means an attractive price for the buyer who
happens to want what I'm selling.  But

	>> ...Then you pay $45 for shipping and your net is $85.  Plus you had to
pack it and haul it to FedEx or UPS, and you probably had to pay something
for packing materials.  So, 		you could have sold it at a hamfest for $75/85
and been ahead.

the buyer pays shipping on eBay unless you choose to ship for free.

Here is the point:  If I have a beautiful Collins 75S-3 that I restored on
my swap table, priced say, $100 less than eBay sold comparables, and I'm not
forced to sell it at that swap, don't call me a "bottom feeder".  If I price
it $100 MORE because I paid for a table with electricity and strung an
antenna so you can confirm it plays as good as it looks and you can take it
home and put it on the air this afternoon ... don't call me a "bottom
feeder".  Rather, if just because I have a 75S-3 for sale at a swap you
believe I should price it at $200, then YOU are the "bottom feeder".

73,
Jeff