Pricing Policies

I am often ask about my pricing policies and what criteria I use to determine prices. Since I have nothing to hide, I thought I would reveal these highly classified, top secret (LOL) details to you.

Since the bulk of my merchandise is stock that I have accumulated over the last twenty years and I am trying to reduce the pile to a manageable level, the one criteria that I pay very little attention to is my cost (what I paid for the merchandise).

I have been fairly successful in clearing out a lot of this merchandise since I started selling on line and last month I started actively seeking out merchandise that I can turn a real profit on. I am concentrating on pottery and china (mostly dinnerware) I will buy anything that I can put up at a good price for you that will make money for me.

My basic guideline for pricing is to do as much research as time allows. This includes looking at other sites on the Internet to find what similar items are selling for, looking in price guides, and drawing on the expertise of friends and associates. For the most part I will take the average value of the item as determined by this research and reduce it by 35%. This is the price I list the item for. This is pretty much a rule with me for items that I sell for $100.00 or less. Items that have a higher value are harder to find and easier to sell so I scale this percentage up as the value gets higher. In general I will try and sell items valued at over $100.00 at 75% of their average value.

I try to pass along good value to you. This usually will give me a profit margin that I can live with. This may seem high to you but please bear in mind that this is a time consuming business.

I am human like everyone subject to human error. If you ever think I have overpriced an item that you really want, just e mail me, I'll take a look at your offer and give you a polite yes or no reply.

If you are a comparison shopper as most of us are, please do not use auction starting prices as a comparison. Many sellers have a very low starting price with no intention of selling at that price. They usually have a much higher reserve and are only trying to keep their listing fees down and stir up interest. If it looks too good to be true then it probably is. Only look at"BUY IT NOW" and "SOLD" prices to compare with.

If you have any questions about my prices please don't hesitate to ask.

thanks for listening.... Bill aka the old guy

Updated for content (06/09).