Am I the only one who thinks that bumping for sale threads, many times per week, for days/weeks with either no price changes or very minor ones (like, 1 or 2% every time) on timepieces that are way into 4-digit price territories, is not helping the seller?

I know it doesn't go against any rules... I'm just saying that it's one of these things that I actually think work against the sale...

Personnally, when I see stuff that's been for sale for so long on the forum, being bumped daily or so (don't know the rules, I don't have anything for sale yet ), with (or even without) petty discounts every time, after a while, I know which ones I won't even bother clicking on.

I usually see the ads the first day they're posted, if a bump is going to convince me to buy something I haven't bought so far, it means it has to hit some kind of psychological threshold to drive the impulsive purchase that hadn't happened yet. Not because, suddenly it falls into my budget, but more because I'm thinking "ok, now this is it, one-time chance to bag a bargain" (which usually it isn't )

In other words, I'm more likely to buy something that was discounted 10% in one go after ten days than something that was discounted by 1% every day for ten days in a row.... although I'd pay the same in the end.

Am I the only one feeling this way? Will you hate me when I start selling stuff?

Paul

 

We won't hate you. We'll just wait for you to bump bump bump and then remind you of this thread.

In case you're wondering, I've gotten emails about watches that were for sale YEARS ago and have not only moved along to a new owner but that person sold it to somebody else.

 

I feel the opposite. I think a lot of sellers set the initial price too high, then use price reductions as an opportunity to bump. When I see a listing with "price reduced" added to the title, I think
--it was priced too high to begin with.
I believe the seller thinks
--this'll really draw some attention and sell that thing.

Other sellers set what they feel is a fair price, then wait patiently, bumping on occasion.

What drives me batty is when sellers say "$3,000 NET TO ME," like if they don't get $3,000 they're not going to sell it. A week later the price is down to $2,800---net to me, of course. Sellers are bound by PayPal's TOS to pay the PayPal fees, but that's a whole 'nother rant.

 

Never sold anything but don't see anything wrong with a bump every so often.

I don't really see the point in reducing the price by very small amounts though.

 

Good discussion let me clarify: I am specifically thinking about daily or every 2 day bumps - with no or petty price changes. "Every so often" bumps (read: a few times per month) make perfect sense to me. Sorry for not being clear the first time around

 

(Amended text and title to clear up any ambiguity, hopefully)

 

A thought on the "Net to me" thing..... I always take the 3.5% Paypal fee and USPS Priority Shipping (within CONUS) into account when setting an asking price. If somebody wants to make me an offer several hundred less than my asking price, that's negotiation and I can then counter with something like "net to me".

Anyone who'd bought from me, and I have literally sold hundreds of watches during my journey, knows I try to be as fair as possible. That's all anyone can ask as a buyer OR seller - be honest and fair.

 

You would be surprised how many times I have sold a watch which was bumped to the top of the heap. People go on business trips, vacation or are out sick and miss some listings. I don't necessarily bump my sales on a daily basis, but at least once a week and depending on the interest, with an occasional price reduction.

 

I think "bump frequency" is a learned habit from wherever you first started selling online. Before watchrecon or OF existed I sold at TZ and WUS and if you didn't bump three times per day at TZ and twice per day at WUS, your thread would get buried. (Side note, anyone remember that Salmon-dialed Frank Muller that was bumped daily on TZ for 1.5 years?)

Here there is less volume, especially on the private watch sales forum, plus watchrecon lets people filter by brand or model so bumping isn't as necessary as it was in those days. But you never know when someone has just decided they need a certain watch, or someone new to watches stumbles upon the forum, or someone that was short on cash gets a bonus...those are times when bumping is the smart thing to do.

 

Sellers are often unrealistic with pricing. Many confuse their investment with market value, have misjudged the market through ignorance or lack of data, or perhaps have an emotional attachment.

Still others have been pressed into listing a watch for sale by third parties (perhaps an unsympathetic partner), and price to have only the appearance of a sales offer. A couple of my favorite listings here on OF, by the way, have comically acknowledged such pressure.

Market-clearing prices are ultimately determined by the buyer, not the seller.

 

That's my experience too.

I've begun my yearly re-reading of the back catalogue of the "vintage omega watches" subforum, and in one the threads there is a mention of a for sale add. When clicking the link, I discover that the seller (@kyle L ), apparently, still hasn't sold the watch. Great price, but then again it was 2013 prices

 

I've actually turned down two offers on a watch I've for sale, which I normally would have accepted, but the bidders didn't sound like they really wanted the watch and had reservations about it... I won't sell to people who I suspect will end up regretting it!

 

Some of us have watches for sale that are of an acquired taste... MK3 Speedmaster took 4 months to sell, x-33 is still for sale (at market rate) - some watches just have to wait for a buyer.

 

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! ( ) It was actually for sale a lot longer than that if I remember correctly. It became a running joke, and probably still is.

 

A classic anti-sale post.

https://omegaforums.net/threads/reluctant-sale-speedy-triple-date.23251/

 

How about bumpers that skirt the strict 'one per day' rules by adding tidbits that they 'forgot' to mention, or new photos etc.?

 

Or the multiple thread posters/bumpers...

 

Hold on, I think that there's a technicality..... Private sellers can only list one watch per day, but I think one bump per day are okay for every listing currently running.

@DLT222 - can you give us your interpretation?

 

I pissed a few people off a couple weeks ago when I bumped my already listed CB Speedy and then also newly listed my Zodac GMT. I though the rule was PER LISTING but it's not, it's one per day total. So the CB bump got deleted and new Zodiac ad stayed.

I think if you're not being annoying about it (i.e. bumping it every single day with no difference in price or listing info), then it should be once per listing. I don't really care though - it's not often that we, as collectors and not dealers, are selling multiple watches at once.

To the OP's initial point - I generally bump once every 5-6 days. Watchrecon is a great tool, but even there, listings can get buried if there are enough of a certain watch type (i.e. Speedies) being sold. As someone noted above, people who aren't on Watchrecon daily may miss the initial post while working, traveling, etc, but a bumped post brings it to their attention. It serves a purpose, after all...