I'd like a little feedback from everyone to see if this is something that only annoys me, or others as well.

From a recent For Sale thread:
"Well, it looks like I may have to take these to the bay. "

I've noticed a lot this last summer that quite a few sellers have taken to saying something like this within their threads.  The line above was taken from a thread in which the seller has a popular item that has probably received numerous offers on it.  Now, I have no interest in that particular item, nor do I have any issues with the seller personally, so this is not meant as an attack at anyone specifically.  I just think it's a really bad attitude that keeps creeping up, and here's my 4 reasons why:

1.  It's used in a threatening way, and appears to be used in a way to extort higher offers from potential buyers.  "Get it now before it's released to teh wilds of teh bay!" 

2.  Sellers aren't actually taking their items to ebay after saying they will.  I have seen a number of items resurface in FS threads a few weeks/months later that were supposedly going to end up at open auction.

3.  It makes the members of this board sound like we're either cheap or ignorant when it comes to pricing stuff.  It's as if by taking something to ebay, a seller could get what their item is actually worth, and they're doing us a favor by even bothering to list it here first.  If prices really are that much better on ebay, why is anyone bothering to sell stuff here to begin with?

4.  It's damaging to the community.  A number of people may not give two hoots about this one, but I for one am very happy when nicer items are bought and sold among the members here, at DP, and CTCW (and other gaming related sites).  As the saying goes, "Everything comes around again", but it'd be nice if it was encouraged that the best way to do that is to buy/sell through the boards.

Everyone member has a right to list and sell items however they want.  That said, it feels like a trend starting, and it ticks me off just enough to find out what others have to say on the matter.

Please share what you think.

I'm fairly new,and this is something i've noticed since joining,nothing particular comes to mind,but i have seen where people just didnt get any takers,and "moved it to the bay",and i have also seen where people have used that phrase almost in a snotty way...all i know is if you list an item on here,put a firm price of what you want,and if you dont get it,then quietly list it on ebay if thats your thing,i also see no harm,if the sellers are polite,and then post a link...myself,i hate selling on ebay,such a hassle,i only (rarely)buy things...i'm pretty content with all my NA dealings thus far.they ask,i pay...plain & simple......but yeah,i can totally see how this has/would offend some of the more founding/long term members on here who are more of a circle of friends than a random newbie like myself.

This has kinda always happened IMO, even before NA was established. It has gotten a little worse right now but I think that is because a lot of people aren't spending quite as much cause the of economy. There really isn't much that can be done about it cause people are free to list here and ebay. I think it will pass with time, at least to a certain degree.
~~NGD

I'm not saying folks shouldn't list their stuff on ebay if it doesn't sell here. By all means, list it and post a link in the Auction forum. I'm more referring to it being used in the scare tactic/snotty kind of way. You know, the way that ebay is turning into the "Buy My Stuff Now" cudgel, lol.

I don't think there's much that can be done about this, but it annoys the shit out of me too. I know EXACTLY which thread you're referencing in your original post, and it rubbed me the wrong way as well, especially since I know the thread starter received some really nice offers on the "popular item" in question.

Me three.

I don't/won't be buying anything on ebay anyway.  I think it's great to give people here first crack at stuff, even if you're wanting close to an ebay price, but when whoever is selling gives the whole "I can't believe noone wants this" it just kinda blows my mind.  I have no problem with anyone asking anything for any item, and in the case of nice stuff, there's no problem in my mind in looking for a premium, but please don't come down on the community because they either can't afford it, already have it, or just don't want to pay that much.  I know we had the jackass lowballer that got banned the other day, but I think there's at least a bit of a distinction between wanting to save a few bucks buying "off the open market (he's a bad example since he was just flipping items he snookered from the community)."

I definately see the point of this, and it does sometimes seem like "I'm going to have to take this to ebay" is something of a tactic to get higher offers.  If you've to that much of a set idea in mind as to what you want for something, why not just put an asking price, or at least a neighborhood? 

I haven't figured out yet why people think it has to be such a huge secret what they pay for stuff, maybe that's because I don't have the truly "rare" pieces in my collection and probably never will, but it's almost like there's a whole group in the know about these things and the rest of us are stuck wondering.  I have no idea what a reasonable offer for some stuff is because I've never seen a selling price.  Sorry, this last paragraph has gone totally off the subject, I'll stop now.

That's one thing that bothers me more than anything, when people say "make an offer." You obviously know what you want to get when you're selling something. Just put a damn price on there and wait for someone to pay that much.

I will never buy anything when someone says "make an offer." I will just ignore you and move on.

This isn't always true.  For instance, in my own case, I had some items I actually didn't know what to ask for.  I bought a guy out a while back and ended up with some signage that I couldn't locate on eBay or NA in order to determine a price point.  I had no idea what their "values" were.  I didn't want to rip myself off and I certainly didn't want to insult interested parties by coming up with a price that was completely ridiculous.  So, I simply placed a "make offer" on the thread.  Luckily, I was able to contact a few people on the site and figure out a ballpark asking price, so it all worked out.  But I can say there are times when people really might not know what they should ask.  So "make offer" makes sense.  I can agree with you, however, in the cases of games or other items that values can easily be found for the OP should just list a price and everything would be easier. 

Sorry, back on topic, I do agree that trying to use eBay as leverage, as it seems in some cases, is kind of insulting in a way.  I don't take it personally when no one wants what I'm offering.

I don't think the tactic works! At least not on me. When I see guys say that I just think, ok fine. lol. Usually they're overpricing it here and they end up loosing money. What ever though. If people do it, just let it roll off your back, cause they're not helping themselve.

As for "make an offer", I agree that it can be used effectively if you really don't know what it's worth. I've been there before. But it DOES annoy me when somebody lists a CIB Contra and says make an offer!?!

Except there is already an entire forum section dedicated to pricing items, called Price Check. If you truly do not know the value, its likely other people will be interested in seeing the item than just those wanting to buy it.

This is hard to judge for me because I think people should be free to do whatever they want. I guess in this case I talked with the seller and on this particular item he knows what he wants for it and is fielding offers to see if any are high enough to make him come down from his price. I also know that he really doesn't have to sell the item either but has paid a large bill recently so it would be all good if he did. So I guess I'm torn here. If it goes to eBay would it have to be reserve auction since the price wasn't met here? It certainly doesn't seem in this case that it would be a normal auction anyways since there is a price it has to hit or it won't sell. Bottom line I agree with KHAN I usually simply ignore all make me an offer threads and prefer public here's my price or public bid auction which I believe are the two best methods of selling. However, I also believe that it's someones stuff and they have the right to sell or not sell however they want.

I totally agree that it's the right of any individual seller to sell their products for whatever price they want. What I hate is when a seller has a price point in mind and then tries to make the forum feel guilty for not offering that much.

I have noticed this for quite some time as well. I remember people using it from nearly a year ago, so I don't think it's anything new. Just annoying. I don't think it's all that bad though, because I don't believe it actually works. If they're going to take it to the bay, I feel less obligated to buy something because I'm no longer doing them a favor - they could just get a buyer there.

agreed. it's a rookie move.

In reguards to 'make offer' in threads, I think it really depends on the item in question. Some items fall into the whatever someone is willing to pay category and do not really have a set value or do not sell enough to make pricing a feasable option.

Asside: When I buy something halfway 'big' I like the price or my name or both to be anonymous because I don't like the idea that I am affecting the perceived value of an item because they are, in general, way too high. I have spent on items that I considered to be too expensive, don't necessarily give a shit about *my* money, but I don't want people to think that just because I bought something at a certain price that all of a sudden it's worth that much. Fortunately I don't do a lot of big time shopping, but a couple of times my name or a price gets attached to a purchase and now I feel like I'm part of the problem.

"But OSG," you might say, "why would somebody buy something if they thought it was too expensive, what are you some kind of idiot?"

Hey. Screw you buddy.

It doesn't bother me at all. People are free to try and sell it however they like as long as they don't lie about what they have, or back out on "closed" deals.

To anybody that feels guilty or thinks the forum, at large, feels guilty about not meeting somebody's asking price: thicken your skin a bit, on this issue. It's just business, and doesn't reflect poorly on you or anybody else to not pay too much for something you don't want or need.

I think it's a stupid tactic that's not likely to work, but it doesn't really bother me when people do it.

As far as stuff not actually ending up on eBay, I think we've all been guilty of just being too busy sometimes to go through the rigmarole of getting proper listings set up, when initially offering the item here was virtually effortless. Stuff happens, and people don't always go through with things that are even remotely inconvenient.

eh, it's whatever. Seller's are trying to sell, and there definitely aren't as many buyers at the moment. You do see more of this now. One because people are selling for different reasons. IE, they need the money, but don't wanna get low balled by saying that. They don't really wanna sell on ebay cause ebay will take 18% and they have to deal with ebay buying idiots. Second, buying has slowed down, and prices have begun to fall appropriately. You have more sellers vying for less buyers.

Is it?  I think this might be part of the issue in question.  If it is just business, then I think I'd have to say that I'm over-reacting.

However, a big part of this message board is that sense of "community" that keeps us all here and posting.  If there is a community, and we have some sort of relationship amongst ourselves, shouldn't we be treating each other a little better than just buyer/seller?  I think that's my point, more than anything else.

To me, the B/S/T subforum is just business. The community happens on the rest of the forum.

I do see your point and I agree with alot of what others have already said. i think the current state of the economy and the market def. play a large part in this. Sellers want prices from before and the buyers arent as eager to give the sellers those prices. People would rather sell on here because its free and it's less hassle. Just my 2 cents

That's an interesting idea, but one that I guess I would have a hard time being able to hold to. Someone like yourself has a very high post count but a lower feedback count. This suggests that you enjoy spending time talking and discussing, and not so much the "business" side of things. So to you, there is little community to be had in the B/S/T forum. For someone like myself, I have a higher feedback count but a lower post count. I spend a lot more time doing B/S/T than I do discussing; to me, there is a lot of community within the BST thread; it's just of a different nature, although I wouldn't go so far as to call it business. I have several members with whom I have established good relationships which are based around a mutual trust and respect in our deals. I can concede that on a very basic level, it's "just business", but it's become a lot more than that through time and good experiences, i.e. a community.

^perhaps it's time to admit that this board is larger than any one of us can wholly, usefully participate in. We've graduated from a town, to a city. Even Jason and Dain have abandoned the old mod method of reading every single post, and they were pretty religious in the first couple years of NA about being the site's all-seeing eyes.

I think here more than anyplace, sellers appreciate the invisible hand being given free reign. That goes for fees as well as policy. Our policies right now are anti-scammer and for clarity of browsing the forums. The few rules that we do have apply mostly to titles, so people can save time clicking into only the sale threads they wish to.

The only real tonal moderation we make is for the good of the community in general - cutting negativity. Focusing on specific language - mentioning a "countdown to eBay" or otherwise, well that comes down to the personality of each seller. Some forswear the Bay, others simply use it as a fallback. Like some have mentioned, they won't buy from people who won't state a price. I guess we've got a choice to make for sellers who resort to eBay when they can't get top dollar on the forums.

And the buyer's preferences and habits are, overall, more powerful than any moderation we can enforce. If Jon withdraws his dollars from sellers who threaten eBay auctions for good items, and a few other people decide they'd like to do the same...well it leads to either cheaper items, or a more dedicated forum B/S/T.

Sellers, take note, and buyers, be as discriminating as you want. You both shape a great market.

it's just a matter of time before nigerians start offering amazing deals on CIB bubble bobbles. sorry to joke about this, but this problem is nothing compared to the future if NA keeps growing.

Dear Sir or Madame -

Your distant relative in Xanadu is recently deceased, and left you a gold NWC as an inheritance.  In order to legally lay claim to this item you must barter a 90-grade sealed Dragon Warrior 4 to cover the local magistrate fees.

Thank you,
-Prince Imascammer