eBay alert: TI 980B mini and a HUGE IBM drive

From: James B. DiGriz <jbdigriz_at_dragonsweb.org>
Date: Sat May 5 09:16:05 2001

On Fri, 4 May 2001, ip500 wrote:

>
> My point exactly ...who HAS seen a TI 980 sell in the last several
> years? And as a consequence of its "relative" rarity ..what is one
> worth. As you point out, at the moment it's worth $9.99. eBay .. while
> an imperfect marketplace is about as perfect as it gets in the real
> world.

You seem to have hit it right on the head there, which is the reason I
question asking the list to provide an evalution, when members might be
contemplating a bid, or have already put one in. That's a main feature of
an auction, establishing a value, and it's just not in their interest to
circumvent the process.

> That's why I NEVER set reserves on things I market through an auction
> format ..it's worth exactly what someone will pay for it .. not what I
> or anyone elses appraisal of it may be.

I have no problem with a reserve, in principle. Paying the
fee and possibly turning away bids may be worth the protection against
loss if you're basically a reseller, but that's a case where you already
know at least the wholesale value of the item. When it comes to unique or
hard-to-find items, though, a lot of sellers set a unrealistically high
reserve. One bidder's burning passion does not equate to a general high
demand. In practice, only Ebay benefits from reserves. Possibly newbie
sellers, too, but I think they quickly outgrow them.

> I'd trade it in a minute for a decent condition HP
2100A. Always > had a soft spot for HP stuff.

If I run across one, I'll let you know. Somebody else is going to get the
980, but we can probably work something out.

jbdigriz
Received on Sat May 05 2001 - 09:16:05 BST