Facebook sales pros and cons?

[Matthieu]

Hey Paul, nice to see you here too!!

I fully agree with you. The 'this is how I make my living' excuse if total bullshit! A business does not make money selling high, but buying low!! You've gotta be stupid to think you'll sell an item that everybody else knows is overpriced by 25% to 50% (if not more...). Well... not that stupid when it's a market where some buyers are prepared to pay your asking price...

Now with regards to FB, I do think it's a great place to buy and sell. Most items are listed for fair value, many sellers ask other members' opinion about value prior to listing, etc. Of course you'll see crasy prices on FB from time to time but not as many as on eBay IMO! The forums (at least RS where I have been more active) seem to be on the same page as FB in terms of pricing. In fact you now find the same sellers selling the same stuff on both RS and FB!

PS: would anyone teach me how to upload an avatar pic? All the pics I've tried did not fit the size requirements... :roll:

Matth

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

How prophetic I was just a few days ago. Just got into a pissing contest with a guy in the main vintage group trying to sell an overpriced hollow cheeks Tusken Raider today. Started innocently, but he decided to be an ass, so I called him on it. It quickly escalated, and because I don't have much of a Facebook presence, all his buddies - true to my post above - labeled me a troll, asshole, etc. And I was, but as I said, I don't sugarcoat it. Got myself banned from the group, lol.

Ian

Was that the dick who was asking 145 (or was it 185??) for a hollow cheeks Tusken? And then the idiot thought it was a bargain as he added "I wonder how long this will last??" I bit my tongue because when you deal with a level of stupidity that great then you're going to be on the losing side. Reason is a dirty word to this special kind of moron.

 

[Ian_C]

PS: would anyone teach me how to upload an avatar pic? All the pics I've tried did not fit the size requirements... :roll:

Matth

Hey Matth! Join us over here more regularly my friend. All guys that care about the hobby, not repros or flipping. Even I am posting without drama! Quite a refreshing change of pace.

I had to figure out the avatar thing too. Assuming your Yak pic is just a placeholder, you need to use any kind of photo editing software to bring the dimensions of your pic down to the right size. Then it can be uploaded same as anywhere else. Most places resize for you, so it's just one extra step. No big deal.

How prophetic I was just a few days ago. Just got into a pissing contest with a guy in the main vintage group trying to sell an overpriced hollow cheeks Tusken Raider today. Started innocently, but he decided to be an ass, so I called him on it. It quickly escalated, and because I don't have much of a Facebook presence, all his buddies - true to my post above - labeled me a troll, asshole, etc. And I was, but as I said, I don't sugarcoat it. Got myself banned from the group, lol.

Ian

Was that the dick who was asking 145 (or was it 185??) for a hollow cheeks Tusken? And then the idiot thought it was a bargain as he added "I wonder how long this will last??" I bit my tongue because when you deal with a level of stupidity that great then you're going to be on the losing side. Reason is a dirty word to this special kind of moron.

That was him! $185 for a hollow cheek Tusken! Still argued even when I proved via past sales he was way overpriced. Got all kinds of messages last night after the ban, lol. Ended up discussing it with the admin last night. I did apologize for being a total dick in his group, knowing if I was running it and someone was that aggressive I'd ban him too, and my ban ended up lasting less than 12 hours. I'm just going to block those people, so I don't see them, and they don't see me.

Ian

 

[Matthieu]

Hey Matth! Join us over here more regularly my friend. All guys that care about the hobby, not repros or flipping. Even I am posting without drama! Quite a refreshing change of pace.

I had to figure out the avatar thing too. Assuming your Yak pic is just a placeholder, you need to use any kind of photo editing software to bring the dimensions of your pic down to the right size. Then it can be uploaded same as anywhere else. Most places resize for you, so it's just one extra step. No big deal.

Hey Ian
Thanks for the tip, I'll try that!
Matth

 

[tiefighterboy]

How prophetic I was just a few days ago. Just got into a pissing contest with a guy in the main vintage group trying to sell an overpriced hollow cheeks Tusken Raider today. Started innocently, but he decided to be an ass, so I called him on it. It quickly escalated, and because I don't have much of a Facebook presence, all his buddies - true to my post above - labeled me a troll, asshole, etc. And I was, but as I said, I don't sugarcoat it. Got myself banned from the group, lol.

Ian

Was that the dick who was asking 145 (or was it 185??) for a hollow cheeks Tusken? And then the idiot thought it was a bargain as he added "I wonder how long this will last??" I bit my tongue because when you deal with a level of stupidity that great then you're going to be on the losing side. Reason is a dirty word to this special kind of moron.

Most of them I see sell for a $60 - $100...but then again this guy is a respected FB seller. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Matthieu]

Most of them I see sell for a $60 - $100...but then again this guy is a respected FB seller. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good point here about how you gain respect...
I've addressed the overpricing issue several times in various discussions and each time I get the same response: people ask what they want for their items, if you're not happy with the price then move along...
My understanding is that you don't become a "respected" seller by listing fair prices. You gain respect by selling nice/high-end items, packing well, shipping fast and... managing to take lots of cash from other collector's hands!!

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

...My understanding is that you don't become a "respected" seller by listing fair prices. You gain respect by selling nice/high-end items, packing well, shipping fast and... managing to take lots of cash from other collector's hands!!

That's what is shouldn't be, Matthieu, but it is. It seems to be a self-awarded title by those that spend the most and subsequently overcharge people who then, incredibly, THANK them for doing so. There's a hard corps that seem to be in some kind if monks-chain that perpetually sell stuff at ridiculously inflated prices whilst congratulating each other on the latest, over-priced purchase which they then sell on for even more. Sometimes the nutjobs even buy off each other. Sort of suggests they believe their own bullshit.

It appears the lunatics are gradually taking over the asylum.

 

[Matthieu]

That's what is shouldn't be, Matthieu, but it is. It seems to be a self-awarded title by those that spend the most and subsequently overcharge people who then, incredibly, THANK them for doing so. There's a hard corps that seem to be in some kind if monks-chain that perpetually sell stuff at ridiculously inflated prices whilst congratulating each other on the latest, over-priced purchase which they then sell on for even more. Sometimes the nutjobs even buy off each other. Sort of suggests they believe their own bullshit.

It appears the lunatics are gradually taking over the asylum.

That was my point exactly. Now to be clear it does not happen on FB exclusively as, once again, you'll find most of the FB sellers posting on the forums and eBay too
Matth

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

That was my point exactly. Now to be clear it does not happen on FB exclusively as, once again, you'll find most of the FB sellers posting on the forums and eBay too
Matth

Hey, hey hey! Hold on a moment, hoss, I advertised my £20 minirigs here and then on FB. You now saying I'm one of the "respectable dealers" who deal in high end, high value items?

Dammit, I've been rumbled. And I was going to retire on my recent sales :lol:

 

[Matthieu]

Hey, hey hey! Hold on a moment, hoss, I advertised my £20 minirigs here and then on FB. You now saying I'm one of the "respectable dealers" who deal in high end, high value items?

Dammit, I've been rumbled. And I was going to retire on my recent sales :lol:

Sell a loose mini rig for £20 and I'll call you a respected seller mahahaha

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

Sell a loose mini rig for £20 and I'll call you a respected seller mahahaha

[/quote]

Dammit. Looks like I have a way to go yet, then

 

[bobbybobs]

Most of them I see sell for a $60 - $100...but then again this guy is a respected FB seller. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I've addressed the overpricing issue several times in various discussions and each time I get the same response: people ask what they want for their items, if you're not happy with the price then move along...

Totally agree mate. The best is when dopes respond to these questions with "This is capitalism!" or the even better one "This is America!" I've seen it multiple times. Need to remind people that the Facebook groups are not actually a country in themselves, that there are loads of non-American collectors in our hobby and that citing 'capitalism' is a f*cking lame excuse for trying to financially rape your fellow collector. A lot of collectors really need to go back to school.

 

[Matthieu]

Totally agree mate. The best is when dopes respond to these questions with "This is capitalism!" or the even better one "This is America!" I've seen it multiple times. Need to remind people that the Facebook groups are not actually a country in themselves, that there are loads of non-American collectors in our hobby and that citing 'capitalism' is a f*cking lame excuse for trying to financially rape your fellow collector. A lot of collectors really need to go back to school.

Hey Christian!!
Yeah the "this is America" response is hilarious! Now France is also a capitalist country and I believe Australia is too, and in theory you're always free to ask whatever price you want for your items in a capitalist world (although there are some exceptions to that rule which would be interesting to address at some point...) so it is more of an excuse than a real argument. Or, it is a way for the US collectors of showing the rest of the world that they rule the collecting community .
What hiritates me is those people on the FB pages arguing for douzens of hours about the Paypal fee issue and claiming that the sellers should not list a "X + y% fees" price and instead include the fees in their price... I mean, what's the point there? If people want the sale prices regulated, then I think the way you list the pp fees would not be the priority issue!
-Matth

 

[bobbybobs]

Totally agree with you there mate!

 

[Ross_Barr]

You know what's worse than the "respected sellers" on Facebook? Those greedy "respected sellers" on the Usenet groups.

At the end of the day, the people flipping up and down, left and right, in whatever group (FB, RS, SWFUK, Usenet groups, AOL chat, swap meets from the 1980s, their mother's basement) are gonna keep on doing it. A bunch of people whining about it in a forum does nothing to stop it. You wanna slow those people down / stop them, then start calling out who you are talking about, and approach them publicly or privately and tell them that you don't like it. But will anyone do that? Probably not. Why? Because they are too afraid of drama, or don't want to ruffle feathers, or, for some, they may (hypocritically) occasionally buy from these "respected sellers" that they are bitching about, and don't want to burn a bridge.

I guess my point is that FB is not responsible for these people. They exist everywhere. Crying about it here won't change it.

Love you guys!

Ross

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

You know what's worse than the "respected sellers" on Facebook? Those greedy "respected sellers" on the Usenet groups.

At the end of the day, the people flipping up and down, left and right, in whatever group (FB, RS, SWFUK, Usenet groups, AOL chat, swap meets from the 1980s, their mother's basement) are gonna keep on doing it. A bunch of people whining about it in a forum does nothing to stop it. You wanna slow those people down / stop them, then start calling out who you are talking about, and approach them publicly or privately and tell them that you don't like it. But will anyone do that? Probably not. Why? Because they are too afraid of drama, or don't want to ruffle feathers, or, for some, they may (hypocritically) occasionally buy from these "respected sellers" that they are bitching about, and don't want to burn a bridge.

I guess my point is that FB is not responsible for these people. They exist everywhere. Crying about it here won't change it.

Love you guys!

Ross

As SWFUKers we defend our right to bitch and whinge about who we like, when we like!

And no, you're not going to stop them by confronting them: do it on a FB forum and some uptight admin will ban you Do it privately and you'll hear the same old arguments trotted out as already mentioned.

Does anyone here imagine exposing them will stop them? No, of course not. Does it make them feel better? Probably not. Does it make other forum users aware of who the "respected sellers" are in order to avoid or ridicule them? Absolutely.

And personally, if any of the self titled "respected sellers" have something I want at a price I'm happy with? I'll damned well pay it. The thing is, most of the prices I see make me spit out my cornflakes/sandwich/pint so I don't pay them, I just bitch and whinge then take my business elsewhere.

 

[Ross_Barr]

As SWFUKers we defend our right to bitch and whinge about who we like, when we like!

Lol. Fair enough. I can enjoy a bitch session occasionally myself.

do it on a FB forum and some uptight admin will ban you

If you did it in the groups I admin, I probably would allow it if it was done without being too confrontational and without name calling.

Does it make other forum users aware of who the "respected sellers" are in order to avoid or ridicule them? Absolutely.

All I see in this thread so far is people dancing around and using vague references to general "respected sellers." If they are people that bother some SWFUK'ers, then I would love to hear who it is (although I probably know who you're talking about.

And personally, if any of the self titled "respected sellers" have something I want at a price I'm happy with? I'll damned well pay it.

I don't disagree with this generally, but isn't that then endorsing in some way the people you apparently loathe?

Ross

 

[Matthieu]

Ross, if you read carefully, some names have been given already

Oh and I like bitching too, as well as saying ****, dick, ****, which is not allowed on the other forums (let's see if this post will get moderated...)

-Matth

 

[Mr-shifter]

Oh and I like bitching too, as well as saying ****, dick, ****, which is not allowed on the other forums (let's see if this post will get moderated...)

Abso-****ing-lutely not.

 

[edd_jedi]

Oh and I like bitching too, as well as saying ****, dick, ****, which is not allowed on the other forums (let's see if this post will get moderated...)

No your foul language is fine here!