why they remove the price after an item is sold ?

[Andrea Gazzoni]

I don't understand why many people change their listing once the item is sold and delete the price.
I mean, I used to look at the prices of things sold to get an idea. I simply don't get the reason one should delete the price.
What's the general consensus?

[Alan Klein]

Sellers may not want people to know their final selling price was lower than their original asking price.

[Tin Can]

2 issues

IRS

price fixing

[Vaidotas]

IRS or tax inspection of any kind is not a problem leaving price tag on the listing if listing is just closed with separate announcement. Listing closure does not mean sale evidence.
In the contrary if the listing marked “sold” it shows potential income.

I have no idea why this habit so spread.

[jnantz]

irs agents are members here ? if that's the case im surprised people from the EPA aren't here arresting people for dumping toxic pollutants down the drain..
I think people just delete things because they want to, seeing eBay "completed auctions" gives a better, broader view of what things sell for ..

[BrianShaw]

Good question that probably has a multitude of answers. For me, though, it would be just as good if the closed listings were deleted and only active listings were shown. Knowing sales history has some value but for the most part it’s a matter of willingness to pay the price based on todays ask… or not.

[Jim Jones]

- - - seeing eBay "completed auctions" gives a better, broader view of what things sell for ..

It certainly does. Years ago we did not have this most valuable guide to actual values of the items we wanted to sell online or elsewhere. That's about the only reason I have for visiting ebay anymore. LFPT is a much more trusted market.

[Oren Grad]

...seeing eBay "completed auctions" gives a better, broader view of what things sell for ..

Current snapshot only - eBay deletes completed auctions after a relatively short period, I think it's 90 days now. For auctions further back, realized prices can still be found on sellers' Feedback pages but the full listings are no longer available, so there's no way to judge condition or other details that could affect willingness to pay. And even for the realized prices there's no way to search all seller Feedback pages for a particular item, so compiling a price history for a particular item would be impractical anyway.

[Lachlan 717]

IRS

You do realise that this is an international forum, don’t you?

[gypsydog]

Maybe because if your not the seller or buyer it is none of your business.

[Tin Can]

Duh

I have bought and sold all over the world except AF\Frica, AustralIA




You do realise that this is an international forum, don’t you?

[Tin Can]

eXACTLY


Maybe because if your not the seller or buyer it is none of your business.

[Andrea Gazzoni]

Maybe because if your not the seller or buyer it is none of your business.

bizarre point of view, we're on an internet forum accessible to anyone, not exactly what you would call private sphere.
also, it is everyone's business until the ad is active and then it becomes a violation of privacy?

[Tin Can]

You may strart

We want pictures too, dates, condition

WHY DID YOU SELL?


I don't understand why many people change their listing once the item is sold and delete the price.
I mean, I used to look at the prices of things sold to get an idea. I simply don't get the reason one should delete the price.
What's the general consensus?

[BrianShaw]

An innocent and valid question

Thread spinning out of control

Par for the course.

[Tin Can]

https://italian.sas.upenn.edu/people/andrea-gazzoni

We almost crossed paths

I attended UOP for Live Art Symposium circa 2001

I was Grad Student at SAIC, 2001

Drove 3 tough women, it was very serious and humorous

Musical beds

I joined the fray, nearly shutting it down in Protest of UOP admin

SAIC had way too many 'Photography' students

I used the Service Bureau at night

As I was already old man my advisers were very...

Spent a month in Venice, with SAIC no flooding, loved Venice

More protesting

Sure glad I got there before...THE EURO, way cheaper

[gypsydog]

bizarre point of view, we're on an internet forum accessible to anyone, not exactly what you would call private sphere.
also, it is everyone's business until the ad is active and then it becomes a violation of privacy?

Actually no, the for sale forum is not open to everyone. The fact that it is the internet does NOT make everything everyones business.

[Alan Klein]

bizarre point of view, we're on an internet forum accessible to anyone, not exactly what you would call private sphere.
also, it is everyone's business until the ad is active and then it becomes a violation of privacy?

Ad is public. Negotiations are private. Shouldn't the seller respect the buyer's negotiated price?

[Andrea Gazzoni]

no one has said negotiated price must be declared. the question is why remove the asking price.

[Andrea Gazzoni]

also, how a buyer can be offended or not respected when no one knows who is the buyer? replies to FS ads are not allowed.

[sharktooth]

If the seller removes the original asking price, then there's no doubt that the item is no longer for sale. It may not be obvious that an item is already sold at first glance, and this may lead to unwanted private messages to the seller. The alternative would be to remove the ad entirely, which may not be desirable either, for historical interest.

[Andrea Gazzoni]

The alternative would be to remove the ad entirely, which may not be desirable either, for historical interest.

...or simply adding "sold" to the listing?

[sharktooth]

...or simply adding "sold" to the listing?

It's a polite way of saying the discussion is over. If it just says "sold", people are going to be asking if it sold for the asked for price, or something lower/higher, and this could go on for years. :)

[paulbarden]

It's a polite way of saying the discussion is over. If it just says "sold", people are going to be asking if it sold for the asked for price, or something lower/higher, and this could go on for years. :)

I've witnessed this. I remove a listing once it's sold, to prevent this.

[Dugan]

Many sellers fail to use the "Close This Thread" function under the "Go Advanced" link in the FS subforum.

[Lachlan 717]

Duh

I have bought and sold all over the world except AF\Frica, AustralIA

You do know that we (the rest of the world) don’t have “IRS”, don’t you..?

(We do get IBS from parochial assumptions, though)

[Alan Klein]

also, how a buyer can be offended or not respected when no one knows who is the buyer? replies to FS ads are not allowed.

The buyer may wish to resell it and not want what they paid for it published.

Does anyone know what eBay does? Do they list the final selling price assuming it was negotiated lower?

[cp_photo]

I have generally understood that the forum and its FS listings are not designed as a means of determining values of items, as indicated in the prohibition on "Equipment Value Questions" as stated in the forum FAQ.

[Pieter]

If the seller wishes to delete the asking price, that is his prerogative. There is no obligation to leave asking prices so someone else can later use the information for their own purposes. This forum is not a blue book of camera values.

[Tin Can]

You do know that we (the rest of the world) don’t have “IRS”, don’t you..?

(We do get IBS from parochial assumptions, though)

and

[ic-racer]

why they remove the price after an item is sold ?

Good question. What is being covered up?

I guess I'd not buy from them. Perhaps already on my ignore list anyway as I'm not seeing it much.

[jnantz]

Current snapshot only - eBay deletes completed auctions after a relatively short period, I think it's 90 days now. ...<...>.

IDK I figure if I am selling a 14" Verito today do I really care about too far back? maybe that's just me. I figure yesterday's gone .. I can't buy leaded gas for 65 cents, a pack of butts for 50 cents, a 3 penny nickel for a dollar or a Verito lens for 3bucks ..

[Alan Klein]

If the seller wishes to delete the asking price, that is his prerogative. There is no obligation to leave asking prices so someone else can later use the information for their own purposes. This forum is not a blue book of camera values.

There are advantages for both the seller and buyer to eliminate the original price posted and the final sale prices:

Sellers may drop their price let's say 25% in private negotiations for a specific item. If they have other things they're selling, other buyers will think they can also offer 25% less for the other items. A seller may get a reputation for inflating their original prices for other things later even if he doesn't.

Buyers may become sellers of the same item if they decide not to keep it. They don't want the price they paid or originally advertised known.