On Sat, 20 Mar 1999 13:10:41 EST, PCACala@xxxxxxx jammed all night, and by
sunrise was overheard remarking:
> The Internet makes geographical boundaries irrelevant. The whole world is the
> marketplace. The search engines are in place to make the information
> available to anyone, anywhere.
Again, it's research. Most people using the net today lack the proper
combination of patience, time, and knowledge to conduct proper research
on pricing.
> I think you underestimate the craftiness of Internet-based buyers and sellers.
The nutty prices paid everyday on e-bay would make one think otherwise.
> There ARE folks with all the information at hand to make quite educated
> determinations of the value of an item, no matter what the item.
Of course there are. This is exactly what I have been saying -- that the
USER is determining the makeup of the market they participate in. Your
knowledge that Thing X is priced at $Z somewhere else only prevents you
>from bidding it beyond $Z, it doesn't prevent me or twenty others. And
unless they get smart about it, it doesn't fundamentally change the
nature of e-bay, since there's no channel of communication open to bring
e-bay as a whole into some greater internet marketplace.
Now, the indirect effect, of course, is a wrap-around -- the traditional
stores are starting to use e-bay as an outlet for goods they can't sell
elsewhere, or can't sell for as much elsewhere.
> << But when was the last time you got ads for used Olympus equiment in
> your in-box? >>
>Virtually every day.
You're lucky. I buy lots of OM equipment and, aside from the occasional
"I have stuff to sell" on the OM list, I don't get any ads for used
equipment. I have had to go and find comparative pricing. If these
companies have missed me, than I rather suspect they're missing most
potential buyers.
Fortunately, I know how to do my own research, I'm an expert with the
tools, I do similar things for component pricing in my business. I believe
most folks do not do this. Otherwise, there would be little explanation
for why e-bay prices go so high on a regular basis.
--
Dave Haynie | V.P. Technology, Met@box AG | http://www.metabox.de
Be Dev #2024 | NB851 Powered! | Amiga 2000, 3000, 4000, PIOS One
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