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662A1 Automatic Dialer

Started by wds, December 30, 2017, 06:23:38 PM

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wds

I'm getting ready to list this card dialer on Ebay.  I have to admit I don't know much about it other than it's in great condition.  Doesn't look like it's ever been used. 
Dave

wds

#1
Dave

Babybearjs

what is this model actually worth? $500 seems a bit steep....
John

wds

I'll give you a special price of $499
Dave

AE_Collector

#4
One NON key set dialer listed on eBay at the moment for $475. I would assume the key set version like Dave's should be worth a fair bit more but don't know if this non keyset dialer is priced right or in the stratosphere.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/112390894835

Terry

compubit

That one's been on there for a while and is priced too high.  The gray 10 button sold for $371 - IMHO, that's a much rarer phone than the beige rotary (even with the key set).

Selling range is more in the $150-ish range.  Key set is a double-edged sword - more stuff inside, but it can limit interested parties, as you need a key system to fully utilize it.

Jim
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

TelePlay

Quote from: compubit on December 30, 2017, 10:48:04 PM
That one's been on there for a while and is priced too high.

Yes, it may be but consider the seller. That item is full retail pricing. If I found it at an estate sale or flea market for $20 in less than pristine condition, I'd put it on eBay for $9.99 in a 7 day auction and hope for the best. Maybe hit $200-250, the at that point in time current market value. But the handful of eBay sellers who operate for profit businesses offer fully restored items and new reproduction items at what they consider the value of the item and are willing to wait months, if not years, for the one person who is willing to pay the price for the item to do so. Two different sales situations, one a picker flip, the other a going business.

wds

And, it doesn't seem that anyone noticed, but this is a 99 cent auction, with a one time special price of $500.  Quite a bit different than a fixed price sale of $500.  Current price - you guessed it - 99 cents. 

This phone came from the collection I purchased a couple months ago.  Usually I keep what I buy, and am not a picker flipper.  I'm selling off the phones that don't fit in my collection.  This particular phone will be a great addition to someones collection, just not mine. 

But if you insist on paying the $500 just send me a p.m.!
Dave

TelePlay

This thread turned out to be a good example of what happens to the BIN one time offer once one bid is placed (which may be considerably more than $0.99 but won't know until another person bids).

As Sherlock Holmes would say, "The game is afoot!"

AE_Collector

I never fully understand the way these auctions work where the first bid (99c) removes the BIN price ($500). It makes sense to me to have a BIN price along with a low starting price just in case the seller didn't know what he had or someone just has to have it NOW. But wouldn't it make more sense to either have the BIN price remain so someone can go for it at any moment? Or maybe the BIN price should remain until the bids exceed say 50% of the BIN price? Someone is going to toss 99c at it early on and once that happens everyone else won't even know there was a chance to get it for $500.

Terry

TelePlay

Quote from: AE_Collector on December 31, 2017, 01:21:35 PM
I never fully understand the way these auctions work where the first bid (99c) removes the BIN price ($500). It makes sense to me to have a BIN price along with a low starting price just in case the seller didn't know what he had or someone just has to have it NOW. But wouldn't it make more sense to either have the BIN price remain so someone can go for it at any moment? Or maybe the BIN price should remain until the bids exceed say 50% of the BIN price? Someone is going to toss 99c at it early on and once that happens everyone else won't even know there was a chance to get it for $500.

Terry

The BIN stands until the first bid is placed unless the first bid is below a reserve price, if set.

This listing did not have a reserve so the first bid eliminated the BIN. That's why wds said the $500 was a one time chance to buy the phone, the BIN had to be used before any bids were placed and that very first bid, somewhat north of $0.99 canceled the BIN.

Now it's just a regular auction with no reserve, and suitable of being an auction contest phone.

AE_Collector

I guess I understand all of that, it just makes little sense to me the way it works in reality. With a 99c starting price almost no one will ever even see the BIN opportunity. I guess the way to counteract the disappearance of the BIN is to either start it at $99 rather than 99c or have a reserve. A $99 start price should be low enough to sell the item while keeping the BIN in front of prospective buyers as long as possible.

Terry

TelePlay

That is correct thinking.

It's a small window with a $0.99 starting price, to see the BIN. Something higher, but not at $100, would have left more time between listing and the first bid which cancelled out the BIN. A "think about it" starting price would have left the BIN up for longer than the lower "can't beat that price" starting point - and no one would have ever expected the phone to sell for $0.99. In this case, only wds knows his motivation or reasoning for initial pricing of that listing. I think starting it low is the way to go.

The BIN? Well, it's recorded above in that screen capture for posterity on the forum. eBay buyers will just see the current price which is right now $28.77, meaning the first bid was not $0.99, it was $27.77 and who knows what the current high bidder bid. With the watchers growing in number, this will reach an interesting price in 6 days.

wds

#13
I like 99 cent auctions.  I think those phones sell for more than if it had started at a higher price.  Why the $500?  Because it gets immediate attention.  A lot of ebayers scan the BIN listings several times a day.  I got several watchers before the first bid was placed.  If I had started it at 99 cents with no BIN, it would not have gotten much attention until the last 24 hours, missing out on a lot of watchers.  Plus, as soon as someone places the 99 cent bid, the phone shows up on the "Collectors Weekly" site right away.  If I started the auctions at $99 and the first bid isn't placed until the last 24 hours of the auction, again i would have missed out on a lot of watchers. 

That's all my Ebay secrets.

Any comments on the phone other than the price?
Dave

AE_Collector

If I had one I would want the key system version of it. I am concentrating on key sets more lately and hope to get some AE 10A1 and 10A2 equipment hooked up here soon.

Terry