To think people ask too much for secondhand items?

[Chukkachick]

About to have our second baby and planning on buying a lot secondhand again, mostly on FB marketplace. But I’m kind of shocked at how much people generally seem to be asking for their items?

e.g ‘great item, used for 15 months, will be properly cleaned’ then asking for between half and 3/4 of the RRP?

I know a lot more people are selling things online due to the cost of living crisis and maybe this is just a reflection of that. But it puts me off even making an offer because I don’t want to look like a CF! Even though I don’t think their item will sell at all with how they have priced it.

specific example- a double pram, now an old model, which would have sold new for about 1200 and the seller wants 900. AIBU to offer no higher than £600?

I mean that's ridiculous- no one is that obsessed with "rare patterns" surely
They are.
For a period the Facebook groups would regularly have people flogging BNWT items from previous drops so they could fund their next shopping spree for the next print drop.

This. There's a good second hand market for some quality branded items like prams, so chances are that someone will pay £900 or close to that amount because they know that they can sell it on again when they've finished with it to recoup a lot of the cost.

And if they won't they will be forced to drop the price or not sell, so their loss. They will also be allowing for haggling, because if they put it on for £600, people will offer less.

The market should find its own level - any item is only worth what people are prepared to pay for it. If no one will pay £900 for the pram, the seller will eventually accept a lower price.

Yeah. Saw a travel cot for sale listed at above the RRP. The other thing that annoys me is where things are broken but people are still asking for money. Saw one recently “American style fridge freezer, freezer doesn’t work but may be repairable, otherwise in great condition: £150”.
But you can get a bargain, friend got a Nina double pushchair and full travel system for £100. Just have to be careful I think.

It isn't wrong to start off with a high asking price, nor is it wrong to tell the seller you are interested, but only prepared to pay £x. Its just about bartering, which is what it's all about with second hand goods.

Yes, I give mine away once I've got my use out of them.
Gave a young mum my old silver cross pram.
She brought me some flowers the next day I felt better knowing I had helped her out a little bit.

It's market forces. More and more people are buying second hand due to the cost of living. I've noticed there is feircer competition for stuff on ebay, and even auctions tend to go for more, so clearly people are willing to pay it. If you don't think it's a good price then don't pay it - either someone else will, or if they are taking the piss, they'll reduce when no-one buys it.

I’ve noticed this more and more on Vinted. There’s a dress I’d like which is £100 brand new. Because it’s sold out online (although loads of stock in all the stores I’ve visited) people are listing it for £200+!!

YABU. It's just simple economics of supply and demand. No sane person is going to ask a smaller amount if they think they can get higher. If no one offers £900 ONO for that pram, the seller will reduce the price. If someone buys it at £900 then that proves the market value.

If something is just as good as new, i.e. full working order, no damages, etc., then I think a 25% discount from new price of £1200 is perfectly reasonable.

For lots of things, you can get back RRP or even higher if it's out of production or there are other constraints, i.e. no local supplier, obsolete, etc., where there are buyers with their own reasons for wanting a particular item in short supply.

Yes I agree, some people charge more than you pay for new in a sale or on a discount website.

Gosh! I'm surprised the companies haven't cottoned on and kept stock back to sell at a higher price.

Exactly. I sold a food mixer a few weeks into lockdown for more than I'd paid for it, despite it being nearly a decade old, but I'd used it about twice. I didn't intend to do so well with the price, it was more that I was making use of extra time I had to have a clear out. I put it on ebay for auction, so the buyer chose the price, not me, I just benefitted from the boom in people baking that had caused new items like that to sell out.

I used the money to buy a printer for more than I wanted to pay because my printer chose a similar time to break and there were the same issues with printer availability due to people WFH.

Gosh! I'm surprised the companies haven't cottoned on and kept stock back to sell at a higher price.
One clothing company did bring out a relaunch of popular prints, but they were also a company that started doing a lot of print drops.

Mine are past this stage now, but I think one of the nappy companies during lockdown set a price limit in their official buy and sell group and made a statement saying they can't police what people do, but the silly resale isn't in the spirit of their company. They also did a poll of which items were popular and were planning a small line of production to undercut the people selling at silly prices.

@LolaSmiles Sounds sensible of them

Our British Heart Foundation shops sells at ridiculous prices. The same stock has been on the rails for weeks.

So I volunteer with the homeless and we knew the streets would be come more ‘busy’.

people flocked to the steeets because landlords sold up. No food. Domestic violence. It was so sad so I do believe sometimes it’s for food.

I wouldn't pay £600 for a second hand pram under any circumstances. You don't know where it's been or what use it's had and it's very hard to judge an item on someone's doorstep. If it breaks down the next day, you've got no comeback whatsoever.

If you've got 600 to spend which is a lot of money then just buy one brand new. There will be sales and bargains out there.

OP it was happening before the cost of living crisis.

I was looking for a TV stand about a decade ago and all the second hand ones on eBay were going for the same price as new ones so I bought a new one. I was randomly looking for some side tables at the same time and found some much cheaper than new so brought them.

Then in 2018 I was looking at baby stuff. Some people were asking the new price of a pram, cot, baby bath etc. for second hand stuff. Oddly I purchased nothing from them.

I've been buying quite a bit of second hand furniture recently. Partly because I like older stuff and really well made wooden furniture and partly price.
I've found some bargains. People needed rid of larger pieces and are realistic because they have no way of moving them.
However I've seen some really unrealistic pricing as well and steered clear of them. They just don't realise that if you can still buy it from the shop new and the shop will deliver, most people will pay a bit more for that. I saw 2 wardrobes £600 each and a link to them for new. They were 850 new with free delivery. Thought it was 600 for both at first and still thought it was over priced. They looked nice but most people don't have a means of transporting such things and even though we do the fuel is expensive towing a large trailer.

I've also found the same with some charity shops. Massively inflated prices for what it is and condition. Others are more realistic and I bet they make more profit.

Charity shops are the worst for this atm!

some are chancing their luck but you have to think of what you’d be willing to pay. £10 for a £50 new item yes- £40 no- i’d be better off buying new

I agree about (some) charity shops - I recently saw a F&F (Tesco) t-shirt material dress for £12 - in good condition but not brand new. As a pp said, BHF is particularly overpriced. Cancer Research is the cheapest one in my area, fast stock turnover too.

God yes, I get most of our kids’ clothes on Vinted but recently people are asking silly money. A few times the item has been available for less in an online sale, and that’s without postage and buyer protection, and I can return it without a huge fuss if it isn’t suitable. People don’t seem to realise that high street clothes don’t hold their value.

I think, particularly with baby items, that sellers look at the RRP, factor that they barely use it, but then totally ignore the risk factor in buying second hand from an unknown individual versus the trust factor and ability to return if bought from a shop. That to me is largely why you should pay less as a buyer.

Anything second hand should be 50% of new price or less, depending on condition. (Unless a rare item).
The 50% depreciation allows for the fact that it would have been cheaper in a sale and you can't return it. Then further reduction for the condition if not good, possibly also for difficulty in transportation or lack of free postage.
I find things find their own value - if I price something too high I get several lower offers for similar amounts. Price too low and get lots of offers immediately from people miles away wanting to collect right now. Price about right and stuff sells in a week or so without any fuss, for the asking price or slightly less.

Putting on an excessive price is likely to put off nice people and attract cheeky ones, not get you more money.