Monday, May 24, 2010



"CYCLES OF SELLING"
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Just about any radio item on Ebay goes through selling cycles which start low, then quickly rise to a peak, dropping nearly as fast as it began.

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Six months ago, if you owned an FT-100 separation kit, you could name your own price - they seemed to be virtually one of those Avatar-like resources "Unobtainium". This caused a recent flurry of price vs. demand auctions on Ebay, as well as a healthy nostalgic demand for the FT-100/100D itself. Two or three months later the FT-100 "cycle" began to fade and today you can see 2 or 3 separation kits and several FT-100's up for auction at this time. Some of the higher priced FT-100's are from the cycle which just ended. They went unsold, then were re listed at a lower price. Ebay made it more expensive for those on the selling end of the business (between Ebay's "cut" and Paypal, you can expect a 14% loss on your auction). But I digress...

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Last year I observed a frenzied cycle for Kenwood SM-220 station monitors. Once again, they weren't plentiful until suddenly one went for auction and sold for nearly $500 (and this was without the pan adapter). As the cycle reached it's peak it was easy to find SM-220's on Ebay, sometimes 3 or 4 per week, until the supply outgrew the demand and it became hard to sell one for over $200. You never know when the cycle will hit for something you own, but when you do it's like having a stack of twenties sitting in a pile collecting dust, which is hard to ignore. It then becomes decision making time, and quickly - you have to get it in while the cycle is high or face the prospect of the selling process not being worth your time at all......

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