Used Gear Pricing, Redux

In my town, there's a members' gear swap at REI tomorrow, and I've got a table set up to sell some gear. All items are in excellent condition, but it's not like the tags are still on. The items are used, but show no discernible wear.

A thread from several years ago addressed the "how to price" question; some replies were in the context of yard sales, citing lowball offers from unsophisticated buyers. I expect a more informed clientele tomorrow.

The biggest ticket items I have are a couple goose down bags. As I said, they're in excellent shape, but just not what I want anymore. If the most similar new bag sells for $X, is pricing at 50% of $X a good starting point? If I want it gone by the end of the swap, what % of new am I likely going to have to accept? Or is thinking in % terms not the way to go?

Thanks

TZ

I don't have a useful response to the question asked... but what bags are you parting with?

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Originally Posted by CalebJ

I don't have a useful response to the question asked... but what bags are you parting with?

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LL Bean 0F mummy, regular, 600 fill power
LL Bean 0F mummy, long, 600 fill power

The closest comparables are the Kelty Cosmic Down bags, which retail new for $220 (0F regular) and $170 (20F long). Plus 9.25% tax, so the comparable around here would be $240/185. I don't think I have to collect sales tax at the swap, but someone buying the Cosmic Down bags new would have to pay that.

[Bean's current offerings in that range are 650 fp now, and priced at $319 and $249, respectively.]

Augh! The second LLB bag listed is 20F long, not 0F long.

Whats worked best for me is pricing at what I would pay for said item from someone else.

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Originally Posted by VT-Mike

Whats worked best for me is pricing at what I would pay for said item from someone else.

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Too late to provide help for this sale, but when I sell I do estimate what I would pay and also the ease of selling it that way. Generally I only sell stuff at a gear swap that might not be perfect and easier for a buyer to see defects, than post about them, and big stuff. However it just takes 1 interested buyer to get a sale, as long as you don't feel the urge to accept a really low bid offer.

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My general recommendations:
1) Start at 50% off
2) If the item is relatively new and in excellent conditions, go up from there, probably to a maximum of 25% off for practically new and essentially unused.
3) If the item is older or more heavily worn, go down from 50% off to as much as 75% off for items that are are entirely useable, but have lost some of their functionality, show significant wear or just a generation or more old technologically or in age.
4) If the item is not entirely useable, more than 75% off, down to free.

One exception to the above rules might be a brand new or nearly new item that needs some repair to be functional and the repair is pretty straight forward for someone with the right tools and/or tallent where you might get somewhere between 25% and 50% of original value because it still has the potential to be like new with a minimum repair effort.

I hope things went well for you.

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Originally Posted by nsherry61

1) Start at 50% off
2) If the item is relatively new and in excellent conditions, go up from there, probably to a maximum of 25% off for practically new and essentially unused.

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As far as my recommendation, I agree with starting at 50% off, but then go in the opposite direction based on wear and tear, etc. REI already sells stuff at 20% off, brand new and with a wonderful guarantee (and larger discounts online). The 5% difference isn't enough to convince me to buy from an unknown private party without warranty, unless I'm doing it for charity sake. I realize others differ, so it's a "Hike Your Own Hike" world of competitive retail, I guess.

Well, it was an enjoyable day, though unspoiled by sales success. REI gave out t-shirts to participants and had live acoustic music and a couple food trucks that provided complimentary BBQ (with slaw & chips), soda, cider, and ice cream. It was around 50F and cloudy, and I was glad to have bundled up heavily, since sitting in that weather for 3 hours is quite chilling.

I didn't walk around a lot to other seller's tables, but I did pick up little hints of what was selling and how. To my left, someone was selling a lot of well-used cycling gear for uber-cheap, about $5 an item, reduced to $1 near the end ... "everything must go", she said, as she was de-cluttering her 832 sq ft house. A couple tables to my right, there was a fellow selling a number of impressively lofted sleeping bags, though upon closer look, they were definitely discolored, esp. at the head end. I cannot see wanting to buy those, but don't know what his pricing was like (I'm not sure he sold any of them). Mine are in excellent condition, so I wasn't as concerned about setting up near him.

One buyer came by, expressed slight regret that she had already bought a 0 bag before getting to my table, but explained that she got a Marmot 0F bag for $50. "I didn't even take it out of the storage sack to inspect it," she said somewhat sheepishly, as she eyed my minty 0F mummy. To my immediate right, there was a Go-lite 20F long bag with 800 FP going for $200; it never sold. [wow, was it light!] Mine was merely 600 FP but priced at $80; the 0F bag priced at $100. Comparable new bags would be the Kelty Cosmic Down, which after-tax here would run $185 and $240, respectively.

So these few data points led me to think that what sold at this event were well-worn items sold dirt cheap, a step above throwing away. I'd say that Marmot bag was 80% off new, but I don't know the condition (and neither did the buyer! ha ha). It could have been minty too, for all I know, and if so, she got a great deal. It's kind of interesting how she apparently was so drawn to the price she bought without checking the condition.

My items have some "reserve" value for me, so I wasn't too vexed that they didn't sell - as a person who occasionally drives up to OH and MI in the winter, it's not a bad idea to have a down bag in the car if you get caught in an adverse weather event.

Bottom line, it didn't seem to be an event where you could get much for anything that didn't still have the tags on it. It was more useful for those looking for a landfill alternative at almost any price. As I said, it was still fun - for $20 split with a friend (who did sell a couple small items), we got some good food and drink, music, and t-shirts. And we learned a bit about the market for stuff at events like this.

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Originally Posted by Time Zone

Well, it was an enjoyable day, though unspoiled by sales success. REI gave out t-shirts to participants and had live acoustic music and a couple food trucks that provided complimentary BBQ (with slaw & chips), soda, cider, and ice cream. It was around 50F and cloudy, and I was glad to have bundled up heavily, since sitting in that weather for 3 hours is quite chilling.

I didn't walk around a lot to other seller's tables, but I did pick up little hints of what was selling and how. To my left, someone was selling a lot of well-used cycling gear for uber-cheap, about $5 an item, reduced to $1 near the end ... "everything must go", she said, as she was de-cluttering her 832 sq ft house. A couple tables to my right, there was a fellow selling a number of impressively lofted sleeping bags, though upon closer look, they were definitely discolored, esp. at the head end. I cannot see wanting to buy those, but don't know what his pricing was like (I'm not sure he sold any of them). Mine are in excellent condition, so I wasn't as concerned about setting up near him.

One buyer came by, expressed slight regret that she had already bought a 0 bag before getting to my table, but explained that she got a Marmot 0F bag for $50. "I didn't even take it out of the storage sack to inspect it," she said somewhat sheepishly, as she eyed my minty 0F mummy. To my immediate right, there was a Go-lite 20F long bag with 800 FP going for $200; it never sold. [wow, was it light!] Mine was merely 600 FP but priced at $80; the 0F bag priced at $100. Comparable new bags would be the Kelty Cosmic Down, which after-tax here would run $185 and $240, respectively.

So these few data points led me to think that what sold at this event were well-worn items sold dirt cheap, a step above throwing away. I'd say that Marmot bag was 80% off new, but I don't know the condition (and neither did the buyer! ha ha). It could have been minty too, for all I know, and if so, she got a great deal. It's kind of interesting how she apparently was so drawn to the price she bought without checking the condition.

My items have some "reserve" value for me, so I wasn't too vexed that they didn't sell - as a person who occasionally drives up to OH and MI in the winter, it's not a bad idea to have a down bag in the car if you get caught in an adverse weather event.

Bottom line, it didn't seem to be an event where you could get much for anything that didn't still have the tags on it. It was more useful for those looking for a landfill alternative at almost any price. As I said, it was still fun - for $20 split with a friend (who did sell a couple small items), we got some good food and drink, music, and t-shirts. And we learned a bit about the market for stuff at events like this.

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Good to know. Thanks for sharing. If you decide to sell them, try Whiteblaze.net, Facebook AT backpack gear groups and ebay.

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