Buyers and Sellers

[TheWaddler]

Thank heavens that Perpetual Hinge thing isn't a box, eh!

allard

[Paradox]

Thank heavens that Perpetual Hinge thing isn't a box, eh!

That is lucky indeed!

It's also quite lucky that the Fake Box isn't a......erm.......never mind.

[smiteo]

I thought this thread was for buyers/sellers of revomazes...
there is a whole group for buying/selling other puzzles

[Quaxo76]

Reading the past posts, I've seen lots of "for sale" ads, where the buyer was supposed to offer a reasonable price.
How does one know what is reasonable? This is collecting, so prices can vary quite irrationally. It's the same with HP vintage calculators (I collect those too): some models are highly sought after and can fetch thousands, some are considered un-interesting and can be found (relatively) cheap.
My point is, how is one supposed to know what is reasonable, when dealing with a limited, discontinued, or handmade collectible? I myself never make any offers if I don't know the "ballpark" of the price, because I don't want to make ridiculous offers.
In the HP calculators community, the collectors compiled a table, with minimum and maximum expected prices depending on model, condition, and so on. Could anybody do something like that for Revos?

Cristian

[TheWaddler]

a reasonable offer is basically a competitive offer above what the maze originally was sold for. with any limited edition maze, it will definitely sell for over the original cost. i bought a maze off a guy on here, and he assured me it was in great condition, only opened once, so i made a reasonable offer of £200, then he said someone had beaten that, so i made an offer of £230 plus i'd pay postage, which he took in the end. there's no definite table someone could make up. you can find out how much the maze sold for in the FAQ section (if i remember correctly), and then you find out from the seller what the condition of the maze is (any flaking, how many times opened, ever been dropped etc.) then make up an offer based on that.

but basically, a reasonable offer is anything upwards of the original cost, up to what you are willing to spend, simples

[Paradox]

A puzzle (like anything else) is only worth as much as the highest bidder is willing to pay.

I personally hate making offers because I dread making an offer that's too low and ends up insulting the seller. I usually ask for a ball park figure of what the seller is expecting to get, and if that price is something I'd be happy to pay then I'll make an offer around that price.

Also, I don't agree with Waddler here, the original cost has little to no bearing on puzzles that are no longer available. Just look at Stickman puzzles as an example. I wouldn't dream of offering a collector a bit above original sale price!

[TheWaddler]

Also, I don't agree with Waddler here, the original cost has little to no bearing on puzzles that are no longer available. Just look at Stickman puzzles as an example. I wouldn't dream of offering a collector a bit above original sale price!

I only said that as a starting point to begin working out from. As you say there's no point offering someone £200 (which would be a lot) for lime, say, if they originally retailed at £240 (like they were first put up at). See my point

[Paradox]

See my point

I see your point.

Another thing to do is to look at recent auction prices either on the puzzle auction sites or eBay. Of course this only works for puzzles that have actually been sold at auction recently, whic of course many have not.

[Quaxo76]

Thanks for the replies. Actually, looking at past auctions is the method that was used to compile the HP calculator's table.
The problem is that many of these puzzles are rather rare, and most exchanges are done privately, without disclosing the price. So the "sample base" to refer to is small. For example, searching for "revomaze gold" on eBay, I get only one result. It sold for £78, which is substantially lower than original price. Was this a "lucky hit" of the buyer, or is that what an average buyer would pay? (that's just an example, I'm not interested in the Gold).

What are other reputable puzzle auction sites?

I too am always worried that I'd offend or insult the seller if I offer too little. I really wish sellers would include something like a "base price" or a "wished price" in their ads...

[TheWaddler]

as you said before, you also have to account for how "sought after" the item is. golds you can still buy, i think(?), and the gold is thought of by many as not a "real" revo (chris wanted to try something new). So i think that low price was the combination of the above and a bit of luck for the buyer as well. Generally, if you were buying a second hand revo, it would be one you can't buy anymore. therefore the price would definitely be higher than its original cost.

the only other puzzle auction site i'm aware of is puzzle paradise, but other's should be able to give you more (if there is any!!)