Selling Prices

[ericsells75]

Ok - this is driving me crazy. I'm new so forgive my ignorance. 

But.. I'm doing some research on top sellers in various categories and somewhat frequently I have come across some very unremarkable items selling for some ridiculous prices. Like a common used video game going for thousands. Same with some books or movies.

Honestly, is this someone just selling something they shouldn't masking as something else? It's really confusing and frankly my curiosity has gotten the better of me to ask. 

[msmaggie060]

Can’t really say without knowing what the item is. Give us an item number and I’m sure some of the more experienced sellers can advise you.

[ericsells75]

Ok - As I do more research and come across a specific item I will update. It's fairly common though from what I've seen.

[marnotom!]

Are you referring to an auction listing or a Buy It Now item?

[nostalgicaftertaste]

There's a possibility that what you're seeing are what I refer to as placeholder listings, where the seller actually doesn't have stock of a particular item, but in the interest of preserving the sales history (and to a lesser extent, search placement) and not having the listing end on its own due to no stock, they set the price so high so that nobody will actually buy it while keeping the listing active for when stock becomes available again.

[recped]

If you are seeing these on completed listings just remember that they rarely actually get completed (non-payment). On auction there are plenty of people who like to drive up the price for kicks but never intent to follow through.

On Fixed Price it's either as a placeholder (by people who don't understand the Out Of Stock option that has been available for quite a few years), a mistake or from sellers who don't have a clue and think something "old" or "rare" is worth the big bucks but never actually do the research you are doing.

It also goes with the narrative "eBay is dead, nothing sells" (yeah with your non-existent description, poor pictures and super inflated price).

[needsmorerobots]

I wish I knew what the reasons are behind this. But considering I've seen dealers sell items you can buy in-store or order online for at least 3 times the price, it wouldn't be a stretch to consider it a lack of research.

Most likely, as someone said earlier, it's a placeholder price from someone who hasn't kept up on all of Ebay's services and functions.

[lucitabby]

When doing research, don't look so much at the items for sale - look at the items SOLD. This will give you a better idea of market value.

An item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.