C.C. West ARION SALOON Flask, Embossed and LABELED, Charlotte, NC

[Lordbud]

Too high for an opening bid. If the bottle is worth that much to collectors who would be interested it will be bid up to that range. And you can always put a reserve, if you have doubts as to value to potential buyers. The $33.13 postage quote is over the top!

 

[jptech]

you obviously don't buy too many high dollar bottles - insurance alone on a 1500.00 item is 18.00, throw in good packing for a fragile item with priority mail delivery and the cost does get up there. you are probably right it is a little high if the ebay calc says 33.00, however, its only a guess-ti-mation at best until actual item is packed for shipping. I always return overages. have a good day.

 

[surfaceone]

Hey John,

I don't buy any high end bottles. Won't deal with eeebay either, but perhaps you'll allow me to observe that when you start the bidding at the top, it might be less fun bidding...

You've been a member here for a long time, with miniscule input. Certainly no support... You shared your frustration about your lack of bidders. Too bad you couldn't stifle that snide remark to Jason.

 

[jptech]

sorry to have offended anyone, wasn't my intention

 

[Plumbata]

As it stands now, I'm with surf. Jason was just trying to be helpful, not seeking to bash you. There is a lot of wisdom and experience to benefit from on this forum. The most I've spent on a bottle for my collection was 125; I much prefer digging or finding for cheap the items I desire. On the other hand, over the years I have had over 100K worth of ebay and internet sales, and especially for high value items I have learned to offer free shipping/insurance to entice bids or good offers. It's called "quality customer service". Believe it or not, it actually increases sales volume and overall profits.

Personally, I wouldn't pay 50 bucks for that flask. Don't get me wrong, it is a great piece, and it may be worth a great deal to someone, but the pool of collectors who would be interested and who are also financially secure enough to justify the price could be counted on one hand. Once you alienate those few serious collectors, you have zero chance of getting anywhere near 1,500.

I was educated in social psychology and anthropology, and will agree with the other well-informed people here that a high starting bid is an immediate turn-off to most potential buyers. You must think like the buyer when preparing a listing, not be wrapped-up in your own mindset and perspective as a seller.

Start it low with a reserve, list it as a regular auction, perhaps a 10 day auction, or start it with a high price and allow for BIN and best offers. Never once have I sold with a reserve, but many times I have sold to people who have submitted a best offer higher than I would expect it to bring via the regular auction format. Try it out, it works.

 

[RICKJJ59W]

Better watch out for these ABN boyz they can be like rabid pit bulls at times,just sayin. []

 

[div2roty]

High starting bids have never brothered me. I actually like them better than hidden reserves. True, low starting bids will encourage more people to bid, but most of those people probably won't bid 1500 anyway. If someone really wants 1500 then that is a fair starting place. However, I agree that auction fever can entice people to bid more than they would normally pay and in order for that to happen you need multiple bidders. I usually list with the absolute minimum I would accept. Sometimes items will go onsold, sometimes they'll get one bid and sometimes they'll get bid up. Once i started a flask at $140 and it sold for around $350. Of course once you list with a high starting bid you need to be prepared that it won't sell. I've always had other markets (shop and shows) to fall back on for selling, but for some online is their only venue, which makes it more important to sell every item you list.

But then again I've never bought or sold an antique for more than 2500 so what do I know.

 

[epackage]

Div I see your point and don't have much of a disagreement, I think most responses have been based on the OP stating he's frustrated at having no bids, thus some of the responses and thoughts on how to garner more attention...

 

[div2roty]

Div I see your point and don't have much of a disagreement, I think most responses have been based on the OP stating he's frustrated at having no bids, thus some of the responses and thoughts on how to garner more attention...

Oh yeah, I was commenting more generally. I don't disagree with any of the comments about this flask, just pointing out that there are many different strategies for ebay that can work at times. I don't know Carolina flasks but 1500 seems like alot to me for an aqua flask even with a nice label, but I've seen some Delaware milk bottles bring more than 2000 that I didn't think were worth that much.

 

[ncbred]

I have no problem with jptech trying to get atleast his money back on that flask. I don't have a clue what he paid for it. But then again he did ask some folks who pointed him towards that value. Is it something they pulled out of the air or has one sold for a similar price before? I've bid on plenty of bottles that were started out at market price and ended up losing most of them because the bottle went more than what it usually sells for. I also see Plumbata's point. He is right that you can count the whiskey folks on one hand who would be in the market for that flask in that price range. Setting a reserve on what you would let it go for could might possibly show you what that handful of people are willing to fork out for that flask. But even reserves are a turn off to alot of Ebayers and they eventually don't waste their time.

This isn't your typical Dispensary flask either. This is a Saloon and they are few and far between in NC.