There is no formula to follow, there’s often several factors beyond that determine a price. for example right now anything that isn’t CLYW or a brand new release will often be a require drop in price mint or not, then dings are up to whatever the owner thinks it’s worth, I personally think that it’s not the dings that should set value but how smooth it is, I’d rather have a One drop that’s been ground to death and is still smooth over a similar playing YYF that’s taken one hit and gone to a medium vibe.
No matter what you say people can choose whatever price they want to list their throws at. if they don’t find a buyer at whatever price they chose then that’s their problem, you should remember that a few people in the last year have tried to sell their mint peaks ($115 retail) for nearly $450, some have succeeded IIRC and some haven’t. Basically it’s going to depend on the yoyo, CLYW(YYR a bit too) will always have a high demand and remain close to retail upon resale, while some other throws if you actually want it to sell will possibly need to come down to 50% off to even get people considering it, no matter how good the throw is.
Don’t really see a need for a formula, personally.
I generally know what the market prices are, and if I don’t, I spend about 2 minutes searching to figure it out. Once there, I look at my yoyo, decide how much money it would take for me to be alright with no longer having it, and there’s your price.
I don’t like a lot of hassle and I generally just want to get rid of a yoyo if I’m intent on selling it, so the price I arrive at is usually less than market value. If I can’t justify going that low, then I don’t sell.
Here, I just want to stick with strictly the issue of “cosmetic damage,” which presumes there is no vibe issue with the yo-yo. For me personally, that is most often the case when I sell, so the question is based on that. We realize that it is a free country, and people can set their prices where they want, which goes without saying. The question was whether people use a formula to set their prices, or if they just wing it. I personally use a general formula to come up with a price. It seems you do not, as you do not devalue a yo-yo to the same extent I do, when it is dinged up. I hope I summed that up properly, but that is what I gathered. I can tell that we would not likely be a buyer/seller match. No matter how well a yo-yo plays, I would not buy a yo-yo that is beat up.
Let me ask you specifically a question. You have two of the exact same YYR yo-yo. One has a ding and an ano flaw. The other has three flat spots and a scratch. Does anything pop into your head about how you might price them differently? They are the exact same yo-yo, but they have various “cosmetic damage.” Some might think wow, that looks bad, I’ll just reduce this…but how do you personally determine what reduction to make in price? Actually, that presumes you have a starting point at what it was retail. Some do not start there.
Yours is definitely a process, but not a formula. Your answer is clear at what goes on in your thoughts to arrive at a price. You start at an estimated retail price and then put a value on what would be worth parting with it. It is more personal than based on guessing at “market value.” I’ll have to pay attention when you have a BST. You strike me as the kind of guy I might get a great deal from, just because you’re ready to let something go. I’ll have to ask MikeEff about his method, as I would guess he uses the same process you do.
I simplified my method for the post, but I look at current retail price, and prices sold at auction for used versions in various conditions as a starting point. I check current Ebay listings to compare bids. I try to get as close as possible to a fair market value. Also, I am never in a hurry to sell anything. It can sit there for a year…won’t bother me. I’m funny that way.
All my BST’s are named “High end metals, crazy prices” and that’s what I mean. They typically don’t last but a day or two. I take a 10 or 20 dollar hit vs. market on most throws, sure, but to me that’s fine if it means I get some cash fast. User stickman has definitely taken advantage…sometimes he’ll just about buy me out. lol. Great buyer though, so I’m happy when he’s interested.
