Just came across this on EBay. It’s listed as “almost unused”!!! . It would’ve probably been 1000$ if it was completely unused!
What’s that guy smoking!?!
There’s no one on earth that would buy it!
Sometimes I think people put items up on ebay with ridiculous buy-it-now prices…not actually hoping to sell it for that, but rather for people to send them offers on the items.
Almost Unused…neat way of saying near mint
Reminds me a few years ago with the CW (yes, the TV network). All the other networks’ show promos would say “New episode ___day at __pm” but CW wanted something different so they started saying “Fresh episode ___day at __pm.”
He doesn’t need everybody in the world to buy it. He only needs one idiot.
Reminds me of this BC Classic I saw on ebay one time.
Guy was asking $30 or $40 for this as serial number 1. actually it’s model number 1. I have two of them…
That’s almost certainly the reason, twitch. The fancy term behavioral psychologists use is price anchoring.
Most people (if they’re being honest) suck at determining value; they have no idea what a thing should cost, so prices are determined relative to some other comparable thing that they use as a point of reference. Read through the yo-yo appraisal thread for tons of examples. We’re all susceptible to it. As a seller, you exploit this by establishing a high “anchor” price from which the negotiations start. Anything less than that price intuitively seems more reasonable to the buyer.
A second benefit – which shouldn’t be overlooked – is that it gives the seller control over who they sell to. If someone makes a reasonable offer but you feel like they’re going to be a “problem buyer” you just decline the offer. Collectors are easily the biggest problem buyers. Yo-yo collectors are no exception. *cough* vibe *cough*.
I think what this seller is doing is corny, but smart (and honest) – too many people open items, “test” them even, yet still call it new. As a thought exercise, when does a “new” yo-yo stop being new? If you opened the box, is it still “new”. If you throw it once, is it still “new”? It’s a pretty gray area.
If I don’t know what a yoyo is worth, I usually auction it. The times I’ve gotten more than what I’ve thought it was worth, has put me way in the black over the times I’ve gotten less than what I thought it was worth. Putting a decent minimum helps with that too.
Says it’s shipping from Japan. Maybe it’s Google translate error?
“New”cars on a lot are sold as new even though several people have taken it for a test drive.
Heh, this is true. I got lucky and was able to test and buy my car with only 2 miles on it. Considering how much you drive during just a simple test, my guess is that these were all factory miles. Id still consider anything with less then a few hundred miles to be mint. I guess the same should apply to yoyos.
I don’t know of any yoyo stores that let you test run a new yoyo before buying. Would you feel the same way when buying a new toothbrush or a pair of underwear?
Yoyo loco in CO let me do one or two test throws on a few items last time I was there.
Were the items brand new out of the box? If so, might be how they obtained the name?
I bury old yoyos in my backyard and in a month or so I can pick new, fresh, unused yoyos.
Yes. Was limited to two throws and given short string to use and over carpet. No rings too.
Required you to only throw twice and use a short string? That must have given you a good feel for the purchase before it was made!
It’s better than nothing
Absolutely
If it isn’t from factory then I guess it isn’t truly mint, but people test play with those just to make sure they are acceptable. Surely it can still be mint still and only thrown a few times not dropped. The thing is, I have yoyos that ive played the response pads out of that could still pass as “mint”. One or two times out of the package is probably still mint. Any more, and id say lightly used.
As for comparing this to underwear or a toothbrush, lol. This is like comparing the sterile integrity of underwear off the shelf and a surgical scalpel.