Hey all. I’ve noticed how there are a ton BST threads. I bump my thread looking for an Oxy Ti every day and it always falls back to the third page by the next day. I’m also surprised how many people are outright selling their yo-yos. It feels like their running a store, not selling off a couple throws they didn’t like.
I’m considering trading some of my throws but I’d always want a throw in return for them.
What’s the main motivation do you think? Why do people choose to sell for cash?
People get into the hobby, buy loads of yoyos. Find out they don’t need the ones that collect dust. And sell them for money.
Its not the people using the yoyos that sell them (most of the time), its the collectors.
It’s usually like this as the holidays approach. People just want the cash this time of year.
That’s how BST’s work.
Get used it it, it doesn’t change. Some times it’s busier than others. I’m trying to unload an Arctic Circle, but I just ran into a old savings bond that has matured(like 11 years ago) so I’m gonna cash that out and use that to get a GSquared AL7 Quake.
I may choose to not sell the AC as a result and just keep it even though I’m not really enjoying the Hulk Smash colorway.
For me, it’s partly about the international thing. Shipping is $10 for someone wanting to trade to me, and that’s NOT tracked. My end is $15, but I haven’t worried about that yet.
But mostly it’s that I want a yoyo that’s not available for trade yet. For example, when I was gunning for a Prestige, it hadn’t even been released yet. Need the cash to make that buy!
Sometimes it’s hard to find a good trade because many people don’t want to trade “down” from a high end yoyo to 2 or 3 lower end yoyos. It’s usually the other way around. I have made a number of trades with people, but ultimately, I’d like to get the money so I can go and buy the yoyo I really want. And, like Greg said, there’s no guarantee that I can find someone who happens to be trading that particular yoyo, or that I have something that they both want and I’m willing to trade. I think that’s why people sell for cash a lot.
What bothers me is that some people are asking for nearly retail price for damaged yoyos. $100+ for a yoyo with dings and scrapes seems odd to me. I don’t care who manufactured it or what it’s made of. I would think that if someone has triple digit dollars to spend, they would spend it on a new throw rather than a used one with damage unless it’s fairly rare. There are a few lucky people like myself who have money to burn, so I can sell my yoyos for 30-50% off the retail price, and they move very quickly.
For me I usually end up buying lots of yoyos since it’s cheaper that way and easier to convince the seller to go cheap. In the end I’ll keep 1 of these yoyos and try to make my money back on the rest or trade them for something I want.
This all makes a lot of sense and is exactly what I as looking for. I was suspecting a lot of these things and wanted them confirmed 
I’m considering the BST to increase my collection more. It seems like a good place to buy cheep and then resell when I don’t like the yo-yo.
Actually it seems that there are at least 2 new pages a day almost year round.
Be ready for a tax hit on that. You’ll owe back taxes for every year since it matured, as I discovered this year myself.
Series EE/E Savings Bonds Tax Considerations
Taxes Owed On U.S. Savings Bonds Create Confusion, According To SavingsBonds.com
Yup. I’m aware. However, once it’s matured, there’s no further tax hits past the 1099-INT screw-job.
Government: Loan us some money. We’ll give you a crappy rate and in 30 years, you can collect your pennies.
Citizen: OK, sounds good.
30 years pass.
Citizen: OK, time to get my money.
Government: Bend over, we’re taking it all back!
I work in entertainment. I am lied to on an hourly basis. Why should the government be any better?
I was talking to someone about this at the last contest I attended. Most of the conversation centered around what appeared to me, to be more threads in the BST geared toward selling in general, and more with beat up throws (than I noticed 2 years ago). I often see someone post that they absolutely love a yo-yo, but a short time later, it ends up on their BST. It has an appearance that they loved it, but cannot afford to keep it. Of course, that is my perception. If I don’t have a double, and I truly love the way a yo-yo plays…I’m keeping it. So, my perception is based on my reality. For some people, selling a lot allows them to have the best of both worlds. They get to try every yo-yo, but without the financial consequences of keeping them. Even if they cannot afford to keep every yo-yo they buy, they can afford to buy almost every yo-yo they want to try. They know that eventually, usually within a short time span, they will need to sell some to make that money back. I see that done a lot. I see nothing wrong with that, and it suits a person who does not like to accumulate things, and they like to play and not collect anyway. I see all the selling as money management that keeps the hobby going for some people.
Why do people choose to sell for cash?
I think a better question is, “Why wouldn’t they?” Cash is king. People need money… whether they just outright need it or they want to cycle it back into yoyo funds or whatever, cash is king. Unless the yoyo was amazing, I would rather take cash than trade most of the time.
I can only offer my take on this based on my current BST, which is a “for sale only” at the moment.
I want something that is about to drop. I have an Arctic Circle that I don’t need. I have a 1st Run Yogi that I enjoy the colorway a lot more than the Hulk Smash one I’m trying to get rid of. Ain’t nothing wrong with the Hulk Smash one in any way other than I don’t care for the colorway.
If I do trades, people start offering me stuff I have no interest in, then I get attitude about how I’m passing up such a great deal with their offerings. I’m not into the drama. Paypal or no deal at the moment, or cash in hand in person.
If I sell the AC, I’m just gonna flip the funds back over to YYE to get the item I do want.
However, I may have just fallen into a tiny amount of money, so I may not need to sell the AC. I might go ahead and keep it. The odds are if I do have the funds to get the item I want(AL7 Quake), I’ll just go ahead and keep the AC. Or maybe I decide to make it a trade item. My wants list might get a little shorter, or maybe not.
In a previous BST, I actually had an item for trade. I got a great BST deal, and one of the items I had was of no interest to me but I knew I could off-load it fast for anything else. So, in that previous BST, I was able to unload a Rockstar. Never threw it or unboxed it, just flipped it for something I do enjoy(Deadly Spins Monkey Fist).
I say the situation depends on the individuals needs or wants. Right now, people want cash for holiday shopping. I want cash so I can get that AL7 Quake. If this client would pay their invoices on time, I wouldn’t have this problem. I work on a Net30, they work on a Net45(read: Net-WhateverWeWantItToBe, such as Net180+), so it’s hard to coordinate stuff with an inconsistent pay scheduled despite the supposed consistency that’s supposed to occur. Don’t lecture me on money management. I’m fine. My main issue is getting stuck with a couple of thousand in unexpected “not my problem” crap monthly. That’s a whole other wad of crap that I’ve put an end to.
Some people just want to deal with cash so they don’t have to deal with trades. “With the cash, I get the option of doing with it as I want/need to”.
I like options.
Also, for those of us who don’t like trading yoyos and don’t mind spending money, it works out a lot better.
Granted I don’t use the B/S boards on here much because most people don’t want to ship abroad, but throwing someone a bunch of money with paypal and sitting back is so much easier than deciding who ships first, packaging everything up, shipping it out and then hoping that they receive it and are happy with the condition.
Only trade I’ve ever made online was for a limited edition throw that I was searching for and eventually found someone with one who was insistant on trading.
Good point here. There is a much higher degree of scams in trading, than buying or selling. It seems most of the negative feedback is from a trade (yo-yo for a yo-yo). Why go through that, and spend the effort trying to find someone who wants what you have, or has what you want, when you can just get cash. Some people have the patience, but I don’t. :-\
Same with people saying “Offer/Offer High” and all that nonsense. I don’t want to get into a big thing of offering and then them being offended because it’s too low and getting into a bartering war over PMs. Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat.
If I see a yoyo I want, with a labelled price that I like, I buy it there and then. Easy peasy.