Does this forum drive down pricing??

[Hwyman]

There are deals such as the free live rock on Kijiji as well! Some of my cheapest and my most worthwhile purchases of livestock, tanks, and other equipment have been from there. The difference is, once sold on Kijiji, the ad disappears. On CanReef forum, it exists "forever". If people want a good deal, they spend more time looking for it. If items for sale are of good quality and reasonably priced, they sell equally well on either site........

Just my $0.02 worth

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by Hwyman

There are deals such as the free live rock on Kijiji as well! Some of my cheapest and my most worthwhile purchases of livestock, tanks, and other equipment have been from there. The difference is, once sold on Kijiji, the ad disappears. On CanReef forum, it exists "forever". If people want a good deal, they spend more time looking for it. If items for sale are of good quality and reasonably priced, they sell equally well on either site........

Just my $0.02 worth

True enough!

[Reef Pilot]

Well, actually, it is the buyers who set the price. Stuff is only worth what people are willing to pay for it, whether it is a car, house, stock, or reef livestock and equipment. If you can't sell something within a reasonable period of time then your price is out of line. Same applies if it sells the first day, or hour. So that is why a little search on canreef is a good idea before deciding on what your listing price should be.

[Rodney]

The way I see it on here anyway is that 90 percent of us already have setups on the go so it's mainly the addiction that drives us to aquire more and more. It's not out of necessity so much as desire so most here are willing to wait for that crazy deal. I do agree it's more hardware than livestock

[Zoaelite]

Does this forum drive down pricing??

Quick economics, ignoring most factors: Forum results in an increase in demand, if the supply stays the same then in theory the price should INCREASE, not decrease.

To give you an example of this, with out the use of a forum for people to see lets say "Tyree Space Monsters" there would be less demand, less people wanting it drives the market price down. I would argue the opposite, a forum increases prices because it increases demand.

That being said the above statement really doesn't hold in a real world argument, too many factors to directly correlate this forum with a supply/demand market.

[windcoast reefs]

I think it drives down prices, but it also gives a much larger market for sales, so it sells faster. I don't mind loosing a bit if it benefits someone else on the forum.

[sphelps]

Pretty simple, sell things for for the price you want. Besides a few comments on grossly overpriced items, that eventually do get removed, nobody forces anyone here to sell things less than the seller advertises. Why not take advantage of the added exposure your items get here, doesn't mean you can't advertise elsewhere at the same time.

Ultimately Canreef is probably the best place to sell used equipment and livestock in Canada, it's a 100% target audience. It'll sell for what it's worth eventually, time typically plays the biggest role in what things sell for. I assure you, you'll get a lot more tire kickers and low balls on places like Kijiji, at least with a member system there is some accountability.

[11purewater]

It's a black market subculture,but it works.

[SanguinesDream]

Meh.

I've been on the receiving end of some really awesome deals from some very generous sellers of livestock. But I've noticed that people develop a personal attachment to livestock as we nurture and purchase specialty foods, hardware and maintain the chemistry of our tanks to capitalize on growth potential for the critters we take into our care.

As a result, sellers seem to be willing to take a hit if they recognize that the piece of livestock/fish would have a better environment and/or access to care.

On the other hand, that should NOT be the expectation of seller who has had the fish for a long time or the livestock from a well established tank or from a huge mother colony. You cannot compare the prices from the LFS for a quarter sized juvenile fish to a seller who has matured and nourished that fish into adulthood. THAT kind of behaviour is intolerable, imho.

I don't like when a seller is harassed by tire kickers on the forum. That is akin to bullying and I have little tolerance for that. If you don't agree with the price, take it to a pm or scroll on by. Easy as that. But don't bitch and moan about in public, that is classless. If it truly is an exhorbitant price, the seller will clue in when no one responds to the ad, market forces, yadayadayada...

[ImprezaSTi]

Originally Posted by Zoaelite

Quick economics, ignoring most factors: Forum results in an increase in demand, if the supply stays the same then in theory the price should INCREASE, not decrease.

To give you an example of this, with out the use of a forum for people to see lets say "Tyree Space Monsters" there would be less demand, less people wanting it drives the market price down. I would argue the opposite, a forum increases prices because it increases demand.

That being said the above statement really doesn't hold in a real world argument, too many factors to directly correlate this forum with a supply/demand market.

I would agree with this. I feel the exact opposite as OP. I see many people selling things on here for near retail price because thats how high the demand is for used or discounted items. Many FS threads even sell things the same day it was posted.

I would suggest if you feel like what your selling is worth more, then simply increase the price. However it also depends on the item you are selling. If it is hardware, there may be newer products out, driving demand for the used items down. Thats just an example, there are many other factors that affect the price of a used item. But in general I don't believe that the forums affect prices of the marketplace.