posted 07-08-2011 11:38 PM               

Plenty of us have had items we no longer wanted or maybe we needed the money, etc., but how do you decide on a fair price?

We've had discussions recently about people not doing proper research and thus paying too much for an item, or conversely, not charging enough. How do you decide what to do?

Also, if you receive an item for free, how comfortable are you with reselling for a profit?

posted 07-09-2011 03:52 AM               

With us, until about 1995 the situation was normal. All autographs come with a trade quickly and dramatically with the introduction of access to the Internet. About this time, and it is all about collecting our revolving only around money.

Before I got all correspondence, thanks to kindness of people that I spoke. If I was sent to me more autographs. Then I broke up with my colleagues or I changed piece by piece.

Yes, today I occasionally sell at normal price, but rather a return to old times and prefer to replace piece by piece-it's more about collecting.

If we manage to sell something normal and not an exaggeration, then all the money so obtained, go back to the collection of other things to complement the collection. It seems dangerously addictive process as a drug.

However, if you collect a nice one and the same sort, succumb space travel like me. You appreciate that from a distance with this hobby you're a bit closer to space travel.

posted 07-09-2011 06:00 AM               

When I have needed to I have sold a few items to raise funds towards other things (most recently the need for a new boiler), I try to reach an agreement with the buyer so we are both happy. I'm not sure if I have made any profit, mainly because I can never remember how much I bought an item for.

I don't keep a record of how much I have bought items for due to the fact I don't plan on selling them on if I can help it, and only sell when needs be.

As for free items I would have to think twice about selling them, but if I needed the money and someone obviously wanted it for their collection, then a fair price could be worked out.

posted 07-09-2011 09:52 AM               

When I price an item, I look at what I paid (if its available) what is for sale on eBay and in the online bookstores and try to sell it for less than what it is currently selling for. If I make any money it goes back into buying something else. On occasion I do buy a book strictly for sale. I only do this when I find one at a bookstore for a very low price and that doesn't happen often.

The only other time I have sold items was when I got a super price on some covers signed. I offered them to a couple of people on this forum who have helped me by giving me advice on what is genuine and what is not. While I could have sold them for a lot more, I sold them at cost because I value the advice I was given and it has saved me money in the long run.

posted 07-09-2011 10:09 AM               

Anyway the seller was a cS member and the winning bidder was also a cS member. The intentions as it was stated in their email yesterday was to buy the item, only to sell it for a profit at the best time to make as much money.

In this case it is a flown American flag that flew on STS-8.

I was a little disappointed because I only collect and have actually only sold one autograph item out of my collection and traded three others. So once it makes it into my collection, my intentions are to keep it and to share with others. If I have to sell, I don't like taking people for a ride by trying to bang them for their bucks.

posted 07-09-2011 12:55 PM               

I had no problem with this at all. It is simple business at its finest. I had a set amount I desired for the item so I could purchase something else and that member had that amount and was willing to pay it. After he paid and that item left my possession, I could care less what he does with it. If he sells it for a $1 or sells it for $1 million is his deal.

Whether it is a space item, a car, a shirt, or whatever, it shouldn't really matter what happens to the item after it leaves your possession. If you are selling it, then be prepared to see it sell for more, less, or see it get blown up, or cut up into pieces. Such is life.

posted 07-09-2011 01:08 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Spaceguy5:
The only thing that very, very, very much gets on my nerves is when people buy flown hardware (or even unflown hardware) just to turn it into confetti and resell it.

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Do you feel the same about flown checklists purchased solely for the express purpose of being sold off page by page? One benefit
to checklists being broken up, is that it's generated a huge amount of profits for the astronauts who are paid to sign them.

As far as how to value artifacts, free market baby and the auction houses are the best place to determine the current value. Like any collectible, there are ups & downs in value, with spikes happening when an important anniversary is celebrated or the death of an important figure is in the news.

I've spoken to many space collectors who won't sell anything. I haven't sold anything from my collection yet, but as of late I've started thinking about thinning out about half of my space/aviation collection. At the prices autographs and artifacts are bringing, how could someone not think about selling, just like in the stock market.

95% of my collection will be sold at auction after I drop dead, with my son keeping a few of my best pieces, but I have no intention of saddling him with a garage & storage unit full of space stuff.

I buy space/aviation artifacts every week, I'm constantly looking for stuff and it's foolish not to consider what your pieces could/would sell for in the future. I am borderline rabid in my support and passion for the achievements by the US space program and those average people who created the greatest space exploration vehicles in history.

However, I also consider my space collection an investment for my son's future and I wouldn't hesitate to sell anything to support him in his education or career choice.

posted 07-09-2011 05:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by MrSpace86:
So for the record, yes, the winning bidder did contact me prior and let me know that he was going to place a certain bid on it. He also stated that if he won the item, he would go on to resell it eventually, possibly for more money since the end of the program would be near.

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posted 07-09-2011 08:31 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Greggy_D:
Why would someone do this while the auction was taking place?

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No disrespect Greg, but what Rodrigo and I discussed and why in this particular case was private. Having said that, if you'd like to receive an answer nevertheless, you can email me privately or to Rodrigo if he's agreeable to expand on the information he's already shared in this thread for a reason which I support.

posted 07-10-2011 09:37 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Greggy_D:
I was asking a general question as to why someone (anyone) might contact the seller to disclose bidding price and intent while the auction is going on.

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Believe me, that is nothing compared to what some people have messaged me about when I have auctioned off high value items.

posted 07-10-2011 12:45 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Greggy_D:
It was more of a question to gather the thoughts and opinions of the cS community.

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Really Greg - if that was the case, maybe you should have started a new thread on that topic . Seeking opinions/speculation from others on this thread would only have led to people inferring that speculation to the particular transaction that started the discussion here. That should have been obvious to you.

posted 07-10-2011 02:01 PM               

And seeking opinions/speculation/input is exactly what is going to happen under a thread titled "Ethics of space collectors re-selling items". I never referenced the STS-8 flag transaction, nor mentioned you were the buyer (not that I would have known). I'm sure 99% of this board did not realize you were the buyer until you brought that fact up yourself. Again, it was a generic question because I cannot think of a reason why Buyer X would notify Seller Y of their bid and intent of purchase while the auction was in process. Maybe it is because I like to hold my cards close to my chest and let the auction fall where it may. But that is just me and is the true reason why I was asking the community for their input.

posted 07-10-2011 02:30 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by JasonB:
Theres nothing wrong with buying and reselling things for a profit unless you build a time machine and transport yourself back to 1936 Russia.

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posted 07-10-2011 03:19 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by george9785:
Seeking opinions/speculation from others on this thread would only have led to people inferring that speculation to the particular transaction that started the discussion here.

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Just for clarity, the discussion I was referring to in that sentence was any that might have occurred in response to Greg's post not AJ's.

posted 07-28-2011 02:43 AM            

I did that mostly because I missed the part that said these would be eventually available to the public. So I didn't even check to see if one could buy them from a store. Yeah, after I saw the seller put another set up, and then another, I got to searching, and sure enough...

posted 07-28-2011 07:17 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Spaceguy5:
I'm still waiting for the day where people will buy rare autographed pictures and slice them into pieces.

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posted 07-28-2011 07:32 AM               

They cut signatures out of letters, photos, anything they can get. They also cut up bats, jerseys, etc. It has to fit on a baseball card so everything gets cut down to smaller than that size. It doesn't matter how historical it is, if they can get it at a good price they'll cut it up and put it on a card.

posted 07-28-2011 08:20 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by george9785:
...but they weren't advertised on that "buySpace" cS webpage

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posted 07-28-2011 08:19 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
They aren't advertised there because we are working with Winco directly to provide them to our readers at the same or greater discount as is being offered to the shuttle program office. The wait is because Winco wants to debut a new shuttle-related product at the same time.

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