UK prices confuse me

[rawwwrrr]

So I'm bopping around on eBay just "window" shopping. Thought I'd see if anyone was selling a SKX007 at an unreasonably low price when I stumbled across this listing instead:

www.ebay.com/itm/SEIKO-MENS-AUTOMATIC-DIVERS-BAND-WATCH-200M-NR-SKX007K1-Warranty-Box-RRP-230-/251210684166

Now that's a SKX007 with a retail price of £230 selling for twice that much. I'd like to assume that it's possibly the result of VAT having been added to it but I'm having trouble accepting that it would cause the price to double like that. Obviously someone found it to be an acceptable price as one was sold. So what am I not understanding?

[igniferroque]

The bay is a total mystery.

[cartshed]

I'm from the UK, all watches, new & vintage are a bit more expensive here (as are most other things) but that price is crazy, Amazon sell it for about £165, £300 less than that seller ! Money laundering springs to mind, I can't think of another reason why someone would sell that watch for that price let alone buy one.

[rawwwrrr]

Jul 25, 2013 16:27:17 GMT -8 cartshed said:

I'm from the UK, all watches, new & vintage are a bit more expensive here (as are most other things) but that price is crazy, Amazon sell it for about £165, £300 less than that seller ! Money laundering springs to mind, I can't think of another reason why someone would sell that watch for that price let alone buy one.

Thanks. I guess I just needed some clarification. I've always expected a premium price for something out of the UK but this just seemed so ridiculous that I assumed there must have been something else. This seller has many other watches listed for sale that are reasonably priced, but even a quick glance reveals oddities like these:

• SNZJ03 for £549.99
• SKA523 for £519.99
• SNZG07 for £519.99
  

Just unreal. 

[normdiaz]

Jul 25, 2013 16:08:12 GMT -8 rawwwrrr said:

Obviously someone found it to be an acceptable price as one was sold. So what am I not understanding?

What's to understand?  The buyer thought the item was worth the asking price and he bought it.  Sounds simple to me.

[rawwwrrr]

Jul 25, 2013 17:21:36 GMT -8 normdiaz said:

Jul 25, 2013 16:08:12 GMT -8 rawwwrrr said:

Obviously someone found it to be an acceptable price as one was sold. So what am I not understanding?

What's to understand?  The buyer thought the item was worth the asking price and he bought it.  Sounds simple to me.

The misunderstanding is about the asking prices, not that someone actually bought one. "A fool and his money are soon parted" is a concept I am quite familiar with.

[normdiaz]

Jul 25, 2013 17:30:07 GMT -8 rawwwrrr said:

Jul 25, 2013 17:21:36 GMT -8 normdiaz said:

What's to understand?  The buyer thought the item was worth the asking price and he bought it.  Sounds simple to me.

The misunderstanding is about the asking prices, not that someone actually bought one. "A fool and his money are soon parted" is a concept I have no confusion over.

So in this case the seller threw out a possibly inflated price and "a fool" accepted it and parted with his money.  (The seller may believe that he can always reduce the original asking price, but can't normally raise it.)

[sdoocms]

Jul 25, 2013 16:18:55 GMT -8 igniferroque said:

The bay is a total mystery.

Oh my, and here I had always thought that the bay is a twilight zone...

[rawwwrrr]

Jul 25, 2013 17:36:26 GMT -8 normdiaz said:

Jul 25, 2013 17:30:07 GMT -8 rawwwrrr said:

The misunderstanding is about the asking prices, not that someone actually bought one. "A fool and his money are soon parted" is a concept I have no confusion over.

So in this case the seller threw out a possibly inflated price and "a fool" accepted it and parted with his money.  (The seller may believe that he can always reduce the original asking price, but can't normally raise it.)

Yes, as I stated before, I am familiar with the concept.

The usual tactic is to place an item for sale with a ridiculous Buy It Now but also allow for Make an Offer. Savvy buyers will make appropriate offers while the seller will silently hold out for the big ticket. After some time the buyer will re-list the item with a lower BIN but one that is still higher than their average bids. Eventually a less-than-savvy buyer who has been sitting idly buy jumps on it thinking he's getting a steal. All a perfectly understandable strategy, especially for hard to find items. It provides research for the seller to reach a higher profit margin while also helping to maintain a healthy market. 

But the pieces in question are common enough that they don't necessitate inflated prices indicative of high demand or low stock levels. Therefore I was wondering if there was another factor at play that might be regional to the UK as this isn't the only UK based seller in which I've seen abnormal pricing. Since I'm not from that region, the best I can hope for is speculation without querying those that might actually live there.

[Hobbes]

Jul 25, 2013 16:27:17 GMT -8 cartshed said:

Money laundering springs to mind, I can't think of another reason why someone would sell that watch for that price let alone buy one.

Brilliant! In season 3 of Breaking Bad different ways of money laundering were discussed, but this one combines it with my watch hobby!

Later guys, I'm off to set up an Ebay shop!

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Love your work, Cartshed!

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[lordflagpolecrabtree]

The Bay is full of unscrupulous dealers who prey on people who can't be bothered to spend time looking for the best price ! It used to be the cheapest place to buy,but not any more.

I have also noticed that once you buy something, a cheaper one always seems to pop up at the bottom of the screen, although it never appears in the original search you put in !

[pollythecat]

The SKX007 is not even the 'J' version.

Watches are more expensive in the UK straight away there is import duty/VAT that adds 20% plus handling.  

I can buy the same SKX007/K from Creation Watches for £130 delivered!  Mind you they always declare the value as tuppence to avoid the buyer incurring import duty.