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Is selling on the classifieds becoming more difficult?


M L

South African Economic Times   

384 members have voted

  1. 1. Are you finding it increasingly difficult to sell things on the classifieds?

    • I sell things quickly and easily - it seems people have money
      27
    • I sell things fairly quickly
      146
    • I find it rather difficult to sell things - I struggle to sell and get low ball offers
      211


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Lately I have seen a lot of "*Price Drop*" adds on the classifieds. I also buy and sell quite a lot and find it more difficult than a few years ago to get buyers. It really seems as if South Africans are in a bit of a squeeze (the classifieds is obviously not a very good representation of the average SA consumer).

 

Would really like to see the results on a poll, so vote!

A problem is people buy expensive bikes on finance.

 

say a x brand bike,  model y.

 

The bike can go for say R10 if you shop around and have cash , places ( think big brand stores now have that bike for R12 but buyer can finance. then it costs that buyer R14 at the end with charges.... when he tries to sell he wants R10...

 

the same issue of fin toys, now a guy has R5 and wants a bike he can search the classifieds where people are over priced or its over run by the second hand dealer shops that also has a mark up, or he takes his R5 and uses as deposit adds R7 on fin and buyers a nicer bike, that he will struggle to sell again in a few years.

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Slightly OT, but why do some sellers take the time and effort to edit their ads with **SOLD** (for example) in the title and choose to keep them published? If I search for something, I seem to come across ads that are up/current, yet have been marked as sold. Surely they should be deleted/removed rather?

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Slightly OT, but why do some sellers take the time and effort to edit their ads with **SOLD** (for example) in the title and choose to keep them published? If I search for something, I seem to come across ads that are up/current, yet have been marked as sold. Surely they should be deleted/removed rather?

To delete an add is wayyyyyyy easier than editing the Title to say "Sold"

 

 

Annoys the crap out of me

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To delete an add is wayyyyyyy easier than editing the Title to say "Sold"

 

 

Annoys the crap out of me

I do the SOLD thing. I saw it when I was buying some goodies and was happy to have some items/prices to compare condition/price.

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To delete an add is wayyyyyyy easier than editing the Title to say "Sold"

 

 

Annoys the crap out of me

 

Jeez, glad I'm not alone, irritates me properly. I just don't see the point of doing it and it definitely clutters the classifieds.

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Jeez, glad I'm not alone, irritates me properly. I just don't see the point of doing it and it definitely clutters the classifieds.

True, but I bought a frame off a guy a while back and when I wanted to go and rate my buying experience (I think rating sellers is important to the health of the classifieds) he removed the ad and I could not find him. 

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True, but I bought a frame off a guy a while back and when I wanted to go and rate my buying experience (I think rating sellers is important to the health of the classifieds) he removed the ad and I could not find him. 

 

Yeah, this happened to me as well. I did however whatsapp him to ask his forum name so I could rate accordingly.

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I change my adds to SOLD so that if anyone was looking at the add they have a visual reference that the item is sold and not just taken off the sales section.

 

I also show ON HOLD if someone is serious about the product, or have said they will make payment.

 

I do the SOLD thing. I saw it when I was buying some goodies and was happy to have some items/prices to compare condition/price.

 

 

Jeez, glad I'm not alone, irritates me properly. I just don't see the point of doing it and it definitely clutters the classifieds.

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I do the SOLD thing. I saw it when I was buying some goodies and was happy to have some items/prices to compare condition/price.

You may know this already, but archiving the items still retains them and are then only visible to yourself - I do the same to keep track of what I've sold.

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You may know this already, but archiving the items still retains them and are then only visible to yourself - I do the same to keep track of what I've sold.

I meant I saw other SOLD items on the public forum which gave me a comparison of similar products.

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Slightly OT, but why do some sellers take the time and effort to edit their ads with **SOLD** (for example) in the title and choose to keep them published? If I search for something, I seem to come across ads that are up/current, yet have been marked as sold. Surely they should be deleted/removed rather?

 

As mentioned by others, I use the SOLD method as a way of guiding people to the market price for that item.

Prices fluctuate, what sold for R100 last month, may now be going for R50.

Best to keep everyone, buyer and a potential seller of the same item, informed..........

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To delete an add is wayyyyyyy easier than editing the Title to say "Sold"

 

 

Annoys the crap out of me

It really annoys the crap out of me when an add is deleted with no explanation

Tough luck and suck it up.Thats the way I like doing it and until the hub prescribes how it must be done it will carry on that way

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I meant I saw other SOLD items on the public forum which gave me a comparison of similar products.

Oh, right, i see now.

 

Keeping items as as live but renamed with "sold" just clutters the marketplace, like paging through a 2014 CAR magazine, seeing a porsche for R900 000 and then starting to shop for one finding them all priced R1.6 mil

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Sold is often put on an advert to allow the buyer to rate the seller, once done the ad is taken down.  That's how it use to work.

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