Selling to Friends vs. Ebay vs. Craigslist
Posted on July 20, 2006 by Him and tagged friends
This weekend we had some friends in town. One friend expressed how she was feeling overwhelmed with all of the things going on in her life. She said she was thinking about getting a PDA. As a matter of coincidence, I had a Palm Tungsten T5 laying around, not doing anything.
In fact, that PDA had been sitting around not doing much for some time now. Before our friend said anything about it, I was contemplating selling it on eBay or Craigslist.
When she asked about the price, I told her to take the PDA for a test drive and see if she could successfully integrate it into her life. In my mind, I was thinking $100 - a price that is lower than what I could get by selling it online, around $150-$250.
My questions for you, dear readers:
1) Should I sell it to her for the price I could get online?
2) Do you cut your friends/family slack when it comes to selling stuff to them? How much of a discount do you give to them?
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When it comes to family and friends if I have something they need/want and I am not using it, I give it to them. I just can't charge family - my friends are my family too.
-d
Becca | Jul 20, 2006
Personally, I'm like D and would give something to a friend or family member rather than selling, but that's because I'm not hard up for money and I've certainly gotten free stuff or favors from many of my friends.
If I were selling to a friend it would be for less - your friend isn't going to scam you, and it's more convenient for you to sell to her rather than photographing the item, writing an ad, dealing with people who say they want to buy it and then flake, and having to pack it up and ship it somewhere.
I think on ebay these only go for $150-$180. Subtract ebay fees and paypal fees, and $100-$120 is probably a pretty fair price for a friend.
chelee | Jul 20, 2006
I usually give things to family and friends and don't make them pay. Sort of like a family/friend freecycle theory.
Always a discount... not for free if it has a value... you have to watch out for your own finances...
Try this... "Take this gadget and try it, if it works for you then look up a price and let me know what it's worth to you."
You'd probably end up with more money and less awkwardness...but that could backfire too.
Catheren | Jul 21, 2006
I agree with Alberen
"Try this... "Take this gadget and try it, if it works for you then look up a price and let me know what it's worth to you." "
But, both of you look up prices and compare w/ each other that way both parties are prepared and on the same page - pricewise.
I say give it to your friend. I know that the money is nice, and you could certainly sell it, but either way you aren't going to get the full value. Have you read The Courage To Be Rich? Suze Orman talks about this, and her take is that it's better to give things to charity than to try to sell them. So your friend isn't a charity, but she needs it, and you have it, and since you are friends wouldn't you feel good being able to just give it to her no strings? :)
sixpack | Jul 23, 2006
I had a dilemna a month ago when we were moving and needed to sell our furniture. We offered it to our relatives. Instead of just taking the money, we said that we'd put the money towards our son's college fund. It made it easier to ask money for it.
Kira | Jul 20, 2006
In general I would advocate selling it to friends, but not for such a huge price differential - maybe $20 bucks less, $30 less if you consider that she won't have to pay shipping. Another thing to consider is that if anything goes wrong with it in the future, your friend will come to you to fix it. So I'd say it's a good idea to sell non-mechanical items to your friends, but be cautious with things that might break (depending on their personality.)
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