Yes, if you try and sell something, especially on forums or Ebay, good chance you will get low offers (big surprise). I've bought and sold at some very reasonable (you'd maybe say unreasonable?) prices. But the deals got done, and both parties were happy. I also know folks who hold out for top dollar. Once in a while they get it, often, they end up not making a sale. It's your gear, so set your price as you see fit. But don't blame your lack of a sale on others selling "too cheap". Sounds a bit too whiny for my taste (but you brought it up). I guess it's called "market value" for a reason? I'm selling a house for a lot less than I would have thought 10 years ago. Oh well, that's life...ain't gonna cry about it. At least I have a buyer. I have a buddy trying to sell a house (overpriced) for 4 years now, not a nibble. We all have a choice as to sell or not sell.
Not whining about lack of sale, as I will sell when I feel the deal is correct. I was just sort of thinking about the transaction, and the thought process behind it. It is actually closer to your house sale then you think.
As for your house, I also am angry at people who knowingly purchased homes they could not afford, and then when its value supposedly drops they walk away, sticking not only the bank with it but also everyone around them with the crap price it will resell for because the bank doesn't want to hold it. You hurt yourself, and you hurt others, even though you don't think about it that way. The price the bank sells it for is not its value, as they are looking to cut a loss. They also don't have full equity in it either. Usually about 80% or under, so they are looking to sell to cover their cost. So a foreclosure or short sale immediately devalues my home, and not because the house that sold was really worth less, it was just the amount the people had in it.
My home was actually priced below what all of the realtors told me to set it at. And it didn't sell. I had someone look at my home 8 times, in depth. Never made an offer. When we finally got the real answer, it was, "I wanted the house, I liked the house. The price was actually good. But when my realtor told me that the house had been on the market before, and that no one was currently living in it, I figured it would be a short sale or a dump soon enough." She was looking for "the deal." Funny, I wasn't living in it because I was on the road, not because it was vacant. It had been on the market before, when I got divorced, but I decided to buy it off my wife instead. I don't whine about the lack of sale, because my home was aggressively priced, but many of the buyers in my area have been watching foreclosures and short sales.
Nicely, after Hurricane Sandy, that same person who went to my house sooo much, lost her rental to the storm, and she made me a low ball offer on the house. I countered with a much higher price (same demand, many less homes available), she was angry. I then rented the house for about $600 more then her mortgage would have been at the sale price. She got back to me the day after I rented it and offered to pay my price. I told her no, as I had rented it and she waited too long. She played the game too much. She is still looking for a permanent place to live.
Maybe I'm just too old. I remember when you bought that first bass, played it till it was dead, upgraded and fixed it, then saved for a better one. Then did the same, and all along the process your old bass still held some value, as it wasn't "disposable." All the Danelectros and Silvertones were that way. They still hold some value today. But in the way we are going, soon enough a one year old SX will be worth $10, and maybe less, even though it is still worth the $100 it was bought for.
