Rant

<rant>
GDI! So last saturday i got my ebisu rod, "YAY", ok, so i look on the AH and i see the last went for 3.4mil! srsly, this was not but two weeks after the consistent 2.4/2.5mil for the last two years... oh and yeah, there were none up, last selling six days ago! So now this is just all my fault now, I got ballsy.. I put it up for 3.9 *dodge flames*. Next morning, I look on the AH and whaaat do i see? THREE OTHER RODS ON THE AH! ya i know, big surprise. Later that day, one sells... ok, so they undercut the last, which sold a week ago now, by *four hundred thousand*. Yea, expected, <excuse>some RMT like name </excuse> I got over it.. then hammering the site from my cell, sitting in meetings the next day, one sold! it was @3.2.. ok, so its tonight, only my rod up.. gonna happen right? nope. now theres' another one... its expected.. but now i might as well just give it up and join the club? i mean, its not like most of us *need* that extra 400k? but now i wanna just do it out of spite.. not worth it, etc.. i know..

I'll get over it. BUT GDI!
</rant>

Thats what undercutting is there for. Supply and demand also plays a role in this situation.

Sorry for your <rant> but its basic capitalism at its best.

yar!

People are stupid. Sure you put it up for way too much, but people see the slightest bit of competition and undercut by way too much just to make a fast sale. Then again... Lu Shang's only sell like .3 a day on your server, so if they saw 2-3 other rods up there they obviously really wanted to make sure there's sold first.

How did you AH your Ebisu Fishing Rod, when its Rare/EX?

You meant Lu Shang's, right? >_>

I was just typing that. Ya beat me to it.

Stop being pedantic, you both know he meant Lu Shangs. I mean seriously, wouldn't selling Lu Shangs be the first thing anyone does when they get Ebisu?

Just wait till none are left on the AH and jack up the price by a "reasonable" amount.

Unfortunately for major items like that, patience is a huge virtue compared to the hustle and bustle of more frequently purchased (and undercut) items on the AH. So what I would do is hang onto it and keep it in your bazaar for your desired price (leave a price negotiation in your bazaar message if desired) and keep a close eye on the market. Wait for the perfect opportunity to put yours up and for optimal price to get you maximum payout. This rule applies to almost anything, but your patience will pay off for big ticket items such as Lu Shang's Fishing Rod.

I hope you don't get one-uped too many times when you go to put yours up on sale when there's none currently on auction. If that becomes a re-occuring trend, set the price to maybe 100k or so under your desired/average price to help yours generally fly first off the shelf.

<rant>
personally it chaps by butt when i get a item. o lets say a Maneater. on my server they sale for 295-300k each. i put it on the ah twice none sold in that time so i put it back up this time 5k lower then the lowest bid. hoping mine would sale.

what happens when i get on this morning? one sold for lower then mine from 295k to 280k. Banm now the price is going to bottom out. and it will fall and fall. people that super low bal lthe ah prices drive me insane!

LOL yah, i meant lu shnags, i was that pumped, didn't even realize what i was typing. Now, the last went for 3 even... just mine up.. /sigh

I'm just gonna give in.

cheers'

Again, the key is "reasonable" increase.

Undercutting is part of capitalism.

Some people value their time more than others, so are willing to take less in the tradeoff of time.

Others have figured out the fact that as soon as you have to relist something for failure to sell, you have severely cut into your profit margin. This is because of the AH listing fee (again, something in common with real life; you don't get to auction stuff off for free most of the time in RL either).

Example:

I've saved for Hagun for a long time. It goes on Odin for anywhere from 2.9-3.5M depending on the market conditions. In time, they WILL sell.

They will ALWAYS sell, but for how much depends a lot on who is shopping for one, how many are on the market, and the salesmanship of the sellers.

I have determined that I will not pay more than 3M for Hagun. I know that with patience, I can get one for that, because of the market.

Yesterday, there were 5 Hagun on the AH. The last one sold for 3.3M. I tried to bid at 3M and nothing.

5 Hagun on the AH at once is a lot.

As of this morning, there are now 4 on the AH and none sold, so one dropped out back to someone's D.Box.

Chances are if someone listed at 3.3M and it didn't sell, they will list it for less next time. This is especially true when there are still 4 on the AH. If they posted it at 3.3M, then they already paid a 5% surcharge at that rate just to list it.

3.3M - (3.3M * 5%) = 3.3M - 165k = 3.135M Net Profit

If they did the "despised" thing of undercutting to 3.2M, they are at:

3.2M - (3.2M * 5%) = 3.2M - 160k - 3.040M Net Profit

Stay with me, because here's where it all comes together.

The person who failed to sell at 3.3M is ALREADY out 165k for the failed sell attempt. Let's say they get desperate and list at 3M just to move it and cut their losses.

3M - (3M * 5%) - 165k = 3M - 150k - 165k = 2.685M Net Profit

Now I'm not a math wizard, and I don't run a private space program, but as far as I can tell:

3.040M > 2.685M

By not undercutting some in the first place to 3.2M, and trying to milk it for absolute maximum profit, the net result was a LOSS of 355k.

In defense of the first person to have it drop to their D.Box, theirs was the only one listed for almost 2 days, and now 4 other appeared. Why 4 additional people would try to sell when it's not moving at 3.3M is beyond me, ESPECIALLY if they are not trying to undercut.

If they want to just throw away 165k each, they can all just send it to my D.Box and I won't complain.

At the end of the day, you usually make more money as the seller by undercutting if you do it smartly, and in addition to that, why should you care about the other sellers? That is your COMPETITION.

If you were two potential employees both interviewing for the same job, wouldn't you want the edge to get you the position?

On lower ticket items though, say Angel Skin for example. It's in your interest to not undercut, simply because they will sell quickly. Angel Skin always does, relatively. Not to mention it's something people usually fish for on a regular basis. I see prices drop by 100k+ with only 5 on the AH, simply because people are too lazy.

Maybe they really need the gil, but some of the undercutters I know are anything but poor, and I see them down there a lot. I think this is something the OP is getting at too. It's kind of annoying when the undercut is unnecessary, since they sell too fast to have failures to sell without a large volume being on the AH.

Sure enough....

Since I posted a few hours ago 1 additional Hagun was listed or relisted, bringing it back to 5 listed on the AH.

One sells for 3.21M, 4 Still on AH.

Let the undercut wars commence!!!

BTW, if I got one at under 3M and the market was ripe to sell it at 3.3M, I still wouldn't do it because of the listing fee. In my opinion and with my wallet, the potential profit would not justify the opportunity cost to list it.

If someone has 100M and nothing better to do, then they can afford to risk 150-200k per item in speculative investment. Again, this is a great example of RL economics at play, and support for the old axiom: "It takes money to make money."