Post Prices Please!

[CourseEight]

I've already stated my personal preference for seeing prices on Swap listings. That said, I don't think making a forum rule concerning how individuals can sell or trade is a good idea; the spectrum of possibilities makes it rather unenforcible anyway. And I'm sure there are less experienced sellers out there who would benefit from the offering process in the same way that inexperienced buyers would benefit from seeing prices of past sales.

However, I'd like to put out a few suggestions that may alleviate some transparency concerns while still maintaining fair value for the seller, and also may attract buyers like myself that shy away from the offering process. While it is often unclear what the market value is of a piece, normally someone selling an item has either a price below which they would not sell, or a price which they would take regardless of what they can get. In the former, a statement such as "accepting offers above $X.XX" would both preserve the ability to go higher and also give forumites an order of magnitude estimate of the value of the piece. Even auctions have an opening bid. In the latter, starting with a very high price and including the "or best offer" tag would serve a similar role.

Finally for those members who are interested in furthering the education of their fellow forumites, it would be nice if the final price of the sale were posted, although of course not necessarily the person who bought it.

Just my thoughts,

--Radleigh