Fair Market Value for Mugs (et al) - Collecting Tiki

T TikiJosh Member Joined: Feb 01, 2005 Posts: 735	T TikiJosh Posted posted on Tue, May 16, 2006 12:50 PM One of the things I consider is whether the convenience of getting it an antique shop is worth the extra price-- what I call the convenience mark-up. It happens whenever you buy from a person who's trying to earn a living-- antique stores are a great example. Here's an example of a recent purchase of mine-- I just bought an Orchids of Hawaii X-Eyes Ku mug the other day-- http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=62 average going price on Ooga Mooga is about $13. I don't know if that includes people's shipping expenses. I assume that it doesn't. Figure the shipping and insurance would cost at least $5. Assuming that the Ooga-mooga prices don't include shipping, if you add that to a $13 price, you're up to $18. The mug I bought the other day cost me $20. Compared to $13, I overpaid quite a bit. But if you figure in shipping, I really only overpaid about $2. But I also figure that you're paying for the convenience of having someone else locate and purchase the mug from whatever estate/garage sale they found it at. All I had to do was go to the antique store. I didn't have to drive all over California trying to find one at a garage sale, and I also didn't have to spend time looking for it on Ebay. Not that searching Ebay is hard, but it's one less thing to worry about. Like everyone else has said too-- it's only worth what you're willing to pay. For a Fireside Moai, it's a cool mug, maybe a little pricey at your local store, but I always ask myself how much will I save by purchasing on Ebay? The other question I ask myself is how much Ebay hassle am I willing to endure to save some cash? What are the chances I'm going to have problems with this seller? I take a look at feedback and consider the following: What if the seller stiffs me? What if the mug arrives damaged? Based on feedback, what are the odds of those things happening? The other thing I always consider now-- am I going to have buyer's remorse after buying this item for x-amount of money? I know it sounds crazy, but I pass on stuff I know that I have no use for. If it's not a great addition to my collection, I think twice about it. I guess the best advice I can give is not to be too impulsive. Think it through. Determine how much you really want a particular item before you run up to the counter and buy it. Some things, like the seahorse, are no brainers. A $30 Fireside? Maybe give it a second thought. You ultimately need to decide whether the price is more than you're willing to spend. Sometimes it is. But that's where you have to make your own decision.

One of the things I consider is whether the convenience of getting it an antique shop is worth the extra price-- what I call the convenience mark-up. It happens whenever you buy from a person who's trying to earn a living-- antique stores are a great example.

Here's an example of a recent purchase of mine--
I just bought an Orchids of Hawaii X-Eyes Ku mug the other day--
http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=62
average going price on Ooga Mooga is about $13. I don't know if that includes people's shipping expenses. I assume that it doesn't. Figure the shipping and insurance would cost at least $5. Assuming that the Ooga-mooga prices don't include shipping, if you add that to a $13 price, you're up to $18.
The mug I bought the other day cost me $20. Compared to $13, I overpaid quite a bit. But if you figure in shipping, I really only overpaid about $2.

But I also figure that you're paying for the convenience of having someone else locate and purchase the mug from whatever estate/garage sale they found it at. All I had to do was go to the antique store. I didn't have to drive all over California trying to find one at a garage sale, and I also didn't have to spend time looking for it on Ebay. Not that searching Ebay is hard, but it's one less thing to worry about.

Like everyone else has said too-- it's only worth what you're willing to pay. For a Fireside Moai, it's a cool mug, maybe a little pricey at your local store, but I always ask myself how much will I save by purchasing on Ebay? The other question I ask myself is how much Ebay hassle am I willing to endure to save some cash? What are the chances I'm going to have problems with this seller? I take a look at feedback and consider the following: What if the seller stiffs me? What if the mug arrives damaged? Based on feedback, what are the odds of those things happening?

The other thing I always consider now-- am I going to have buyer's remorse after buying this item for x-amount of money? I know it sounds crazy, but I pass on stuff I know that I have no use for. If it's not a great addition to my collection, I think twice about it.

I guess the best advice I can give is not to be too impulsive. Think it through. Determine how much you really want a particular item before you run up to the counter and buy it. Some things, like the seahorse, are no brainers. A $30 Fireside? Maybe give it a second thought.
You ultimately need to decide whether the price is more than you're willing to spend. Sometimes it is. But that's where you have to make your own decision.

Post #232308 by TikiJosh on Tue, May 16, 2006 12:50 PM