a tiny rant/question on selling Mosaics for profit

[Ron S]

  AllenLowe said:

your mother sows socks that smell -

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR ALLEN HAS DONE???

[AllenLowe]

now wait a minute - I just thought of something - the SUPPLY of jazz is HUGE - I mean, everybody and his brother has got a CD out, there's musicians in every town, big bands, small bands, high schools, colleges, here there and everywhere, there's web sites, magazines, Amazon, jazz clubs, you name it, in the US, in Europe, in Eastern Europe - but the DEMAND is small - look at the industry numbers, the percentage of jazz releases sold - so the PRICES should be excessively low - and that guy should be GIVING that Nat Cole box away -

class dimissed -

Edited February 10, 2005 by AllenLowe

[AfricaBrass]

I was thinking about this thread yesterday and this thought occurred to me; maybe the high prices of used Mosaic sets DO increase the supply.

For example, I have the Larry Young set and I also have all the individual albums from it (except for 1 or 2). The fact that the set often sells for around $300 bucks has been a real temptation for me to sell it. I figure, if that's what people are paying, then I am well within my rights to sell it.

You may call me greedy, but most people who know me would say that I'm the exact opposite of that. If I could sell my set for $300, just think of the great CDs I could pick up.

There's a big difference when a store raises the price of food during a crisis and someone selling their Mosaic set at a nice profit. The difference is that people need to buy the food or milk for survival, yet buying the Mosaic set is a luxury, not a necessity.

[John L]

  AllenLowe said:

now wait a minute - I just thought of something - the SUPPLY of jazz is HUGE - I mean, everybody and his brother has got a CD out, there's musicians in every town, big bands, small bands, high schools, colleges, here there and everywhere, there's web sites, magazines, Amazon, jazz clubs, you name it, in the US, in Europe, in Eastern Europe - but the DEMAND is small - look at the industry numbers, the percentage of jazz releases sold - so the PRICES should be excessively low - and that guy should be GIVING that Nat Cole box away -

class dimissed -

Unfortunately, in this case the "price" is the wage that jazz musicians are paid.

[AllenLowe]

and they're worth every penny - literally -

[Ron S]

  AfricaBrass said:

You may call me greedy, but most people who know me would say that I'm the exact opposite of that.

I know you (sort of), and I agree--you're incredibly generous. So how about selling me that Larry Young set for only $30?

[AfricaBrass]

  Ron S said:

  AfricaBrass said:

You may call me greedy, but most people who know me would say that I'm the exact opposite of that.

I know you (sort of), and I agree--you're incredibly generous. So how about selling me that Larry Young set for only $30?

Heck... I'm not stupid!

I'm talking about the idea that there's nothing wrong with selling something you have if there are people willing to pay it and the price makes it worth selling.

I wouldn't sell it for $200; it's worth more than that to me.

This is my point, why would anyone sell their Mosaic set ten years after it went out of print, for the price they paid. Unless they really need the money, there's no incentive IMO. I believe the higher prices pry some sets out of their owners hands.

[AllenLowe]

so basically they are selling it only because the money is irresistable - not because they need the money, or because it's worth the money, or even because they want to sell it -

class dismissed (that's if anybody is still in attendance) - .

[Brad]

I like AB's point that the high prices encourage demand and thus supply. But what encourages that demand and thus the supply? The fact that it's a very limited commodity, which everybody seems to be glossing over. Oil is not scarce. The retired Mosaic commodity is not generally available and there are few sellers. You may have less than 10 out of a possible 5,000 (or less if the license ran out) at any given time. Since there are so few and people who missed out or newcomers want them, because it is limited the price will go up and this will encourage sales. However, as most ebay buyers will know that if you have 2 or 3 auctions of the same Mosaic going at once, the price will drop because you have more to choose from. This rarely happens because sellers are not stupid so supply will be limited and demand greater and prices higher.

Class back in session.

[Ron S]

  AllenLowe said:

class dismissed (that's if anybody is still in attendance) - .

Allen, I can never get enough of your seminars:

[AllenLowe]

I should never have allowed open-enrollment -

[Brad]

I think we should all meet to discuss Mosaic and economic theories and then proceed to get stone drunk

[Ron S]

  AllenLowe said:

I should never have allowed open-enrollment -

Well, I'm here on scholarship.

[Ron S]

  Brad said:

I think we should all meet to discuss Mosaic and economic theories and then proceed to get stone drunk

Agreed. And I think we should do it at Allen's place, so we can listen to all the rare OP Mosaics he has stashed under his bed.

[AfricaBrass]

  AllenLowe said:

so basically they are selling it only because the money is irresistable - not because they need the money, or because it's worth the money, or even because they want to sell it -

class dismissed (that's if anybody is still in attendance) - .

That's not what I'm saying.

A person can sell whatever they want for whatever reason they want.

But... If the incentive is there, one might be more willing to part with something if the price is high enough. I'd never pay $50 a cd for a set, but if someone is willing to do so, what's wrong with selling?

You can lob the word greed around all you want, but to me, money is a resource. I enjoy the set, but I also have most of the albums in other reissues. So... it works out that the two albums that are in the set (that I don't have duplicates of) end up being worth $150/each for me to keep. In that case, it's probably a good move to sell the set. I could take that money and buy 30 RVG's or something.

I think it's obnoxious to call people greedy if they end up making a profit. You seem to forget the free will aspect of this. The buyer has every right not to buy the item at the high prices. There are many Mosaic sets that I'd like, but missed out on, but there's no way I'm going to pay the inflated price.

It comes down to this, Mosaic sets are a luxury. Nobody needs one to survive. They are purchased by choice. Nobody holds a gun to your head and makes you hit the "Buy It Now" button.

I don't need a Mosaic set to get to work. I need gasoline. I think what the energy companies have done in the last decade is appalling, but the two really aren't related.

It's a case need vs. want.