I'm probably going to be a lone wolf on this one, but I'm sure getting tired of selling some of my stuff. Let me explain. I grew up before the Internet, before computers, before DVDs, before CDS, before cassettes and 8 track. I even remember 4 track tapes. Black and white TV was common and learning a magic secret was reserved for a chosen few. I remember saving for a year to buy the one or two books that would come out. It was a time when the secrets and props were truly treasured and appreciated (although there still was a lot of junk out there).

Today, everything comes so easily that many (not all) of our younger 'brethren' really have little to no respect in this regard. I have decided to sell things from time to time and do my best to set a fair market value for the item(s). Collectors contact me and have no problem. Serious practitioners contact me and there is no problem. But I'm finding more and more magicians who want to pay 70% or more below the retail cost. Of course that's their right and I wish them well. However, it really irritates me to no end to see this happening.

I personally have decided I will destroy my stuff before I sell it that low. It's the principle for me. I'm wondering if any others have similar feelings or am I 'out of touch'. I also don't download stuff from torrent sites. My son thinks I'm out of touch.

I am with you Steven.

If interested persons desire materials that are important and valuable within our Art,they should be prepared to pay the price for said materials.

I also agree that we must all plan for the respectful dispersement of our books and other materials...if and when the time comes.

Like you,I would rather have my materials burned...than have them wind up in unworthy hands.

Steven:

Having bought a couple of items from you, I certainly hope you don't include me in that group

I agree with your principle. Many developers have admitted to inflating their prices in order to keep only those dedicated professionals from obtaining their items. I am reminded of the old farmer who originally sold his land to my family. He wouldn't sell to just anyone. He made sure he knew my father's intent, his character, his values. In this day and age of magic retailers, that is gone. But as individual sellers, we CAN control that standard.
My situation over the last year, coupled with my particular "calling" has required me to be conservative with my funds. But I would never extort that fact to "bargain." It's simply the constriction in which I must exist at the moment.

So, at least for now, we as informal sellers "reserve the right to refuse service" to those that don't meet our criteria. For now...

Steve,

You're not in that group at all. The sale wouldn't have gone through if you were a part of it.

Also, I'm a big believer in the law of supply and demand. I'm also a big supporter of pricing for one's particular market. That's why we have Kia's, Ford's, and BMW's. If you can only a afford a kia, so be it. That's fine. My issue is with the people that want a nice BMW for the price of a used Kia. (And no offense to those Kia owners...they have a market too.)

Steven I agree with your reasoning but we all like a "bargain" myself included. The only issue I see though is you cant sell higher than anyone else for a very similiar item. In other words, take dvd's for example. They only average (most not all of them) around the $10 mark with shipping included. So to sell a common dvd for more than that is becoming harder to do here on the Café. So that leaves 2 options- keep it or lower the selling price. Just my thoughts.

Could not agree with you more. I'd rather watch it all burn that give some cheapskate punk the satisfaction of owning something and not appreciating it...

Sorry, but burning DVDs and books is anathema to me. Rather than do that, why not just hold on to them? Pack them away somewhere. You never know, in the future you may be glad you didn't get rid of a certain item or two.

I don't have the room. After 40 years of collecting this stuff, two bedrooms, one garage and two storage units, plus stuff all over the house. Time to simplify.

Darn, Steve, your house sounds as bad as mine!

Have you considered giving the items to young upcoming magicians who can not afford them? This is what I do rather than selling items to cheap guys who could adford the apparatus and books. It's better than burning the stuff.
MR

Father Photius,

Our homes may be bad, but they're nothing compared to Steve Thomas' home. He has pictures posted somewhere. I think the difference is my stuff is in boxes and all of his stuff is on display.

Maybe it's an issue of your original pricing.

Go to Tijuana, for example, and you will see how the experts deal with the american penchant for a great deal. They have their stuff marked up so much, that even the most hardened bargain-meister eventually feels embarrassed to try going lower. . .

Sadly, the American public has been conditioned to 'over-pricing' for so long they honestly believe everything can be bargained for. They aslo purchase form eMail Spam -- like finding a burgler in you home and letting him go becasue he has a bunch of "great deals" on watches up his arm. Any concept that there might be something ethically wrong with re-selling DVD's is lost in our 'gimmie' world. In one of my businesses I posted a sign, "Do to continued complaints we no longer offer free services." Even "free" is up for barter.

Sorry, but that's "due to."

Ray Haining, editor-at-large.

"Due to " Good catch, funny how we read things but don't always see them.

Those who buy BMW's for Kia-prices don't respect their investments as much. Those who pay less (or nothing) for secrets don't respect them, either.

It's my hope that torrent-downloaders don't use the secrets they've stolen. I know a few young guys who've admitted to me that guilt keeps them from using the information they've illicitly attained.

Please let me know where I can get a BMW for a Kia price, the point being that if something can only be resold for a price much cheaper than the original, it probably wasn't worth much to begin with and was originally over-priced.

Steve-

Do you indicate your prices as "firm"? If not, doing this may help,,,