I have two items up for sale that are a bargain, but they aren't selling.

The Propella bike I'm selling cost $1100 plus tax. It has less than 10 miles on it, plus I added a custom seat and a stem extender. It's been sitting at $950 on FBM and CL for 6 weeks. The counter on FBM shows only one or two people per week even look at it.

I've had a brand new 5 foot, 3 point hitch scraper blade up on FBM and CL for 4 weeks. Costs $599 plus tax at Tractor Supply. I'm asking $550 and no sales tax, haven't gotten a single response.

I'm not desperate to sell these things, so I'm not lowering the price for now. I can sit on them for a year if I have to.

Another thing is consumers will be paying for increased electricity costs for AI data centers. So not only can AI take your job, you will pay more for electricity so that it can.

Imo, I don’t think a bargain is 91 cents on the dollar.

true, some projections I’ve seen for AI power demands over the next 5-10 years is crazy. More than a couple companies are working on modular nuclear setups to be installed on site, along with other options. The current grid can’t handle the surges of demand from these data centers either, even if the overall power requirements are there. Entire industries are being built just to power data centers, it’s kind of crazy….

I don't either.

Through the summer, the solar panels on my current home generate enough to run our whole house. The power company has doubled the amount they charge for delivery. So even when I'm producing a surplus, I owe them money.
The new house will be 100% solar, but i'm sure the power company will find some way to charge me to pay for AI.

Many years ago in a thread with tabby, I posted about the Cantillon effect.
A 18th C economist saw it. It has taken a while but it is becoming noticeable to everyone now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1755104310.jpg


While Friedman’s argument sheds light on many failed economic policies from the latter half of the 20th century, it doesn’t explain the mechanics behind rising price levels (from inflationary policy) once the newly created money travels through the economy, sector by sector.

Contextualizing the Cantillon Effect
Richard Cantillon first suggested in 1755 that money is not as neutral as we think. He argued that money injection—what we could consider inflationary policies—may not change an economy’s output over the long-term. However, the process of readjustment affects different sectors of the economy differently. This analysis, known as the Cantillon Effect, serves as the foundation for the non-neutrality of money theories.
https://fee.org/articles/the-cantillon-effect-because-of-inflation-we-re-financing-the-financiers/



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Priced too low? Or priced right? There's a difference. I could have asked more and negotiated, but I hate wasting time. Price it right, it sells. I know the adage "sold it fast, sold it cheap" very well. I was able to not only have professional appraisals at my disposal, but my 10 years of experience as a Realtor allowed me to do my own market analysis. The wooded parcel is for hunting and future home. The 16 acres will be farmed and at some point developed. The 22 acres will be farmed.

My local private golf course has 100 people on the wait list, $10k deposit to get on the list, another $50k to join if there's an opening.

This year there were five openings, the first five people declined to join (meaning they go to the bottom of the list). That's never happened, people always paid up and joined previously.

People are either short of cash or worried.

What's the sales tax in Ohio? Did you factor that? Here at 10.25% AND priced at -10% is a good deal for the guy that is needing it. Possibly when the snow comes this will look like a deal.

I have 3 comments regarding CEO Pay:

1) Pay started increasing when the SEC made it a requirement to list the top 5 highest paid in the company. All this did was cause executives to demand more money as someone else was getting paid higher. Publishing compensation became a benchmark system.

2) We keep raising min wage to help the lower income afford more. However, raising the minimum wage gets passed onto the prices and soon, the low paid cannot afford the new prices. In my past job, Planning & Budgeting for a large chain, I had a $200 million payroll budget. When minimum wage increased, my budget stayed the same and so I had to cut positions to meet my goals.

3) I suggest that companies can pay their executives anything they want - even if it is $15mil per year. HOWEVER, the maximum tax deduction for any employee should be capped (say $150k).

Unless I am absolutely desperate (e.g. 100 degree heat and my window AC unit failed) I don't even look at items that more than 50% of list price. I don't consider anything over 50% any kind of 'bargain'.

Midwest is usually half that amount for state sales tax. Quick Google search shows 5.75%.

MI is 6%...OH would be close to that.

The state tax is 5.75%. Each county and municipality adds their own sales tax to that. In our county the total is 7.25%.
You would be nuts turn down a $550 Craig's List blade and pay $640 for one at TSC just because the Craig’s List price isn’t $300.

IDK. I'll wait for the item to go on sale, or talk down a scratch and dent in person. Too much risk buying a used item at near retail w/o a warranty.

Yes, priced too low. You gave up money for convenience, and there is nothing wrong with that. Housing market here is sort of coming back down a bit. Still a lot of stuff sitting vacant. I guess it is not costing the banks enough to carry the note.
There is a country club right down the street from my office. Up until about 20 years ago, there was a wait list to become a member. Then, there was a takeover of the board by new members, who wanted to turn the course into something most did not want, closed it for years for remodeling, pursued hosting of tournaments, a lot of things that were contrary to what the members wanted. Now, there is a waiting list to cancel your membership. They have offered to waive their initiation fees and are still not bringing in new members.

Threads will drift and since it's about economy, I guess that includes discussion of private sale used goods. Patrick can always negotiate. I'm with him, keep the price in the range that precludes flippers. When someone replies in all seriousness, let the negotiations begin.

I used to think that I could say price is firm but IDT that is a way to attract buyers. Even if you do someone will still say, "What's the least you'll take?" All kinds of smart ass answers but if you're trying to sell something, put something on the table.

If I'm correct, the majority of the world negotiates. Maybe not Walmart, Costco, or McDonald's, but in the market place all the way up to diamonds, negotiation is the norm. In L.A. a huge portion of the population is foreign born or raised by FB. This is their culture and it spread. We have always "negotiated" for new cars. Seldom does the dealer put one out a wee bit over wholesale. They do, but try and buy it. But those are al new goods.

A one-off item is not a very good gauge of the economy. I've got a better one, a Rockwell/Delta Unisaw, They have been continuously made since 1938. There are a lot of them for sale at any time. Just a few years ago a ratty one was hard to come by at 600, especially equipped with a single phase motor. Most pushed 1000. Lately I could have had my choice of a few at 400 that weren't bad at all. I sold mine 3 years ago for 600 with a Beisemeyer fence. A new BF is 400. The cast iron top was flawless. That was market price at the time. Now it's not.

As I said in another thread, the classic car market has lost value. There is no concrete study that I will quote or buy into, but I will acknowledge that in the main, it's now a buyer's market. Quite a few examples will always be the exception.

Where does this go? I have no idea, but who are we talking about? The middle class? The majority that can barely claim to be middle class? There's absolutely no point in talking about anyone considering a '73 Carrera RS lightweight. That is no barometer of the economy. A table saw is.

Every week around here a small shop is closing just like the small stores across America when Walmart decided to build a store on the outskirts.

I'll say this and still stay out of PARF. I have lived through at least 7 significant recessions, one that they almost officially call a depression. They come fairly quick sometimes, but not w/o early signs. They all take a long time to crawl out of. There is solid truth that the pendulum swings slowly.

You know Tabs was gonna be right someday. He had the entire history of the world behind him. He just couldn't wait. All of his predictions will materialize but they may not do so in the proportions or timing that he dictated.

"Tabs...Tabs...Tabs"

He once told me to say his name three times and he would reappear.

I don't want to go too far into this but I didn't give up any money. I got market value for the property without having to pay a realtor a commission to do it. I've mentioned "value" multiple times. Value can be real or perceived. In the case of property for sale by owner, people tend to think that a person is offering a property for less than a Realtor might offer it for sale.