Reselling Advice?

[Impecunious]

I'm not sure if this is in the right section, so I apologize if it isn't.

 

Alright, I just need some advice. I have been playing Neopets on and off for nearly a decade now, but I've never been incredibly rich. I recently returned after a long hiatus and had to create a new account. I was able to go from 5k nps to 1 million nps in one month from buying and selling Codestones (and getting a couple lucky random events along the way), but I've just recently tried delving into dealing with HTS items. The profit is nicer, so it can allow me to grow my bank account even faster, although with more risk.

 

I've been doing well so far, but I've been noticing an increasingly common problem. Maybe it's just because of my inexperience, but I'm finding that many of the items I buy drop in price shortly after I start trying to sell them. I have gotten most of them cheap enough that I can still make a profit even with the falling prices (as long as they don't fall further), but of course it's significantly less than I would have made otherwise.

 

The most harmful example was when I bought a Skree in auction for 190k. At the time, there were about 5 or 6 lots in the TP, and the price was hovering around 350k. So I put mine in for about that and started trying to sell it. Within days, more lots started popping up with lower and lower prices, so I was forced to lower mine to 300k. Then more lots continued to show, decreasing the price even more. Yesterday I was finally able to sell it for 200k, so I was still able to make a small profit, but it was discouraging to see the item continue to plummet.

 

I try only to offer on items that have at least a couple of them priced in the TP, and everything I buy is R97+, so it's not that I'm buying low rarity items. But still this happens.

 

I guess my main question is: are there any warning signs that an item may be inflated and could possibly drop in price soon? Or will I just have to learn in time the general price for different items so I can spot inflation/deflation?

[linda]

Well I sold an item that was apparently "worth" 20 mil ish for 1mil. Then just 5 minutes after I advertised and sold it for an mp worth 1mil, the item's price suddenly dropped to 100k! o_O I think it has to do with luck, and many people advertising on the boards.

 

E.g. the fire clipboard? worth 25mil apparently before. Well it was totally inflated because TNT made it so. I think they felt that a clipboard shouldn't be worth that, so they suddenly sold 3 of them (least I saw) in the stationery shop for only 500np o_O.

[stephie23]

It depends on quantity as well, and how popular a specific item is at a time (look at the bonju book that 4 days ago sold for 1-2 mill, and 8 days ago sold for 1000np)

 

Then theres the people who drive prices up OR down by artificially inflating/deflating. They buy up a TON of a specific item then set it much higher. Or sometimes they have a ton of an item and they put it in their shop at a much lower price (say they put in 100) then other people who want to sell fast put their price lower .. and thats how it defltates...