Absurd average prices (and how to deal with them)

CG - Belgium

Anyone else experiencing heavy fluctuations in average item prices.

I've noticed there are 2 or 3 shops who ask absurd high prices which influences the average price on items on which other shops (like myself) try to base themselves.

An example can be found in attached (9.99€ for a scuba regulator??? wtf???)

Also wondering if Brickowl can try and take absurd deviations out of the average unit price calculations and wondering how my collegue shops deal with this when setting their prices if based on averages.

Bkultima

funny, when you posted about the absurd prices i was thinking of the Portuguese store that charges insane amounts and has a really high minimum order

Calibrick

There are several threads here re the skews, including at least one that gets into problem-solving - contribute your thoughts to help fix this! :-) (it drives me buggy too <s>)

Pikka

That's exactly why I don't base my prices on the Current Average. Six Months Average is much better guide, because its based on real sales, but I always check if it is skewed. The part in question ( 6252074) is rather rare, as it comes with two minifigs only. Luckily, sets come with an extra piece which could be sold separately. I've checked the past BrickOwl sales (see image) and yes, there were people willing to pay more than the current average.

CG - Belgium

@ Pikka: Thanks Pikka for the tip. I use an weighed average based on all three averages (it usually puts my prices a little below avg) but I can throw that algorythm in the bin now hehe.

I know the part is rather rare indeed but that doesn't mean it has to cost 9.99 :-)
I also tend to pay more than average if I really need a certain part to complete sets I've bought but there are limits to it. patience is a virtue sometimes :-)


@Calibrick: I don't pass by the forum often so I must have missed earlier discussions. Don't have a problemsolving here except that Brickowl should be able to filter out extra high/low pricing to determine averages. They can even use a median or something....

@Bkultima : haha. About that minimum order. Buy 1 item there and you've reached it ;-)

Stellar

There are a group of stores that have very high prices for each part, but they are in a different market of buyers. These stores have almost every Lego piece anyone's need and they appear the first in the wanted list. It is a different game. 30 orders for them might be enough while other stores need various times that.

Pikka

As a rule of thumb I use... hmm, "optical average", so my store (PikkaBrikka) appears approximately in the middle of the list.

Graham

The answer, I believe, would be average(mean) + median divided by two

Or possibly include mode as well, altho that would be more difficult.

Unless it’s a new or retired part past sales is what is most useful

Hoddie

For the longest time I didn't understand what BO was telling me with its price tab. I get it now, and it's really not that complicated, but because of my misunderstanding I continued to use BL's pricing via BrickStock. Nowadays I use an Excel sheet that takes into account the scarcity of the part, what others are currently listed for, current pricing for both new and used, and qty average sale pricing for the condition I'm listing, all both from BL and BO. For the rare parts that nobody else seems to have, I also include Ebay sold listings (if any). At some point I'll get in on the API action and have it automate itself.

Calibrick

Lolol @pikka, that is what I use for minifigs usually!

JLRSextra

@Hoddie how do you keep all that data up to date?

Pikka

@Calibrick I price minifigs way above all Averages and try keeping eye on them. Nevertheless, quite often I receive a minifig order only to realize that its price went up, and my once overpriced minifigs are now a real bargain.

Calibrick

@Pikka, I have the same (non) problem... keeping up with the minifig and set pricing is super challenging when you avoid the averages. :-) I do price my parts a bit different, as those are my real bread and butter - I used to do current average less 9-15%, but as I've been restocking the past couple of years, I've been gradually manually adjusting items to more be an eyeball of showing up in the first third of listings (more toward top end of first third) against other US sellers. I don't want to race to the bottom (that just hurts us all), but I don't want to overcharge either. It makes price updates a nightmare though, which I haven't bothered to figure out how to do yet beyond the occasional +5% increments when the store is getting TOO overwhelming in orders for little ole me.

Pikka

@Calibrick I'm continuously in a process of adjusting my bricks' price. Think Whac-a-Mole!
Our black, white and gray parts are always in high demand – underpriced ones are easy to spot, as they often go out of stock and leave empty drawers. Red, green, yellow parts' prices are not that volatile and don't require much fiddling. But the real pain are vibrant, girly colors (from Friends sets), especially the recent ones (like Coral or Dark Turquoise). They aren't in great demand in our store, so they are out-of-sight, often inadvertently overpriced – and undersold. Lather, rinse, repeat!