Leaving Something on the Table

Today was a landmark day: today I sold my very first item on eBay — actually, it was my very first item sold anywhere. I had always wanted to know what it felt like to be on the merchant’s side of commerce; and today I had the chance to find out.

It was pretty unexpected stuff. I had only put up the listing for an hour before receiving a call from a potential buyer, who would after just three hours become the proud owner of what was my mom’s Sony Ericsson W902 mobile phone.

I had put considerable thought into my eBay listing. I researched what others were selling similar phones for (e.g. same phone model in a similar condition and with the same or similar accessories), figured out the minimum price it was being sold for, took $12 off this minimum and used that as my selling price. It was my way of “leaving something on the table“, something I learned from Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame.

With the $12 you save from buying from me instead of my closest competitors, I wrote, you may treat yourself and/or your loved one to a decent meal, donate the money to charity, or do whatever else you might want with it. The buyer thought it was funny; I certainly thought so too.