Soaker Prices

Buy, sell, trade, or discuss prices of Super Soakers and water guns here. (For members only)
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DX
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Post by DX » Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:01 pm

This article is not intended to offend anyone nor start up an argument. It does, however, portray a viewpoint contrary to the widely accepted practices used today, as do most of my articles.

Introduction: We have all seen that CPS 2000 going for $200 on Ebay. You've probably seen an MXL reach $150. You've read guides that suggest what to bid and how much a soaker is "worth." I am not calling those guides "wrong" or trying to disprove them, but I am trying to inform the public that there are other ways to look at pricing.

Value of a soaker: A typical CPS 2500 is commonly considered worth $60-90. However, that is just what it can sell for. THAT GUN IS IN NO WAY WORTH $60-90. Another example; A CPS 2000 can sell for $200. II IS NOT WORTH THAT MUCH EITHER. Why not? Those high prices are a result of inflation brought about via unnatural causes. Regular supply and demand would have prices be lower. Several rich bidders who are willing to pay anything for good guns are shaking up the whole system. Sellers take note of CPS 2000 auctions with high prices. "If that person got such I good price, I should, too." Now it is widely accepted that a 2000 is worth up to $200.

Inflation: In my very honest opinion, you should take the top price a soaker can fetch and divide it by 2. That number is the highest that you should really pay for it. I'm not joking. The ignorant masses rarely stop to question whether a soaker is REALLY worth those dang high prices. The smart buyer will stop at a certain price, a reasonable price, like $50 for a CPS 2000. The leads me to my 2nd point: You can always find the gun you want for a cheap price. Again, not joking. Most people don't bother to really dig deep into the available resources. With real determination and patience, you will get that huge CPS gun for a reasonable, if not outright cheap-price.

I hope you got something out of that, even if you think I'm terribly wrong. Using common sense about pricing, I've saved $200 on water guns.
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Post by ANNIHILATOR 2 » Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:20 pm

Nice presentation of your viewpoint.

My thoughts to the whole ebay sale thing is, if I'm not mistaken, the price/sale guides on the forums are more of a "collectors worth". If or if not its worth the cash, is up to the individual. The actual market worth would be retail, and actual worth would be production cost. These would be the 3 categories(collector,retail, production worth) to measure a market efficiently. Anything else would be just non-statistic subjective taste.

Of course its always good to get something much cheaper than what it goes for usually, but if guides have to map out a market version, they have to take stats from what something usually goes for, not what would be ideal.
One has to inform potential sellers what that plastic toy in the garage is worth on ebay. Its a shame if they would sell a CPS 2000 for a $5.99 "Buy it Now". Knowing and stressing the inflated prices is relevant.

Last year when I sold my MXLs for $135-$145 each, some dude was emailing me before and said" I give you $60 bucks for it including shipping. No water gun is worth that much." I send him 25 links of past MXLs that went over $100, and he kept his pie hole shut and didn't respond anymore. It was a good thing I stayed with the collectors worth. The guides with the inflated prices are not just there to inform buyers, but to inform and protect sellers from cheap bidders. Sellers sell on ebay to pay for bills and other unpleasant payments. At the end, thats more relevant than someone wanting cheap summer fun with toy rarities.
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Spinner
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Post by Spinner » Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:29 am

Interesting article, Duxburian. However, my viewpoint is more in line with A2's: it is up to the individual to decide how much they want the soaker.

Supply and demand is one of the simplest economic models, and although it has its shortcomings, it is certainly applicable to this situation. Low supply of MXLs/CPS 2000s + high demand for them = high prices. Simple as that. The "worth" of a CPS 2500/CPS 2000 is dependant on the market situation. Just because you think it's not that great as a gun doesn't mean that the general market follows you and will pay heed.

If you are wily on eBay, you sometimes can get a good gun for a good price. However, don't count on it by any means. Treat it as a piece of good fortune rather than expecting it. eBay is an expensive place to get CPS guns: sellers and buyers are both trying to make best use of it.
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perilous1
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Post by perilous1 » Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:50 pm

I don't use ebay, but I agree with your viewpoint. The price that a gun was sold at should be inflated to the price that it would be at if it was sold in stores today.
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NiborDude
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Post by NiborDude » Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:05 pm

Duxburian has been lucky on eBay a couple times in getting guns he wants for a low price. saying that since you have been lucky does not mean everyone else will have the same luck. If someone is willing to pay 200 dollars for a super soaker, then so be it. It's not fair to everyone else, but hey, whoever can come up with the money is the winner. Deal with it.

Edit: Thats why its called an auction.
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DX
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Post by DX » Tue Apr 19, 2005 12:39 am

Duxburian has been lucky on eBay a couple times in getting guns he wants for a low price. saying that since you have been lucky does not mean everyone else will have the same luck. If someone is willing to pay 200 dollars for a super soaker, then so be it. It's not fair to everyone else, but hey, whoever can come up with the money is the winner. Deal with it.

Edit: Thats why its called an auction.
I know that you disagree with every article, practically every long post I make, but you aren't seeing the actual point of this one. I know that I can't really affect the buying patterns of the public, nor sway public opinion against inflating prices on Ebay. That's simply not the point of the article, and it's not possible. The deep-down point is to educate the public that the way things are going is stupid, that there are better options. People accept what the system is like now, who bothers to challenge the given and offer better alternatives? I do. Alone, as it usually turns out. My views won't directly change anything. But by educating and informing, you can at least get those who read it something to think about. None of my articles are meant to change anything. A soakerdom-wide boycott on Hasbro would never happen. Teams will continue to be structured in old, ineffective ways. Range advantage will never mean anything. The point of all of these articles has been the same. Reform Never Really Works. But you can get people thinking, and maybe a few will implement the suggestions. Over time, if someone remembers one of the old articles, hey, that means something. Writing it wasn't pointless if the advice is seen, read, and at least thought about. So, you may think that writing these articles has no point, that it will never change anything, and you are pretty much right. But there is power in written language. There is also power in idealism. Remember that my ideas are not meant to change anything, but rather to inform the masses that the accepted systems could really use change, and here's how you could do it.
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NiborDude
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Post by NiborDude » Tue Apr 19, 2005 1:02 am

Every idea has it's doubter. And being me, I disagree with you a lot on several things. I know you can get people thinking, and that's why when I post, I get them thinking too. Accept, the opposite. I do agree that prices are ridiculous. I do agree some people take the benefits of their income by buying every soaker they can. I just see a lot of flaws in your argument. Part of which is the fact that I hear it a lot more than the people on the forums.
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DX
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Post by DX » Tue Apr 19, 2005 1:09 am

Well, I can't ignore certain things that I have no chance of changing, like you have suggested before. I was meant to protest/suggest reform. It's just something in me. I don't mind that people disagree with my articles, but it gets annoying when you have to tear everything I write apart.
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