So I cleaned out the shed recently and unearthed a few bits and pieces that were just taking up shelf real estate. And rather than turf them in the bin and create even more landfill, I popped them up on Facebook Marketplace to flog them off for less than the average cost of a pretty average bottle of beer.
The problem I’ve found though is that the cheaper I’ve gone, the more questions that come my way and the less people actually buy it, even though it’s dirt cheap. Like the price you dictate is somehow correlated to the level of time wasting questions.
Einstein had the theory of relativity. Newton discovered Gravity. Now, today, I bid you welcome welcome to my revelation, the law of Facebook Marketplace pricing…
$5-$10 seems to be the magic Facebook Marketplace lucky number for going round in circles
Yes after sorting out my ever growing pile of shed shame into various containers (one for outdoor stuff, one for tools, one for computer bits and bobs and one for car stuff) it turns out I had a couple of things left over from my limited Subaru ownership experience. And since I wasn’t going to run out and buy another Subi anytime soon, nor did I know anyone who had one, I figured I’d just pop them up on Facebook Marketplace and wait for the bargain loving bits crowd to come flooding in. Yes usually anything related to Facebook Marketplace cars can be incredibly hit and miss but spare coin is spare coin and sorely needed at the moment.
Cue the crickets and then the questions quite a while after that.
THE HEAD UNIT
Since my Mazda 6 has it’s own factory stereo that plays burnt CDs and comes with Bluetooth to my phone, this one I bought for the Subi now needs a new home.
It’s up on Facebook Marketplace for $150 with everything that came out of the factory box.
However since it isn’t priced between 5 to 10 dollars, I haven’t had a single strange question about it.
(I haven’t managed to sell it either, but that’s another story entirely.)
THE HEAD UNIT PLUG SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR SUBARU
The plug I had to buy for the head unit above though? Well that’s a different story.
Sold my Subaru but kept the head unit I installed. This is the aeropro wiring harness that connects up to the aerpro head unit harness, then connects to your Subaru plugs so you don’t have to cut and solder any factory wiring. So yes, it’s one part of the two part wiring harness and made for Subaru models. Any questions please ask.
-My Facebook marketplace ad
There’s been a bit of interest on this $10 plug, none that have actually led to anything resembling a sale though. Plenty of questions though as expected.
-Does it fit this different model of Subaru? (I’m not a Subaru technician, maybe check the website)
-Does it fit this head unit? Picture included. (Er no, this is the harness that connects to the harness you buy for your head unit)
-So I need to buy another harness that connects to this harness? (Yes, as explained)
Maybe I should buy just one harness that does it all? (Okay, good luck in your search.)
-Does this fit cars that aren’t Subaru? (Wait, what?)
-Is this still available? (The Facebook Marketplace classic)
THE CHINESE KNOCK SENSOR THAT DIDN’T FIT (EDIT: NOW SOLD!!)
I won’t bore you with what a knock sensor in a car does (although I can explain more over here at the car blog), suffice to say that the original one in my old car died. A genuine one was a sniff over $200, a non genuine half the price. And so in the interest of saving money, you can guess which one I bought.
…which ended up dying a few months down the track anyway. #quality
So I bought this one instead, courtesy of Aliexpress. Since I was selling the car anyway, I figured having a working knock sensor might be a worthwhile addition. And at less than $30 for what was probably the same as the non genuine I bought initially and a couple of weeks wait, what could possibly go wrong here?
A different plug for starters. Like trying to smash a square peg into a round hole, this wasn’t about to go into a Subaru plug it wasn’t built for without issue. And rather than hack it to pieces and try to make it fit, I figure it’d be wiser to leave it out. And now sell it through Facebook Marketpace, for the low price of $5, a twentieth of what a genuine one would set you back.
However…
-Even though it’s five bucks, a couple of people have asked ‘How much?’
-What car does it fit? Is another popular question. The answer of course is ‘Not mine’ and ‘Compare the plug with the one you have to see if it fits’ but that seems too much like hard work for just five dollars.
-Is this for Turbo? No idea, I listed my non turbo car in the ad, maybe that’s a clue?
-Still available? Yes, yes it is.
(A week later) Where pick up?
It’s there, like the price, in the ad, twice. How baked do you have to be to miss it?
(I told them, they never showed anyway)
-This is in Albury yes?
Yes.
Albury NSW?
Yes
Thanks, I’ll let you know!
(Never heard from him since. Maybe he was hoping for a different Albury?)
Update: I can happily report, this has finally sold. The buyer however contacted me the day before I had to go down to Melbourne for nasal surgery and the last thing I needed to do was delay my trip to try and make an extra five bucks.
To his credit though, he turned up an hour earlier than promised, money in hand and he had done his homework in making sure he was buying the right part. John, you’re a rarity in the Facebook Marketplace and you’re welcome to buy from me again anytime you like!
Previously, on Facebook Marketplace…
-I tried to sell a part to my 3d printer (the 3d touch above) that I couldn’t get to work for $10. One guy sent me endless messages suggesting things I should try to get it to work. He eventually bought it, but not before he stood at my doorway for another ten minutes listing what I should have done when I installed it.
Yes, even though he’d just bought it and was now taking his Facebook Marketplace bargain far far away from my house.
-I sold my dying BenQ monitor for a crisp five dollar note, only came to regret that idea soon enough when the buyer showed up at night…and then admitted to stalking me on Facebook because my name sounded familiar before listing where he’s been when listening to me on the radio. Why would you admit something like this? I would have been more than happy to take the money, he takes home his Facebook Marketplace bargain and leave it at that.
But then I wouldn’t have stories like this to amuse you with would I?
Maybe if I set everything for sale at $11 there’d be less questions and more successful transactions. Hmm, food for thought.
In the meantime, anyone want to buy a head unit? It’s still up there on Facebook Marketplace waiting for a new home (I even half half a harness for a Subaru if you want that too..)