I'm on the verge of my biggest ever sale, but am uncertain how to handle it.
1) I want to sell what I have for as much as I can get.
2) I want to avoid dealing with people with very few posts.
3) I want my stuff to go to as many people as possible. I know I'm going to make big losses no matter what, and I do not want to subsidize some collector. I WANT REAL USERS. I do not want to sell something I spent weeks working on, to some kid who displays it on his shelf.
4) I do not know the value of what I am selling, since nearly everything was modded without the intention to sell. Most of my Model M and F mods should be very usable for the general public, but the mods dearest to my heart - my jailhouse mods - have not elicited any enquiries to date.
5) I don't have time to negotiate with so many people I barely know, from two different forums, when I have many other items such as switches and keycaps to sell, etc.
Observations:
So far I have tried out the Price Check thread. I'm not getting any honest public responses to price and value estimates. I have received enquiries from longtime members like riotonthebay, but he didn't know what was a good price either.
Despite stating clearly repeatedly that things are not for sale now and this is the Price Check stage, I have received dozens of low ball offers on DA and GH from people with very few posts. A lot of kids are hoping to get something dirt cheap, but I'm not even sure if they know what they are getting because they have so few posts. They are not my ideal buyer.
Silent Auction
Right now I think my best bet is in a silent auction that XMIT suggested. To comply with Geekhack rules I will post an idealized price. Since the price is high, it is unlikely to sell. But I will consider offers under that price from either DA or GH members.
Then for the next 2 weeks I will look at the offers I receive. I will apply discounting to offers from people with very few posts. I will 'add value' to the offers from active members. EG I will take a 20% lower offer from riotonthebay, over an offer from someone with under 50 posts.
After 2 weeks I respond to the offers I like, people pay, stuff is sent out over the next few weeks.
Let's discuss this publicly. What is ok, and what is not. How to achieve my goals without violating any fine print rules. I don't want a zealous mod to step in suddenly and suspend my threads. Geekhack is full of zealous mods who will not hesitate to cut and paste all the rules. I am also not experienced with selling on DA, having mostly used it to enquire about Tipros in the past. Is silent auction allowed on DA? Will GH refuse to let me link to my DA thread? Will GH consider me posting a high price and asking for offers, as a violation of their rules?