ABJDs Price Index - new resource!

[Rhian]

I've got a Price Index up and running, so please do take a look and submit your info (and let me know what you think!).

The site is located here: http://abjds.com/priceindex/

In a nutshell, it's a list of prices paid for dolls throughout the past months and years. This should be useful for examining secondary market price trends, and also for anyone looking to sell or buy a doll.

I'm going to try and get an "Original company prices" page up in the wiki to complement this, too (but one thing at a time!).

A few notes:

I am submitting the info by hand as and when I get it, so it won't appear immediately.
Browse the company categories on the right to get a feel for how things will appear.
The whole thing is completely anonymous, and you don't even have to enter your email address.
For all Volks dolls, I'm linking to Cassiel's excellent Volks database (http://www.angelden.net/volks/) pages. Eventually, as we expand the wiki, I hope to do the same for the other brands.

I'm sure it can be improved on, so feel free to post all feedback or questions here! :D

[Eiko82]

That's awesome! Great job!

[rkold]

While in some respects I think this is a really good idea, one problem is prices seem very volatile at times. Yo SD Kuuta/Chinatsu were probably selling for $500 or so, but with the new re-release their price is definitely going to go down.

Also it's the actual sold price, right? Not the asked? I've noticed this is a problem with Y!J auctions. Someone will say doll XXXX is worth YYYY because it was at that price on Y!J, except no one bid and sellers are not charged insertion fees on Y!J so they can ask whatever they like without risk. :sweat

[Hitasura]

While in some respects I think this is a really good idea, one problem is prices seem very volatile at times. Yo SD Kuuta/Chinatsu were probably selling for $500 or so, but with the new re-release their price is definitely going to go down.

Also it's the actual sold price, right? Not the asked? I've noticed this is a problem with Y!J auctions. Someone will say doll XXXX is worth YYYY because it was at that price on Y!J, except no one bid and sellers are not charged insertion fees on Y!J so they can ask whatever they like without risk. :sweat

The purpose of this list is not to try give estimated prices of what is considered a fair or standard secondhand price for a doll, or predict/dictate what prices for dolls should be. It will only show what other people have paid for a doll in the past. This way, there will be a record of not only the highs but the lows that people have paid for dolls, so they can make a better judgement on what sort of prices they might have to pay for a doll.

And yes, it is only what the doll actually sold for, not what may have been originally asked. and if you'll check the submission form, it does say to state the actual price paid MINUS any additional fees for shopping services, etc.

[sgtgeorgecarter]

The check your sentience thing is a drag. most of the time the letter is off the screen. It took three tries before it accepted one. And yes I was doing upper/lower/numbers just like the pic ;)

[Em]

Is it possible for this to also cover prices for heads? Though I suppose that may be too tricky as head prices are greatly effected by face-up's etc.

I do think this is a very handy resource though!

[Hitasura]

Yes, it will! When you send in a submission, it will ask if it was for the full doll, the head only, or the body only. ^^

[Rhian]

sgtgeorgecarter: Does clicking the refresh button (next to the picture code box) help at all? Or is it too inconvenient? I'm anxious to have some spam protection but I could try a different variety if this one's not up to scratch.

[sgtgeorgecarter]

The refresh worked fine but on failure there isn't alot of feedback. It took me 2 tries to realise the corrected version I'd typed in was still unsatisfactory. Then I woke up and refreshed until I got one that worked.

[Rhian]

The refresh worked fine but on failure there isn't alot of feedback. It took me 2 tries to realise the corrected version I'd typed in was still unsatisfactory. Then I woke up and refreshed until I got one that worked.
Thanks, that's helpful to knowl! :) For now, I'll edit the feedback that the code-failure-message gives, to try and be more explicit. If more people find it inconvenient then I will switch over to another system.

[Em]

Huzzah! That's fantastic...I'll send through some submissions now ;)

[Shizen]

This is awesome. :)

[Kiyakotari]

Wow, I'm impressed! I tried to set one up on DoA with that Market Value thread, but it was so much work to maintain and try to keep up with requests, so I eventually just gave up. This system looks like it will work MUCH better!

[Wickedgood]

Very nice :) I have often wondered what a particular doll originally sold for (when browsing Y!J and marketplaces elsewhere). I think a resource like this can only enrich the community (plus it's just interesting in general). I am all for tools that can help develop informed decisions.

[Bel]

This system looks great, I'll definitely contribute AND use it. Thanks for doing this!

[julia]

This looks very cool and will be an excellent resource. Excellent job :)

[julia]

Thanks, that's helpful to knowl! :) For now, I'll edit the feedback that the code-failure-message gives, to try and be more explicit. If more people find it inconvenient then I will switch over to another system.

I submitted a couple of items and both times had to enter the code in more than once. The first time I figured out the code by the second time. The second entry it took three tries. It's a bit confusing when the letters are off screen. A 'g' looks remarkably like an 'a' when you can't see the tail. The same with 'v' and 'y'.

[inari]

THANK YOU. This will be so helpful.
I like your idea about the "Original company prices" wiki page too.

[kirane]

This is a great idea and ressource! Thank you!

[Pia]

Just something to look at, I think there's a typo on the submission form?

It says "verify your sentence with the code" or something like that. But it was spelt as sentience. ^__^;

Just thought I'd let you guys know!

[sgtgeorgecarter]

Sentience is correct.

Its asking you to verify you are a human, not a bot auto filling in the form.

[Rhian]

Thank you, all! :D

I have now changed the verification part of the form to a (hopefully) simpler Question and Answer system.

And Pia, sgtgeorgecarter is perfectly right: it is asking you to prove that you are a sentient being, hence the word "sentience". :)

[eveshka]

Question. On the submissions form, there is no entry choice for "Purchased from Company." For example, I purchased my Harang from Luts, and not secondhand. Do we want to be able to track original purchase prices in addition to second market?

[Jme]

Thank you for this!! I think it's going to be a great resource if many people place their inputs! I've got 2 secondhand bodies + 1 head on the way home, so I'll definitely add to the price index when they're here!

[Rhian]

Question. On the submissions form, there is no entry choice for "Purchased from Company." For example, I purchased my Harang from Luts, and not secondhand. Do we want to be able to track original purchase prices in addition to second market?
No, this is purely for tracking second-hand prices. However, we will be compiling a page for the wiki that lists the original prices of dolls as bought from companies. :)

[eveshka]

Ah! Okay, thanks for clearing my coffee-lacking brain! :)

[kersuru]

awesome, awesome, awesome! I will definitely use this in the future. Again.. awesome!

[Faireyangel]

Oh this is a fabulous idea. :) I submitted my adopted guys (and gal). It'll be great to have this in regards to both selling and buying.

[blanki]

oh this is wonderful! :kisses This will be a great resources for anyone:D

[kiradyn]

What about dolls/doll parts that you/I have personally sold secondhand?

[Songblade]

Just added my first doll! :D Awesome system, hope to see more participation!

[Rhian]

What about dolls/doll parts that you/I have personally sold secondhand?
I did think about having this, but it would only work if the system was no longer anonymous, otherwise we're going to end up with duplicate entries (as both the seller and buyer might enter the same doll). For now, I would rather keep it anonymous. :)

[DimWitted]

how do we ensure that ppl are telling the truth with their prices?

for the mod to filter every entry can be exhausting if there's many submissions during the day.

what about if we have a field that asks your email address or name or something which will not obviously be displayed on the website but this way at least ppl are discouraged about not telling the true value.

[kirane]

It's better to keep it anonymous, I think. That way no one would be harassed for the price he paid or sold. A friend has bought a doll at a very high price, and she wouldn't want anyone to know that she has sent so much money. Is it her fault if she wanted that doll so desperatly? Actually I don't see why someone would lie about the price he sold/bought a doll if he's not a scalper 0.0 It's an index, not a sale. No one wins at lying there. But I can understand why you would want to stay anonymous.

[kiradyn]

i'd definitely prefer to remain anonymous too. what about an option that you can select (whether you bought this head/doll at the stated price, or whether you sold it at that price?) unless that creates too much work for the mods who have to wade through all the submissions, of course. :x

[Rhian]

how do we ensure that ppl are telling the truth with their prices?

for the mod to filter every entry can be exhausting if there's many submissions during the day.

what about if we have a field that asks your email address or name or something which will not obviously be displayed on the website but this way at least ppl are discouraged about not telling the true value.
Quite simply, we can't! :) It would be quite easy for someone to lie about their identity or purchase price, even if their email address was submitted privately. They could easily say that the doll was bought in a private sale, and there would be nothing to prove otherwise. This database is founded on good faith, and as kirane says, there would be no gain in lying.

The only way I can see to help prove the sale prices would be for the buyer to enclose the url of an ended auction, or a sales thread, or a screenshot of a Paypal receipt, etc - but these things won't exist for purchases made several years ago, and it would frankly be far too much work for me to go through and check them all.

It's better to keep it anonymous, I think. That way no one would be harassed for the price he paid or sold. A friend has bought a doll at a very high price, and she wouldn't want anyone to know that she has sent so much money. Is it her fault if she wanted that doll so desperatly? Actually I don't see why someone would lie about the price he sold/bought a doll if he's not a scalper 0.0 It's an index, not a sale. No one wins at lying there. But I can understand why you would want to stay anonymous.
Yes - this is exactly why I think submissions should be anonymous.

i'd definitely prefer to remain anonymous too. what about an option that you can select (whether you bought this head/doll at the stated price, or whether you sold it at that price?) unless that creates too much work for the mods who have to wade through all the submissions, of course. :x
Well, there's only one mod doing the wading at the moment! ;) Even if there was a field to indicate whether the submitter was a buyer or a seller, that wouldn't remove the potential for confusion, and we would still end up with duplicates with no way of knowing whether they were the same doll. In addition, buyers are in a far better position to detail any faults in the condition of the doll on arrival, and this is an important factor to consider as it can seriously alter the value of a doll.

[Faireyangel]

Hmm, is there any way to implement tags into the system?

It's not an issue right now since the database is small and listed alphabetically, but if it gets big enough it might useful to have; that way you could just pull up all the listings for one sort of doll in its category. :)

[Rhian]

Hmm, is there any way to implement tags into the system?

It's not an issue right now since the database is small and listed alphabetically, but if it gets big enough it might useful to have; that way you could just pull up all the listings for one sort of doll in its category. :)
I think that might be a possibility, yes. :) Do you mean tags for different sized dolls? (Other than size or company, I'm not sure how one would sort them, but it's been a long day and my brain is not at full speed.)

[Faireyangel]

I was thinking of something like how the thread tags are working.

So for example a submitted EL would be tagged "EL" and then one day when we have 35 of them in a 70+ database for Delf CP we could just click EL and they would all appear.

[Rhian]

I was thinking of something like how the thread tags are working.

So for example a submitted EL would be tagged "EL" and then one day when we have 35 of them in a 70+ database for Delf CP we could just click EL and they would all appear.
Well, all the El dolls are on one page already! ;) But I think I get what you mean - for now, the small size makes it easy to browse, but if it grows larger in future I will certainly look into making it easier to find dolls with a tag-based system. :)

[Faireyangel]

Hehe, awesome! Thankies ^_^

[kiradyn]

oh, that's right, i hadn't though about sellers who might not add in details that would lower the condition of their doll. ><!!

i'd love to see the tags thing implemented, though. :3

thanks for setting this guide up. ^^ i think it'd be really helpful in establishing base prices once there are more submissions up. :3

[Lolly]

What a fantastic idea. I have submitted and look forward to seeing more submissions

[Bandwidth Broad]

Shouldn't there be an entry on the list for Customhouse? Perhaps I'm not seeing it ... it's getting late!

[Hitasura]

Shouldn't there be an entry on the list for Customhouse? Perhaps I'm not seeing it ... it's getting late!

t may not be there because no one has submitted any sales involving CH dolls yet- or if they have, then Rhian hasn't been able to add them to the list. But don't worry, it's not because they're being overlooked! xD

[Ladyrixx]

I added my Rasendou head about a week ago and Rasendou isn't on the list yet. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/ladyrixx/smilies/floating_blobs15-1.gif (http://www.maxthon.com/) Mind you, I think I can count the number of people with Rasendou dolls on one hand, but it would still be nice.

[Rhian]

I added my Rasendou head about a week ago and Rasendou isn't on the list yet. http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a183/ladyrixx/smilies/floating_blobs15-1.gif (http://www.maxthon.com/) Mind you, I think I can count the number of people with Rasendou dolls on one hand, but it would still be nice.
I'm a couple of days behind on adding submissions, but your Rasendou head is next on the list! :) I'm going to have a big catching-up session tonight.

[Linderhes]

Oh, this is very helpful! Thanks for compiling this.

[AreeElf]

I think this would be a great resource to supplement personal research when buying a doll second market. Thanks

[omichao]

This is awesome! Not to give you guys too much work to do, but I've already sent in a few of my own purchases and I'm encouraging my friends to do the same ^_^

[Lae]

This is great! Though I'm quite jelous to the one who got a Bermann for just $968. That's quite a bargain.

[Lunasa]

How often this database is updated?

[Rhian]

How often this database is updated?
Whenever I get around to it - and there has been a long break recently, but I'm starting to catch up this weekend. It's only me that's doing it, so if I get busy IRL then the database suffers, I'm afraid. :sweat

[Sat]

Does anybody have an information on pricing of Serendipity dolls? I am trying to find the average price of a Serendipity Alice and thus far haven't found any information since she doesn't seem to be made anymore.

[ready2rokk]

I think this is a great idea because I know when I decide to sell a doll, sometimes I'm not sure what price I should put on it.

[repulsive333]

Thank you! That was helpful!

[Paladia]

Wow, you have NO IDEA what a help this is. Thanks so much!

[aneemal]

I agree this is a useful resource... would be great to have it regularly updated.

[designermix]

Oh, this is useful. Thanks so much!