Optimistic or what?

What is it about people that makes them think that their particular ownership of something actually adds to its value?  I mean, let’s face it, you buy something, then walk out of the shop with it either physically or metaphorically, and the item you bought is then second hand.  How can you having owned it, whether for a week or a couple of years add value?

You want a few examples?  See below.

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https://www.gumtree.com/p/benelli-motorbikes/benelli-motorcycle-500cc/1363394750

This optimistic seller obviously doesn’t believe in depreciation.  She is selling her two year old Benelli TRK500, a bike falling into the adventure touring category.  It hasn’t seen too much adventure since it has only covered 1246 miles in its two years on the road.  She is looking for £5600 for it.  So what is the problem?

Brand new ones are currently on offer for £4499 plus on the road costs.  That is a whopping £1101 cheaper!  Ok, new ones may not include the luggage that the second hand bike has, but if you are buying a new bike, you can bet your life that the dealer would at least do you a deal on this, and you get a two year warranty.

These bikes are built in China.  They are not yet well known like Honda, Yamaha etc. and their depreciation should be correspondingly harsh.  They may be well built, I haven’t experienced the brand so do not know, but who is realistically going to pay a premium for this two year old bike?

If anyone really wanted one of these bikes, either buy a new one on offer and add the extras, or buy one of last years showroom models, like this top of the range one which has better quality Givi aluminium luggage, crash bars and all the other farkles that could possibly be thrown at it.  https://www.gumtree.com/p/benelli-motorbikes/benelli-trk502-adventure-ex-demo-1627-saving-on-list-price/1359915577.  Better extras, only 287 miles, and a dealer warranty for £101 less than an older private sale!  No contest.

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Hands up whoever doesn’t like pizza?  Yeah, I didn’t think there would be many.  A company called Ooni makes good quality, stainless steel outdoor pizza ovens, just what every pizza lover needs for the summer.  On the downside, they are pretty expensive for a toy that could only ever get occasional good weather use.  So, being tight, I set up a search on Gumtree to see if a second hand one might ever turn up.  The search triggered yesterday, but again there is a problem.

Ooni make a few different models of their pizza ovens, probably the most popular of which is the Ooni 3, and this is what a seller in Belfast has on offer for £360. https://www.gumtree.com/p/barbeques/ooni-3-pizza-oven/1365639329.  The ad says they bought it in January, used it three times and are now selling it again.  First thing, if the oven is as good as the online reviews, why are they selling so soon? 

Next, the minor problem of price.  A brand new Ooni 3, bought direct from the manufacturers web site is £249, and that is a kit that includes a cover, a pizza peel and wood pellets!  It is £199 without these extras and can be bought on other sites for £185.  So what extras are the sellers of the second hand one offering to justify the £161 they would like to charge over the price of a new one?  See below for their list:

Ooni Gas Burner
Ooni Perforated Peel
1 dough box with lid
1 dough proving bowl with lid
1 Yijia Stainless Steel Pizza Scraper
7 bags of Caputo Flour - Wheat Flour Type 00 "Blue" 1Kg
1 Yeast - Ascher Portable Digital Scale
1 Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 Non-contact Digital Laser IR Infrared Thermometer, -50°C ~ 550°C

A quick internet search for exact matches (new items, not used) and equivalents gives the following prices.

The gas burner can be bought for £54.95.  A genuine Ooni pizza peel as above is a whopping £55, but a non branded, direct equivalent is £10.99.  I will ignore the box and bowl, since every kitchen has these, and they are cheap.  A genuine Yijla scraper is about £10, while a decent stainless steel one can be bought for £2.49.  I’m not sure that I would want someone elses flour, even if it was still in sealed packs, but for the comparison, Caputo flour is £2.99 per pack, so seven would cost £20.93.  I found unbranded 00 flour for £1.10 per kg pack in Sainsburys (£7.70 for the 7 packs). An Ascher digital scale is £7.50, unless they have managed to find a gold plated one, and the thermometer costs £10.99.  Rough equivalents come in at around £4.61, and £1.61 respectively.

That gives a maximum cost to buy a new oven and the listed extras excluding the bowl and dough box of £358.  So the buyer is asking more for their second hand stuff than it would cost to buy new!  Switching away from the manufacturers site, and to non branded alternatives as above produces a saving of around £93 on that asking price.  And, just because the original buyer wanted all these bits and pieces, that does not mean that anyone else does.  You do not need all that to make a pizza. 

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Will anyone buy at a sum resembling the asking price of either of these?  Only, (IMHO), if they are in serious need of a mental examination