hmm...11 replies while I've been typing this. I'm just going to post it and hope it's still valid.
If it sells for $400 then thats what the market says it's worth.
Even without BIN, things generally sell on ebay for a little more than they're worth because one has to outbid everyone else on the planet and all of the resellers. We all have different views on what's fair, but it has always struck me as lame to to find a good deal and then set a new higher price. The Best Offer is a sort of nice gesture but this is not technically an auction and I don't see this as different than sellers like GameSquad.
Personally, there have been a couple of times I've decided to part with things that I got a good deal on and I've felt pretty awkward setting a price. What I usually do is a ten day auction, start it at a buck and make sure I do a damn good job of getting every key word possible in the item listing. Doing this gives everybody a chance to get involved, as opposed to just the handful of high budget bidders, which creates a frenzy that rockets the price up in the last few hours. Well-listed auctions with nice pictures, a good description and a low starting point do surprisingly well and no one can be accused of price gouging. (After I got the U.S. version of Terraforming, I sold my PCE copy I bought for $40 and watched is go from $0.99 to $129).
Anyway, Roy got the loose version first, so I can see why he's parting with it. Hoping to trade it for boxes is a long shot, but makes sense in that those are all he needs for his collection (being open to some boxes + cash would probably increase his chances).
As far as the four hundred dollars goes, people tend to reach a consensus on prices after hanging around here for a year or two and I've seen lots of newcomers show up on the boards with prices in their heads that freak people out (myself included). Roy's still fairly new around here and is trying to decide what to do with a game that he got for a good deal but could probably get a bundle for on ebay. Without having spent the last five years hanging out with us bitching about scumbags like Bullseye, a high BIN price with the Best Offer option probably seemed like a fair compromise. Again, it's not what I would do, but I'm trying to play devil's advocate and put myself in his shoes (sorry to keep talking about you in the third person, Roy.) Sinistron and other have some good points, but Roy has made some good contributions on the boards and shouldn't be demonized.
OK, that's my two cents. And hey, please watch the F-Bombs and potty mouthing! Everyone! Thanks.
EDITED for spelling
