HP-33S

[calkinsv]

Hi, all,

I have seen this kind of odd pricing before. I speculate that it's to pay a lower fee to the service (eBay, TAS) that provides the forum - since they take a percentage of the initial listing price, and / or the fixed selling price - but do not charge a fee to the seller on the shipping charges. This then allows the seller to get a higher total amount for their item. Of course, the buyer must include all the charges in the total amount they will pay. Seems to me a little bit like they're trying to exploit the system (in listing with such a low "selling" price), but people will often try to sidestep the rules and avoid fees.

I've also seen this in auctions on eBay where people will start a listing at 99 cents, or a dollar, knowing full well that the item will sell for substantially more than that - they hope. Occasionally they are wrong, and have to sell the item for much less than they could have if they weren't trying so hard to avoid the listing fees. I guess overall they win often enough, or believe they do, to make it worth their while.

Just my 2 cents worth.