MUA and LE inflation (bad experience on MUA)

[Piaqua]

Alright, sorry if this is in the wrong spot, feel free to move it if it is. So I have a question for you all. Do you value the MSFs above retail? I always had, and assumed everyone else did. Then I happened accross So Ceylon and knew it wouldn't look good on me, so I put it up for trade on MUA. On my wishlist I have a Shu Uemura eyelash curler. Someone (I won't name names, not trying to be catty, just wondering about this whole thing) sent me a swap request for the MSF, saying she would swap the Shu Eyelash Curler for the MSF. Here is the exact correspondance:

Her:
Would you be willing to swap this for a Shu eyelash curler with an extra pad I have listed up for swap? Please let me know either way. Thanks so much for your time.

Me:
I'm sorry... I didnt see anything else on your list I wanted, and the curler itself is not worth the MSF

Her:
Yoru right, it's a $5 price difference. Which I assume is said in a mean tone, meaning the $5 was trivial

Me:
Yeah, plus sometimes there is inflation because the MSFs are discontinued and pretty hard to find...

Her:
I know it works that way on Ebay, but not MUA. You'll tick alot of swappers off that way.

Then she blocked me and went and b****ed about me on the Make-up board there.

Alright girls, so maybe I am just looking for validation, but doesn't that seem rude to you? From everything I've heard, I thought they were valued above retail. I mean, I wasn't going to ask for like $50, but I also wasn't willing to trade it for something lower in value. And yeah, $5 may not be a ton of money, but when it accounts for 25% of the swap worth, it seems like an evener is in order. So, girls, all I'm asking is, was I rude? I just thought it was general practice to value DC items over their retail value. Maybe it's just because I'm used to all of you on here who are MAC addicts and willing to pay over. Must not be the same with the girls over at MUA. I've never had a bad experience there, until now... sad

 

[depecher]

I don't think you were rude at all. Some collectors, whether they be record collectors or makeup collectors, etc. always want to get a rarity for next to nothing. She was the catty one!! I really never got into the MSF until recently, but I know they are highly sought after. She sounds like she wanted something for next to nothing and that isn't right! Her rudeness and then total lack of class on the boards shows her true intent in my book. Don't let her get you down.

 

[beautenoir]

even here on Specktra, a MSF wouldn't probably go for much less than $50 or so(more actually)...and bottom line is that you weren't into the swap...she could have offered you a cadilac and if you weren't into cadilacs then you would be in your right to turn it down...i agree with depecher...her total lack of class.

 

[laceymeow]

the way she's acting IS rude, especially since she felt the need to talk about it on the boards. you were polite and kind enough to even explain why you didn't care to swap.

i see people going by the inflation value all the time so i wouldn't worry about what she said. some people are just bitter and need to grow up.

 

[Piaqua]

Thanks guys! From the way she (and some of the people on the board) were talking I thought I had committed the untimate swapping since or something! Bleh... we need our OWN swap thing like MUAs on here, so we all know our items will go to gals who appreciate MAC (and are nice, like EVERYONE on here is).

 

[pumpkincat210]

It was so totally your call! So Ceylon is so old.. I just saw one go for $70 on Ebay..
I'd just brush it off as there are a lot of a**holes out there!

 

[exodus]

Well seeing as I swapped away my BNIB Sunny Boy and Poetic License for a BNIB So Ceylon (and thought it was thoroughly worth it, since I don't really use those particular colours), I'd say she's bonkers if she thought she could get it for a Shu eyelash curler.

 

[depecher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piaqua Thanks guys! From the way she (and some of the people on the board) were talking I thought I had committed the untimate swapping since or something! Bleh... we need our OWN swap thing like MUAs on here, so we all know our items will go to gals who appreciate MAC (and are nice, like EVERYONE on here is).

There is a swap board here. You have to post a certain number of times before you get access to it, or so that was the way it was when I joined last year. People here ARE the best!

Try it out and see what happens. It certainly is your right to decide what you'd swap for or not.

 

[mandirigma]

this isn't on you, but it gets frustrating when msfs go for exorbitant prices, but i'm only speaking out of jealousy cause i don't have the money or swap leverage to buy the ones i want. LOL.

the thing is that it's always in your right to turn down a swap for whatever reason. and honestly, it was kind of lame of the other person to expect that the swap she suggested was in any way equal (not only does the curler cost less for retail, but it's also widely available). totally stank that she went up on the boards to bitch about it too. mua is a lot of drama sometimes =/

 

[Piaqua]

Haha... stupid me! I was thinking it was only for selling. It seems like that's predominantly what goes on there. I'll have to check it out more thoroughly. I just am not too big on paypal, so it seems like I may have to stick to mua.

 

[baby_raindrop]

I don't think you were rude at all. Some people on MUA are total bitches. I had a discontinued eye palette up for swap a while ago and you wouldn't believe the insane offers I got. And when I say insane, I don't mean that in a good way. One girl offered me 5 Milani e/s for it. Another girl wouldn't give up three of her MAC e/s for it claiming she had paid $30 a piece for them in Asia (they were in no way rare or discontinued). Blah...
I hate MUA sometimes.

 

[professionaltart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandirigma this isn't on you, but it gets frustrating when msfs go for exorbitant prices, but i'm only speaking out of jealousy cause i don't have the money or swap leverage to buy the ones i want. LOL. mua is a lot of drama sometimes =/

Two points here, not directed at you Mandirigma at all:

1. People that DO NOT have the swap leverage should NOT swap request for anything that is not in their range. Like I wouldn't approach someone for like...i dunno what do i want...i dunno say like something u really want and offer up some DS makeup like it doesnt work that way and I dont understand what they dont understand.

2. You, Piaqua, shouldn't care about pissing off these MUA-ers. I frequent MUA but the cattiness and constant immaturity that parts of that website exudes is unbearable. There is tons of drama there and for literally no reason. It's just the internet and its just makeup people uggh!

Of course these two points werent directed to anyone in general so sorry!

 

[litlaur]

She doesn't understand that other people might place more value on it. If she wanted that bad, she should at least have tried to work something out. Like a baseball card. If you have something worth $100, are you going to trade it for some mass-produced brand new card?

I think you dealt with it as well as you could have

Even after the catty remark, you were very polite.

 

[mooracr03]

I saw the post on MUA and can understand why she would sorta be upset, but it was wrong for her to be so catty and it's up to you whether or not you want to swap or not cause it's YOUR item. she can't force you to swap it for the MSF.

As for the retail question, if someone is willing to swap more than retail for my MSF then that's great. But I don't think I'd ask to swap for anything over $30. However, Ebay is a totally different story....

 

[Piaqua]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mooracr03 I saw the post on MUA and can understand why she would sorta be upset, but it was wrong for her to be so catty and it's up to you whether or not you want to swap or not cause it's YOUR item. she can't force you to swap it for the MSF. As for the retail question, if someone is willing to swap more than retail for my MSF then that's great. But I don't think I'd ask to swap for anything over $30. However, Ebay is a totally different story....

Can you explain to me why she would be upset? I hope that doesn't sound rude, but I would like to know. I want to understand. LOL I just can't imagine how she's the one who was upset when she was offering me the bad end of the deal. It's not like I demanded $40 for it, I said it was an unfair swap, especially since it was for a LE/Disc item... oh well.

And yeah, I totally agree, I wouldn't ask for a super-expensive item either, but I also don't ask people for an item of theirs unless I am willing to offer something of equal or more value.

 

[professionaltart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piaqua Can you explain to me why she would be upset? I hope that doesn't sound rude, but I would like to know. I want to understand.

i 2nd

 

[mandirigma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by professionaltart Two points here, not directed at you Mandirigma at all: 1. People that DO NOT have the swap leverage should NOT swap request for anything that is not in their range. Like I wouldn't approach someone for like...i dunno what do i want...i dunno say like something u really want and offer up some DS makeup like it doesnt work that way and I dont understand what they dont understand.

definitely (and i know you said it wasn't directed at me, but i'll get on the defensive anyway. LOL).

i've only requested a swap for one once and it was for an LE quad. knowing what the msfs go for, i feel like people never ask themselves if they themselves would let go of the MSF (or whatever HTF product they want) for what they're offering for it. and i always do that no matter what i'm swapping for.

and even just putting up regular HE items, you still get swap requests from people who have nothing but DS stuff on their swap lists and then there are more arguments on value there (ie, they don't think it's fair to let go of two items when they're only getting one in return). that's why it's such a pain in the ass dealing with MUA sometimes.

 

[MisStarrlight]

I've always just assumed that dc/le items were more valuable & therefore should be swapped for something of higher value.
I was in desperate need for Spunsilver glitter liner-I lost mine-and swapped a blush for it ($3.50 difference after the New Year's price increase)...not a big difference, but still more $, and if she'd have asked for something else, I probably would have gotten her something up to like $20-25 without thinking twice.

Some people are just dumb, always trying to screw everyone over. You totally were not wrong in this. I haven't done it yet (no money or stuff I'm willing to part with), but come swap here. People are waaaay nicer!

Oh yeah, $5 is a lot of f-in money to a poor college student.

 

[user2]

Hey babe!

Don't bother about that girl and move on!
Don't forget that you can have some great deals there too!

Yesterday I swapped my Viva Glam palette and some postcards for a BNIB So Ceylon MSF and a Select Sheer Powder!

Some people are just..... ((insert matching word here))

 

[merleskaya]

It's not the buyer/swapper's role to dictate the price of what a htf item is worth to the owner of that item; it's her role to decide whether or not that price/swap is worth it for her personally. There are market forces at work here: You can ask for whatever you think your item will bring. Someone who wants it bad enough will meet your terms. You can choose to negotiate, but since it's your item, you have first right of refusal. And you don't have to justify your refusal...a polite "no thanks!" should do it.

If something isn't being produced anymore (especially something as in demand as So Ceylon), it's going to be worth more to collectors! She showed immaturity by going all public with her sour grapes!

I had a similar situation happen with a d/c Nars lipgloss (Calcutta). I was told, "You want a lot for an old lipgloss." It *was* old. It was also discontinued. If I'd just wanted to give it away or take less than I thought it was worth, I would have done so quickly. I had a hunch that a collector out there would want it and I was willing to hang on to it till a collector came along and offered what I (as the owner) considered a fair trade.

And do think about using the forum here! I don't use Paypal and bought pigment samples from a member who accepts money orders. It was a very smooth transaction. There are also people who are just willing to swap.

merleskaya