“Switchbuc Calculator” is live!
A much anticipated new tool went live today at SP in the form of the “Switchbuc Calculator”.
An open debate has been ongoing for some time here at SP about what a switchbuc is actually worth at any given time. Some people had it worth around $1 while some people went as low as around $0.30. Well the truth is in the numbers and that comes from the actual switching that is going everyday, week and month.
Without giving away too much information we basically use data from the most recent 100-1000 switches and compare their selling price in switchbucs to some other factors like real world $ prices for those same items and some other factors as well. We then run this “algorithm” each night to give the current switchbuc price on the network an updated value. So one day 1 switchbuc may equal $0.95 or one day it might be worth $1.10 and so on.
So how do you use it?
When adding your items we now display what that item is currently selling for NEW on Amazon.com. This gives you a range of what your item is worth in real $$$. You simply enter the dollar amount you think your item is worth into the Switchbuc Calculator and hit the “Calculate” button to see what that is worth in switchbucs. Then you can be confident that the price your setting your item for in switchbucs is fair for you the seller and the person who will end up requesting/buying it from you.
You can also use it when buying/requesting something from another member. You can quickly check to see if the price they’re asking is in line with the current switchbuc price by inputing the amount of switchbucs they’re asking into the calculator and click the “Calculate” button. If the real $$$ amount it displays is much higher then what it’s selling for on Amazon you know they’re asking too much. You can then leave them a comment letting them know they’re price is a little too high and try and work out a better deal.
I hope you guys find the Switchbuc Calculator helpful in buying and selling your items here at SP. We’ll continue to refine it as time goes on and we start to see more live data flowing through it.
Thanks,
Chris
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Comment by NeedBrains on 13 July 2007:
Sweet! Hopefully that decreases the # of people selling their stuff for WAY too many SBs.
Comment by Phoenix on 13 July 2007:
Great! Here comes those reasonable and fair prices.
… It would be fun to have a graph and compare it to inflation, CPI , cost of living, maybe we’ll just compare it to the fluctuating price of a PlayStation III…
Comment by spooon on 13 July 2007:
you might want to do a filter for all 1SB items as you don’t want that in your average. I know there is some pretty good movement in the 1SB group and that would really make the SB value more than it is.
Comment by Ben on 15 July 2007:
Awesome, Thanks!
Comment by Cynical_Assualt on 15 July 2007:
I totally agree with spoon on that one, 1.05 right now is not even close. Ten 1sb club switches would totally screw the calculation up.
Comment by Chris on 16 July 2007:
UPDATE!
We’ve removed the “1 switchbuc” switches from the algorithm.
Comment by Wink Jr. on 25 July 2007:
Um, the problem is that a SB$ should never be worth more than $1. Why the heck would I buy a SB$ for USD $1 and instantly get $0.64 trading value with it? Esp. when there’s so many on this site who price their stuff far more than new on Amazon, much less used.
I mean, I thought this site was supposed to promote trading of things to help reduce consumerism and the many costs to society and the environment because of it. All this whole SB$ thing done is made me start shopping a lot at Amazon.com. Is that really the goal this site was started for? To make me go shopping and buy new stuff?
Suffice to say, I won’t buy SB$ if their value isn’t worth USD $1 or *MORE*, and I’ll keep buying stuff off Amazon, not trading with most of the here. Fortunately, there’s a few people like myself taking a stance and refusing to do business with profiteering jerks. A NEW item should list for maybe 80-90% of the Amazon NEW price. A used item? Try starting at 50% of the NEW price, or even lower, since through Amazon I rarely buy anything new, but get used DVDs for about 30% of the new price.
To the people who run this site: if your goal is Reuse -> Recycle -> Repurpose - the whole SB$ thing and the calculator is failing. Maybe you should put up a tool that shows how many people look at a trade and then hit the “Buy It From Amazon” button?
Comment by Wink Jr. on 25 July 2007:
MindBrain - I don’t know if someone is doing a “pump and dump”, but it’s gone the opposite way. As I post this, SB$ 1 is worth USD $0.61. Why would I bother? I’m buying things from Amazon.com instead. When it goes the other way, I’ll start trading instead. I really don’t understand it - who’s paying the outrageous SB$ prices you mention and that have done nothing but aggravate me.
Comment by Wink Jr. on 25 July 2007:
Grrr… I meant that *a SB$ 1 should never be worth LESS than USD $1.* It should be at least that much, or by my own estimates, more like $1.40, to make this site worthwhile.
Comment by wes tindle on 26 July 2007:
This is really not fair to put a lower price on switch bucks….when i started switching i bought my bucks even money on my credit card 50 bucks for 50 dollars when. When did it become so evident to others that money the SB could be worth more or less ..go back to the way it was and call them bucks if they’re bucks…IHAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF OVER PRICING AND IT IS JUST NOT RIGHT!!!!!
Comment by Claire on 31 July 2007:
These Amazon prices that are counted are kind of inaccurate. If you ask me, one SB=30 cents would probably be more accurate.
First of all, the amazon prices aren’t even the prices amazon sells stuff for. They are the list price, which is usually higher than what you would have to pay if you bought something from amazon.
Second, most items on here are used. Shouldn’t the used prices, which are usually even lower on amazon be the ones that are counted if we want an accurate measure of the switchbuc?
The calculator would be a lot more accurate if the lowest used amazon price + shipping counted instead of the list price.
Comment by Chris on 1 August 2007:
We’ve updated the Amazon prices to no longer be the “List Price” and they are not an average of the used price.
Comment by Claire on 1 August 2007:
Ok, fine, but I still think the prices are a little misleading, because for some items, the lowest used price + shipping is much lower than the new price, and the items on here are used.