Pricing Items to sell

How does a player estimate a fair value for items they want to sell to other players. Ive seen players asking crazy prices for the lousiest items and players asking low prices for really good items. I want to start selling items to players to make a profit...but at same time i dont want to rip anyone off. Any suggestions to pricing methods would be much appreciated?

Try to think of a price YOU would pay if you were looking for the item you are selling. Or check out RPGTraders or GWG's own Ventari's Sell for items similar to what you are selling and the prices people bid for them.

Yeah this is a toss up. Like when regarding dye. The first time I checked at the Dye Trader I could only get 40 gold for my green. The next time I got green it was 195 gold. So before I was offered 195, I sold my dye to locals for 100g. But then again I get ripped off on common crafting materials. I spend like 10g because whenever I want them I'm desperate. ALthough there are lots of good natured players who will sell them for 5 a piece or trade for other materials.

I used to try and sell or trade the goodies I found while playing. I don't bother anymore. The time it takes to try and sell anything with all the spam on the trade channel can be better spent farming. I make more money in hour of farming than I do in an hour of trading. More interesting as well.

For instance, tried selling a bunch of minor runes for 200g. In an hour, I didn't even have so much as a response. I popped around to a few different districts to improve my odds but still nada. From what I remember, I would have paid twice that for a boost at the early levels. Not anymore. I just sell them for pennies on the dollar at the first merchant I come across or gift them out to friends or guildmates.

Unless the trade system gets retooled, I don't think its worth making a concerted effort to use.

In response to Ichorspring:

The trade system is a bit finnicky. I can spend an hour in Lion's Arch and not get a single bite, but when I am waiting for someone, I can usually sell stuff in random places with no trouble. I was sitting in Henge of Denravi and had two Major Runes (Strength and Beast Mastery) burning my pocket. I was strapped for money for my new armor and just thought "What the hay, why not try it?". I sent one trade message and made 9 platinum in about 30 seconds.

It's really just the luck of the draw, I think.

really seems dependant on what you have as well. I have found so much good stuff for the Mesmer class and no one seems interested in buying them. I had high level gold stuff with very low req and I couldn't sell them for 200g in a few hours of trying. I resorted to walking around to anyone who was a mesmer and clicking trade with them. If they took the trade they got runes, chakrams or staffs just for accepting the trade.
Even then probably the first ten people would just close the trade window without asking why I was offering it to them.
The people who said WTF, or how much got a real good thing for nothing, made them happy anyway.

Mesmer stuff is hard to sell because there aren't that many Mesmers around. It's a complicated class, which turns a lot of people off. Especially the newer people, as it's hard enough to learn the game in the first place. Give it a while and I bet Mesmer stuff will start flying off the shelves.

And just as a side note, if you do post a price above what is fair market you have to deal with that one jerk screaming "Quit trying to rip off newbs, SO AND SO IS A SCAMMER."

So I applaud that you were insightful enough to ask in a forum. I got a bow string, was a newb, never seen one and figured it MUST be good.. Tried to sell it (2p) and got flammed to holy hell hehe