Travel Technology - Buying stuff on ebay

I have no problem buying or selling things on ebay.

We're all after a bargain and if we can get good quality cheaper than the shops, hey I'm all for it. Going to Costco can be a bit costly at times *cough cough*

In any case. Talk about Tumi bags and Bose QC2 here made me have a look. Didn't find anything of Tumi I wanted but found the Bose. 10 day listing so I put it on my watch list.

Starting price tag was (key word here) £5 last night. less then 12 hrs later it's up at £50. Do people really think they'll win an auction by getting in early?

I do't get it. Why don't they just hang around and wait until the last minute?

Or you could end up with Bose QC2 for £200 or more. That's almost $400!

As I said, I don't get it.

Emma - always on the hunt for bargain travel items that will make my life easy.

Do people really think they'll win an auction by getting in early?

I do't get it. Why don't they just hang around and wait until the last minute?

Or you could end up with Bose QC2 for £200 or more. That's almost $400!
One word:

esnipe (http://www.esnipe.com)

The world is full of people that can't use Ebay. It is what makes Ebay a sellers dream.

The days of finding a good deal during an auction style sale are pretty much over, as there is always one sucker out there that doesn't know the real value and overbids, or outsnipes the sniper...

I sell a lot on Ebay (silver powerseller) but stopped using the auction style sales some time ago, all my items are now sold with BuyItNow, and come with free shipping. I find that selling like that is far more effective.

From what I see, more and more people just want to pop in, look for a deal and pick the one that comes with the least hassle, pay&ship is what they like.

With the rise in auction sniping it has become almost impossible to use Ebay like in the old days.

all my items are now sold with BuyItNow, and come with free shipping. I find that selling like that is far more effective.

From what I see, more and more people just want to pop in, look for a deal and pick the one that comes with the least hassle, pay&ship is what they like.



You are the type of seller I seek out. I'd say 80% of my purchases are "Buy It Now", it would be 100% if more sellers thought rationally. ^

I was amused when I sold a Canon Digital Rebel on ebay late last year for more than the after-rebate price I paid. With the triple rebate offer, I netted about $200.

Yea, I used to get some good deals and still do occassionally but more and more I end up at buy it nows. A couple weeks ago I was trying to buy a Namiki rollerball. It was up once but I missed it. It had missed reserve so was relisted. A couple days before the auction was over too people apparently started bidding, whether it was legit or not I have no idea, and the thing ended up being like 30% more than it was at US list days before the auction. It sold way over what a comparable pen would sell at in one of the large discount retailers in Manhattan. It was a discontinued model which could have driven the price up a little but I thought it was a crazy price for the pen. I just figure out what something is worth if I force myself to only get it if it is a good deal. Then I will only go that high. Miss a lot of things, but dont overpay that way.

You are the type of seller I seek out. I'd say 80% of my purchases are "Buy It Now", it would be 100% if more sellers thought rationally. ^

When I sell something on auction I need to wait the whole 5/7/10 days, my BuyItNows all end within 2 days on average.

eBay still has some good deals here and there. A lot of people gouge (e.g. charging 5+ times more than it actually costs) on the shipping, however, so you have to be careful. And if you've got an eBay coupon code, the discount is even bigger.

I never bid early - I always snipe at the end. But I do it manually, not with a sniping service.

BuyItNows are also really good when I'm in a rush and they're a reasonable price - i.e. less than Amazon, etc., want including shipping.

I do't get it. Why don't they just hang around and wait until the last minute?

Sniping (bidding at the last minute) only helps you win an auction if the other bidders are bidding irrationally.

If bidders bid their true maximum, it doesn't matter when you place your bid--the highest valuation will always win.

Of course sniping sometimes does help for two reasons:
Many other eBay bidders are also trying to snipe, leaving auctions priced artifically low until the last minute, when some snipers forget to put in their bids.
Some bidders' valuation of an item changes as they see other people bidding more on it. For example, A might value an auction at $50, but when A sees that B is willing to bid $51, A reevaluates and decides the auction is really worth $60.


Other than these two scenarios, however, sniping is simply irrational--unless you're counting on the fact that somebody else hasn't thought through their bidding process very well (which might not be totally irrational... ;) )

Selling things with a reasonable "buy it now" is great for items that have a fairly identifiable value but some things aren't that easy to sell. My parents deal in discontinued china dinnerware. When it is a rare piece to a discontinued pattern people will get into bidding wars, especially if it completes a set of grandma's china that was passed down to them. It's one item that people bid with their hearts. I don't think people get as attached to electronic gizmos and such.

I just made my first Ebay purchase last week and used the buy it now feature. It was a great price and I didnt want to deal with the extra BS of the auction. My only frustration was a small one - the seller actually was passing on an amazing deal from www.outpost.com. Good for him for making a decent profit and allowing me to get a great deal on a pair of Polk R50s.

Have you tried www.craigslist.org yet?

Ive purchased on Ebay but Never saw a Buy It Now price that was atractive. It seems to me that its way out of line with my top price Id offer, then alot of times the sellers has a large S&H fee on top of that.

As for bidding early no such thing, I always figure the total amount I want to spend (so if S&H is $10 then I deduct the $10 from my max offer). So the offer can be $9.99 if Im willing to pay $45 with a $6 S&H Ill simply Bid $39 as my top bid, and let the bidding go where ever it does. I Do Not Chase any item (much like buying a stock either I get my price or I forget about it till the next time).

It does amaze me at the prices people end up paying for some of the things. I do a few times under bid just to play with the other bidders then when it hits my top price Id go away.

ive picked up many an item at up to 25% below what the going price usually is. As long as one has patience and isnt in immediate need of the item, then set your top price if you dont get it try again.

As the above poster said, its all about looking at shipping costs carefully, and being patient.

I like to use Buy It Now when buying event tickets, so that I can then plan my trip knowing that I have my event set. We had a fabulous time last year flying to baseball playoff games whose tickets we got on ebay.

Recently I have been burned by a couple of sellers though. Small value items, under $25 each, but I am still put off and I have been shopping there a lot less.

I used to bid and bid for the fun of it, now I am much more likely to put in my max price whenever I spot the auction and then just leave it alone.

I've found the best deals on auctions ending on a weekend, Sunday especially. I think people zone out on the weekend auctions. Maybe they have more free time to bid while they are at work. :D

As a seller I am always amazed at the prices some of the junk I sell brings. People simply don't pay attention to what is on auction and average sale prices.

I was amused over the last couple weeks as I watched auctions and 'buy it nows' for the Cowon' iAudio X5 DAP. People were paying more for the unit than it was being sold for on the manufacturers web site with free shipping. Truely amazing how clueless some people are when at auction. I've seen the same behaviour at live auctions (police, estate, etc.).

Weekend auctions are definitely better. Especially ones ending at odd hours.

When I sell, I always make sure my auctions end at a time when people in the East and West coasts are sitting in front of their computers at work. Seems to work best for me.

I was amused over the last couple weeks as I watched auctions and 'buy it nows' for the Cowon' iAudio X5 DAP. People were paying more for the unit than it was being sold for on the manufacturers web site with free shipping. Truely amazing how clueless some people are when at auction. I've seen the same behaviour at live auctions (police, estate, etc.).

Thats the BEST part about eBay from a sellers prospective, its all about working the system and making the bidder bid, then you plus ebay wins lol.

Have you tried www.craigslist.org yet?


eBay has a 25% ownership in Craigslist.org!!!!

I'm convinced that in the bigger categories (electronics, collectibles & big ticket items) that the days of getting a good deal on ebay are over.

There are still some good deals to be had. I recently got a Zegna 15mil15 suit with the tags still on it for under $200. Add another $100 for my tailor and I've got a new, $2k suit for $300.

I'm convinced that in the bigger categories (electronics, collectibles & big ticket items) that the days of getting a good deal on ebay are over.

There are still some good deals to be had. I recently got a Zegna 15mil15 suit with the tags still on it for under $200. Add another $100 for my tailor and I've got a new, $2k suit for $300.


There are a few good deals from dealers who are using ebay for low overhead marketing. Mostly though, I view it as a place to get hard to find items. I know from my days on watch forums that some people pick up very high end Swiss watches there at well below list. You can get dealers to hit those prices sometimes, but it isnt easy. Although for me, the thought of dropping 5 or 10 grand on a watch on ebay creeps me out, big time, as the Veep would say.

I bought a nice 1940s Omega, triple-date, moonphase on eBay some years back but only because the buyer was a known quantity from Timezone. No way would I drop thousands for a watch on eBay, especially after seeing so many good copies in South China.

I also good a good deal on Shure e5 earphones... again, not a mainstream product.

One thing I love about ebay is that I can usually find what I need there even if the item has long since been discontinued. Could not find a single B&M store with a replacement stylus for my Handspring Deluxe. Ebay - no problem!

I don't lose any sleep over the snipers. I simply bid my max and that's the end of it. If someone else wants to overpay by outbidding me, more power to them. I can simply wait for the next auction, and there's almost always one around the corner unless you're bidding on a Babe Ruth home run ball.

Buying on ebay is like anything else - you need to do your homework first. There are some great deals, and there are some really bad deals where you see used items selling for more than you would pay for a new item. The sheer # of dumb buyers who overpay for electronics never ceases to amaze me.

As for fraud, I've been pretty fortunate to avoid the scammers. But again, you have to do your homework, i.e. check feedback, and use common sense (if a deal looks too good to be true it probably is). As for the flip side, I find it sad that I had to restrict payment options after someone bounced a $25 check. But I don't begrude the commission to 3% to paypal - it't not much worse than some of the VI/MC merchant fees.

eBay has a 25% ownership in Craigslist.org!!!!

Regretfully not by founder, Craig Newmark's choice.

Regretfully not by founder, Craig Newmark's choice.

Was it not a direct result of his actions that the shares that eBay bought came to be on the market?

EBay bought 25 percent of his company from a former Craigs-list employee who had independently sold the shares to the San Jose auction firm.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/15/NEWMARK.TMP

EBay bought 25 percent of his company from a former Craigs-list employee who had independently sold the shares to the San Jose auction firm.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/15/NEWMARK.TMP

Didn't Craig give him the shares?

Selling things with a reasonable "buy it now" is great for items that have a fairly identifiable value but some things aren't that easy to sell. My parents deal in discontinued china dinnerware. When it is a rare piece to a discontinued pattern people will get into bidding wars, especially if it completes a set of grandma's china that was passed down to them. It's one item that people bid with their hearts. I don't think people get as attached to electronic gizmos and such.Sometimes the seller doesn't appreciate the value of what they are selling. When I upgraded to my current Treo 650, I had a Samsung i500 surplus. It was pretty beat up, but functional. I figured I might get $50 for it. It eventually sold for $250. With my rebate from Sprint, the Treo was effectively free.

One word:

esnipe (http://www.esnipe.com)

What is the difference in esnipe and AuctionSniper?

I have never used either, so before I get attached to one...

Sam

I've only used eSnipe. The first two weeks of membership are free then they charge you something like 1% of the winning bid. You have to buy "eSnipe points" to pay your fee, and I think the minimum you can buy at a time is $5 worth. I've only won once (the eBay bids the rest of the time have gone above my target bid before the bidding time came) and it was during the free period.

I've only used eSnipe. The first two weeks of membership are free then they charge you something like 1% of the winning bid. You have to buy "eSnipe points" to pay your fee, and I think the minimum you can buy at a time is $5 worth. I've only won once (the eBay bids the rest of the time have gone above my target bid before the bidding time came) and it was during the free period.

Well the first three wins are free on AuctionSniper, and then the fees are about the same.

The biggest advantage I can see is that you don't have to sit there and wait to enter your bid at the end.

Other than that, it seems no different than manually entering a maximum bid.

Am I missing something?

I guess it prevents you from emotional bidding as well.

What if someone enters the same maximum bid ahead of you. Don't they have an advantage?

Anyway, it seems marginally better - especially since a lot of auctions end at 3-4am my time.

Congrats on 3,000 posts and thanks.

Sam

But I don't begrude the commission to 3% to paypal - it't not much worse than some of the VI/MC merchant fees.

I agree. A lot of people apparently have had a bad time with them (www.paypalsucks.com) but on three occasions they have tracked down fraudulent sellers for me and gotten my money back.

But I don't begrude the commission to 3% to paypal - it't not much worse than some of the VI/MC merchant fees.

I agree. A lot of people apparently have had a bad time with them (www.paypalsucks.com) but on three occasions they have tracked down fraudulent sellers for me and gotten my money back.

I'm not sure how this got onto to PayPal, but since it did I will weigh in with my experiences...

Take time to actually read the posts on paypalsucks. They are people who, for the most part, were trying to beat the system. Legit sellers should have no problem providing PayPal the information they request. My account was frozen when I had $2000+ in transactions with a three day period. I complied, and my account was restored within two weeks.

Sam

I'm not sure how this got onto to PayPal, but since it did I will weigh in with my experiences...

Take time to actually read the posts on paypalsucks. They are people who, for the most part, were trying to beat the system. Legit sellers should have no problem providing PayPal the information they request. My account was frozen when I had $2000+ in transactions with a three day period. I complied, and my account was restored within two weeks.

Sam
I'd agree with that stuff about the people on paypal sucks. I've been using paypal for more than 5 years and I haven't had a problem, although I don't like their dispute stuff (namely that there's no minimum time after you paid before you can dispute something). I'd also say that paypal is a lot better with refunds. A normal credit card company will take the money from your account right away but then wait a week before removing the charge from the customer's bill. Definitely a pain when you've got a shop and people think I'm not refunding their money.

I use ebay to sell random stuff I have and to buy computer parts and DVDs. Apple wanted $100 to replace my ipod mini battery - spent $15 on ebay getting one. Gateway wanted $550 to replace my laptop's LCD inverter - $40 on ebay.

I'm not sure how this got onto to PayPal, but since it did I will weigh in with my experiences...

Take time to actually read the posts on paypalsucks. They are people who, for the most part, were trying to beat the system. Legit sellers should have no problem providing PayPal the information they request. My account was frozen when I had $2000+ in transactions with a three day period. I complied, and my account was restored within two weeks.

Sam

I'm not sure I agree with this. I am an ebay Powerseller and deal with Paypal all the time, for them to take 2 weeks to allow you access to YOUR own money is insane. I understand the need for a certail level of fraud protection, but Paypal sometimes takes things too far. Imagine if you went to your banks ATM and couldn't get any cash, and the bank claimed you received $2000 in a few days so they'll get back to you in 2 weeks?

Paypal is a handy service, don't get me wrong, but they have absolutely zero sympathy for you as a seller (or buyer). I am extremely strict in my auctions (no zero feedback, only confirmed address etc...) so I am lucky, but I know that if I were to get into a problem with a buyer that I could kiss my money goodbye. I don't trust Paypal one bit, so leave my own fraud protection up to my instincts. I'll cancel around 10% of my auctions and refund the buyer simply because I can't feel something isn't right. I've yet to have a buyer complain or whine, and I assume it is because my instincts were correct. There is a lot of scum on Ebay and the only person that can detect them is yourself.

I'm not sure I agree with this. I am an ebay Powerseller and deal with Paypal all the time, for them to take 2 weeks to allow you access to YOUR own money is insane. I understand the need for a certail level of fraud protection, but Paypal sometimes takes things too far. Imagine if you went to your banks ATM and couldn't get any cash, and the bank claimed you received $2000 in a few days so they'll get back to you in 2 weeks?

Paypal is a handy service, don't get me wrong, but they have absolutely zero sympathy for you as a seller (or buyer). I am extremely strict in my auctions (no zero feedback, only confirmed address etc...) so I am lucky, but I know that if I were to get into a problem with a buyer that I could kiss my money goodbye. I don't trust Paypal one bit, so leave my own fraud protection up to my instincts. I'll cancel around 10% of my auctions and refund the buyer simply because I can't feel something isn't right. I've yet to have a buyer complain or whine, and I assume it is because my instincts were correct. There is a lot of scum on Ebay and the only person that can detect them is yourself.

Fair enough, and I see your points.

FWIW - the two weeks was the time it took me to provide the documentation they had requested, and I expect this to be a one-time occurrence. I am glad that I was asked to provide proof that I would be around if any problems arose. That made me feel better about using PayPal to pay for things in the future.

Two weeks is not long in the whole scheme of things. Banks hold deposits on new accounts for ten business days quite often. Citibank holds personal checks I deposit for five business days, and I have been a customer there for 18 months.

I guess it depends on how bad the person needs the money. Maybe people in a pinch shouldn’t be hawking their goods on eBay.

I agree that PayPal has no sympathy, but that's probably better. My experiences with fraudulent people are that they are quite convincing. Crooks’ ability to lie convincingly makes sympathy a dangerous policy.

But I don't begrude the commission to 3% to paypal - it't not much worse than some of the VI/MC merchant fees.

I agree. A lot of people apparently have had a bad time with them (www.paypalsucks.com) but on three occasions they have tracked down fraudulent sellers for me and gotten my money back.


You are right about the Visa/MC charges. I bought a watch from an established brick and morter, authorized dealer at the end of last year. I negotiated a pretty aggressive price but they would only give me that deal for cash or certified check. I ended up paying the 2 percent fee that that merchant paid just for convenience. They usually eat the fee, but at retail markup of 80% or so they can afford to. At the prices a lot of ebayers sell at as well as if you can negotiate a good price with retail stores the fees matter and I think it is fair to pay for the convenience as a customer.

FWIW, according to my sales reports on Ebay, I am paying around 5% to Paypal and around 6% to Ebay. When you look at the price of some items it does become clear why some sellers charge such high "shipping charges".

I'm not sure I agree with this. I am an ebay Powerseller and deal with Paypal all the time, for them to take 2 weeks to allow you access to YOUR own money is insane. I understand the need for a certail level of fraud protection, but Paypal sometimes takes things too far. Imagine if you went to your banks ATM and couldn't get any cash, and the bank claimed you received $2000 in a few days so they'll get back to you in 2 weeks?
I agree.

I am extremely strict in my auctions (no zero feedback, only confirmed address etc...)
I hate sellers like this. My confirmed address is my home, but I can't receive packages there because there's no one to sign. So I have to hunt down the sellers who will ship to my office.

Two weeks is not long in the whole scheme of things. Banks hold deposits on new accounts for ten business days quite often. Citibank holds personal checks I deposit for five business days, and I have been a customer there for 18 months.
Two weeks is a long time, if you ask me. This is an Internet company.

I've been with Citibank for 8 years and they still hold my out of state deposits for 5 business days (the maximum allowed by Reg. E). I'm considering taking my business elsewhere. My partner has an account with Bank of America and his checks clear the next business day every time - $x,xxx+ checks, out of state, even personal checks. And it's not based on overdraft protection or anything like that - BoA makes the funds available from the check. I don't know why Citibank is so stingy :mad:

I'm not sure I agree with this. I am an ebay Powerseller and deal with Paypal all the time, for them to take 2 weeks to allow you access to YOUR own money is insane. I understand the need for a certail level of fraud protection, but Paypal sometimes takes things too far. Imagine if you went to your banks ATM and couldn't get any cash, and the bank claimed you received $2000 in a few days so they'll get back to you in 2 weeks?

Paypal is a handy service, don't get me wrong, but they have absolutely zero sympathy for you as a seller (or buyer). I am extremely strict in my auctions (no zero feedback, only confirmed address etc...) so I am lucky, but I know that if I were to get into a problem with a buyer that I could kiss my money goodbye. I don't trust Paypal one bit, so leave my own fraud protection up to my instincts. I'll cancel around 10% of my auctions and refund the buyer simply because I can't feel something isn't right. I've yet to have a buyer complain or whine, and I assume it is because my instincts were correct. There is a lot of scum on Ebay and the only person that can detect them is yourself.

I agree with you that PayPal is a handy service. They do have some glitches for the buyer. Last year I bought an item with accessories that didn't work. After several months of trying to work it out with the seller, I contacted PayPal. They said if I got the item, they could do nothing about receiving accessories that didn't work.

Finally after trying for four months to work this out, I had to contact my credit card to cancel the charge. I sent them all my emails and info to the credit card company and they decided I was right. Then PayPal sent me an email freezing my account until I paid them back. I still haven't resolved this with PayPal.

I have spent many hours since with email and phone calls. Their solution was to return the items to the seller and they would talk to me about reinstating my account. I called PayPal customer service and explained that I only had contact with the seller by email who no longer wants to deal with me. I was more than willing to return the items but have no address. The PayPal rep gave me an email address to send a detailed letter explaining I had no last name or address and they would help me. I sent another email to the address the rep gave me and then got an email response back from PayPal telling me to call customer service. I then gave up.

A few days later, I got a survey from PayPal that asked if the problem was settled to my satisfaction. I again explained the what had happened and how I was still trying to get an address for the seller. I even offered to send it to PayPal to mail to the seller. They emailed me back to send them all the info and they would open a file/case. They are so big, they don't always know what they are doing.
Dawn

ps I have 100% positive feedback of 218 at ebay

abelscc, have you tried to find your eBay seller’s contact information? http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9. This search result will give you seller’s name, phone number, city and state, but not the actual street address.

I had a similar situation not too long ago. The fraudulent seller was permanently suspended from eBay, I could not obtain seller’s mailing address. The original package I received did not have a complete return address. After several tries, Paypal allowed me to mail it to Paypal, instead of the seller. When you return the item, make sure you mail it with a tracking number and return receipt, if possible.

When you buy on eBay, try to pay with your credit card via Paypal. So you can charge back if you are not satisfied with the purchase. Paypal is totally worthless when there is a dispute. Paypal does not cover received item that is “not as described”. All Paypal cares is that seller sent you something with a tracking number. It can be totally different from the auction description.