ebay question

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colpepper

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Why do people put cameras on with a minimum selling price equal to an optimistic maximum they could hope to get on a very good day indeed if the thing was unused in an unopened box? Then stick on a P&P price at the same hourly rate as a private dentist? There are a lot of film cameras going through at present with zero bids.

Is there something I'm missing?
 
eBay used to be a place for picking up a real bargain.

In my recent experience, the saving over buying from a reputable seller is so small, it's hardly worth looking.

I'm not surprised sellers are pushing their luck because people seem to be regularly paying stupidly high prices for stuff!

The amount of counterfeit items on there now is a real worry too.

I'll only ever buy small, low risk items through eBay now.
 
You just need to keep an eye out for the bargains, many sellers just try their luck for an idiot to come along and pay an inflated price.
 
i recently sold a (fishing ) Fox tackle box - i bought this for £12.99 inc free delivery 2 months ago i sold it about 4 weeks back for £18.99 + £4.00 delivery

i put it on as a auction i was honestly shocked when i i realised what it sold for and paid too

the best part was the same guy i bought it off for £12.99 in the 1st place still has them on at £12.99

so some people think they can over charge etc and get away with it but it almost never works now except a few cases
 
I put a lens on there the other week with a very low reserve and was somewhat shocked (thought not particularly disappointed) when the winning bid came within £20 of what said lens would cost new.

Now I'm looking to buy a "pocket" 6x6 camera though I'm less impressed!
 
eBay is a seller's market, simple as that.
 
Indeed, there's definitely the odd bargain to be had out there. Usually you're fighting against every other TP member to find it though. ;)
 
menthel said:
Nope. Most ebay sellers are idiots. Optimistic idiots at that!
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Bit unfair mate :nono: I sell loads of unwanted stuff on eBay.

Trick is to price things right & let the market decide.

I always start at 99p cos it's the cheapest eBay fee.

Mick
 
I have to say i've had a couple of recent bargains on there (including my new d300+mbd10). I also had a nightmare which took two weeks to get a small fortune back from some muppet. It's just the way it goes - plan it right, do your homework etc and don't take too big a risk and you can be sitting pretty. and ignore all the muppets who want to charge silly money - it's just like the various tourist traps in the real world - they prey on those who don't know any better.
 
As a buyer you just need to be careful that you are paying a price that you are happy with for whatever it is you are buying. Ebay is really no different to any other marketplace. If you do a google search for anything you want to buy you’ll probably find someone selling it for about twice as much as the cheapest seller and you’ll still find some people buying off them.

If you are an eBay seller you need to describe the item as best you can and provide the best images of the item as possible so people know what they are buying. If you are an eBay buyer then you need to be patient enough to wait for the bargains to come up then bid within your budget and not be tempted to go over it. It’s fairly simple really.
 
Mickwreay said:
Bit unfair mate :nono: I sell loads of unwanted stuff on eBay.

Trick is to price things right & let the market decide.

I always start at 99p cos it's the cheapest eBay fee.

Mick
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Its not unfair. I said most and will stand by that! You fall into the smaller section by the sound of it! :razz:
 
I'm the same as Mickwreay, I always put my auctions on at 99p with cost postage. If it goes over £39 I always pay the extra for the insurance myself, to cover everything properly.
 
menthel said:
Its not unfair. I said most and will stand by that! You fall into the smaller section by the sound of it! :razz:
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Well sir :razz: to you too :cautious:

I know what you mean mate, I think it's a case of buyer beware!!

I always spend time looking into feedback etc.

I would never spend a lot of money on eBay unless I was collecting in person.

Many people simply pay too much, very near & above tinternet prices sometimes :thinking:

Like the old saying goes "if it seems too good to be true..................."

Mick
 
I've had bad luck as a seller and good as a buyer in general on e,Bay. Their crazy fees are a real killer.

My one bargain of the century came from e,Bay - a mint condition Bronica SQ-A, 2 x PS lenses, 2 x 120 backs, a polaroid back, speed grip, WLF and AE prism finder for £350...
 
I think it's just a madness that grabs folk at any auction. I go most weeks to a local auction and it happens there too. People get carried away and bid way over what an item is worth, I have fallen for it myself.
What one soon learns though that too high a starting price can kill it dead, as has been said a lot of sellers on the bay are idiots.
 
A Nikon F3 in excellent nick went for £38 earlier in the week and some of the buy it now prices are £169.99. Go figure.

Andy
 
Best one for me is when a seller puts the exact same new item up for two different prices P&P taken into consideration :thinking:

I myself do a great deal of research on the item price and the seller. I then set up a set price snipe for the end to the value calculating the P&P in to my maximum bid. I then don't then have to worry about a bartering war win it or lose it there are sure to be more along if you are patient. I have had some great bargains this way.

As for selling I now mainly do fixed price BIN with the submit best offer checked. For the longest time that I can run it for the best value for money possible.

Works for me :)
 
CGeezer said:
Best one for me is when a seller puts the exact same new item up for two different prices P&P taken into consideration :thinking:
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haha, I've seen that before, then spent 20 minutes scratching my head trying to figure out what the difference is between them and why one costs a fiver more than the other, even though they're from the same seller.
 
E-bay depends how you use it, i must admit i have had to evolve through the years, in the beginning it was great, i had to develop my selling to the point that i am the only one on e-bay world wide selling this item, which sells well and could be a claim to fame:bonk::LOL:oh and the profit is 220%


Regards merc
 
It seems to have been taken over by pro or semi-pro sellers who are happy to keep putting the same stuff on in the expectation sooner or later someone will bite. If camera x sells for between twenty-five and forty quid why put it on a starting price of eighty!
 
One problem is that people are selling cameras with way too optimistic buy it now prices, who is honestly going to pay £99.99 PLUS £8.00 postage for a Nikon F60 with just the kit lens, no instructions, flash, others lenses etc?

I am still really annoyed as I keep trying to get a Minolta Dynax 5 and I have been outbid at the last second by £1 - £3 three times in a row. Theres one with the standard 28 - 80mm zoom lens starting at 99p every week on ebay it seems.
 
s162216 said:
I am still really annoyed as I keep trying to get a Minolta Dynax 5 and I have been outbid at the last second by £1 - £3 three times in a row.
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Don't forget it autobids. The guys who beat you might've actually bid £50 more than you did.
 
... and around £30 for one is an excellent price btw - what are you bugging out on?
 
colpepper said:
It seems to have been taken over by pro or semi-pro sellers who are happy to keep putting the same stuff on in the expectation sooner or later someone will bite. If camera x sells for between twenty-five and forty quid why put it on a starting price of eighty!
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he is fishing for a sale.

Ta merc
 
Mickwreay said:
Well sir :razz: to you too :cautious:

I know what you mean mate, I think it's a case of buyer beware!!

I always spend time looking into feedback etc.

I would never spend a lot of money on eBay unless I was collecting in person.

Many people simply pay too much, very near & above tinternet prices sometimes :thinking:

Like the old saying goes "if it seems too good to be true..................."

Mick
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All very true. I only get small items from ebay now. Batteries, cheap cameras and lenses etc. ;)
 
Andysnap said:
A Nikon F3 in excellent nick went for £38 earlier in the week...
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Those prices are never around when I look. F3 seems to go upward - sometimes well up - of a hundred quid. Reading between the lines they've had some hammer even then.
 
Kaouthia said:
Don't forget it autobids. The guys who beat you might've actually bid £50 more than you did.
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No, in every case I was the high bidder and then in sort of like the last 10 seconds someone puts a slightly higher bid on.

Unfortunately I am going to university in about 3 months hopefully so I am trying to save some money but I really want an autofocus SLR to complement my manual Spotmatic F for cases such as me going on holiday where I don't want to risk my 37 year old gear. Next time I'll just bid £30 at the last minute, the postage is what puts me off bidding that though as that usually adds on another £6 - £10.
 
Yeah, you're the high bidder with £50, some guy comes along and bids £100, if your max bid is only £50, the person that bid £100 is going to get it for £51 or whatever. That's how autobid works. :)
 
If a seller is cleverer enough to put something on ebay they normally have the sense to find out what the item is actually worth. The trick is to find the idiots who have no clue or don the sandals and head down to the local car boot :)

I just bought a large format camera for £86 off ebay.com (US), the latest one on the UK ebay went for £450, so I am well chuffed.
 
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