LF overpriced on ebay

[Bill Mitchell]

A 4x5 Tachihara, ebay #130043745819, just went for $700, when they are new for $595 at Badger and Midwest. What kind of idiots...?

 

[Roger Hicks]

A 4x5 Tachihara, ebay #130043745819, just went for $700, when they are new for $595 at Badger and Midwest. What kind of idiots...?

You answered your own question: ebay users.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Dave Miller]

Happens all the time. Some people are too lazy to check retail prices before bidding.

 

[David Brown]

I've bought quite a few things on ebay, but I've learned to always check KEH first.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Lots of stuff is way over priced on Ebay. More it seems every day. OTOH some time the bidders have good reasons to pay what they're paying. But I think most just don't have a good idea what they're doing.

 

[Ole]

Lots of stuff sells for ridiculous prices on ebay. Some of it for ridiculously high prices, some of it for ridiculously low prices. I aim to buy the second type.

 

[Steve Hamley]

I'm with Ole. The classic example is vintage shutters that nearly always sell for more without a lens than the same shutter with vintage glass in it.

Steve

 

[naturephoto1]

As others have said, many bidders are too lazy to check the pricing of new photo equipment. We have seen many times when used equipment sells for more than new. Case and point though they do not frequently sell for more than new, but the Galen Rowell Singh-Ray Grad ND filters often sell for close to the price of new from Singh-Ray directly (sometimes for more).

Rich

 

[BrianShaw]

What kind of idiots...?

You wouldn't be saying that if it was an auction for something you are selling, would you? :confused:

 

[Bob F.]

Well, if you look at the other things the guy who came second, and who pushed the price beyond the 600 dollar mark, has bought in the past you may get an idea of the intellectual capacity you are dealing with...

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Bill Mitchell]

Actually, the crazy winning $700 bid was made long before the second highest bidder (Nazi stuff) tried to get in on the action. The winnder had zero feedback, and I'll bet he'll never be heard from again until he screws up somebody else's auction using a different name.

 

[Bob F.]

The winner is (allegedly) in Hong Kong so is ineligible in any case as "I will ship to the United States and Canada only"... and the account only began a few days before the bid. Smells like a scammer to me.

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Prospero]

I bought my near-new Horseman 45FA from a dealer in Melbourne (Australia) who had bought 20 or so (complete with Nikkor 150 lenses) from the Air Force when its photography school went digital. Anyway, the asking price for the kit in a used camera advertising magazine was A$1495 (say US$1150). He sold some on eBay for around A$1000 more than that.

Yes, always check KEH before you bid.

 

[User Removed]

Did anyone see the Wehman 8x10 that sold for nearly $2,500.00? I found that crazy!

However...I just missed a Kodak Masterview 8x10 that sold for around $700.00, which would have be a GREAT deal. It ended up selling to Lens And Repro, so you know they are just going to turn around and sell it for like $1,000.00.

 

[removed account4]

ebay is a strange place, that is for sure.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...What kind of idiots...?

It's worthwhile to recall that, by definition, half the population has a sub-100 IQ.

 

[BrianShaw]

Are you sure its only half? Many days it seems like the majority!

 

[User Removed]

I just saw some guy pay $10.00 for 30 seconds of "learning to play the air guitar like a pro" lessons.

 

[Dan Fromm]

It's worthwhile to recall that, by definition, half the population has a sub-100 IQ.

Mean not necessarily = median. The IQ distribution is somewhat assymetrical -- the lower tail begins above 0, the upper tail extends past 200 -- so the median might well be a bit higher than the mean.

But when we discuss odd buyer behavior as manifested on eBay, we're not talking about raw intelligence, we're talking about access to information. We here are all wonderful people who know more than absolutely necessary, including the names and URLs of suppliers who sell at discount, but there are many, many others who are less wonderful and don't know what we do. Stupidity and ignorance aren't at all the same.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[removed account4]

I just saw some guy pay $10.00 for 30 seconds of "learning to play the air guitar like a pro" lessons.

a friend sold an empty box to someone for $20+shipping

 

[Oren Grad]

But when we discuss odd buyer behavior as manifested on eBay, we're not talking about raw intelligence, we're talking about access to information. We here are all wonderful people who know more than absolutely necessary, including the names and URLs of suppliers who sell at discount, but there are many, many others who are less wonderful and don't know what we do. Stupidity and ignorance aren't at all the same.

Exactly. Not only that, but it can be rational not to search for additional information. If your free time is precious and you earn a living billing your work time by the hour, it may well make perfect sense to run the risk of paying a bit extra for something that's available to you right now, rather than spending hours rummaging around on the web hoping you'll learn something that will save you that much.

 

[Dave Parker]

Overspending on Ebay, WOW what a concept, guess it is time to sell some stuff..Ye Ha!

LOL

Dave

 

[big_ben_blue]

Overspending on Ebay, WOW what a concept, guess it is time to sell some stuff..Ye Ha!

LOL

Dave

Hey, I have spent good money on useless things from Ebay just because I really really wanted them right then . And besides, it's a whole lot more exciting to engage in an adrenalin raising bidding war frenzy than just "adding item to shopping cart" (grocery shopping style fun).

Chris

 

[big_ben_blue]

Actually, the crazy winning $700 bid was made long before the second highest bidder (Nazi stuff) tried to get in on the action.

uhmm, what exactly has "Nazi stuff" to do with this auction? Absolutely nothing. I sincerely hope that you are not implying that the guy is some sort of goosestepping low-IQ right-wing extremist just because he bought a CD with some obscure 3rd Reich era tunes according to his feedback score. I have some unusual things in my own feedback history which could led to pretty interesting assumtions and prejudices (a bunch of antique dresses and even high heels and fishnets to put on a lifesized skeleton for a gothic inspired slightly skewed Halloween display). So would that log me under "guy with crossdressing stuff"?

 

[Dan Fromm]

Exactly. Not only that, but it can be rational not to search for additional information. If your free time is precious and you earn a living billing your work time by the hour, it may well make perfect sense to run the risk of paying a bit extra for something that's available to you right now, rather than spending hours rummaging around on the web hoping you'll learn something that will save you that much.

Oren, y'know, the late Herb Simon got a Nobel in economics for, among other things, the insight that when collecting and using information is costly, the optimal level of optimization is less than full.

That said, some of us have learned to go directly to www.bhphotovideo.com and www.keh.com before bidding on anything on eBay that's likely to be available new or used. I think that Herb, if he were still alive, would agree that once you know how to get necessary information very cheaply you're a fool not to do so. Sad thing is, not everyone knows the trick.

Cheers,

Dan