Rant: ebay auctions for "As-Is" items at premium prices

lxdude · May 5, 2010

Just saw a decent picture on the bay of a tripod/head at a really good BIN price-then I looked at his rating. 75%!! My dog was very startled when I suddenly blurted quite loudly "Aw, HELL No!!

k_jupiter · May 5, 2010

Y'all need a life. Getting upset at posted values on EBay? EBay is toast. There is no EBay anymore. I have a 240 rating and haven't bought a thing in two or three years.

It was fun while it lasted. I am a professional bottom feeder but the values just are not there so EBay sellers don't even get a look anymore.

The sad part is I live in San Jose, I have friends who work for EBay and they don't bother to play either.

It's just sad.

tim in san jose

darinwc · May 5, 2010

There are still deals to be found on Ebay.. but its not easy..

McFortner · May 5, 2010

The big problem is the general population thinks "Old = Expensive!" They have no idea that most of what they are selling is so darn common that it's value is low.

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2010

pcooklin said:
Yes, it makes me cross....Ive seen expired film being sold for *more* than I can buy it new. Im sure they must catch a few people who don't know better which is why they keep running the ads'. Ive nearly contacted the sellers' a few times to say I could buy a new item for less...</end rant>

But it is aged like a fine wine and that is what drives up the price!

clayne · May 5, 2010

I did contact a few of the Kodachrome asshats when the news broke - letting them know what I thought of the price gouging. eBay in general is no where near as fun as it used to be.

lxdude · May 6, 2010

John Lawrence said:
One guy I sold a Rolex watch to took a pair of pliers to the crown because he didn't realise it had a screw-down crown!

John

That made me cringe just reading it.

From screw-down to screw-up in one easy step. :rolleyes:

billbretz · May 6, 2010

clayne said:
I did contact a few of the Kodachrome asshats when the news broke - letting them know what I thought of the price gouging. eBay in general is no where near as fun as it used to be.

There is no such thing as price gouging on film... it's simply not a commodity needed for survival where jacking up the price during a short period of necessity could be morally or legally considered gouging. It's film. Shoot it or don't. Had I a stock of Kodachrome, hell, yeah, it'd be on eBay, too. And I'd sleep better having sold it to a purchaser free from duress, a buyer who could enjoy using it and might just be happy I made it available, whatever the price.

eBay 'no where near as fun as it used to be'? Sounds like some folks don't like that they can't quite find the steals of old.... Maybe that used to be a sort of gouge-in-reverse?

I recently sold a film scanner for far more than I paid for it... never thought I would see a return on a consumer electronic these days. But the market conditions just happened to turn in my favor. The scanner was born in Japan and ended up in Australia after a stay in the US. The transaction would have been virtually impossible before/without eBay. The buyer indicated he was very pleased with the transaction. Happy seller, happy buyer. Long live eBay! (Just use some sense and caution...)

nick mulder · May 6, 2010

This item:

http://cgi.ebay.com/BOLEX-EL-DIGITA...ilm_Cameras&hash=item53e0244c32#ht_568wt_1071

.. although not not listed 'as is' - has been listed on ebay for years now - if you search for Bolex and it didn't turn up you'd think ebay had changed the user interface or something.

The same functionality can be built or bought even for under $100 nowadays - I mentioned the same to the seller maybe I dunno 3 or 4 years ago - no reply...

I would have thought that eBay must reach a point where the added value of these constantly relisted auctions is less than the build up of buyer frustration of wading through the same old crap for years ?

andrewkirkby · May 6, 2010

darinwc said:
There are still deals to be found on Ebay.. but its not easy..

I bought a used-once Manfrotto magfiber tripod ($1400+300 for the head rrp) for $360. it looked unused. The guy was even kind enough to throw in another release plate and ship it via express post to Sydney.

I bought my Hasselblad CF 80mm lens from ebay for $180 Australian dollars with a broken main spring. Lens in perfect condition. $70 to fix & CLA. That's a saving of $500 right there.

I managed to buy about 50 rolls of 1996 expired velvia on eBay ultra cheap. Then that same seller had another 40 rolls of other film which they threw in cheap. The Velvia looks amazing and was 1/6 of the new price here in oz. in fact, the shipping from USA to Australia was more expensive than the film

The thing with eBay is that there are a lot of uneducated people out there willing to pay massive dollars for crummy items from potentially dicey sellers - of which there are plenty. Especially "ships from Hong Kong" type sellers. I hate to say it, but the amount of dodgy/fake items shipping out of HK is horrible. It's a shame because they have some amazing camera stores there, nearly as good as those in Japan.

You have to be prepared to be ripped off. I have been numerous times. Most recently i bought a "mint condition 100% working" hasselblad A12 back from a (private seller) guy in the USA. Turned up looking alright, first roll went through with massive light leak from the front and magazine seal. That bargain doesn't seem so good anymore. I can buy another back for the same price as service or parts/shipping for the broken back.

Steve Smith · May 6, 2010

ralnphot said:
I especially dislike the folks that have a no return policy

They may not have their own 'return policy' but there are laws which cover this.

Steve.

Steve Smith · May 6, 2010

MikeSeb said:
Pretty simple. If you don't like the sale terms or prices, don't bid or buy. And more power to anyone who can sell used dreck, fairly represented, at whatever price an informed and willing buyer will pay.

I agree. It's just an offer to sell at the price requested, no one is forcing a sale.

I do however take issue with sellers who state that they cannot be held responsible for items being lost in the post when ebay's rules and the law say otherwise.

Steve.

dbonamo · May 6, 2010

MFstooges said:
That's nothing, if you take a look at craigslist some used items are offered higher than new.
Rip off & entitlement culture is in the making.

I seen this recently

http://asheville.craigslist.org/pho/1719376063.html

I am not familiar with a Nikon N55, but 350.00 is a little steep I believe..

John Koehrer · May 6, 2010

Ebait has changed a lot. It's become an international storefront not an auction house.
It used to be fun.

Vonder · May 6, 2010

If something is listed at a higher price than you think it should be, don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. The real title of this post should be "Wah Wah! I want camera X for 12.50!"

BobD · May 6, 2010

Wolfeye said:
If something is listed at a higher price than you think it should be, don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. The real title of this post should be "Wah Wah! I want camera X for 12.50!"

+1

Existing Light · May 6, 2010

lxdude said:
"Aw, HELL No!!

I just saw Gabriel Iglasias at UAH about two weeks ago. On his Level of Fatness scale, "Aw, Hell No!" is at the top

In case you havent noticed, I dont have anything productive to add to this thread. I've been ripped on Ebay twice on camera related stuff. Now, I buy my stuff from photography retailers

AshenLight · May 6, 2010

Wolfeye said:
If something is listed at a higher price than you think it should be, don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. The real title of this post should be "Wah Wah! I want camera X for 12.50!"

Make it +2. Fortunately, I've only had good experiences buying cameras and related equipment from ebay, but I can see the potential for rip off artists and the terminally clueless.

Ash

moose10101 · May 6, 2010

A "No returns" policy is unenforceable on eBay, and has been for several years.

sandermarijn · May 6, 2010

moose10101 said:
A "No returns" policy is unenforceable on eBay, and has been for several years.

If payment is not via Paypal and not by credit card, then "no returns" really means no returns.

In Europe ordinary bank transfer is pretty common on ebay.

Sirius Glass · May 6, 2010

John Koehrer said:
Ebait has changed a lot. It's become an international storefront not an auction house.
It used to be fun.

If I get bored, it pick out some items and watch as the price goes ever higher. It is free entertainment; worth everything it costs to watch!

film_man · May 7, 2010

I don't see what the point of the complaining is. If you don't like the price don't buy it. If nobody likes the price then eventually the seller will drop it, unless they like paying ebay endless listing fees.

If you are a bit careful and clever you can use ebay as a kind of free rental shop. You buy a used lens, use it, once bored with it sell it for pretty much what you paid for. Any small profits, treat them as a bonus, any small losses treat them as a rental fee. On a quick count I've bought and sold on ebay 5 bodies (film and digital), about two dozen lenses, a few flashguns and countless accessories. With the exception of digital bodies which depreciate a lot, I pretty much broke even on everything else.

The real rip-off is trying to sell or part exchange equipment in shops. They will generally offer you 1/3-1/2 of what you could get on ebay, simply because they can obviously not sell that much higher than ebay and still need to make a profit.

Ironically, all my current equipment has actually been bought from shops.

Lruw · May 7, 2010

I don't understand all the hate for ebay. If you pay attention to the listing, seller history and carefully inspect the picture, you will be fine most of the time. I have had no negative experiences buying anything camera related and have even got some incredible deals. I got my refurbished Kiev 88 with the 80mm and 30mm for a little under $200, a working Kiev rangefinder for $15 (including shipping) and working speed graphic for $35.

coigach · May 7, 2010

Ebay has the good, the bad and the ugly all in one place...!

I agree it's up to the customer to do their homework, really know what they're looking for and suss out the seller. Also, ask questions!

I've got some great deals on ebay - Fotoman 617-II with 150mm Caltar lens; Minolta F Spotmeter etc, but I've also seen loads of bad value deals too...

Cheers,
Gavin

John Koehrer · May 7, 2010

Awwww nuts.........I just looked at the link to Beyond Words. That's gonna cost me.

Rant: ebay auctions for "As-Is" items at premium prices

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