OP
OP
Aw, you suck! I wouldnt have looked if you hadnt pointed it out!
Rant: ebay auctions for "As-Is" items at premium prices
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Aw, you suck! I wouldnt have looked if you hadnt pointed it out!
The real title of this post should be "Wah Wah! I want camera X for 12.50!"
And your point is?
If I'm gonna pay market value or close I'll buy it locally or from someone I know and can trust like KEH.
For me, buying off ebay is like buying at a yard sale or a swap meet. And I do buy off it occasionally.
I've almost completely given up on eBay...
Routinely I see used items going for more than new, and new items for more than on Amazon.
I think people just get "addicted" to the bidding process, it's like casino gamblers who pee themselves rather than get up from in front of a slot machine.
Routinely I see used items going for more than new, and new items for more than on Amazon.
I think people just get "addicted" to the bidding process, it's like casino gamblers who pee themselves rather than get up from in front of a slot machine.
Ewwww.... It's gonna take a lot of brain bleach and a melon scoop to get that image out of my mind! :rolleyes:
Michael
As I said, I use eBay for entertainment when I am waiting for something else to start.
I think it might be more entertaining to watch the slot machine gamblers pee on themselves. Might make for some good "Kodak Moments".... until someone gets paranoid about me having a camera out in a public place
I'm a Californian who can't stand Meg Whitman. But I still buy on eBay! What else can I say about that?
I like buying and selling on Craigslist though because everyone wants to trade. I can usually trade up when I'm objective about material things. But I can't be that way with cameras unless they are like.. hmm... <digging in my mind here> like a Kodak Instamatic! Sorry Kodak, you make fine film but that camera just... a hair above the quality of Cracker Jacks.. and that might be debatable hahah... I traded one of my enlargements for a box of old antique cameras where everything worked and in good condition!! Thanks Craigslist!
Sorry if that wasn't ranty enough... I decided to be positive today
I like buying and selling on Craigslist though because everyone wants to trade. I can usually trade up when I'm objective about material things. But I can't be that way with cameras unless they are like.. hmm... <digging in my mind here> like a Kodak Instamatic! Sorry Kodak, you make fine film but that camera just... a hair above the quality of Cracker Jacks.. and that might be debatable hahah... I traded one of my enlargements for a box of old antique cameras where everything worked and in good condition!!
Thanks Craigslist!Sorry if that wasn't ranty enough... I decided to be positive today
A wise man, but I use KEH instead of eBay. Much better return policy and better prices.
I've been warning about this for years.
Because of pay-pals protection policy a seller that knows he/she has a non-working piece of gear, no matter what it is, but generally camera gear, film stuff, will state "Found my Fathers xxxxx" or "This was my Uncles xxxx" and then, "I have now knowledge of how to use this etc....... so it has to be "as-is"
This is their out. I stopped using ebay and paypal ages ago. But if want to MAKE a ton of money, SHORT the stock. It's way over valued and it's becoming more and more clear to the everyday man..... I wish I had money to short it.
Because of pay-pals protection policy a seller that knows he/she has a non-working piece of gear, no matter what it is, but generally camera gear, film stuff, will state "Found my Fathers xxxxx" or "This was my Uncles xxxx" and then, "I have now knowledge of how to use this etc....... so it has to be "as-is"
This is their out. I stopped using ebay and paypal ages ago. But if want to MAKE a ton of money, SHORT the stock. It's way over valued and it's becoming more and more clear to the everyday man..... I wish I had money to short it.
You also have nit picking buyers that will try anything to get some money off or return it because it is used even though sold a s used. Buy at is helps protect sellers although bad ones also hide behind this.
But so what? Don't bid or buy. Simple. What is the problem? If I don't have a good feel for the seller, I avoid dealing with them. Easy enough to look through their Feed Back. And or, ask specific questions, and if you don't like the answers, don't bid, don't buy.
Someone ask for more money than you think its worth, so what. That happens every minute on more sites than eBay. Again, don't buy.
The buyers set the price. Asking price doesn't matter. Only actual sold prices matters.
JMO
But so what? Don't bid or buy. Simple. What is the problem? If I don't have a good feel for the seller, I avoid dealing with them. Easy enough to look through their Feed Back. And or, ask specific questions, and if you don't like the answers, don't bid, don't buy.
Someone ask for more money than you think its worth, so what. That happens every minute on more sites than eBay. Again, don't buy.
The buyers set the price. Asking price doesn't matter. Only actual sold prices matters.
JMO
Basically ebay and the paypal protection does not work for neither you nor the seller if:
- you buy without reading carefully what you buy
- you are drunk when buying
- you read a listing for a $100 camera which was "found in my dad's shed, no idea what it is, it is as is" and you still go ahead and buy it
- you pay $2000 for a Canon 400/2.8 based on a listing with bad english, a stock photo from the Canon website and a feedback of 5 sales from selling $1 stamps
- you buy something that is used and expect it to be like new
- you sell to someone who pays you and then asks you to ship it direct to his young brother in Uzbekistan instead of his registered PayPal address in California
- you want something for nothing
I have sold and bought lots of stuff on ebay, most of the time with no problems. But it not all roses for the sellers either. You get lots of idiotic buyers who give you hassle because they do the things I listed above. Some of my encounters:
-Someone making a fuss that I overcharged £1.50 for P&P based on the value of the stamp. Well padded envelopes don't grow in my back garden and the remaining 50p is because I have to estimate it as I don't go back and forth to the post office weighing, getting a price estimate, going back to list it and then back to the post office to send it.
-I sold 2x512MB sticks to some idiot who claimed the listing said 1GB. The thing is, the title said "1GB 2x512MB" simply to get the search results right. Once you opened the listing and read it you would see in huge letters 2x512MB in the middle of the page and a nice photo showing you 2 memory sticks with one actually having a 512MB sticker on it. But he just clicked buy now without even reading the title in full. I also clearly stated that I will not accept returns if they decide they don't want it or it is incompatible (all the tech specs were listed). Still he tried and I told him to stick it. I think he was actually drunk as he bought it late on Saturday night.
- I refunded one who received a printer smashed in half even thought they chose not to have insured delivery, simply because I didn't want the hassle and didn't want the bad feedback for the £50 I could have kept.
- I also refunded a guy who bought a Bronica lens from me, it arrived and somehow didn't work properly with his camera (even though it worked fine on mine).
- I gave a guy a discount when he got a laptop with a clearly stated bad screen latch, then went to complain the latch doesn't catch and he wants to send it back or maybe I can give him £30 off. Which is clear he just tried to get a discount as he knew the postage costs and hassle would amount to £30 plus I'd then have to sell it again.
-I bought a phone which was listed as blocked. Somehow I read that as sim locked. So it was unusable but it was all my fault so I ate the loss.
In general, if you like the price and looks like it is genuine buy it. If you are the kind of person that worries too much about things then go to a shop. Like that time I went to a shop, bought a used Nikon 35-70/2.8, got home and the front fell off while zooming it. It then took a good hour and to convince them that the lens was crap and that I didn't drop it. Eventually one of the employees dug up the history and found that they actually had it for a few months there and that before going on sale it was sent for "servicing" to a repair shop, which clearly did a botched job. Oh yes, it was back in the shop window a week later.
- you buy without reading carefully what you buy
- you are drunk when buying
- you read a listing for a $100 camera which was "found in my dad's shed, no idea what it is, it is as is" and you still go ahead and buy it
- you pay $2000 for a Canon 400/2.8 based on a listing with bad english, a stock photo from the Canon website and a feedback of 5 sales from selling $1 stamps
- you buy something that is used and expect it to be like new
- you sell to someone who pays you and then asks you to ship it direct to his young brother in Uzbekistan instead of his registered PayPal address in California
- you want something for nothing
I have sold and bought lots of stuff on ebay, most of the time with no problems. But it not all roses for the sellers either. You get lots of idiotic buyers who give you hassle because they do the things I listed above. Some of my encounters:
-Someone making a fuss that I overcharged £1.50 for P&P based on the value of the stamp. Well padded envelopes don't grow in my back garden and the remaining 50p is because I have to estimate it as I don't go back and forth to the post office weighing, getting a price estimate, going back to list it and then back to the post office to send it.
-I sold 2x512MB sticks to some idiot who claimed the listing said 1GB. The thing is, the title said "1GB 2x512MB" simply to get the search results right. Once you opened the listing and read it you would see in huge letters 2x512MB in the middle of the page and a nice photo showing you 2 memory sticks with one actually having a 512MB sticker on it. But he just clicked buy now without even reading the title in full. I also clearly stated that I will not accept returns if they decide they don't want it or it is incompatible (all the tech specs were listed). Still he tried and I told him to stick it. I think he was actually drunk as he bought it late on Saturday night.
- I refunded one who received a printer smashed in half even thought they chose not to have insured delivery, simply because I didn't want the hassle and didn't want the bad feedback for the £50 I could have kept.
- I also refunded a guy who bought a Bronica lens from me, it arrived and somehow didn't work properly with his camera (even though it worked fine on mine).
- I gave a guy a discount when he got a laptop with a clearly stated bad screen latch, then went to complain the latch doesn't catch and he wants to send it back or maybe I can give him £30 off. Which is clear he just tried to get a discount as he knew the postage costs and hassle would amount to £30 plus I'd then have to sell it again.
-I bought a phone which was listed as blocked. Somehow I read that as sim locked. So it was unusable but it was all my fault so I ate the loss.
In general, if you like the price and looks like it is genuine buy it. If you are the kind of person that worries too much about things then go to a shop. Like that time I went to a shop, bought a used Nikon 35-70/2.8, got home and the front fell off while zooming it. It then took a good hour and to convince them that the lens was crap and that I didn't drop it. Eventually one of the employees dug up the history and found that they actually had it for a few months there and that before going on sale it was sent for "servicing" to a repair shop, which clearly did a botched job. Oh yes, it was back in the shop window a week later.
film_man, your post is really well thought out and I agree completely. This is why I really feel that ebay's model is becoming pretty old, craigslist (for sale anyway) is doing better, even thru ebay owns 25pct of them, not because of ebay, but because of the human mind of thinking of ways of how to rip off their fellow man.
This is happening more and more with banks, corporations, etc.. all the people we use to trust, but when it comes to putting a internet platform between someone that wants to steal (buyer or seller) and an honest person it's over and done with. The crook (or not so honest person) will always prevail. I just happen to see this "trend" growing more and more over the last 10 years.
This is happening more and more with banks, corporations, etc.. all the people we use to trust, but when it comes to putting a internet platform between someone that wants to steal (buyer or seller) and an honest person it's over and done with. The crook (or not so honest person) will always prevail. I just happen to see this "trend" growing more and more over the last 10 years.
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