People on Ebay are stoopid!!

[norrahe]

Stopped using Ebay many years ago for this very reason. Seems most second-hand goods on there are cheaper brand-new off Amazon most of the time.

Ebay used to be good in the early days, but now it's just a home for Traders, not regular folks. And according to the last few "police reality" programs I've watched on TV, it seems most stolen goods go the Ebay route as well.

Mind you, Computer Exchange (CEX) and Game on the high-street are just as bad: most of the second-hand items in their shops can be purchased brand-new from Amazon for around the same price - and with free delivery.

WNS

Got rid of my ebay account this year as I hadn't bought anything from them in years. Used to be good but not anymore, easier and more reliable to buy from amazon.

[d000hg]

I thought it might be nice to get a few of my favourite series in Blu Ray. For instance Stargate Atlantis. A quick check on Amazon shows i can get the whole thing brand new from them for £47.97 not bad for 5 series. But I dont mind a second hand one off Ebay, so I have a look but most of these below are "new unopened"

The one Im watching now finishes in 5 hours and is already at £45.51! Why?

Looking at completed items, an auction on the 4/8 finished for £77.00 + £2.25 postage. Two BIN were sold at £65.95 another at £56.95.

It seems that people being so dumb, you could buy from Amazon and then make a few quid (£31.28 in the last auction)

Is it auction fever?

Most people don't know how to use comparison sites. Also, the various online stores randomly slash prices by 50% for a few weeks... so £70 might be the normal price apart from one shop offering it at £45... then next week they might have it for £70 and someone else has it for £45.

[BrilloPad]

Thing about ebay is it is very hard to tell. We sold car seats that cost £40 each for the twins - and got £26 for one and £27 for the other.

I sold a child bike seat that cost £35 and got £2.10. The person that bought it left a £10 note at our house - then asked us to post it so it cost us a stamp.

Perhaps more upsettingly we sold bundles of kids clothes for charity. I think we sold 4 bundles of clothes that would each cost £200 new. We got £5 each! For charity! ggrrrrrr. Too many people prepared to pay anything for kids stuff.

[escapeUK]

The item I was watching has finished, and sold at £60 (inc postage). Amazon sell it for £47.97. Crazy....... I guess the chances of me getting a copy for £20 are looking slim to none.

[BS1397]

I thought it might be nice to get a few of my favourite series in Blu Ray. For instance Stargate Atlantis. A quick check on Amazon shows i can get the whole thing brand new from them for £47.97 not bad for 5 series. But I dont mind a second hand one off Ebay, so I have a look but most of these below are "new unopened"

The one Im watching now finishes in 5 hours and is already at £45.51! Why?

You have to laugh at some eDiots, I have seen fevered bids on a used item that you can by brand new from any High Street retailer for a lot less.
Actually, what really puzzles me is why was Atlantis ended much too soon but was then replaced by the ultra carp Universe?

[Gentile]

Stopped using Ebay many years ago for this very reason. Seems most second-hand goods on there are cheaper brand-new off Amazon most of the time.

Ebay used to be good in the early days, but now it's just a home for Traders, not regular folks. And according to the last few "police reality" programs I've watched on TV, it seems most stolen goods go the Ebay route as well.

Mind you, Computer Exchange (CEX) and Game on the high-street are just as bad: most of the second-hand items in their shops can be purchased brand-new from Amazon for around the same price - and with free delivery.

A DBA I know used to make a mint out of buying 3-for-1 second-hand games on the high street, and selling all three as separate items on e-bay for a reasonable second-hand price, thereby making 100% profit on the third item. If you're shifting a couple of hundred games a week, the profit can be pretty decent. I don't know enough about games myself to do it, but he used to play them and sell them on a continuous loop.

I've never bought anything off of e-bay myself; it's Amazon for me all the way.

[nomadd]

The item I was watching has finished, and sold at £60 (inc postage). Amazon sell it for £47.97. Crazy.......

Got a stone through the headlight on my motorbike about 5 years ago. Honda dealer quoted £120 for a new one; the dealer is just 5 minutes from my house and could get it within 48 hours. I ended up bidding £40 for a second-hand one on eBay: it eventually went for £117, with the seller demanding an additional £10 for P&P. I've no idea who buys these used items at such stupid prices - but I expect many 'dummy' bids from mates of the seller are to blame for much of the the ramping. Still, it must work, as eBay is now as expense as ever and yet still seems to thrive... Like you say: crazy.

[SimonMac]

People just assume that eBay is still the bargain it once was not realizing power sellers are pushing the price steadily up, so assume they are getting a bargain instead of comparing prices elsewhere.

[MarillionFan]

A DBA I know used to make a mint out of buying 3-for-1 second-hand games on the high street, and selling all three as separate items on e-bay for a reasonable second-hand price, thereby making 100% profit on the third item. If you're shifting a couple of hundred games a week, the profit can be pretty decent. I don't know enough about games myself to do it, but he used to play them and sell them on a continuous loop.

I've never bought anything off of e-bay myself; it's Amazon for me all the way.

What a waste of bloody time. Anyone who says they're making a mint doing that is talking crappola.

Firstly, the fees for advertising, selling and paypal take a significant chunk out of the process. Secondly the postage is a pain, and thirdly do you know how long it takes to pack up/do the envelopes/postages etc for 200 games a week?? I do and your example sounds highly implausible. Not enough margin in it.

[original PM]

Also just google for voucher/voucher codes before you buy anything.

Saved £120 on my last holiday by finding a voucher code which gave a few % off.

So that was like £120 in my skyrocket for 2 minutes googling.

You'd be crazy not to!