Board logo

Ebay strangeness
BenB - 31/10/07 at 10:13 PM

A while back I bought some DDR ram for my computer on Ebay. Being stupid I managed to buy High Density ram which my motherboard doesn't accept!!! The memory including postage cost me about £35. To send it back for a refund would have cost me £10 recorded postage to US and they charged a restocking fee....
So I decided to sell it on Ebay!! Obviously I have no way of testing it so sold it as seen (and with a big warning saying its High Density and untested). I was recogning I might make back £10 or so....

Just sold for £33 plus £4 postage.... Loads of warnings on the listing about it being sold as seen, no guarantee etc...

Next listing down is the ones I bought- new with guarantee (from the US) £36 all in!!

WTF!!! I'm not complaining BTW- just seems very strange.... Just shows how determined people get to win auction listings!!!


Jon Ison - 31/10/07 at 10:20 PM

We sell items with a BIN, we also always have the same items on 99p starts, we always have in our adds "not the colour your looking for, check out our other auctions" (I always tend to look at peoples other items if i see something I'm interested in just to be nosey if nothing else) anyway I guess you know whats coming next, yup 9 times out of 10 the 99p item goes over the same item on BIN ??? My gain.


Duncan_P - 31/10/07 at 10:23 PM

Yes there are some very strange people on ebay, some people never check completed listing to get a rough price. I have seen a variance in selling price of the same product of 200% before.

One thing about your items is that some people are a bit hesitent about ordering for foreign countries as they see it as more risky...you might have even made a profit if you had tested it


stevebubs - 31/10/07 at 10:58 PM

Not really....if I see an item in foreign lands is only a quid or 2 cheaper than the same thing sourced in the UK, I'll source it in the UK.


RazMan - 31/10/07 at 11:06 PM

There is a kind of weird competitiveness that kicks in with some people - its like a feeding frenzy.


Rob Palin - 1/11/07 at 08:39 AM

One that caught my eye was a MK2 Escort track rod end which went for £20 incl. postage, despite the fact that you can get them from your local motor factors for less than a fiver.

I've also had cases myself though where stuff's gone super-cheap, seemingly because some people are obsessed with getting a ridiculous bargain, as opposed to just a good price.

Like the song says, "people are strange"!


02GF74 - 1/11/07 at 09:05 AM

quote:
Originally posted by BenB

Just sold for £33 plus £4 postage.... Loads of warnings on the listing about it being sold as seen, no guarantee etc...

Next listing down is the ones I bought- new with guarantee (from the US) £36 all in!!



not that strange. Firstly the UK item will be easier get money back for (note the restokcing charge) or visit in person should the item not arrive.

Also UK item could be paid for via cheque or cash, no extra fees. Paying is USD you are prone to banks charging commission and unfavourable exchange rate.

but yes, ebay weirdness is a fact of life.

it is a chicken and egg stiaution? What is an item worth? Boils down to what people are prepared to pay for it so if you bid and loose, you lick yourself since hte item was worht more but if you win, you kick yourself wondering if you have overpaid!!


martyn_16v - 1/11/07 at 10:11 AM

I've occasionally sold VW parts on ebay for more than they cost from the dealer There are one or two things that are so suprisingly cheap from VW that you can stick them straight on ebay for a wee profit and they'll just sell, I imagine there's things like that from most manufacturers TBH.

Of course, there are also the headcases that end up paying way over the odds for used car parts too


BenB - 1/11/07 at 10:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
quote:
Originally posted by BenB

Just sold for £33 plus £4 postage.... Loads of warnings on the listing about it being sold as seen, no guarantee etc...

Next listing down is the ones I bought- new with guarantee (from the US) £36 all in!!



not that strange. Firstly the UK item will be easier get money back for (note the restokcing charge) or visit in person should the item not arrive.

Also UK item could be paid for via cheque or cash, no extra fees. Paying is USD you are prone to banks charging commission and unfavourable exchange rate.

but yes, ebay weirdness is a fact of life.

it is a chicken and egg stiaution? What is an item worth? Boils down to what people are prepared to pay for it so if you bid and loose, you lick yourself since hte item was worht more but if you win, you kick yourself wondering if you have overpaid!!


Yeh, but it's more the UK item (as sold by me) is sold "as seen", caveat emptor, if it's broken it isn't my fault. IE no come backs if it's broken... The US one is sold with a full guarantee and you'ld just lose the postage to send the original chips back to them (the restocking fee only exists if you want a refund after being a numpty and ordering the wrong chips like I did)... Oh well! Not complaining!!!