Perfectionist Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Well maybe not the cause but defintely a demonstartion of how it came about ..... I've been looking to buy some cheap second hand DVD's off ebay - part of my 2006 resolution to spend less & save more However it seems almost all the ones I am looking at are being bid up to prices HIGHER than you can buy from retailers which are Brand New !!! WTF !! If people are smart enough to use ebay .... I would have thought they would be smart enough to check some of the major online shops or even use froogle/kelkoo etc or even just wonder down the High St. for the best NEW deal before they go mental and pay over the odds for a USED one ?? To me this shows :- 1) People no longer have any sense of what an item/asset is intrinsically worth ..... 2) People no longer look for sources where a Good idea of an assets worth could be derived from ..... 3) People are more likely to take advice from sources where a BAD idea of worth is derived from ..... 4) People are becoming Impulse buyers ..... 5) People have gained an unatural materialism which makes them "need" to own things, whatever the cost ..... 6) People need to "compete" with others, whatever the cost ..... 7) People feel they can afford more when money turns from Cold Hard Cash into Electronic/Printed numbers ...... 8) People rarely check for any small print/additional costs ..... 9) New technology/services can bamboozle people from doing things the old fashioned way ..... 10) Shopping has become a national hobby ..... 11) The Media/Advertising is powerful and effective at manipulating people ..... 12) There's a mug born every second ...... 13) FTB's are very naive ..... 14) Crowd mentality always over inflates perception of value ...... 15) The market is dictated by those who are the Least shrewd & astute ...... And thats just for starters, I could go on all day !! The way I see it - this kind of mass stupidity is a major factor behind the Property bubble ...... PS - I have been buying my DVD's from Morrisons now for no more than £5.99 each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wrongmove Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 PS - I have been buying my DVD's from Morrisons now for no more than £5.99 each Well I've been renting them from Blockbusters - £5 for 3 DVDs for one week ! I agree that Ebay can be rubbish for buying consumer items. A good place to sell stuff, not buy stuff. It is good for more obscure items though - the choice and prices are just not available anyway else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I've been looking to buy some cheap second hand DVD's off ebay - part of my 2006 resolution to spend less & save more However it seems almost all the ones I am looking at are being bid up to prices HIGHER than you can buy from retailers which are Brand New !!! PS - I have been buying my DVD's from Morrisons now for no more than £5.99 each PPS. Try find-dvd for buying new DVDs on the web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 All true - but there's a substantial underclass of Ebay buyers like me who do very well indeed from it. Exhibit a) Hugely popular release which everyone has seen eg Spider-man, Hulk, The Mummy These can go for peanuts. I got the Mummy for £1.50p including postage (and a nice jiffy). Exhibit The mislabelled release eg Crime Scene Investigation rather than CSI These never get found in people's searches so consequently attract few or no bidders. Picked up both parts of season 1 for £5 in total (and delivered) for a friend. I'm up to season 4 with CSI and I have never paid more than £10/season - and yes, the discs are legit. Exhibit c) The poorly timed auction. Ending your auction at 6am in the morning is a recipe for disaster as no one is awake to bid. That's where a snipe tool comes in handy. Set it up with your maximum bid and off you go. I use a snipe tool for all of my auctions now as a) it stops the temptation of getting into bidding wars and I don't have to stay anywhere near my computer. Plus there's the thrill of having beaten someone by 3p. On average I would say I spend £6-7 for 3 DVDs - which is handy if there is one you do decide to keep and you get a free jiffy bag with each one. The rest make excellent impromptu gifts to friends or the library or I flog them for a small profit on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-FTBer Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 All true - but there's a substantial underclass of Ebay buyers like me who do very well indeed from it. Exhibit a) Hugely popular release which everyone has seen eg Spider-man, Hulk, The Mummy These can go for peanuts. I got the Mummy for £1.50p including postage (and a nice jiffy). Exhibit The mislabelled release eg Crime Scene Investigation rather than CSI These never get found in people's searches so consequently attract few or no bidders. Picked up both parts of season 1 for £5 in total (and delivered) for a friend. I'm up to season 4 with CSI and I have never paid more than £10/season - and yes, the discs are legit. Exhibit c) The poorly timed auction. Ending your auction at 6am in the morning is a recipe for disaster as no one is awake to bid. That's where a snipe tool comes in handy. Set it up with your maximum bid and off you go. I use a snipe tool for all of my auctions now as a) it stops the temptation of getting into bidding wars and I don't have to stay anywhere near my computer. Plus there's the thrill of having beaten someone by 3p. On average I would say I spend £6-7 for 3 DVDs - which is handy if there is one you do decide to keep and you get a free jiffy bag with each one. The rest make excellent impromptu gifts to friends or the library or I flog them for a small profit on Amazon. I do a similar thing with medium format pro cameras (mainly Hasselblad and Rollei)... have a watch list that is very long permanently but don't buy that often.... but when you do you can make a killing so long as you know its real value. I've spent £650 putting a Hasselblad outfit together from ebay and sold it to a second-hand dealer for £950.... there is money to be made there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) Another couple of tips I love: Look for bundles Look out for the 'bundle' - some guy selling a whole set-up. Bundles are sold by people who couldn't give a toss about getting top dollar. Buy it and do what the original seller couldn't be bothered to do - sell each bit individually. I once got a piece of audio equipment I wanted by buying a bundle, selling on the stuff I didn't need, effectively getting the part I wanted for next to nothing! Look for dumb faults For some reason, tiny faults that anyone could fix stop people bidding - things like the plastic part from a knob missing. If it's a specialist brand, I find these companies will mail you these 10p parts for free, and if it's a big consumer brand a tiny bit of plastic is never anything more than a £2.50 rip-off at worst. Buy it, get the part, sell it on. Of course, if you have more skills than simply making a phonecall, just type in 'spares repair' as a search and see what comes up! Look for crap listings Bad spelling, typos, not putting the full model number in the title bar, descriptions that don't tell you for certain what the model is, etc. all reduce bids. Snap 'em up when they fail to get a good price, make a brilliant description, and sell on. If I lost me job, I couldn't be arsed getting a McJob to tide me over - I'd just sit in front of ebay, buying and selling - no real stock holding, just 'flipping' a few items here and there. Edited January 17, 2006 by CrashedOutAndBurned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realistbear Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I ran an eBay business for about 3 years and made a tidy sum buying and selling Nikon camera gear. I would buy items off eBay cheap and resell them for an average of 30% profit. The key was the quality of the photography in presenting the item. It always amazed me how people would bid themselves into a frenzy over certain items. I belive that is how HPI works. The "auction" mentality sets in--"you had better get in before someone else gets it." Just like eBay you get carried away and pay too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashedOutAndBurned Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) Yes, I keep a big watchlist just for fun to see what sells and what doesn't. I just bought a semi-classic synth for very little that had a terrible listing. I could easily make £60-70 on it, and get lucky and it could easily be £100 or more. Just making it clear what it is would land that, and it's the sort of thing you could get whim-bidders on with some choice copywriting. Even more, before selling it I'll sample the heck out of it to put on some potential £4.99 loops CD, just in case. Just scan the bits of ebay with products you know a lot about off the top of your head and scoop up bargains. Often something that might sell for £200 in a bog standard blurry-photo-on-grimey-patterned-carpet auction is in an Ebay shop used for £340 - and quite often sells too. Either scenario is okay when the new equivalent is £450+, but it gets very silly when people almost match the cheapest mail-order prices with their bidding. That's just dumb. Edited January 17, 2006 by CrashedOutAndBurned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Same for cd's just check amazon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Blek Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 We seem to have a fascination with fleabay. I use it to sell my junk as there are tons of idiots out there willing to pay full whack for it. I've seen bidding wars that way overprice an item. Its the winning at all costs mentality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) All true - but there's a substantial underclass of Ebay buyers like me who do very well indeed from it. Exhibit a) Hugely popular release which everyone has seen eg Spider-man, Hulk, The Mummy These can go for peanuts. I got the Mummy for £1.50p including postage (and a nice jiffy). Exhibit The mislabelled release eg Crime Scene Investigation rather than CSI These never get found in people's searches so consequently attract few or no bidders. Picked up both parts of season 1 for £5 in total (and delivered) for a friend. I'm up to season 4 with CSI and I have never paid more than £10/season - and yes, the discs are legit. Exhibit c) The poorly timed auction. Ending your auction at 6am in the morning is a recipe for disaster as no one is awake to bid. That's where a snipe tool comes in handy. Set it up with your maximum bid and off you go. I use a snipe tool for all of my auctions now as a) it stops the temptation of getting into bidding wars and I don't have to stay anywhere near my computer. Plus there's the thrill of having beaten someone by 3p. On average I would say I spend £6-7 for 3 DVDs - which is handy if there is one you do decide to keep and you get a free jiffy bag with each one. The rest make excellent impromptu gifts to friends or the library or I flog them for a small profit on Amazon. Now then, this there snipe tool share it with your buddies, Saves me the effort of hunting it down on Google Edited January 17, 2006 by Converted Lurker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyMe Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Now then, this there snipe tool share it with your buddies, Saves me the effort of hunting it down on Google Me too. Amazing thing about Ebay is the difference in prices that are achieved, same lots, same seller. Would like to know what people think about bidding on say 4 multiple lots - which do you go for? 1st, 2nd 3rd or 4th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalstar Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 www.auctionsniper.com and this catches other peoples errors http://www.fatfingers.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashConnoisseur Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 (edited) Before using Fat Fingers you may like to read the user reviews for the Fat Fingers widget at MacUpdate: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/18168 i'd like to know why the search begins at fatfingers.co.uk, then goes to things like apmebf.com, and adfarm etc before finally landing at ebay. seems a bit suspicous to me.[...snip...] Yes this is a kind of spy ware (as mentioned in previous post) in the sense that you go thru some other website (giving them infos... what exactly ?) before going to the eBay web site. For a list of eBay tools available for Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger: http://www.macupdate.com/search.php?keywords=eBay Some of these are cross-platform Java applications and others may have Windows versions. Edited January 17, 2006 by Jeff Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyMe Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 frugalstar, Jeff Ross Cheers for those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I've seen numpties buying secondhand Tv's for more money than you can buy thesame model for new. I've watched a leased PC equipment seller offer 4 monitors seperately and all the auctions ending the same day. And I saw two people out bidding each other on one auction at a price higher than a price for another "Buy it Now" price by the same seller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 One other trick if you sell on ebay is to have several ebay accounts, sell an item on one and use your other accounts to bid up the price. You can see how many people look at your item and you can also see how many people are watching you item as well. If theres alot of interest then you dont need to bid up your items that much but those that have say only 1 person watching your item needs bidding up with your other accounts especially if you dont set a reserve. You can create as many accounts as you like and theres no proof required of where you are based with ebay its different with paypal though. It is brilliant until you get caught. It is called shill bidding and you will receive an instant ban. Any trader doing ebay as a proper business would not risk there account being closed for shill bidding. I know, I was banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Now then, this there snipe tool share it with your buddies, Saves me the effort of hunting it down on Google This my favourite - because it's free and being java runs on practically any platform. Be warned though it does ocassionally fail (around 5% of the time) so if you are absolutely desperate to get something it may not be for you. http://www.jbidwatcher.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Possitt Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 However it seems almost all the ones I am looking at are being bid up to prices HIGHER than you can buy from retailers which are Brand New !!! I have noticed this particularly with DVDs, and PC components. If I had more time on my hands I reckon there's a few quid to be made by checking the prices on online retailers, then listing the items on ebay, on Buy It Now, with a reasonable markup. When someone wins one of the items, just order it from the retailer and have them send it direct to the winning bidder. No need to even handle the goods yourself! The margins would be relatively small, but sell enough volume and you make a decent amount of money overall. Some people are obviously doing this already. I recently bought some "Henry" hoover bags from an ebay auction, and they were sent to me direct from Numatic (the manufacturer) rather than from the seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libitina Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Some people were selling Argos reservation numbers before Xmas. For Nintendogs game and Xbox 360's. People will buy anything I use auctionstealer if I'm desperate to win a particular item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Ickle Bear Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Well maybe not the cause but defintely a demonstartion of how it came about ..... I've been looking to buy some cheap second hand DVD's off ebay - part of my 2006 resolution to spend less & save more However it seems almost all the ones I am looking at are being bid up to prices HIGHER than you can buy from retailers which are Brand New !!! WTF !! If people are smart enough to use ebay .... I would have thought they would be smart enough to check some of the major online shops or even use froogle/kelkoo etc or even just wonder down the High St. for the best NEW deal before they go mental and pay over the odds for a USED one ?? Hi there I use Ebay very frequently to buy clothes for my baby daughter and I have to agree that the herd mentality on Ebay also amazes me, especially with baby clothes! People seem to get in to a bidding war and more often than not will bid over what you can buy it in the shops for and thats without taking into consideration the P&P too. Ebay is a great place to pick up a bargain if you are sensible, but in my experience if somebody wants a specific item then they will pay for it at all costs. Completely daft and if they want to waste their money like that then let them. Its either that or they just cannot be bothered to get off their bums and go to the shops to buy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichM Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Got Peter Jackson's Braindead and Bad Taste in Virgin just after Xmas, 5 and 4 pounds respectively, bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 This my favourite - because it's free and being java runs on practically any platform. Be warned though it does ocassionally fail (around 5% of the time) so if you are absolutely desperate to get something it may not be for you. http://www.jbidwatcher.com/ Cheers guys, for any tight wad info. this place is ranked number one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuberider Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I have noticed this particularly with DVDs, and PC components. If I had more time on my hands I reckon there's a few quid to be made by checking the prices on online retailers, then listing the items on ebay, on Buy It Now, with a reasonable markup. When someone wins one of the items, just order it from the retailer and have them send it direct to the winning bidder. No need to even handle the goods yourself! The margins would be relatively small, but sell enough volume and you make a decent amount of money overall.Some people are obviously doing this already. I recently bought some "Henry" hoover bags from an ebay auction, and they were sent to me direct from Numatic (the manufacturer) rather than from the seller. That's called DROPSHIPPING and is a method used by thousands of ebay'ers worldwide for a classic example check out Venditions website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Possitt Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 That's called DROPSHIPPING and is a method used by thousands of ebay'ers worldwide for a classic example check out Venditions website. Ah, I didn't realise it was as common as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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