The E-Bay question of the year

[Mo2vation]

Some one out there has to fill me in on the logic of the E-Bay auction section no reserve. Why would anyone pay more $$$ for a used item such as fins that you can buy from places such as Liesurepro or Scubatoys for less money. 1st Example: used Scubapro Jet Fins they are listed an one of those sites for approximately $63.00 (new )plus postage usual $4-$5 dollars .The auction I was watching ended 2 hours ago with someone bidding 55.00 plus 15.00 shipping and handling for scratched up fins what a bargin,my first thought was this is some newbie but this person has purchased several scuba items over the last year. I have bid an several items over the years and never won. 2nd Example :al 80 tank 1993 numbers used I bid $70 plus the $20 shipping. The guy who won the auction paid $139.00 plus$20.00 shipping ,about the same price or more as a new al80.Wow this person also has 278# and 99.7 rating so this is no new guy .There are several more but you get my point So someone ease my simple mind

Big Budd and AWAP - you guys are right on.

There is also a lot of international bidding going on. I buy and sell zillions of things on eBay every month (a lot of it Scuba gear) and I can tell you within a few bucks what something is going to close for.

Almost all of the Scuba stuff I sell that closes for wacky prices are bidders that are out of the country. These guys either can't get the stuff or have money in their PayPal account - so its "found money" or "House Money" as they've rolled something else to fill the account.

Also - you're not considering one more thing: The Schil Bid. A LOT of these wacky prices come from the Seller or the Seller's buddies bidding on his stuff to drive up the price. Don't believe me? Check the feedback records.... Schil bidding is easy to spot if you know what to look for.

I've made many, many tens of thousands of dollars buying attractively priced or mislisted stuff off of ebay and flipping it. Each year, I make a little less as it gets harder and harder - as the marketplace matures, as sellers get smarter, as buyers become more educated, as eBay's pricing policies become more combative, as eBay's tools become more friendly for others, etc.

The Internet is the biggest thing to happen in my lifetime, and eBay is the biggest thing to happen to the internet - but after 10 years on ebay, its still the first place I go to for everything I buy (from shoes, to sunglasses, outdoor expedition wear, scuba gear, pro audio, music, photo, wine, all manner of electronics, pens, cell phones, CD's... everything!) but treasure hunting for resale is becoming expensive and less attractive, less profitable and more time consuming.

---
Ken

 

[JahJahwarrior]

If anyone wants to practice bidding up and paying alot of things, go practice on this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/US-Divers-Conshelf-XII-with-Sherwood-octo-and-guages_W0QQitemZ290071648789QQihZ019QQcategoryZ16056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm getting tired of having them around, when I'd rather have a digital slr or a car or tanks, but no one on scubaboard wanted them, and this is the second time I've listed them on ebay. I don't get it, everyone was telling me that people would pay alot for the vintage gear. I don't love it, so I had it serviced and now no one wants to buy it.

And I just bid on a Nikon D50 with a cracked top LCD screen. It went from $24 to $60, and I stopped when I was bidding $60 and was still outbid. I decided I didn't want to risk getting a piece of junk for $60. And it was hard to stop bidding, but I made myself do it. Now if only people would actually bid for my regs and then bid up and find themselves unable to stop!


As a sidenote, I usuallys ell stuff on PBnation, a paintball forum. People trade, buy and sell almost everything in the B/S/T forums. It's usually a good way to guage how much people will pay for things too. I got a 3rd gen 20 gig ipod in perfect shape for $55, and I just bought a 1gig first gen shuffle for $35. The beauty is, it's not auction style, and you can barter. And if you are fast, or notice that no one has noticed a great deal, you can work out a great deal with people selling the ame thing for double the price all over the place. The 3rd gen ipods are selling for around $100, in only decent shape, and 512mb shuffles are selling for $40. I am willing to wait until I see a thread where, buried in there, was something I want, for a decent price. No one else sees and wants, so the guy will sell for cheap

 

[james croft]

Don't forget the people buying props and memorabelia for decor in places like resurauants. They have deep pockets for anyting that has "the look".

Pete

"The look" is important to some. I once had a well used Wenoka dive knife that looked pretty rough. A new diver on a dive boat eyeballed it and asked to see it. He then asked if I would like to trade for a new knife he had. I did the trade and we were both happy.

 

[DiveMaven]

For me the trick for buying on e-bay is to figure out the maximum I'll spend on an item, and do the automatic bidding thing up to that amount. If I get outbid, it wasn't meant to be and I move on. There's always another one listed eventually, then the game begins again.

For selling, I simply figure out what the minimum I can live with for selling an item and I put that as the starting bid. I usually get more than that, but there have been a time or two where that's been the selling point, which is okay since it WAS my minimum after all.

 

[almitywife]

Because, my friend.. there are some really DUMB people out there.
use it to your advantage.
Z...

hope youre not talking aboot me and my tank win on friday night!!!

like someone said earlier... people dont do their homework

ive sold stuff on ebay and it gets to a point that sometimes im afraid to look at the current bidding price because it was just way too high

cheers

 

[Hoosier]

How can you say they are stupid?
How many divers are there in the world? How many members do we have here among them?

What if there are an international buyers?
What if the seller offers a duty free delivery options?
What if they haven't been on the board all the times like our sick members including myself?

Sure, sometimes there is a "shell" bids to raise the final price from the seller though.

Wake up... It isn't a small world.

Oops! Ken you were already there....

 

[ams511]

I don't get it, everyone was telling me that people would pay alot for the vintage gear. I don't love it, so I had it serviced and now no one wants to buy it.

My experience is people do not factor in the price of servicing when bidding on scuba gear. My rule of thumb and probably others is to look at the Leisure Pro price subtract from there and then subtract the cost of servicing. In general, I lose most auctions. The only time I get a deal is when something is not described well. Sometimes I get a good deal. Recently, I bought a Magnum II reg with octo fully serviced and in new condition for $70. To get my old Magnum I serviced in Miami it would be about $65 so for $5 more I got a new set. Not a bad deal in my book.

 

[Debraw]

Sometimes people by gear for parts needed on gear they already have. International buyers are different and I just don't think they can get what they need locally for a good price. I don't get the whole scuba tank thing, that just blows me away. I used to take time and look for all those used voluntary recalled tanks from Luxfer and send emails to the people bidding on them that they were getting a tank they may not be able get inspected or filled in the future. I would get ignored and sometimes people would email me thanking me. I would even include the link to the Luxfer site. I think the old addage one man's junk is another man's treasure, you just never know.

 

[almitywife]

Sometimes people by gear for parts needed on gear they already have. International buyers are different and I just don't think they can get what they need locally for a good price. .....

good point.

i just bought a zealge inflater controller on ebay... was happy to pay a good price plus i got it lightening fast (when comparing to my local supplier) and i know the seller was happy with the price

and still looking for another one actually

 

[1_T_Submariner]

competative people should not go to Auctions.