EBay - a good place to get ripped.

[pmrid]

I've bought a lot of stuff - over time - on EBay. And I've noticed that more and more often, the prices there are outrageously above normal retail. As an example, I was looking at buying a Dremel tool set. EBay had them (in Australia) at $162. The identical item at Bunnings at $129.

The moral of the story is always do a basic Google search for the same product you're checking on EBAy and in 9 out of 10 cases, you'll source it for way less.

Peter

[Outcast]

Yup.. couldn't agree more & what is even more amusing is when you see things on either Gumtree or FB Marketplace where the seller is attempting to sell something for more than current retail price...

That one always cracks me up...

[Pepper]

Ebay used to be good. But now anything you search for is a buy it now from a online store holder. Individuals using it to sell stuff has had a massive decline.
Becoming more like alibaba every day.

[pmrid]

And very often, they are selling products they do not have either in stock or even in this country. I know some disclose the goods are in China or Hong Kong or wherever, but a heck of a lot of them pretend (lie) that the stock is in Australia when, as it turns out, they have to order them in from overseas and you wait weeks and weeks for the simplest thing. Sellers I have encountered saying they and the goods are located in Chullora, NSW, for example have form for this with me.

Peter

[raymo]

Ebay is still good for some things, both new and used, but lying about the
whereabouts of goods[as mentioned] has gone through the roof. I have done over 1,000 sales and purchases of U.K. Queen Victoria stamps with only one faulty item for which I was refunded without a problem. I have also bought
quite a number of photographic items with only one being faulty, and was again refunded promptly. Common sense, and checking vendors' feedback,
usually works. And yes, the number of fixed price items has increased, making bargains harder to come by.
raymo

[Cobalt]

Disappointing to see the way eBay has been turned on its head from what the original formulation used to be. I have been a member from the early days when it was actually an enjoyable pastime to see what was on offer when the majority of listings were from private sellers. I used to frequently sell off items as well that I no longer had a use for or when upgrading. Part of it was the extra cash but it was also the notion that someone else was going to be making use of an idle item. Now I hardly bother buying unless it is an item that I can't source locally. You can waste a lot of time scrolling down when the same seller lists the same item fifty times and is located in China, followed by another fifty identical items with only the seller's name having changed. As for selling, the fees take too much of a bite out of the deal. I totally agree with others regarding the seller's listed location having no relevance as to where the item is actually dispatched from and eBay takes no action if you make repeated complaints over this deception.

eBay's only interest lies in the establishment of business stores where ongoing income is assured. They have no interest at all in private individuals scouring their garage for items to sell. These days the mention of eBay leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The first major sign of eBay diving into the gutter was the joke about suddenly not being able to leave negative feedback for dishonest buyers. Why? The icing on the cake was their decision to include postage and handling costs in the seller's final value fee calculation when they were already making their cut from PayPal payments and the fact that PayPal had to be listed as a mandatory option for payment once they had purchased the company.

In this world, good ideas always seem to become tainted when someone realises the potential to make an extra buck.

[Cobalt]

Disappointing to see the way eBay has been turned on its head from what the original formulation used to be. I have been a member from the early days when it was actually an enjoyable pastime to see what was on offer when the majority of listings were from private sellers. I used to frequently sell off items as well that I no longer had a use for or when upgrading. Part of it was the extra cash but it was also the notion that someone else was going to be making use of an idle item. Now I hardly bother buying unless it is an item that I can't source locally. You can waste a lot of time scrolling down when the same seller lists the same item fifty times and is located in China, followed by another fifty identical items with only the seller's name having changed. As for selling, the fees take too much of a bite out of the deal. I totally agree with others regarding the seller's listed location having no relevance as to where the item is actually dispatched from and eBay takes no action if you make repeated complaints over this deception.

eBay's only interest lies in the establishment of business stores where ongoing income is assured. They have no interest at all in private individuals scouring their garage for items to sell. These days the mention of eBay leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The first major sign of eBay diving into the gutter was the joke about suddenly not being able to leave negative feedback for dishonest buyers. Why? The icing on the cake was their decision to include postage and handling costs in the seller's final value fee calculation when they were already making their cut from PayPal payments and the fact that PayPal had to be listed as a mandatory option for payment once they had purchased the company.

In this world, good ideas always seem to become tainted when someone realises the potential to make an extra buck.

[Stardrifter_WA]

I wonder about that too, but then Thomas Tusser said that "a fool and his money is easily parted!"

[pjphilli]

Another thing I have been caught with is delivery times. Ebay quotes what they think is the delivery date based on whether the item is apparently in stock and the supplier's location. The supplier's delivery date may be much longer than this. For example a wait of 4 days estimated by Ebay turned out to be 2 weeks from the Sydney supplier (who did maintain they had the item in stock, but where? - see probable reason in previous threads). Moral - make sure you get a FIRM delivery date from the supplier.

[Outcast]

Too True...