Ebay madness

[gbb]

I'm gobsmacked. Ive a Brooks saddle on there at the mo...£46 so far with another day to go
Are they REALLY that sought after, to the degree where someones going to pay not far off new price for an old one.
One bidder from Japan, anothrer from the States...maybe thats because of the weak Pound.
It confirms what ive said before...as a buyer, there's very few bargains to be had on ebay any more
As a seller....brilliant

 

[rich p]

Perhaps they're all perverts who just like the idea that it's had your sweet arse on it. Try putting your underpants on ebay and see if you get the same result

 

[Speicher]

I was on ebay for something other than a bike, but decided to see what was available locally in the way of bikes. I am surprised, to say the least, that someone is selling seven very similar bikes. None have had any bids and all the bids end tomorrow.

I could see that someone might have seven bikes to sell, but not all virtually the same. Does anyone else think this is odd?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

my lbs sells stuff on ebay from time to time, so it's maybe a bike shop selling stuff off.

 

[Speicher]

The lbs that would match the address is one of those that has its own cycling team, and is geared up to fast racing bikes, and I would doubt that people sell the sort of bikes on there, and move up to racers.

The other lbs closed down last summer.
I think I will just look again in a few days time, and see if more have appeared.

 

[bonj2]

beware people buying it then claiming to paypal they havent' received it. I've been stung twice like that, the latest one where i had proof of postage and they left positive feedback but paypal aren't interested so i'm suing them, and never use ebay any more as I just can't trust it.
It's *massively* geared up in the buyer's favour, basically if the buyer doesn't want to pay the buyer doesn't have to pay.

 

[gbb]

beware people buying it then claiming to paypal they havent' received it. I've been stung twice like that, the latest one where i had proof of postage and they left positive feedback but paypal aren't interested so i'm suing them, and never use ebay any more as I just can't trust it.
It's *massively* geared up in the buyer's favour, basically if the buyer doesn't want to pay the buyer doesn't have to pay.

This is always something you worry about Ben, but in reality, it rarely ever happens. Ive sold a couple hundred items..and never had a problem.
The key to protecting yourself is getting either proof of postage or, if i'm selling an expensive item, sending it Recorded.
Either way, you should get (most of) your money back from the PO if it gets lost, or a buyer tries to con you.

You're right tho...ebay has weighted everything toward the buyer...for a reason. They leave the seller to protect himself, which of course, you can quite easily.

 

[bonj2]

This is always something you worry about Ben, but in reality, it rarely ever happens. Ive sold a couple hundred items..and never had a problem.
The key to protecting yourself is getting either proof of postage or, if i'm selling an expensive item, sending it Recorded.
Either way, you should get (most of) your money back from the PO if it gets lost, or a buyer tries to con you.

You're right tho...ebay has weighted everything toward the buyer...for a reason. They leave the seller to protect himself, which of course, you can quite easily.

getting proof of postage hasn't helped me. If you know how it can then please do say!

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I think people just get sucked into the whole auction thing, which is great

Or people do what I did the last time I bought a guitar, which is to bid your maximum in the last ten seconds, but accidentally stick an extra zero in. And then fail to notice that your maximum bid is now £1,650 instead of £165, thereby guaranteeing that you win the item, but also that you pay around £150 more than it's actually worth.

 

[gbb]

getting proof of postage hasn't helped me. If you know how it can then please do say!

You need to get a 'lost item' form from the PO and claim from them. It is a bit lengthy, and you dont get your original postage fees back, but at least you dont lose out all together.

 

[DJ]

I got my Brooks B66 from e-bay for £25.00, No bargains he says?

 

[vernon]

Or people do what I did the last time I bought a guitar, which is to bid your maximum in the last ten seconds, but accidentally stick an extra zero in. And then fail to notice that your maximum bid is now £1,650 instead of £165, thereby guaranteeing that you win the item, but also that you pataround £150 more than it's actually worth.

Try using a sniping program. They create mixed feeling amongst the Ebay community as some claim that they give bidders an unfair advantage. They dont - a bid placed by a sniping program will only win if there's no higher bid placed.

Bid sniping helps to remove the bidding frenzy that you can get caught up in in the dying seconds of an auction. Sniping also places bids when you don't have access to a computer to place a 'live' bid. Set the max bid at the most that you consider the item is worth to you and let events run their course. If you win - great. If not - the goods were overpriced.

 

[vernon]

I got my Brooks B66 from e-bay for £25.00, No bargains he says?

I got a £730 Dave Yates frame, new and unused for £240. How good was that?

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Try using a sniping program.

That would take the fun out of it for me. I never get involved in bidding frenzies, my technique is to decide what I want to pay for something, then bid that in the last ten or fifteen seconds of the auction. Just occasionally, it goes a bit wrong.

 

[bonj2]

You need to get a 'lost item' form from the PO and claim from them. It is a bit lengthy, and you dont get your original postage fees back, but at least you dont lose out all together.

what if it wasn't lost, it was delivered, but the buyer then decided they didn't feel like paying for it after all