eBay... What has happen here?

stu_the_flat

stu_the_flat

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He only had to find one, and keep outbidding him himself to force the price up? Maybe? Just a though.
 
To me e-bay seems to have less and less true 'bargains' and seems more like a big online retailer like Amazon etc. Some of the camera lenses do seem to fetch some bizarre prices which makes me think of shill accounts. I try to avoid it these days and buy off forums from established members.
 
The only bargains you'll find on eBay these days are :

Auctions finishing at stupid times of the day/week
Badly named/categorised auctions
 
I agree there seem to be less and less second hand lenses appearing on Ebay and most of the new ones are from Hong Kong.
Saying that, i too saw a 2nd hand lens on Ebay earlier this week and the price was only £10 less than buying a new one from somewhere like WEX. It does make you think do these people really know what they are buying and the value of these items?? :cuckoo:
 
eBay for you! I avoid it like a hole in the head these days :(
 
You can still find bargains on ebay, but much less than before I suppose. Also with general price increase, people immediately increase price there as well. Even if its old stock.
Actual scams are random rubbish SLRs going for hundreds of dollars and lenses of a few hundreds going for thousands. Pure speculation and maybe money laundry.
 
there are a few bargains if you look hard enough and dont rely too much on the search feature..

i got my 120-300 for £900 off there the other month. granted its a bit tatty but its mechanically/optically sound.
 
The bidding history for bidder6 does look a little dodgy...
 
there are still bargains there - a few weeks back there was a Nikon SB800 flash - it had been mistitled Nikom or something - went for about 120 notes or half the going rate - unfortunately I had no dosh for it !
 
i reckon because of ebays fees (now 10%! and whatever paypal want) you'll find more and more people not willing to list on there for expensive items. if you're listing something at £900, you may as well offer it to someone on a forum or locally for £800, as you're likely to still get the same amount for it as if it sold on ebay for £900.

paypal really annoy for sellers, ive sold a few 'high risk' items on there very recently and paypal withhold the money until you get positive feedback, or 21 days without a dispute has passed. great for buyers, horrible for sellers, especially when a lot of buyers arent exactly quick to give feedback, and the reasons ive sold things are because im in need of the money!

its a nightmare, my own fault though, i hadnt realised ebay fees and this paypal withholding thing had started when i stuck my items on ebay.

best to avoid ebay really.
 
Jamieconverge said:
especially when a lot of buyers arent exactly quick to give feedback
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I find it's the other way around - as a buyer, once I have paid I can do no more in my side of the deal - therefore the seller should leave feedback at that point, rather than waiting for the buyer to leave feedback and then the seller will - seems backwards to me.


Ebay is still useful for things which are no longer made (IE old stuff) but, as said before, even then you need to ensure you're not paying more than it's worth....
 
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I think people also think of ebay as a place to get a bargin, and so dont look around.

Ive sold alot of things on ebay in the past but as said before the 10% fee is starting to put me off.

Saying that ive got one of my lenses on there purley because i havnt got enough posts to sell it on here.
 
Jamieconverge said:
i reckon because of ebays fees (now 10%! and whatever paypal want) you'll find more and more people not willing to list on there for expensive items. if you're listing something at £900, you may as well offer it to someone on a forum or locally for £800, as you're likely to still get the same amount for it as if it sold on ebay for £900.
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the fees on a £900 item wouldn't be much more than they ever were because they're capped at £40, it's the lower priced items where they make a killing

I bet the seller of that sigma will never get paid for it
 
I don't think it did sell for £410, look at the information for the winning bidder:


Bidder Information
Bidder: Bidder 9 New eBay Member (less than 30 days)
Feedback: Zero • 0% Positive
Registered on eBay: Less than 1 day

Registered that very day, so chances are it's a shill bidding account and the seller should be reported to eBay.
 
But if your shill biding surly you wouldn't bid higher than the price of the lens new? It takes a second person to bid that amount as well, Its one of the oddest auctions I've ever seen.
 
I got a bargain yesterday but not exactly bargain of the century. I have found it useful for things like films. The bargains of a few years ago are getting fewer which is a shame but it was always going to happen as more and more people use it. It is also good for picking up stuff from china and places like that where you don't care if it is a copy such as a simple £7 remote or a grip for an F80 at less than £12 inc postage ! (AA batteries are cheaper than the CRs)
 
I got my Canon 40D from the canon ebay shop, full 12 month warranty, £480 + £3 shipping :thumbs:

Now all I need to do is learn how to use it properly :bonk:
 
I tend to avoid Ebay for expensive things. As far as I can tell, lenses typically sell for not much less than they do elsewhere - and since things are likely to be under warranty, oh, and I can actually pick up the goods and try them, I'm happy to pay slightly more. I have used Ebay for accessories, e.g., I paid around £15 less for my Hoya Pro 1 filter on there than I could find elsewhere, but have reservations about large transactions - I think I'd rather use the classifieds here.
 
Rule of Thumb, if you are gonna be annoid to loose the money through ebay or be dissapointed - don't bid!
 
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Barcode said:
I tend to avoid Ebay for expensive things. As far as I can tell, lenses typically sell for not much less than they do elsewhere - and since things are likely to be under warranty, oh, and I can actually pick up the goods and try them, I'm happy to pay slightly more. I have used Ebay for accessories, e.g., I paid around £15 less for my Hoya Pro 1 filter on there than I could find elsewhere, but have reservations about large transactions - I think I'd rather use the classifieds here.
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i am the opposite. since filters and memory cards are easy to copy, i would rather buy them from a proper shop.id buy a lens through ebay, but only from someone reputable
 
I sold a Canon viewfinder magnifier for £60 on ebay. They normally sell for £25.
When the Canon Powershot S5is first came on the scene I bought one from Digital-Rev for £150 less than in this country but shortly after I was hit with a bill for import tax. It still worked out cheaper all the same but something to take into consideration.

If buying lenses nowadays I use Onestop Digital. Great prices and service with delivery usually in 2-3 days. Well worth a look.
 
wack61 said:
the fees on a £900 item wouldn't be much more than they ever were because they're capped at £40, it's the lower priced items where they make a killing

I bet the seller of that sigma will never get paid for it
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ah sorry, i didnt realise they were capped. i sold something for £360 recently that ended up costing me over £40 in fees (incl paypal)
 
I use avforums to sell stuff/buy stuff and when I have enough posts hopefully sell some stuff on here. I looked at some stuff on Gumtree but I'm dubious about getting ripped off.
 
Normally if I see an item overbid, alarm bells start ringing as normally it involves a scammer (the buyer) who will make a paypal payment and then at some point withdraw the money while the item is in transit.

Happened to me with a 70-200mm IS f2.8 lens; I was immediately alarmed when he asked for the tracking number even though it was special delivery?! It's guaranteed next day so why ask for it - turns out they get it sent to a vacant address and then turn up at the delivery centre with the excuse the dog chewed the 'while you were out' slip and give them the tracking number.

But yeah.. Ebay is a gold mine for sellers at the moment.
 
razor777 said:
Normally if I see an item overbid, alarm bells start ringing as normally it involves a scammer (the buyer) who will make a paypal payment and then at some point withdraw the money while the item is in transit.

Happened to me with a 70-200mm IS f2.8 lens; I was immediately alarmed when he asked for the tracking number even though it was special delivery?! It's guaranteed next day so why ask for it - turns out they get it sent to a vacant address and then turn up at the delivery centre with the excuse the dog chewed the 'while you were out' slip and give them the tracking number.

But yeah.. Ebay is a gold mine for sellers at the moment.
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FEEBAY is a goldmine for FEEBAY!
 
And the fact that their ropey payment scheme (that is PayPal) is now not part of any voluntary code of conduct meaning they can do as they please with little chance of external redress if things go awry and you are not satisfied with PayPal's decision.

I would use something like ebid but not enough people use it to justify getting a half decent bid price.
 
paypal really annoy for sellers, ive sold a few 'high risk' items on there very recently and paypal withhold the money until you get positive feedback, or 21 days without a dispute has passed.
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This is news to me. I've just cleared out loads of darkroom stuff last week, sold the lot on ebay, raised £1200, withdrew the money from Pay Pal straight into my bank account, with some items still to post. No Probs.
 
treeman said:
This is news to me. I've just cleared out loads of darkroom stuff last week, sold the lot on ebay, raised £1200, withdrew the money from Pay Pal straight into my bank account, with some items still to post. No Probs.
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It only applies to people who have had disputes in the past, it may also have been extended to new paypal users but not sure.
 
Another trend I have noticed is exspencive lens are wroth less towards the end of the month. Persummably when people are depending on there next months wages!
 
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