Ebay madness

[westfeild]

It never fails to amaze me what prices some people will pay when they get into a bidding frenzy!

The other day i was debating wether to pay £200 for a BNIB Fluke 87V/E2 combi kit from a grey source, well i took the plunge and bought the meter which has turned out to be a real bargain. I had been looking on ebay for ages trying to get a used 87V for a good price but was amazed at just how much people were bidding, one recently sold as used with scratches for £166 +p&p, the new meter i bought had been sitting on ebay for ages with a buy it now price and no takers.
A NOT WORKING FOR PARTS Fluke 87IV sold for £92, i got a really good hardly used one for £78!

Theres one seller selling tools at ridiculous prices  i.e Fluke 87V for a wopping £922 and apparently has sold a few!!

It seems some bidders prefer to bid on auction without doing their homework, an example is, before Xmas i bought a  BNIB Thurlby Thander dual power supply for £189 delivered and at the same time people were bidding more for a second hand tatty one, crazy!

[grumpydoc]

What gets me is what stuff that actually doesn't work goes for - sometimes almost as much as working items.

I may be being overly cynical but to my mind something which doesn't work has only scrap value until proven otherwise (i.e fixed).

[westfeild]

Exactly i have seen faulty items go for more than the working counterpart, I've even seen many used test gear sell for more than the new price, are these bidders crazy!

[Simon]

I have noticed that some people will pay silly money on ebay, some wrongly think they will get a good deal in a bidding war. I tend to go for buy it now and it is hard enough trying to keep up with all the similarly priced buy it now stuff never mind the noise going on on auctions.

[EEVblog]

Yep, happens all the time.
I've gotten an excellent working Fluke 87-III for under US$100 delivered once, you just have to be patient. And I resold it for more than 3 times that.
I've had people pay more for used gear than you can buy it for brand new from a discounted dealer.

Dave.

[Simon]

I think there are people who buy online and then there are people who buy only online on ebay, they get screwed

[westfeild]

Yes Dave it seems like theres one round every corner, i just wish i had a load of old crap to list for them

[PeterG]

I have seen a lot of over priced items on eBay lately. I contacted a couple of the sellers to confirm the price and they both said the item was out of stock so they jacked the price up to prevent people from buying until they had more stock. One seller was Australian the other was American. I suspect this practise is used widely going buy what I have seem on other eBay stores.

Regards

[Simon]

can't see the point of that, might as well cancel the listing and loose 40pence or just put a note on saying that stock is on its way

[VK3DRB]

eBay? How about this for the one that got away. I saw a Vision Mantis (the best PCB inspection scope on the market) in perfect order complete with different magnifying lenses, which retails for around $4,000, sell for $220 at Grey's Online. Good second hand ones if you are lucky go for around $1500. I was spewing. The SOLD ad was an artefact from about 3 weeks before so I missed the boat. I was spewing.

It reminded me when I was into PC's not long after they first were released by IBM in 1982. I saw a PC-1 at an auction house in Niddrie (model prior to the PC-XT) in 1983, complete with a hard disk  for $200. The new cost was around $7,000... in 1983 dollars!... today's equivalent of about $30,000. Reason it was sold cheap - no one knew what it was, except me.

The problem with eBay, is the average Joe Blow knows what a computer is these days and every one uses it. If that Mantis was on eBay, he would have gotten >$1,000. Another good alternative to eBay is Gumtree in Australia. For ham radio equipment the best is the VKHAM website.

Footnote: If anyone has used a Mantis for inspecting SMT solder joints or PCB tracks... it is a pure delight to use. You would never use a normal microscope or cam based scope again.

cheers,
Dave

[retiredcaps]

2 multimeter items.  One expired, one not. 

Americans should recognize the first one and know its real value.  Note its buy it now price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110818056416 (this one had a reserve price too)

Imagine what else you can buy for the starting bid below

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170796243947

[T4P]

2 multimeter items.  One expired, one not. 

Americans should recognize the first one and know its real value.  Note its buy it now price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110818056416 (this one had a reserve price too)

Imagine what else you can buy for the starting bid below

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170796243947

A scope . I don't need to be an american to notice the first meter costs really only 3$

[saturation]

Off topic on T&M, but regarding the USA eBay psyche:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nike-Foamposite-Galaxy-One-Size-10-JORDAN-GLOW-ALL-STAR-KD-AIR-YEEZY-MAG-KOBE-/270926876047?pt=US_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item3f14800d8f

For more just search eBay for Nike Foamposite Galaxy and check out list prices, including those that have been sold not simply being offered.

There was a riot in a Florida mall, at the midnight release of the shoe, that was then canceled:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/nike-foamposite-galaxy-shoe-release-causes-rioting-florida-161202536.html

By comparison, in the UK:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A2%257C39%253A6%257C72%253A6003&rt=nc&_nkw=nike+galaxy&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=16&_sc=1

[T4P]

2 multimeter items.  One expired, one not. 

Americans should recognize the first one and know its real value.  Note its buy it now price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110818056416 (this one had a reserve price too)

Imagine what else you can buy for the starting bid below

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170796243947

Regarding the first auction :
http://www.ioffer.com/i/7-function-digital-multimeter-new-in-package-cen-tech-147455439
And of course you know how many UNI-T UT61E i can buy with 275 or even how many agilent's .