Remember EBAY

[dcsos]

Ebay is just so HUGE its hard to find the MOM& POP sales anymore..
They're still there ..there's just so much competition now
you don't see them easily...

AND
EBAY is still a deal for people in the styx
ITS JUST us folk in cities can usually
do better elsewhere nowadays. Those in the heartland
still enjoy eBAY's ability to make anything ACCESIBLE
to those who used to hav'ta go to town to get it!

[txpharoah]

Actually any relation to PEZ at all is the myth. I know it's still written on the site, but it's for purpose of PR and lore. It has no truth to it. The truth was released in a magazine sometime last year (Time is where I think I saw it), maybe in the Dallas Morning News or Austin-American Stateman business sections. That's what I was reading back when I saw it.

I'm still looking for the article. I saved it aside as I do studies on corporate image, and that was an interesting case study.

From my recollection, he was single at the time, struggling to make money, and this was one of those crazy ideas that didn't seem too impossible. So any relation to his wife/girlfriend PEZ/Beanie Babies is just a story to make eBay seem like more of the "American Dream".

When I find what I'm looking for, I'll get it put up here. Or if my memory somehow completely failed me, I'll correct myself, but that's a case study that sticks out VERY VIVIDLY in my memory, and I'm about as sure of it as I know the sky is blue.

[Karate Media]

bigmicka:

I'm still unclear as to why you had to "continually hit refresh" Like scottb said, if you simply want the item, then decide the most you would spend on it, set that amount as your proxy bid, and see what happens. If you would buy it for $100, enter in $100, and if someone wants it for $101.50, then who cares when they bid?

Unless, of course, you are trying to get the lowest price, which means you're playing the game and you have to play with the other competitors, too.

Not really directed at you, bigm, but I get the feeling that a lot of people who use online auctions have never actually been to a real, live auction. There is an air of competition at those things -- it's like gambling. I think too many people think of eBay as an online mall, and they forget the heated aspect that normally comes with auctions.

One last thing on sniping -- I love it. Too much proxy bidding raises the price too quickly -- I always watch an auction and wait until the last day, if not the last few hours, to start bidding. I don't need my own proxy bids working against me days before the auction ends.

Excellerator:

I'm sure that everyone selling on ebay is trying to make some sort of profit...I'm not sure I follow your complaint about people selling under dealer cost. Maybe they got it for less; maybe they can't sell it at all, so any price is a good price to them; maybe it fell offa truck; maybe it's used; and yes, maybe they even jack up their shipping costs...there's so many reasons as to why someone would price their product less than you are able to, I don't know why it's even a problem for you...

(uh, oh, big rant coming on...)

To be blunt, that's life. I count a number of small business owners as my friends, and competition is the name of the game. They deal with being undersold all the time -- god, can you imagine how many times they hear "Well, I saw this for less on the internet!"

Ebay is a great place to find old shit that you can't find in town (like vintage Color Computers!) and also a great place to sell stuff that you'd otherwise throw away. But if you are trying to make a living off eBay. then toughen up, bub. Gee, just try to imagine a world looong ago -- oh, say, like ten years ago -- when you'd actually have to start your own brick and mortar business to sell your crap.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but you've got it much better than my friend who owns an auto repair shop and has to pay rent on a huge lot of land, buy tools, pay an assistant mechanic, etc., etc. Or the record store owner I know who says he can't sell records b/c people buy PS2 games and download songs, or the club owner who pays outlandish liquor license fees and rent and really has to make most of her money during only 2 or 3 days a week, or...you get the idea.... But they chose their lots and tough it out. And they too get undersold, get bad checks, get bad-mouthed by people who don't know any better -- all the problems sellers have on ebay and then some

Sorry for the rant.

[housepig]

Txpharoah -

if you can find a debunking article, I'd love to see it.

Karate -

you're right - auctions (live or on eBay) are horribly addictive and competitive... I have a really hard time sometimes setting limits when I'm bidding, and I hate it when somebody beats me out by $1.... even if their top proxy bid was $100 more than mine...

- housepig

[jacknjt]

ebay is not that great. most of the iteam i can buy off the others internet sites for cheaper than what they selling it for at ebay. big advantage is no wait and the iteam is brand new. i only go to ebay for items that i cant find anywhere else.

[energy80s]

E-Bay can be a good place for a bargain - I got a portable VCD player for £55 whereas the guy selling it had a website advertising them for £125! But I agree that sometimes prices just go through the roof. It's the "thrill of the chase" that gets most people hooked.

[bigmicka]

Karate Media,

yeh i was trying to get the best price, isnt that what we are there for.

i used the proxy bidding to start with, but a few times i was pipped when i had an extra $20 waiting in the proxy. im guessing that they just put in a huge bid and then hoped my proxy wasnt over it. always used to think they somehow knew my top bid price.

but what really turned me off was the dud experience i had. seller doesnt have product im bidding for, i write to ebay about it and nothing ends up getting done about it. he was one of those people who did what was described above, opened an auction for an item and then he would go and buy the item from a retailer at a cheap price after the auction was finished. only problem was his supplier ran out of this part.

just turned me off the experience, i can find cheap prices in the city i live in.

mic

[LanEvo7]

Well one good thing about ebay is the feedback. You can usually tell how good they seller is by looking at the feedback. There are some sites on the internet that just rip you off and you have to go through tons of hassle trying to get your money back.