# Gotta love Ebay....



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

So I was bidding on a condenser mic on Sunday. I seemed to be bidding against a member with 0 feedback. I didn't really feel like sniping too hard so I bid within the last minute rather than seconds as I usually do. I was outbid. No biggie, it was in BC and it would take awhile to get and it was at the limit that I wanted to pay etc etc.... 

Well I get a second chance offer from the seller for my highest bid ...saying that he has two of them. Hmmm ... it used to be that second chance offers where a real scam but this was real through Ebay..... 

I almost went for it until I started looking .... ok who is the other bidder.. Now since Ebay changed the rules you can't look at the names of competing bidders but you do get to look at bids they have out there.... hmmm ohhh he has one other bid .... with the same seller???? 

Dude you have been hwopv............. you can't bid your own stuff up ..You won it .. keep it and pay the fees...looks good on ya .....


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

I had suspected for a very long time that some sellers were creating additional "identities" in order to bump up the selling bid. Such a scam so I quit ebay for good over two years ago.

Brian


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

that as been a common pratice to get more bids for ages. they ask friends to make bid or create a new username. Pretty crappy things to do realy. But it's the nature of the beast


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

bscott said:


> I had suspected for a very long time that some sellers were creating additional "identities" in order to bump up the selling bid. Such a scam so I quit ebay for good over two years ago.
> 
> Brian


+1 This usually becomes very obvious when the exact item comes back up for sale a week later.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Big_Daddy said:


> +1 This usually becomes very obvious when the exact item comes back up for sale a week later.


I am waiting :smile:


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## Francis Fargon (May 31, 2009)

Im not a big Ebay user,but i heard they reset everyone feedback at 100%.
Thats scary since i remember pepole having very weak feedback for just a few transaction.I use paypal alot tho.

Frank:smile:


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Francis Fargon ... Francis Fargon, eh? That sounds familiar.


Sounds a bit like another member who used to be on here? FrankyFarGone. Probably just a coincidence, eh ?:rockon2:


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Shill bidding is quite common. Even if a seller doesn't do it himself, it's a simple matter of having a friend do it.

E-bay has lost most of its appeal for me. Prices are too close to retail anymore and I'd rather have a store to support me when things go wrong.


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## simescan (May 15, 2007)

Milkman said:


> E-bay has lost most of its appeal for me. Prices are too close to retail anymore and I'd rather have a store to support me when things go wrong.


My thinking, exactly....


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Milkman said:


> Shill bidding is quite common. Even if a seller doesn't do it himself, it's a simple matter of having a friend do it.
> 
> E-bay has lost most of its appeal for me. Prices are too close to retail anymore and I'd rather have a store to support me when things go wrong.


more than a +1 on that because, though YES the eBay prices match or even exceed "store new" on a LOT of items... The BIG thing though is: walk in stores do not charge you 30 or more dollars to walk out of the store with the item you just bought.

Another shipping issue I have seen a lot of is: USPS from the USA to a US address on an item may be 5 dollars US, but USPS to Canada on the same item is 13 dollars @[email protected] and that is conformable from the USPS site. Tends to make shopping US sellers of interesting oddments not usually seen in Canada a mite bit hard to swallow.

Not that finding the same item in Canada is difficult at all times. However, finding an item in Canada that was also in the US, where internal shipping in the US was 5 dollars, internal shipping in Canada can easily be 15


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I stopped using eBay a while back. I do most of my stuff on CL now.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> I stopped using eBay a while back. I do most of my stuff on CL now.


I would but living in the north makes CL and Kijiji pretty much impossible.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

shoretyus said:


> I would but living in the north makes CL and Kijiji pretty much impossible.


Very true. I guess I take living in an urban centre for granted. Whenever my gf and I go to visit her parents in Kingston, I always check out the CL ads for Kingston beforehand to see what's what, and there's usually 1 ad posted per day or so, whereas in Toronto there's usually a couple hundred (most of which are repeats, but whatever).

I guess as long as you exercise caution, and you certainly seem to be doing so, eBay can be fairly hassle-free.


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

ive had good luck on ebay-so far. no problems, and met some great folks. i do checkthe kijiji and craigslist ads, but often the folks there dont know what they have, cant describe it properly, and cant get good photos. im not going to go bussing or take a cab across the city to waste my time.
i do tend to be looking for wierder stuff tho- old squareneck acoustics, stellas, little 30's era acoustics with big v shaped necks- those are the kind of thing i buy on ebay- 
one method that works is simply googling a guitar, and often theyll turn up for sale at somebodys little online shop, and lately it seems, for less than the prices the things i like are going for on ebay. and you can simply contact the seller, and have some dialogue before and after buying- helps with the trust factor.
usually the stuff i get on ebay is simply because ill see something i like, bid a max of $50 or something, and somehow win it- ill bid on maybe 20 guitars a week, and win only one every few months lol, but it works, and if i get burned, it wont be for much. a couple times ive seen something i really wanted, had extra cash on hand, and bid higher to get what i wanted, but im not a very aggresive buyer. thatll be the scots blood in me i guess.


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## shiva (Jul 9, 2008)

Where I am, it's very little listings, at really really stupid high prices. Ebay is about the only option, as the local shops only carry the same thing, and very limited selections. 

Still, if you are patient, you can find some really great deals on Ebay, as long as you don't get a bad feeling about the seller, or they insist on shipping UPS, or their shipping charges are 4 times the states etc etc.

I just scored 2 complete sets of switchcraft sampler packs, Nobody even bid on it, and the seller checked out okay, so amazed really. Most of it I doubt I will need, but for what I did need, still worth the price, and still be cheaper than retail here.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> I guess as long as you exercise caution, and you certainly seem to be doing so, eBay can be fairly hassle-free.


Oh ya, I am pretty thorough and know my way around Ebay. Even Peterborough is 1 hr away so getting those " I'll be there on ten minute deals " are out of the question. I have had so many non replies for Kijiji I get tired of trying. Plus most that is listed there is junk.


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

I would never buy anything I couldn't hold in my own 2 hands first.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I've bought a couple of things on e-bay, but not by bidding, just used the online stores. Went OK for me.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Jim DaddyO said:


> I've bought a couple of things on e-bay, but not by bidding, just used the online stores. Went OK for me.


In the past 3 years, I have only had two butt-head sellers jerk me around a bit. Got my items in the end. Much hosannas of failed email deliveries etc but meh. Only two items have been sub-par, one a cheese CD-ROM, and the other adding in "5 dollars for God", and both those sellers have gone. One item has been "not as described" but as my computer does play China encoded DVD's so I still managed to enjoy Ayumi Hamasaki's 2006 concert. And I bought 3 "digital downloads" for 1 cent LOLOL of Taiwan dish recipies, call that getting an eBay fix ;p But I did it on a lark and laughed so that was all good.

One of my fav items was a glass lotus "Buddha Relic" simply because it is beautiful and it serves no other purpose in my life but to catch light. The sellers of these are, from what I can find, ALL gone from eBay.

However, yes, it is a sea of cutthroats and pirates. 1 penny quitars at 70 dollars shipping, the same 'kids' models the local shops sell for 50 dollars. That is not overwhelmingly common on eBay but it does happen. One item I was looking at, 5 dollars, for 24 hour delivery in ALL North America something around 400 dollars shipping >.< you know, for a 5 dollar item, I can wait 2 weeks and be pleasantly surprised in the mail.

Currently I am liking this:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Vintage-1951-PRE...ItemQQptZBI_Oscilloscopes?hash=item45ec59a67c

Reading between the lines, the CRT is shot of course, and looking at all his photos there is no number on it, and googling there is only 1 listing for a location for a schematic in a catalogue that is also utterly unavailable LOL but still, it could be fun to play with. 

I dunno, I may just watch it till it expires and see if it lists again, then watch it till it expires etc, it is for me as much shopping as spectator sport 

**edit, _the fellow that added in the 5 dollars, I don't mind so much about that, many people do fund raise in this manner for their faiths world wide. What I was miffed about was, when I went back over the add there was in 4px font the small line saying "small amount added to sale for support". As I had thought the line was just a "line" and not text... well, I found that to be the dirty pool side of that transaction._


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I have had some great deals. Sometimes it's the only place to buy Hammomd stuff. Lately I have been sticking to individual sellers with low feedback, which what this guy was. JS Moore sold me a few pu's through Ebay. I usually avoid higher priced items though. I am still on the hunt for a sailboat brand that I know I will only get on Ebay.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

*ebay*

I use to buy and sell ebay, but there is so much ebay crap going on. The last thing i bought was a multi-track recorder, that didnt work. when it was all said and done i lost money, becuase i had to pay the return shipping.

Once and awhile i will sell small items, that are easy to ship.
I have to say Ebay is the only place i know where you can sell an item that would normally go in the garbage, not meaning it's broke, but that there is such a following that , somebody might be interested., in an old micro-wave meat probe you have had in the drawer for 20 yrs. ( yes it sold )

I also have to say, for guitar gear, using the buy it now best offer option , you will probably get more money.I just seen a Fender guitar i have here sell for 2600.00 USD -2800.00 Ca.. It would be very hard to get that kind of price any place else., but the problem with ebay is how do u get the money in hand. they only except Paypal so, its stuck in a internet bank in cyber space.

I tryed one time to have money transfer to my bank account but ended up failing and being charged about 50.00 Nice>>>
Rick


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Rick31797 said:


> but the problem with ebay is how do u get the money in hand. they only except Paypal so, its stuck in a internet bank in cyber space.


Some how my buddy got a Paypal debitcard. He has a U.S account but it allows you to withdraw $400 a day out of it. Sadly not available in Canada.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> I am waiting :smile:



and a drumroll please oh and no feedback for the first buyer .. ha ha 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Apex-430-Pro-Stu...66:2|39:1|72:1215|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50


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## Don Doucette (Jan 3, 2007)

what a turd!hwopv

Don:smilie_flagge17:


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