Prices on Ebay!

[DougMac]

Same thing happens in antique stores. More and more when I go to an antique store, the owner is passing time by looking up similar items on ebay.

It's hard for me to get mad with folks for checking to see what the market will bear. I try to have a pretty good idea of an item's worth. I don't get mad at the seller asking way too much, I get mad at the nincompoop who has no clue and will pay way too much, thus driving up the market.

Ebay is a funny place. I watch for Technics TT and Pioneer RTR. One week they'll be a bidding war and the next hardly anyone's interested.

If you've got the patience, auctions can be fun. Sometimes you'll be the only one there with an interest in a particular item and you can pick it up for a great price.

Generally I agree, the low hanging fruit is pretty much gone from all venues.

Doug

 

[spartanmanor]

Yard sales do not have the world market place that ebay does. ebay prices are a true measure of market demand. The market coverage of a yard sale is next to nothing compared to ebay. Unless there are a bunch of people hitting yard sales looking solely for vintage equipment the prices are too high.

I have had great luck at estate sales and yard sales for all kinds of things which were priced way below what they would have sold on ebay, and then I have seen things selling for way more than what they would sell for on ebay.

If I want something that is rare and hard to come by I have no problem paying what the market demands on ebay. I do however get ticked when going to a yard sale and find prices as if I were at some exclusive shop....come on its just a yard sale where you are trying to dump a bunch of your unused junk.....

 

[stuwee]

have ya'll thought

the local paper, there have been some great deals, most people just want to get rid of, moving etc... here in Tucson lots of deals, not yard sale ad's, stereo equiptment ads, sure if they list here you pay a small premeium, if I had the money I'd buy and flip for a small profit, HK Citations mono's for $200 gone the next day!! duh, Dalquists for $125 in ex shape, if you live in an area where older people live, ie the southern states, you have deals, my mama gotme a pair of Martin Logans The Sequels for $200 best sound I've had till I went to my buddys Burmiester radial $30,000 speakers with Boulder Amps!!
Anyhoo, look at the papers, If you want a deal :scratch2:
I agree that Ebay prices are going up, try to find a Marantz 2270 for under $175 or a Marantz 50's tube job for anything under $2000 that's Big Mac country!!??! I feel we are getting into the 1989 car market skyrocketing prices then the crash!! buy something now that you covent need must have, and pray that you don't feed the fire!! :thumbsdn: :tears:
Play the Music!! :thmbsp: :thmbsp:
Peace Craig

 

[slow_jazz]

prices on ebay have been insane as of late.... i can't tell you how many times i'm top bidder with less than 5 minutes and lose out huge.... these snipers double the price in the last 2 minutes of the auction...

 

[ybaolywa]

This hobby, paralleling my auto restoration hobby, rewards the art of diligent searching. Ebay is the easy, convenient answer to finding what you want - and in many cases the only reasonable choice, especially if you have a fulltime job and family.

However, at least for me, the hunt is part of the pleasure. A lot of work? Yes - but the feeling of coming around a corner and seeing an old vintage set or an antique, neglected motorcycle (or whatever) for sale in someone's driveway for a few bucks is priceless.

Plus, and again I can only speak for myself, there's a certain sense of fun and excitement tooling around early on a Saturday morning, sipping a cup of coffee while my old 250,000 mile pickup ticks along merrily, catching people as they are just starting to set up their garage sale that day.

Very well said. I think the hard searches are more rewarding. Scored nicely when I've thought - " I never been down this road before or these neck of the woods." Besides the great scores, you can meet some really nice folks to boot. As for the coffee, around these parts it's a grande latte mocha. :yes:

 

[sauvong]

I thought they called it "Shilling"

Correct me if I am wrong, I tought bidding on your own item is called "shilling" or "shill bidding".

From Ebay
______________________________________________________________
Shill Bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item’s price or apparent desirability, or bidding by individuals with a level of access to the seller’s item information not available to the general Community. Shill Bidding is prohibited on eBay.

Last-minute bidding

Placing a high bid in the closing seconds of an auction-style listing is called “sniping” within the eBay Community. Sniping is part of the eBay experience, and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid - even if they're placed one second before the listing ends.

______________________________________________________________

 

[mikey3117]

I think we should be careful of our terminology here. Last minute bidders are very common on Ebay. My Heathkit W-5M went from $301 to $493 in the last two minutes of the auction. That was not from sniping, it was from three legitimate bidders who really wanted it. Sniping is when the seller bids on his own auction to drive the price up. I am sure this happens, but it is forbidden by Ebay and you can lose your account over it if caught. I have made it to 1292 feedback in two years and would never jeapordize my status by "sniping".

Sniping is not when a seller bids on his own auction!

This is from ebay help:

"Last-minute bidding
Placing a high bid in the closing seconds of an auction-style listing is called “sniping” within the eBay Community. Sniping is part of the eBay experience, and all bids placed before a listing ends are valid - even if they're placed one second before the listing ends."

http://pages.ebay.com/help/buy/outbid-ov.html

 

[donoghue]

Sniping is when the seller bids on his own auction to drive the price up.

That's referred to as "shilling" (sp?). Shilling is illegal or should be. Sniping is waiting to the last few seconds of the auction to place a bid. There are many auction-sniper software programs/services out there. Its probably the best way to bid, though some here think otherwise.

 

[sauvong]

What a bunch o smartasses!

Ha! LOL

 

[gamalot]

Snipping is nothing different from what goes on at a real, live auction. The last guy with the highest bid wins and Ebay auctions are real, live auctions!

As for yard sales, I find myself buying all kinds of stuff I would never have touched simply because I know I can sell it on ebay and have 10 people fighting over it for ten times what I paid at the yard sale.
Whats wrong about that?

There are still plenty of deals to be had in all the same places but you have to be there and spend some time and effort as people become more educated. I don't hear too many complaints about the Antiques Road Show but I never knew what Rookwood pottery was until I saw some outrageous prices on the show. Now I flip Vases over looking for marks.

Only the very luckiest of us can walk into a GW or SA and find a pristine and fully functioning Mac Tube amp that was just dropped off with a sticker for $20 and a half off sale going on. The rest of us have to hunt and hope to be in the right place at the right time.

Gary

 

[marty-alex]

YOU say it's expensive for you?

Have you ever heard of garage sell in eastern Europe?! I was even thinking of getting some gear from the USA (while shipping cost is around 100$$!), just because in some cases, this would be a cheaper way! Not only cheaper - very often the ONLY way.

So, while you say "prices thru the roof", I have to take a cold shower here screaming "I want it! Must-have!!"

 

[jocko_nc]

Stuff on Ebay is just too expensive for this habit. I'm sticking with the newspaper ads... Had a great score the other day that way.

jocko