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Have I mentioned lately that I hate eBay?

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Tijean

Tijean

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Well, it's a shame if I haven't because it really gets on my nerves sometimes.

I'm currently the high bigger on an auction that has been bid up by someone with 50% feedback. They have one negative and one positive (for an $8 wrestling poster) and are now bidding on about 6 semi-high dollar auctions.

Why should I have to pay more because of this guy? He's not going to pay if he wins. I don't mind participating in the whole auction thing. I mean, if someone wants to pay more for something than me, than they get it. That's fine with me. But why should I have to pay more because some jerk has nothing better to do that screw around on eBay? The price has doubles because of this guy.

Okay, I'm done complaining. I would just bid on a different auction, but what I am trying for is a discontinued item and only one seller has any left - and he only runs one auction for them at a time, an I don't know how many he has left, so each auction for them might be the last.

It's smart on the seller's part, but really aggrivating for the rest of us.

--
http://www.apt131.com/photolog

'This is easy for us Chinese...just look at the pictures, ignore
his comments in English...'
 
I understand being frustrated, but when we put ourselves in a position where we just have to have something...........

The truth is, you don't have to pay the high price because of him, you'll do it because that's how much you want the item. You get to decide whether it's worth it or not.

Chances are this one will go up for auction again if he doesn't pay. Maybe you should contact the seller and tell him/her of your concerns.

T

GMT minus 8



Without gravity, what would we do with water?
http://www.gorgephotos.com/
 
I've had similar issues with some of the competing bidders on semi-rare lenses I've bid on. Some are asians with little or no feedback who tend to bid early and often, driving up the price but not staying around for the finish. Maybe these are kids who like to play reckless games. I suspect that others may be shill bidders in league with the seller but have no proof of this. In either case, I wish that eBay had some way of keeping these folks out of serious auctions, but I don't know how it could be done.
--
Jim King - Colormonger (now retired) - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA - GMT -5h



* * * * *
Belief without doubt is just opinion.
  • unknown
 
TMalford wrote:
(snip)
TMalford said:
Maybe you should contact the seller and tell him/her of your
concerns.
Click to expand...
Good idea - I'll try that next time.
--
Jim King - Colormonger (now retired) - Suburban Detroit, Michigan, USA - GMT -5h



* * * * *
Belief without doubt is just opinion.
  • unknown
 
Jim King said:
I've had similar issues with some of the competing bidders on
semi-rare lenses I've bid on. Some are asians with little or no
feedback who tend to bid early and often, driving up the price but
not staying around for the finish. Maybe these are kids who like
to play reckless games. I suspect that others may be shill bidders
in league with the seller but have no proof of this. In either
case, I wish that eBay had some way of keeping these folks out of
serious auctions, but I don't know how it could be done.
Click to expand...
Partly I agree, but on the other hand that would make it exteremely difficult for new people to join in the fun.
Jim King said:
--
Jim King - Colormonger (now retired) - Suburban Detroit, Michigan,
USA - GMT -5h



* * * * *
Belief without doubt is just opinion.
  • unknown
Click to expand...
--
janneman
http://www.pbase.com/jl2
 
I've contacted the seller and established a relationship before every Ebay purchase. I like to get a feel for who I'm dealing with.

T
GMT minus 8



Without gravity, what would we do with water?
http://www.gorgephotos.com/
 
Having a very bad case of LBA, I've been on Ebay every morning, and evening, lately. I know for a fact, that some of these guys have their friends, etc. run the bids up for them. One sure way to tell, is to place a bid, as high as you want to go, and then watch the little bid increases come in, until it goes just above your high bid, then stops. Then you get an e-mail from the seller, saying that the high bidder backed out, and you can have the item for your high price. I get so mad, that I don't even answer. Let him eat the thing!

Another problem I've run into lately, is that with the internet, being as it is, you can't even hardly find a "deal" at a pawn shop. They will look up the item, and get a general idea of what it is bringing on the open market, and that's the price they stick on it. They don't really care if they sell it or not. They are in the business to loan money at a very high interest rate, not turn merchandise. OK, I'm now done too, stick a fork in me! :-)
--
One Day At A Time
 
I have always looked at auctions as just that -- high bidder wins - all the rest I ignore.

I just bought a Pentax S1a with a Super Takumar f2/55mm lens in like new condition with new back neopreme seals. This was my first Pentax SLR in 1962. Got nostalgic and had to have one again (;-)

I bid the maximum I was willing to pay ($75) and forgot about the last second bidding frenzy. Got it for $71. The seller was in Canada and he drove across the border to Washington state to mail the camera - wow.

At a noted used camera store -- the price was $79 for the body only.

So am a happy e-bay bidder.

You really don't want fixed pricing do you - if so check the used camera stores - then check e-bay and yahoo auctions.

Love e-bay - good old fashioned capitalism at its best.

--
I photograph, therefore I am
Rod Dinkins, Oceanside, CA
 
Heh, it's called capitalism and has worked for a helluva long time. I, personally, love e-bay, and I love the local pawn shops. Both have spawned incredible deals for me. Most recently on e-bay, I purchased the VS1 28-90 macro zoom for $50, and I just won a EBC Fujinon 53, 1.8 lens for $19.95. Two incredible lens for under $100. My advice is to keep looking and find that deal and stop blaming the competition that wants the gem perahaps a bit more and is willing to pay. Must my 2 cents and looking at the positive side of life. Don
--



'Nothing could-be-finah-than-to-be-in-Carolina-in-the-morninnnnnn...'
 
TMalford said:
I understand being frustrated, but when we put ourselves in a
position where we just have to have something...........

The truth is, you don't have to pay the high price because of him,
you'll do it because that's how much you want the item. You get to
decide whether it's worth it or not.
Click to expand...
That is a very good point and someone legitimate may even come in and push it up a bit more. It's so frustrating because the item is a batch of discontinued consumables - something that will be gone when it is gone. I guess that's a good argument to raise my max bid then.
TMalford said:
Chances are this one will go up for auction again if he doesn't
pay. Maybe you should contact the seller and tell him/her of your
concerns.

T

GMT minus 8



Without gravity, what would we do with water?
http://www.gorgephotos.com/
Click to expand...
--
http://www.apt131.com/photolog

'This is easy for us Chinese...just look at the pictures, ignore
his comments in English...'
 
I think you're missing about half the equation. One of the basic Ps of marketing is PLACE and it is indeed an important one!

Item X may be worth $20 on eBay, where the market supplying the demand is everyone on eBay, but it is very possible that all they could ever get for it at their shop is $10. They're totally different markets.

Now, if the pawn shop were selling items at those prices, then it would be good ol' supply and demand, but if they are holding onto stuff because they don't understand that what it is worth in the world market is not what its worth on 4th and King St, well then they are tying up in the name of their own ignorance.

So please understand how markets work before insulting a fellow forum member.
Don Allison said:
Heh, it's called capitalism and has worked for a helluva long time.
I, personally, love e-bay, and I love the local pawn shops. Both
have spawned incredible deals for me. Most recently on e-bay, I
purchased the VS1 28-90 macro zoom for $50, and I just won a EBC
Fujinon 53, 1.8 lens for $19.95. Two incredible lens for under
$100. My advice is to keep looking and find that deal and stop
blaming the competition that wants the gem perahaps a bit more and
is willing to pay. Must my 2 cents and looking at the positive side
of life. Don
--



'Nothing could-be-finah-than-to-be-in-Carolina-in-the-morninnnnnn...'
Click to expand...
--
http://www.apt131.com/photolog

'This is easy for us Chinese...just look at the pictures, ignore
his comments in English...'
 
Tijean: I am fully aware of the 4 P's of marketing, having acquired an MBA several years ago. Didn't buy the simplistic equation back then and still don't. Perhaps you're missing the point. I would suspect that the "carrying cost of inventory" is of little concern to the Pawn Shop owner; therefore, the true value of this lens is what the market will determine. And just maybe that Pawn Shop owner isn't as dimwitted as we suspect. and especially if he has internet access and an e-bay account. Just my 2 cents. Don
--



'Nothing could-be-finah-than-to-be-in-Carolina-in-the-morninnnnnn...'
 
Tijean: And my apologies if I my words were taken as derisive in nature. They weren't intended as such.
--



'Nothing could-be-finah-than-to-be-in-Carolina-in-the-morninnnnnn...'
 
Pawn shops aren't concerned with carrying costs, they're concerned with collecting legalized usury, generally to enable a cycle of poverty and/or thievery in their regular clientele. But that's another story.

I have seen things sit around the pawn shop where a friend of mine use to work for over five years. If they were concerned about carrying costs, then you're see pawn shops run clearance sales.

Something is only worth what someone will pay for something under the terms and in the place it is being sold. If the pawn shop is selling lenses (not displaying them), then they are worth the price. If they have to be dusted regularly, then it's fair to say that they are not. But it sounded to me like they are just sitting around collecting dust.

And if internet access and an eBay account were a determination of intelligence, then phishing wouldn't be a concern because it would never be successful, nobody would bother to play Nigerian prince, and my idiot cousin would not have a badly repainted Miata from New Jersey.

--
http://www.apt131.com/photolog

'This is easy for us Chinese...just look at the pictures, ignore
his comments in English...'
 
After it's all said and done. the 'Bay still is driven by the market- some folks will pay insane prices, and inflated or not, that's the market rate.

I never worried too much about other bidders, I made my max offer and left it or sniped at the end if I really wanted it.But shipping charges to Canada from the USA and Europe went up to a point where a good deal was impossible to get. It got absolutely insane.

As a seller,though, eBay got risky and expensive. Paypal and eBay fees went really high, and I pretty much stopped selling stuff because it just got too expensive.

eBay, until about 2003 or so, was a goldmine for good,cheap Pentax lenses.

The advent of our beloved D series cameras changed all that. Demand increased for lenses, and you know from Economics 101 what happens then. Also, all the good lenses got picked over. Awesome finds are rare.

But I did buy an LX yesterday from a forum member- It'll be good to have a full frame platform for my lenses again. But my DS's will always get the bulk of the shots- I love the ease and economy (and quality) of digital.
--
'what's this button do?'

 
Rod Dinkins said:
I just bought a Pentax S1a with a Super Takumar f2/55mm lens in
like new condition with new back neopreme seals. This was my first
Pentax SLR in 1962. Got nostalgic and had to have one again (;-)
Click to expand...
The Pentax S1a was also my first camera and I still have it (in working condition).

Only today I was busy scanning in the slides I created with that camera and on looking at the scans my first reaction was "my gosh, that was a good lens!".
Peter.
 
Hi Tijean,

Unfortunately patience and perserverence are the watchwords for us Pentaxians nowdays. I like to think that maturity will win out in the long run -- but I'm a half-full glass kinda guy I guess. I'm a fairly new player on the ebay scene, but I've already learned that I can eventually get what I want -- maybe not exactly when I want it (which, of course is NOW :> ) ), but I've had some luck winning items for a price in the range that I'm willing to pay.

Now if I may go a little OT. . .

I also get frustrated by the doomsayers here on the forum -- I think that they are being self-defeating in that they are probably discouraging potential new users from deciding on Pentax with their negativity, thus reducing the potential new user base -- and thus further limiting Pentax's profitability, which in turn reduces the ability to develop and introduce the very products that the naysayers are complaining aren't available. But what would the forum here be without them -- Pollyanna-Pentax city might be too boring :)

I've committed myself to the Pentax system, largely due to their philisophy of backward compatibility (which has historically worked to their detriment profitwise -- but to the user's benefit). I support their current push to develop their new user base (even if it's to the perceived detriment of their advanced user base), as I believe that you have to walk before you can run, and as a smaller company, they can only be expected to do one thing at a time. Hopefully the link with Samsung will allow them to concentrate on the higher end market in the future.

I have not bought into the paradigm that says that I need a new leading edge body every year or so -- I bought my DS because I felt that the cost to performance/fit ratio was right for me. I have not been disappointed, and the images I take with it aren't any worse now because other mfgs have introduced new bodies -- but my personal needs as an amateur are modest --

I'm now am in a personal financial position to be able to be able to afford a higher performance body (driven by my own devils -- the delusion that a new cam will allow me to be a better photographer :) ) -- but I'm willing to wait for Pentax to provide it. . . just as I am willing to allow runaway auctions to pass with hopes that another will present itself -- hopefully with the guys who bid high and early out of the picture.

Sorry for the mini-rant -- it's been on my mind now for a while -- I feel better now. . . :> )

Scott
 
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