Would you buy a lens on e-bay?

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

First off I have bought a lens on Ebay and have sold many you just have to read their feedback carefully.

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Click to expand...

Getting a piece of junk or someone trying to scam you. Like they say Ebay will never ask questions like your password or your drivers license or mothers maiden name.

djc smith said:

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Click to expand...

I use Paypal all the time they are a lot like a bank and they have a privacy policy, I never worry.

djc smith said:

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Click to expand...

If I really want something I try and bid at the last second and hope you get it. First I figure how much I am willing to pay and don't go over that figure. Let say you are bidding on a lens that you are willing to pay $100 and it is at $50 with just seconds to go. At the last second you enter your top bid and if no one else bids you will get it for just the next bid over fifty which would most likely be $51. But id some else bids $80 you will still get it in the next increment.

djc smith said:

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

Click to expand...

They put the high bid at that time and no one matched or outbid.

djc smith said:

David

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--
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

I have bought 2 lens off ebay without trouble. They work great, just as described,

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

read every word of the discription some Ebay seller will try and sell you an item that you might think you want but it is an off brand. Lot of timess this happens when buying camera accessories like lenses or batteries. They are selling after market items but the wording sounds like you are buying the genuine product.
--
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

I've sold two digital cameras on eBay and recently bought the Canon EF 28-105mm lens. Never had any problems.

P.S. I'm one of those who bid with less than a minute till the end

mike bustad said:

read every word of the discription some Ebay seller will try and
sell you an item that you might think you want but it is an off
brand. Lot of timess this happens when buying camera accessories
like lenses or batteries. They are selling after market items but
the wording sounds like you are buying the genuine product.
--
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

petermk said:

P.S. I'm one of those who bid with less than a minute till the end

mike bustad said:

read every word of the discription some Ebay seller will try and
sell you an item that you might think you want but it is an off
brand. Lot of timess this happens when buying camera accessories
like lenses or batteries. They are selling after market items but
the wording sounds like you are buying the genuine product.
--
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

mike bustad said:

If I really want something I try and bid at the last second and
hope you get it. First I figure how much I am willing to pay and
don't go over that figure. Let say you are bidding on a lens that
you are willing to pay $100 and it is at $50 with just seconds to
go. At the last second you enter your top bid and if no one else
bids you will get it for just the next bid over fifty which would
most likely be $51. But id some else bids $80 you will still get it
in the next increment.

Click to expand...

My word of caution is "REMEMBER TO USE DECIMAL POINTS" in your proxy bid. I am the proud owner of dog book ends for $175.00. I meant to bid $17.50 I love them, but....

My friend bought a Canon 70/200 (I think it was) for $45.00. What a steal. I used it and it worked wonderful.

I'm looking on there now for a new lens. And will bid in the last few seconds. Maybe we will be bidding against each other !!! Good luck
Katz



Money can buy you a pretty good dog, but it can't buy the wag of his tail... Josh Billings

I bought a lens off eBay just a few weeks ago (Canon 55-200 USM). The seller was relatively new with a feedback of only 12, but his previous 3 sales had been digital camera gear and his feedback was excellent.

I set up a snipe bid with Auctionstealer as I was at work when the auction was due to end and couldn't guarantee I'd be at my computer. My high bid was AUD$251.27, I paid AUD$230 which is about half the retail price.

The lens arrived 4 days after I had paid for it and is worth every cent. I'm glad I looked on eBay before ordering one from the local camera shop, as my outlay would have been higher and my wait would have been longer.

Read the sellers feedback, check that they have a good history of selling similar items, be wary if they all of a sudden have listings of expensive electronic gear after selling cheap clothes/china/books etc (could be a hijacked account), and contact the seller by email before placing a bid.
Also get a shipping quote if it's not listed in the auction.

Good luck!

Gayle

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

--
http://members.iinet.net.au/~gayle_knowles/

I have found some key things to look out for that can sway my judgement of whether the seller is worth considering:

Of course as mentioned earlier - send email - if you get a reply - that's a good thing...

If the email contains a prompt courteous reply - it will tell you that they may be telling the truth. A reply that does not answer your questions may say they are trying to avoid or hide something.

Ask if they are the original owner - some sellers will just "flip" products for a living to make money. Nothing wrong with that - but they may not see a flaw or a scratch as they never spent time with the product.

Ask if the product has ever been dropped or bumped. Some will be honest and tell you that it has and it works fine. I would avoid items when one says they "think" works fine....

If they say they are trying to sell it for someone and/or they say they don't know anything about photography - one may want to avoid these situations as they may claim ignorant upon a problematic lens or camera.

Ask if they are negotiable with the shipping. As many know with just a few minutes at UPS.com or at their local postal service - it doesn't cost much to ship items. Many sellers will add extra $$$$ to the shipping total to make money there. Nothing wrong with that - but if the seller is willing to be flexible and work with you on that cost - all the better...

Just a few things to add to your thoughts so the auctions may be more enjoyable....

Gayle said:

I set up a snipe bid with Auctionstealer as I was at work when the
auction was due to end and couldn't guarantee I'd be at my
computer. My high bid was AUD$251.27, I paid AUD$230 which is about
half the retail price.

The lens arrived 4 days after I had paid for it and is worth every
cent. I'm glad I looked on eBay before ordering one from the local
camera shop, as my outlay would have been higher and my wait would
have been longer.

Read the sellers feedback, check that they have a good history of
selling similar items, be wary if they all of a sudden have
listings of expensive electronic gear after selling cheap
clothes/china/books etc (could be a hijacked account), and contact
the seller by email before placing a bid.
Also get a shipping quote if it's not listed in the auction.

Good luck!

Gayle

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

--
http://members.iinet.net.au/~gayle_knowles/

Click to expand...

--
Canon Stuff

I have bought all my 4 lenses and other photo-equipment on eBay. Two Lenses is on its way now, and mostly I can work sub-deals for stuff I need for a very good prices. Sometimes you can even get price reduction, if you dare just buying via email, when the seller don't have to pay eBay-fees.

Just make sure the seller don't have any negative feedback sellerwise, and that he recently has got feedback from SELLING.
It's also a good thing, if the seller keeps selling stuff.

Then I have no worries, and never had a problem in over 500 transactions (mostly Europe eBay, but also 40-50 US/Can eBay buys).

--
http://www.HansenRacing.dk

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Click to expand...

Like many others, yes I have purchased lenses on eBay, and no regrets. The other posters gave great advice. I would add to check the price for a new lens at B&H and your local stores. Some lenses sell for much more than you could buy one new!

--
http://www.patcroteau.com

I have bought and sold camera and computer equipment on Ebay without too many problems. I had one buyer decide after the sale that he only wanted one of the two items included in the auction and would I only sell him one and I had a item that I bought which took 2 months to get to me. All in all, everything worked out. Most of the time I got what I purchased within a few days and I always ship out what I sell the next day.

Anyway a few more words of caution.

1. Check feedback. One scam is to have about a dozen positive feedbacks which are all for buying not selling. If you look at what the items they bought were, they are small 1 or 2 dollar items. Now they are selling high priced computer, camera, or electronics at very very prices.

2. Method of payment. If they only accept cash, check, money order or bidpay or western union, be suspicious. If you pay cash, you have no recourse. Paying by western union is like sending cash. I know many are not happy with Paypal, but there is some level of protection there.

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

Just my opinion -> A majority of the buyers on ebay are ill-informed about prices. Most let their emotions get in the way and will overbid an item to avoid the feeling of loss.

Just 3 days ago I was looking for a piece of software ("Business Plan Pro" to be exact) ... the bid for it reached $88.00 ... while you could get it for $79.00 at buy.com ... on top of that ... use a $10 coupon and free shipping special.

Same with lenses ... if you are in the market for a "current" lens ... you should be able to get it from Adorama or deltainternational for a little more than what you can get it on ebay. (and often at less than ebay prices).

Ebay final price = price of lens + time you spend trying to track, bid and monitor the auction + dollar equivalent of risk you take if lens turns out to be defective.

Try to price your time ... say $30.00 an hour ... if you spend two hours over a 7 day auction window ... thats $60.00 you should add to the final cost.

If you buy if from a online dealer ... you can always return it ... or if they give you a hassle ... tell your AMEX cust svc. to void the transaction.

Oh .. and always use AMEX for this kind of stuff ... it makes a difference.

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

--
http://www.imageevent.com/menonfamily

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

--

Cameranumerique.net (Forum Québécois de caméras Numériques) http://www.cameranumerique.net

Great advise! Thank you all.

Mostly good experiences, with a few precations thrown in; exactly what I hoped to hear.

One last thing about bidding that confuses me . . . .
Take a look at:

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws3/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2983011592

Here it shows the winner of an EF 28-135 IS bidding before the second best bid.

I know you can bid a maximum to incrementaly beat later bids, but the winner is not listed as having placed any kind of bid before his winning one.

If he bid the winning amount at the time listed, the second place bid would never have been at the top of the list; but it was up there until the last few seconds.

Has he hacked the system? Weird, and confusing.

David

I agree. You have to be careful of price. I have gotten some great bargins but I have also seen some items go for over what you could buy it for retail. I even emailed a seller once because he was selling a used lens for way over the retail price of a brand new one. I asked if maybe the price was a mistake but I got a reply that the pricing was correct. I sold my used Nikon 5700 for very close to the retail value. I don't understand why someone would buy it that way but it sold quickly.

You have to know what you are buying and the cost before you buy on Ebay. Don't let emotions get in the way.

Max Menon said:

Just 3 days ago I was looking for a piece of software ("Business
Plan Pro" to be exact) ... the bid for it reached $88.00 ... while
you could get it for $79.00 at buy.com ... on top of that ... use a
$10 coupon and free shipping special.

Same with lenses ... if you are in the market for a "current" lens
... you should be able to get it from Adorama or deltainternational
for a little more than what you can get it on ebay. (and often at
less than ebay prices).

Ebay final price = price of lens + time you spend trying to track,
bid and monitor the auction + dollar equivalent of risk you take if
lens turns out to be defective.

Try to price your time ... say $30.00 an hour ... if you spend two
hours over a 7 day auction window ... thats $60.00 you should add
to the final cost.

If you buy if from a online dealer ... you can always return it ...
or if they give you a hassle ... tell your AMEX cust svc. to void
the transaction.

Oh .. and always use AMEX for this kind of stuff ... it makes a
difference.

djc smith said:

I am considering replacing my kit lens, (I keep telling myself it
is too slow and too short)

Are there pitfalls to be wary of on e-bay?

Is Pay-Pal the way to go, or do you secretly sign away all your
privacy?

Are there any good strategies for bidding? I am noticing that
the early bidders rarely finish - usually some mega-buyer scoops
the bid at the last second.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the time/date of the winning bid
is sometimes a day before the second last bid, yet the winner never
appears to be bidding earlier? What gives?

David

Click to expand...

--
http://www.imageevent.com/menonfamily

Click to expand...

It is confusing. I think he must have placed a bid with that maximum at the time listed. It doesn't show the interim bids but only the winning bid. Did you follow this throughout the auction? My guess is he would have always been the front runner.

djc smith said:

Great advise! Thank you all.
Mostly good experiences, with a few precations thrown in; exactly
what I hoped to hear.

One last thing about bidding that confuses me . . . .
Take a look at:

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws3/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2983011592

Here it shows the winner of an EF 28-135 IS bidding before the
second best bid.
I know you can bid a maximum to incrementaly beat later bids, but
the winner is not listed as having placed any kind of bid before
his winning one.
If he bid the winning amount at the time listed, the second place
bid would never have been at the top of the list; but it was up
there until the last few seconds.

Has he hacked the system? Weird, and confusing.

David

Click to expand...

Be carefull that you are not ordering a lense that is too old and will give you an "error 99" message.

People always bid in the last 15 seconds if they want the item really. I do that if they are competition. You refesh like hell , than at 10 second you send a bid for example at 10second the item it 155$ and you want to put 170$.. put 170$ at 10 seconds, if the previous bidder putted an amount of 200$, too bad, it will go up to 170$ but you'll lost it...

I sold some stuff, dvd's and people alwatys wait the last hour to bid on the item. Everybody's check the auction and at the last minutes they bid

djc smith said:

Great advise! Thank you all.
Mostly good experiences, with a few precations thrown in; exactly
what I hoped to hear.

One last thing about bidding that confuses me . . . .
Take a look at:

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws3/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2983011592

Here it shows the winner of an EF 28-135 IS bidding before the
second best bid.
I know you can bid a maximum to incrementaly beat later bids, but
the winner is not listed as having placed any kind of bid before
his winning one.
If he bid the winning amount at the time listed, the second place
bid would never have been at the top of the list; but it was up
there until the last few seconds.

Has he hacked the system? Weird, and confusing.

David

Click to expand...

--

Cameranumerique.net (Forum Québécois de caméras Numériques) http://www.cameranumerique.net

The winner bid only once ... but he bid $355.00 when the current price was around $300 (based on dates).

Others came and try to outbid him and failed ... and all along the price kept going up.

On Feb 1 05:54 ... a bidder (second on list) bid $350.00 ... and still lost ... because the $355 bid was higher ... so now the price moves to $355.00.

No other takers were available at the $355.00 price ... so this guy won the auction.

He only bid once.

There are others on the list who bid once ... and then rebid ... and rebid again ... so they show up more than ones on the list.

Makes sense ?

Max

djc smith said:

Great advise! Thank you all.
Mostly good experiences, with a few precations thrown in; exactly
what I hoped to hear.

One last thing about bidding that confuses me . . . .
Take a look at:

http://offer.ebay.ca/ws3/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=2983011592

Here it shows the winner of an EF 28-135 IS bidding before the
second best bid.
I know you can bid a maximum to incrementaly beat later bids, but
the winner is not listed as having placed any kind of bid before
his winning one.
If he bid the winning amount at the time listed, the second place
bid would never have been at the top of the list; but it was up
there until the last few seconds.

Has he hacked the system? Weird, and confusing.

David

Click to expand...