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My Opinion On Ebay and Auctions in General


simbalion

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I've been tinkering around for the first time on eBay for years, mostly to get a handle on what stuff is going for nowdays and am surprised at some of the price spikes certain items are seeing. Of course, I am always wondering if shill bidding might be involved and how much of this stuff is going overseas to foriegn bidders with deep pockets. As such, I always take values on eBay with a grain of salt as the old saying goes. Really, I quit eBay years back when they went paypal only.
When it comes to eBay and auctions in general, I guess you could say I don't like them. I'd rather buy an item straight out rather than have to deal with ePay erm, eBay in any way. Yes, it can give you some idea on the value of a piece, but remember, IT IS AN AUCTION! There are always those nuts out there that go overboard on bidding and of course the whole bidding war thing. I am ok with someone basing some price ideas on eBay as long as they are willing to work with me and be fair about things.
I suppose my opinions come somewhat out of being stung over the years. It seems if I want an item, the prices go sky-high, but if I try to sell an item, I basically get raped. That is a good description of the 6 antique radios I auctioned off at a local auction house a while back. First batch of stuff I took up made nearly $200.. cool. I took even nicer radios up last time and made... $40! :( $200 invested in that stuff over time, got $40 back out of it. So, that ended me with auctions again. I expected to take some loss on the radios, but not that bad!
All I am saying is: We all need to take prices on eBay with a grain of salt, whether we are buying or selling items. I've seen both the good side and the dark side of eBay and how it can come back to really bite you in the arse! :)

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I agree with taking eBay prices with a grain of salt...

One factor is trending of a particular item which in my opinion "artificially" drives an item price up but is temporary usually.

For over ten years I tracked the prices of over 200 games (DOS FPS's mostly) on eBay and amazon. Over the years I refined my formula set to basically ignore the extremes and use only a median, which is based on total sales over time. It isn't at all just an average price calculation. There are many factors involved, but basically it is designed to ignore both the extremist on the high side, and the soccer mom selling stuff out of her kids room for nothing, and without research.

As far as being stung, when I sold on eBay, I used almost exclusively Buy It Now listings. Either you want it, or you don't. Trying to capitalize on someones emotional reactions is gambling... which is fine for a hobby, but not for actually working on a profit.

 

Anyway, thanks for your two cents... this is mine. :)

/end of ramble

 

MrBlackCat

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But what are you going to come? It's often the only place you can find certain items, especially anything collectible or retro.

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Hi. I'm with mrblackcat on this.I have a background in property appraisal. Using the median average is where you find true value of an item. I've been on Ebay for a few years. I've tried all different ways to sell on ebay. Auctions occasionally fetch higher than what the item is worth. Though if it gets too high the buyer just doesn't pay-up. If you go though and check Items that sold for really super high (way more than its worth) amount you will find a lot of them where relisted. I'm sure their is shilling going on. People may run on emotions but are not completely stupid. If someone way overspent on am item. Then they will take their lumps from ebay and walk from it.

 

The best is to sell items as buy it now, or at auction with the starting price close to what it worth. (leave a little on the table to bring in the buyers)

 

Realize that each item is a market and markets go up and down due to supply and demand. That could be daily, yearly, or by the minute. Trust your comparables when determining values. If the item dose not sell in a few months, than you need to re-evaluate.(If this is going off topic, witch I have a tendency to do. than I apologize.)

 

hope this helps.

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People can speculate all day long about what things are worth. But it is really very very simple. There is no right or wrong price. There is only a willingness to do a certain deal, or not. If you think the price too high.... do not buy. Don't complain, just don't buy.

 

And yes, shill bidding goes on all the time on there. Since it is a violation of the action rules, that is wrong. But prices themselves are never wrong or right. They just are.

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When it comes to ebay you just have to keep looking for an item you want and eventually you'll find a seller offering a fair buy it now price. When it comes to auctions I just stay away from bidding wars. A lot of people have bots to bid for them so year bots arent human they will definitely go overboard. To me if there's someone else bidding within 5 minutes left I let it rest. At the final 5 seconds if it's still at a price i'm willing to pay i'll throw in a bid and try to steal it. It's never worth over paying for an item, you just have to keep looking.

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