Demand better when buying on ebay.

[Keatah]

Demand better from the sellers when buying on ebay. As one does I typically have fun browsing around and stuff.

 

I came across this simple item. A three-ring binder for 5.25" disk sleeves. Seller wanted $100 buy-it-now, or bidding starting at $65. In the description he admits that it comes from a smokey environment. Kudos there. But $100 for something that still looks crappy? If I bought that I'd need to still spend a half-hour cleaning it and fumigating it. Consider the additional cost of electricity to charge the car to go to the store and to get cleaner products. It tacks on another $20. Add in the cost of personal time? Another $200..!

 

The seller also suggested that the buyer do that additional cleaning. Yeh.. no.. Sometimes crap should just be thrown away. Or totally and completely restored at even greater expense. 3x expense.

 

BTW these were something like $10 when new. Just because "old" and "Apple" doesn't warrant $100.

[kennybrooks]

So, who put the gun to your head to force you to buy it?

[Keatah]

I didn't buy it. It's an example I pulled out of my ass to show how things are overpriced for their condition.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Keatah

[chas10e]

 

[Tanooki]

Problem is...

- Ebay has no controls on what is posted, short of something that won't get them in legal trouble.

- Stupid people will pay anything, when they're addicted to something in particular (in this case, it would be Apple/related products)

 

So there is no demanding better since ebay doesn't have an intelligence or finance test before allowing people to use the site, so they're really in the end, no better than throwing money on a table in Vegas in a way.

[taxman]

Yep, if you really want that item, just put in a search for when it comes up again. You can get it clean already and for a fraction of his starting price.

[1200XL M.U.L.E.]

Buyer beware! The seller is a shark and good for him if he finds someone willing to pay that much money for such an item.

[Keatah]

Sure. I wasn't really interested in buying it. But, rather, pricing items in my collection (like all the other assholes) to see what they actually sell for. I have 10 or 12 of'em. Most are like-new. None of mine are for sale. But they pop up from time to time.

 

I totally forgot what I originally paid for them back in the day. But it wasn't more than $10 or $20 tops. So. Because Apple, because "in good shape", because I carried it through time to this point, because old, because Steve Jobs.. I would sell mine, like every other jerk, for the princely sum of..? fuck I don't know..

 

What else is insulting to a prospective buyer is the seller photographing an item while it's in the pickup truck bed AT the site of actual pickup. Like the flea market in the background. It's ok if it's like lawn & garden stuff or that crap they clutter the lawns with.. But not delicate electronics meant for indoor usage.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Keatah

[Tanooki]

I agree with that last piece of sentiment.

 

I find nothing more grating on primarily facebook where you find it, find pictures that have some passenger, back seat, truck, or a crotch+item shot which is followed up by the very post telling people it's sale for the low price of (probably 2-5x the price they paid or more.)  Absolutely no class.

[Keatah]

..or how about those books that have a thrift store $0.99 sticker on them. And they're listed for $14.95. Fell into that trap a couple of times. But no more.

[Dopy25]

At least this one is forward about it:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wii-U-Games-Lot-Untested-Pre-Own-/353518623304?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286

[Keatah]

Demanding even BETTER from Amazon. Make it a thing for your sanity and that of the planet's climate change.

 

Bought a DVD box set the other day and immediately returned it because two of the corners were scuffed/rounded. They shipped it in the standard Amazon Bubble Mailer - which it pretty tough compared to the shit you buy at the store. Looks and feels like it wouldn't degrade in a million years and is tough to tear.

 

But it didn't offer the necessary protection because it's more form-fitting than a cardboard box.

 

So when I returned it I took the coal-roller. Made a special trip just for that. Re-printed the return address slip barcode two times. First time because I wasn't sure my (reliable) printer printed the first line correctly. It did. But I just wanted to be certain. To keep everything together (dvd set, original packaging, return slip) I used another plastic bag. Picked up some bottled water along the scenic drive.

 

Could have left it outside by the door for a UPS pickup. But since we're still in tornado season here I figured it might be a problem. Just wasn't sure. And I didn't want to wait till later in the week. Imagine the pollution they'd have saved by using a proper packing method. But no. Woot!

[+GoldenWheels]

I'd just emulate the binder.

[Cebus Capucinis]

You could emulate your own eBay, too, where all the sellers have reasonable prices and the listings are precisely what you want... 🤔

[Keatah]

I could set up a packing and distro warehouse in the spare bedroom. Bid against a random number generator stuffed into an ebay lookalike website. The money would go into savings and the stuff would move from the junk pile to the other part of the house.

 

Somehow I need to pare all this material down. My manual & spare parts accumulation way of doing things is getting out of control. Again.

Edited August 15, 2021 by Keatah