• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

it's no wonder ebay use has been declining

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
?? What are you guys talking about? It's no different than it ever was. If you don't want to overpay, don't put in a high max bid. More users = more demand = higher prices fetched by vendors. Not sure what's wrong with the site...looks/works fine for me.
 
I've been scammed once, and that was from a guy I'd previously had successful trades with. I'm not sure what happened. I guess he flaked out or something. Paypal took care of it, so it was no big deal.
 
oldsmoboat said:
I use it all the time and I have never been scammed. But then, I am not a dumb fuck.
Click to expand...
I had no problem for my first year or 2 of using ebay and got some great deals during that time.
Then I began getting a lot of items not as described, mostly in the new or like new, but receive it well used, or damaged. And not matching the photos in item posting.
Turned me off of ebay, and slowed down my use of it significantly.
 
shortylickens said:
Unfortunately I need to use it this year.
Gotta lose a buttload of D&D 3rd edition and Rifts books.
And some speakers. And maybe a camera, if my mom doesnt want it.

I hope I dont get fucked over. Last time I tried to sell the cheap bastards only wanted to give me 5 bucks for a 30 dollar book, and the goddamn shipping was 5 dollars.
Click to expand...
Rifts was good stuff. We need a live action Rifts movie.
 
High shipping costs are a direct result of the high shipping prices from USPS, UPS, FedEx. Plus part of the shipping costs are to pay for the time + materials to ship the item to you.

/knock on wood - I've yet to be scammed, but then again - I will only buy items from someone with an insanely high amount of feedback that's above 99%. And I will [try to] only ship to verified paypal addresses.

People are definitely bidding - I've sold quite a few items [mainly old computer hardware] lately at or near the price I was hoping for.
 
lxskllr said:
Yea, that's a common game with all vendors. Newegg is especially notable for that practice. You have to take the total price into account when buying, and not just the sticker price.
Click to expand...

ebay also allows you to report sellers with outrageously stupid shipping fees. The other day, I saw a listing for a pair of sneakers, that every other seller (who sells that brand) has for ~$65-70. This guy had them listed for $0.99, but his shipping quote was $68. Riiiiiight!! 🙄

Oftentimes, a super-high shipping fee is a seller's way of trying to get around paying the ebay fees, since they pay a percentage of the selling price, not including the shipping fee.
 
I've been a member since 1998 and while I've bought a few things the last few years ... it's been about 5 years since I've sold anything.

I would prefer not to have to use their "service" ... but I may have to use it again, eventually.
 
lxskllr said:
No, I learned that early on. I manually snipe because it adds sport to the process, but placing a max bid early is for fools.
Click to expand...

Why? I don't use Ebay often so humour me.

If I think somethings worth £20 and I put that as my max bid how is that a problem?

Ebay doesn't instantly bid me at £20, it bids me a the lowest winning bid until the auction goes above £20. (At least that was my impression)

That means I cant be sniped unless you bid > £20 doesn't it?
 
i just use buy it now. too much hassle to do anything else.
Craigslist though...man they need to shut down that site, i already know several guys who got ripped from there. One guy got a nice Android phone...but you can't charge it, another one saw his stolen motorbike on there, screw that site.

WelshBloke said:
Why? I don't use Ebay often so humour me.

If I think somethings worth £20 and I put that as my max bid how is that a problem?

Ebay doesn't instantly bid me at £20, it bids me a the lowest winning bid until the auction goes above . (At least that was my impression)

That means I cant be sniped unless you bid > £20 doesn't it?
Click to expand...

cause you inflate the item early on when there is no need to, then you'll risk others surpassing your max bid....point being, you should always wait till the last 10 seconds or so, place your max bid and hope someone else hasnt already got a max bid higher
 
Last edited:
WelshBloke said:
Why? I don't use Ebay often so humour me.

If I think somethings worth £20 and I put that as my max bid how is that a problem?

Ebay doesn't instantly bid me at £20, it bids me a the lowest winning bid until the auction goes above £20. (At least that was my impression)

That means I cant be sniped unless you bid > £20 doesn't it?
Click to expand...

People get in bidding wars, and the cost will go over the value very quickly. People, myself included will "own" an item before it's won. You think of everything you're gonna do with it, and imagine how awesome it is, and emotion takes over reason. It becomes a personal affront when someone outbids you, so of course you have to put in a higher bid, and things get out of control fast.

Bid your maximum late, and hope for the best is the way to handle it. That way the cost doesn't needlessly go over the value, and since your so late in the game, there's no time for emotion bidding.

Edit:
what you said is technically correct except for my caveat posted above.
 
what i used to do was 2 browser open, i waited till the 30 sec countdown, i placed my info and max bid ready to go while watching the countdown in a constant refreshing page on other browser...when it hit 5 secs...no whammies, no whammies...NOW!!.
i tried 3 seconds before but lost, i guess due to internet delay, so 5 seconds is a good target i think.

i'm sure sniping tools are far more efficient nowadays plus when you can't be home or whatever, but i don't like how the shipping games are played nowadays, the feedback fights..etc so i rarely go there.
 
lxskllr said:
People get in bidding wars, and the cost will go over the value very quickly. People, myself included will "own" an item before it's won. You think of everything you're gonna do with it, and imagine how awesome it is, and emotion takes over reason. It becomes a personal affront when someone outbids you, so of course you have to put in a higher bid, and things get out of control fast.

Bid your maximum late, and hope for the best is the way to handle it. That way the cost doesn't needlessly go over the value, and since your so late in the game, there's no time for emotion bidding.

Edit:
what you said is technically correct except for my caveat posted above.
Click to expand...

Thats the advantage of the maximum bid though. I think somethings worth £20, I bid that as a max then log out and do something else.

If I win, great I got something for what I though it was worth or less. If I lose then they were asking too much.
 
as a seller, it's kind of annoying that there *are* no more bidding wars... just an auction with 0 bids for 3 days and then a flurry of activity in the last 5 seconds of an auction.
 
WelshBloke said:
Thats the advantage of the maximum bid though. I think somethings worth £20, I bid that as a max then log out and do something else.

If I win, great I got something for what I though it was worth or less. If I lose then they were asking too much.
Click to expand...

The problem is you'll seldom win though. The item may be worth £20 to just about everyone on the planet, but if it's worth £20, it's surely worth £21, right? If it's worth £21, well £22 isn't that far away, and so on, and so on :^D

I think a lot of it depends on what you're bidding on too. I don't generally use Ebay for common items. While what I'm bidding on may not be rare in a global sense, it isn't easy to come by locally. If you lose on an iPhone, who cares? a phones a phone, and there'll be 10,000 more where that came from. Losing on a 1941 Martin Handcraft tenor sax is a different ballgame, and that also plays into the emotional aspect. By the time the auction's ready to close you've analyzed every single ding, dent, and tarnish spot, and that saxophone's yours before you've won it. If you DON'T win it, it could be quite awhile before another one shows up, and you can't let that happen. See what I mean?
 
I still use ebay pretty often but only use the BIN option and most of it has free shipping.

If I ever want to sell something, I will not use ebay. I use craigslist just for the fact that it is free.
 
lxskllr said:
The problem is you'll seldom win though. The item may be worth £20 to just about everyone on the planet, but if it's worth £20, it's surely worth £21, right? If it's worth £21, well £22 isn't that far away, and so on, and so on :^D

I think a lot of it depends on what you're bidding on too. I don't generally use Ebay for common items. While what I'm bidding on may not be rare in a global sense, it isn't easy to come by locally. If you lose on an iPhone, who cares? a phones a phone, and there'll be 10,000 more where that came from. Losing on a 1941 Martin Handcraft tenor sax is a different ballgame, and that also plays into the emotional aspect. By the time the auction's ready to close you've analyzed every single ding, dent, and tarnish spot, and that saxophone's yours before you've won it. If you DON'T win it, it could be quite awhile before another one shows up, and you can't let that happen. See what I mean?
Click to expand...

This is very true, but I learnt to bid in auctions before the internet.

The main rule is set your upper limit and stick to it.

If you didn't think it was worth more than £20 before the auction its not worth more than £20 after it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top