Why are people blind on ebay?

Ok, so I'm frustrated about not being able to snaffle a true bargain at the moment!
I scan Ebay like everyone does for a bargain to pop up, but when this happens I just can't work it out.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au …EWAX:IT&item=30​0301352293

This lens second hand sold for more (read nearly $200 more) than a brand new one.......admittidly it looked like a nice example, and it does have a UV filter (woo hoo!) but it isn't worth MORE than new!!

http://www.dirtcheapca​meras.com.au/ef-70200mm-f28-usm-p-89.html

And don't think the web shop is some dodgy shop, it's all aussie stock with a front door, and even camera house in Sydney has the same lens for cheaper than this guy paid for the one on Ebay.


I see this so often on ebay. On say a 2K lens for example, people will pay up to $1900 for an unknown second hand one. What is with that?
You are willing to spend 1900 for someones second hand job and you won't spin another $100 for a brand new one????

Good on any seller for getting all he can get, but man it's SO hard to find a bargain on ebay with all these morons blowing out the price!!!!

I think it's simply a case of people not being that familiar with all
the options available to them on the net (forums, craig's list, doing
price searches on ebay)... It's actually pretty good for us. A handful
of times, I've posted stuff here that's lingered and was able to quickly
move it on ebay, even after the fees I did ok...

On the flipside, i've gotten some crazy deals on ebay.

It was Australian dollars, not USD. The exchange rate is not in the Aussie's favor right now.

I was bidding on an MP-E 65 on ebay (uk), but I wasn't willing to pay over £500 for it (second hand).

I watched it sell for £662 which was £7 cheaper than a brand new one listed by a chap in scottland who is wellknown for being a good honest guy.

So anyway... I bought the new one for £669 (which comes with a warranty).

I also tend to scan ebay for bargains and often see lenses sell for close to if not more than they can be snagged for new which is just insane. To me saving a couple of £££'s just doesn't seem worth losing a warranty for.

I think people must just get cought up in the moment, "I aint letting that guy win over me" etc and they end up bidding more and more without stopping to check if they are getting close to the price of a new one.

I've also seen a secondhand 550EX Speedlite sell for the same price I paid for my brand new 580EX II.

ccookdo wrote in post #7623219
It was Australian dollars, not USD. The exchange rate is not in the Aussie's favor right now.

I checked this too yesterday. OP is correct, it is overpriced. In AUS dollars, this item is still overpriced (70-200 f/2.8 non-IS). So, yeah..

pixelbasher wrote in post #7621286
Ok, so I'm frustrated about not being able to snaffle a true bargain at the moment!
I scan Ebay like everyone does for a bargain to pop up, but when this happens I just can't work it out.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au …EWAX:IT&item=30​0301352293

This lens second hand sold for more (read nearly $200 more) than a brand new one.......admittidly it looked like a nice example, and it does have a UV filter (woo hoo!) but it isn't worth MORE than new!!

http://www.dirtcheapca​meras.com.au/ef-70200mm-f28-usm-p-89.html

And don't think the web shop is some dodgy shop, it's all aussie stock with a front door, and even camera house in Sydney has the same lens for cheaper than this guy paid for the one on Ebay.

I see this so often on ebay. On say a 2K lens for example, people will pay up to $1900 for an unknown second hand one. What is with that?
You are willing to spend 1900 for someones second hand job and you won't spin another $100 for a brand new one????

Good on any seller for getting all he can get, but man it's SO hard to find a bargain on ebay with all these morons blowing out the price!!!!

ed rader

I bet you they got friends to bump up the price to snag real bidders into an auction battle.

or

People think Ebay is "always" a good deal.

Where were all these uninformed buyers when I used to sell on eBay?

Anymore when I hunt for retail goods on eBay I ONLY shop via newly listed BIN items. If I find what I want from a good seller at a fair price I just BIN it.

I found auctions for all retail type items pointless, either due to some dolt who feels used w/o a warranty is worth 90% or more of the new price or most of the retail-type items are sourced by the seller in pallet sized lots which are culled customer returns that have not even been inspected for damage. If I don't find what I want I look to Amazon if it is not photo gear and if it is photo gear I look here and B&H. I also hunt sources here on POTN, you know, for those less common things the bigger retailers don't want to mess with.

What are these "BIN" items you speak of?

jbrown7815 wrote in post #7633295
What are these "BIN" items you speak of?

ummm..sorry about that BIN = Buy it Now

brecklundin wrote in post #7633345
ummm..sorry about that BIN = Buy it Now

Oh der. I should have guessed that

photoguy6405 wrote in post #7631862
Where were all these uninformed buyers when I used to sell on eBay?

Yes things have become very tough on ebay. I suppose thats why there is a big push to Amazon. Customer may feel safer there.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

ccookdo wrote in post #7623219
It was Australian dollars, not USD. The exchange rate is not in the Aussie's favor right now.

As dska has already mentioned, it's all in aussie $, the ebay auction, and the online store. Even both the lenses are aussie. I do agree though that our dollar is in the bin.

Ed rader: you know where I'm coming from! Damn the uninformed, they are keeping me from a bargain!!

But get this, last night another copy of the same lens (apparently in very good order from a 100% er) went for $A1360. Now that's getting better, 400 under new, but still not a " true bargain" for me for an untested lens.
Problem is, I missed it anyway but still, $1200 would have been a good buy in my eyes.
I couldn't make it home in time and thought I would be, so my intial plan was to snipe at the last minute........bugger this ebay crap, I'm going new!


As an aside with ebay, (at least the aussie one) I see some hongkong retailers selling for more than shopfront retail here.
The lens in the first post (online+brick and mortar shop) sell all aussie gear with aussie canon waranty etc, most (all?) of the hong kong vendors who are at the moment selling for more, also have a warranty that is effectively useless to anyone when you read the fine print. Surely no one is buying from them at the moment?........yeah right!