bsharpe411 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Let's say you go into your local photo equipment emporium, asking about a dedicated film scanner....say a Nikon Coolscan V. Your sales person tells you he can sell you a brand new, factory-sealed box from Nikon with a full 1 year warranty for $550.00.......or he's willing to sell you the demo model, which has been used for the past year, may have some literature and/or software missing, no box, and no warranty. And the price for this one is $612.00 ! Well B&H has that scanner for $550 plus shipping, but I've just watched several Coolscan V's going on ebay for about $612 plus shipping. Am I missing something here, or is it, as I suspect, some sort of combination of bidder stupidity and ego/macho arrogance? I know for most of us this is a rhetorical question. I've been hoping to pick one up there at a better price after the holiday rush. Lately, however I find myself yelling at my monitor..."you guys are a bunch of MORONS!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverhaas Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Welcome to the wonderful world of e-bay! I've seen it happen on lots of things... and rack it up to one of the following: 1. Clueless about the price for a new one from a reputable dealer 2. Get caught up in the moment (gotta have it no matter what the cost) 3. The commercials (E-Bay's - It's better if you win it!) are being taken too literally. 4. Unable to stay out of a bidding war. 5. A combination of all of the above. Personally - I check new, used, local and internet prices before buying on e-bay. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan_goulet Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Are the winners from the States? The availability and price of these scanners varies from country to country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_elder1 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I can't tell you how many times I have seen an item on ebay go for more than the new price for that item. I have seen this at least 30 times. People don't bother to do the research on the cost of the item new, before they get into a bidding war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 There's a sucker borm every minute, and many of them are buying on eBay. The prices they pay may still be lower than their local full price dealer and they may never have heard of B&H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumpton Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Evan nailed a good part of the reason, David the rest. It is a wild wild world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_wayne1 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 David, Evan, John, Bob, and Arthur all nailed it. Most of the time if it's an International buyer it's because the item costs much much more in their country and they may not know about B&H or other camera stores in the states. Sometimes people with a lot of money don't care. They have so much money that $200 to $500 is not even worth worrying about. They just go to the easiest place these days that everybody knows about, eBay, and they just grab the first one they see. I sell a lot of big ticket items on eBay and one thing I've learned is that there are a whole lot of people in the world who make a whole lot of money. I know a guy from Canada who bought a Canon 300mm f/2.8 Lens used on eBay for $100 less than he could have bought it at B&H. He had said the lens in Canada at the place he checked was nearly double the price that he paid on eBay. I'd say for big ticket items like that...that's a typical reason but it happens every day for all of the above reasons. I was going to buy a Titleist golf bag one day. Watched them on eBay sell used for $125 to $135. I found them online at some store for $99 brand new. Happens every day. It pays to shop prices but not everyone cares. I've been married to the most wonderful woman in the world for 16 years. I'm as frugal as I can be when shopping prices and I'm all for using coupons and such. My wife....I couldn't pay that woman to cut out a coupon to save her life. When she buys some expensive food or something at the store I ask her, "how much did you pay for that?" Her response..."uummmm...I never even looked so I have no idea." Sellers dream! But thank God she's a good woman who isn't materialistic or we'd be broke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDMvW Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 The heat of the moment, but I can never figure out why people don't check the completed auctions AND a mail-order house for prices prior to bidding more than the product is worth. I've seen 75-300mm IS lenses go for nearly as much as the new and improved 70-300 IS--go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spearhead Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I used to work for The Home Shopping Network. The people who watch eBay have very similar behavior to the people who watch HSN. In the end, unless you are buying or selling, it really doesn't matter what people pay on eBay, just like HSN is irrelevant to anyone who isn't trying to sell products to them or buy while watching TV. Music and Portraits Blog: Life in Portugal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milton-chris Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I sell a lot of stuff on ebay, mostly fiestaware, other ceramics and collectibles, and there is no rhyme or reason why one day something will sel for $100 with 17 bidders, and the next day, you cannot sell the same thing for $9.99. We also have retail outlets, and when shopping the flea markets for inventory for them, it is amazing how much people pay retail for stuff. There's a lot of uneducated buyers out there, that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsharpe411 Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Evan and Arthur. Indeed, it is a wide wide world. And stores like B&H sell worldwide. They will send that scanner to Europe for about $95. Checking a few ebay sellers' shipping to Europe comes to about $90. So shipping is basically a wash to any given point. It still comes down to buying a used, non-warranty, possibly defective item for more money than new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david j.lee Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 i was once shopping for a negative carrier and surely, a used one came up on eBay. the starting price was already high, but a couple of guys started a bidding frenzy and the one who "won" it got it for more than 700.00 us....! i got mine directly from leica for about 300 and something....new! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_m Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I'm into old Mercedes cars. There are dealers who sell parts on Ebay - always for more money than on several other websites. On Ebay the shipping is also vastly overinflated. I even know of a place that has an independent website where they sell the exact same items for less that they do in their Ebay store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnieray777 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I've seen old used items in pawn shops priced higher than exact-same new item at walmart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neild Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Well... I once bought a lens from one of the reputable online dealers (eg. BHPhoto, KEH, etc) which was described as almost perfect (can't remember exactly how it was described, perhaps EX- or LN-) - actually, cosmetically, it was an accurate description but mechanically I've consistently got better 2nd hand from ebay. Am I just incredibly lucky with ebay so far? Perhaps, but I tend to prefer to get my lenses from ebay even if I end up paying "too much." And anyway, if the buyer's happy, then it was money well-spent whatever the price - isn't that so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Ingold Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 The Ebay (and Home Shopping Network style) marketing is carefully tuned to impulse buying. You are bombarded with "supplies are going fast" and "you have been outbid" messages. You have to understand that this artificial tension is exciting to some people, much like feeding coins into a slot machine. As one who has lost a total of $1.25 in slot machines in the last 30 years, I'm more of an observer than a player. What's the point of limiting your bid to the cost at KEH (as I typically do)? Ebay is perfect for sellers if not buyers, with due diligence to security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conor_callahan Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 I think that many people on ebay tend to want to WIN the auction, no matter what the price is. The few times I've bidded on ebay, I've felt that sort of addiction. The whole day I wanted to go and check the price and who was winning.. It's addictive -- and you can end up loosing a lot of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stsva Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 It makes for an interesting study in behavior. All I can say is, as an Ebay seller I love it when a bidding frenzy develops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now