Ebay..Where Do You Stand?

[Justen]

We all love and hate the bay for many different reasons, some good, some bad! Just curious to see where the majority of AKr's stand on it!

[Filmboydoug]

I am not a fan, but when you live in Fargo and want to collect vintage gear, eBay is the only game in town.

[SPL db]

Need a a new category...

I'm an occasional seller, but I buy way more than I sell! :lmao:

Scott

[Justen]

If I could figure out how to edit the poll, I'd do that!

[Unican_Eric]

I dont sell on ebay..to much a pain in the ass for me. I have a feedback of 14 but used ebay about 19 times and I would say that 16 of them were audio related. I have yet to have a bad experience.....KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!

[yamahammer]

buy, sell over 100 tranactions only one or two bad transctions one busted up tt, one very poorly packed pair of hpm 60's that they peeled some veneer off the bottom of the speaker, Refund on the turntable no problem, no remorse from the speaker seller no money either you live you learn

[mg196]

Out of over 300 transactions I have only had 2 or 3 bad experiences. Epay can be a darn good resource, but I refuse to spend more than about $50 on a transaction that is not local...just in case!

[dgwojo]

I sell light bulbs on ePay, most buyers are exceptional people, especially AK members, but, there's others who are just plain A$$HOLES that there's no pleasing, luckily this is only about .5% of the buyers. A couple of pet peeves, I hate sellers who are so stuck-up that they won't leave feedback unless it's negative, or, won't leave feedback at all, and the "seller clowns" who immediately remove the pictures from the auction so you can't compare what you receive to what was shown on the auction - A$$HOLES!!! (Make sure you print the auction as soon as you win it!!) On the plus side, I find some excellent deals on new, used and unusual items. :yes:

[Fisherdude]

Need a a new category...

I'm an occasional seller, but I buy way more than I sell! :lmao:

Scott

That makes two of us!! :yes:

[Strawman]

My feedback is 584 positives, have about 10 that went horribly wrong. Piss me off thinking about them. Except for browsing, I'm about done. :sigh:

[piece-it pete]

Need a a new category...

I'm an occasional seller, but I buy way more than I sell! :lmao:

Scott

Me three!

Out of 120 fb comments I have one retalitory neutral. I'm lucky and know it, but also very very cautious, any public arena has plenty of pickpockets, crooks, and just plain assholes.

Pete

[Glassman]

The point about Ebay I was explaining to my wife's uncle (I guess that makes him my uncle too but anyway) was that there is a select group of people who enjoy and collect vintage equipment. To the rest of the world it is junk which they donate to Goodwill and other similar establishment simply to clear space in their basement, attics, etc. The fact that our select group has determined vintage gear has value is the primary reason the prices have skyrocketed. To 99% of the world, it is still something they look at and raise an eyebrow as to why it is worth $100-500. The other reason prices have gone up is location as stated by Filmboydoug. If the gear is not near you, you have to get it somewhere and Ebay is the source for just such a supply and demand. I recently paid $150 for a Yamaha amplifier. At a thrift store, I might have paid $20 and it would have been in the same functional condition as I believe it to be where the seller obtained it. He did nothing to it but slap some tung oil on the case and threw in on Ebay. I have not seen very many of them and certainly none around here so the price seemed fair. I have never sold anything on Ebay but have sold the occasional item here or on Craigslist locally. I also have yet to make money on anything I have ever sold.

Jay

[stormy]

I sell (Deiterscloset) and buy. No real problems except for 1 lady - my one bad feedback out of 260. I only buy if the person has 98 - 100% positive feedback and at least xx (30?) number of sales.

[merrylander]

Need a category that says "I used to sell on eBay but don't do so any longer" Out of over 200 feedbacks only one a**hole gave me a negative, said I stiffed him but I sent him three emails asking for an address to send the MO to and never gat an answer. Some babe in CA took my MO but never shipped. Ebay management is useless and of late I am beginning to wonder about the majority of sellers. Bought an SX-1050, seller said payment received Sept 3, yet to see hair nor hide of the SX-1050 or any response to emails. Bought a service manual for a Kenwood, be only too happy to send the money but have yet to get a response from the seller. So now I have not even looked at it for the last week.

Rob

[Sandy G]

I have been VERY lucky so far, really haven't had a bad e-pay experince. It's been a real blessing for me, as how would I have any hope of scoring some of the boatanchors & TVs I've gotten otherwise ?-Sandy G.

[shelby1420]

Been lucky so far but had a few close calls, gonna take the hint and buy or sell to those i know......here in the family!!!

[brainsmasher]

I do my fair share of selling on the bay mainly to fund more buying and at 350+ feedback all positive I want to keep it that way that means I test and retest for sometimes years. But on the other hand I prefer to buy, not on the bay but I am a prolific picker, can you say " hunter gatherer". I am going to flood the classifieds here in the coming months because "I" came to the conclusion that I have way too much stuff. There are enough people here that would like my wares and AK can always use the $ it generates. Not really for profiteering but I am finally buying my house and it will need a good deal of work, that = $$$$ I would also like to see the car that was in the garage 4-5 years ago.
Last note, I make some money, have a bit of fun, help somebody out and get to go out hunting again. I will stay at it.

[billinkansas]

That makes two of us!! :yes:

There are a bunch of us like this, I think.

Bildo's typical audio equipment cycle: Buy it, try it, throw it on the pile.

[macaltec]

Just sold my first item this past week. It was a very nerve racking experience, writing the add, listing it, making sure everything (my @$$) was covered, answering questions, waiting for buyer to contact (he never did, just sent payment w/ paypal, 2 days later) I've bought a few things in the past and I diligently watched the end of the auction and contacted the seller immediately when it was over. I do not understand why people (buyers/sellers) wait 1 or more days to contact. Do they really give a chit about the contract they have just agreed to or not? I'm gonna try selling a few more things and if it goes like the first one in terms of contact I'm not gonna do it again.

mac

[Tour2ma]

Need a a new category... I'm an occasional seller, but I buy way more than I sell! :lmao: Ditto... but I'm not laughing...

[old_tv_nut]

Just sold my first item this past week. It was a very nerve racking experience, writing the add, listing it, making sure everything (my @$$) was covered, answering questions, waiting for buyer to contact (he never did, just sent payment w/ paypal, 2 days later) I've bought a few things in the past and I diligently watched the end of the auction and contacted the seller immediately when it was over. I do not understand why people (buyers/sellers) wait 1 or more days to contact. Do they really give a chit about the contract they have just agreed to or not? I'm gonna try selling a few more things and if it goes like the first one in terms of contact I'm not gonna do it again.

mac
I travel a lot on business, and sometimes I can't respond to something I won until the second day (although I respond the same or following day if I can). I can't see why the first response being a payment (Paypal) is upsetting - I think getting the money ASAP would be preferable.

My feedback score as a buyer is 544 (members), 1337 (feedbacks), 100% positive.
Out of that, I have been disappointed/stiffed by a seller 3 times. And annoyed many more times by sellers who don't reply promptly when I DO contact them immediately to ask the total with shipping, which they neglected to put in their listing.

I had one seller who never received my money order, but failed to contact me to ask where it was - finally I contacted her to ask where the item was. Had to convince her to wait while I verified it was uncashed and send a new one. A few people just don't have the competence to do weil as a seller, and I imagine there are a similar percentage of buyers. Plus a few bad apples, of course.

[macaltec]

I travel a lot on business, and sometimes I can't respond to something I won until the second day (although I respond the same or following day if I can). I can't see why the first response being a payment (Paypal) is upsetting - I think getting the money ASAP would be preferable.

My feedback score as a buyer is 544 (members), 1337 (feedbacks), 100% positive.
Out of that, I have been disappointed/stiffed by a seller 3 times. And annoyed many more times by sellers who don't reply promptly when I DO contact them immediately to ask the total with shipping, which they neglected to put in their listing.

I had one seller who never received my money order, but failed to contact me to ask where it was - finally I contacted her to ask where the item was. Had to convince her to wait while I verified it was uncashed and send a new one. A few people just don't have the competence to do weil as a seller, and I imagine there are a similar percentage of buyers. Plus a few bad apples, of course.

Firtst contact in the form of Paypal was not upsetting. I had a number of international bidders asking about shipping and this guy was one of them. The guys profile showed him in South Korea and I was prompted with a zip code in CA. A bit confusing for a first timer. I asked him for clarification and got none. I figured shipping to that zip and stayed in limbo for a couple of days. It all worked out fine. I was just a bit nervous and wanted things to go smoothly.

mac

[mageworlder]

You know what I hate? People on ebay who can't even spell.
You know what I hate? People who scam other people on Ebay by using someone else's pictures and sending YOU some poorly-packaged broken, rusted, and otherwise decroded piece of crap that YOU spent good money for and won't take it back.
You know what I hate? How all the Goodwills and Salvation Armies have dried up b/c people think "I can get money for this on Ebay!" and other campers who wait out in the electronics section to stockpile all the good stuff to sell on Ebay.
You know what I hate? How you always get outbid at the last minute by some bot belonging to some rich f*** who JUST HAS to have such and such an item and has more money than brains.
You know what I love? When two rich old f***s get into a bidding war and push up the price of like a Marantz 2220B to $10,000 and the winner wipes out their 401k
You know what I hate? When as a result of the above, the going rate of Marantz 2220Bs goes to $10,000 for everyone.
You know what I really hate? THE EBAY LOGO! Oh Jesus, Mary, Mother of God Almighty, I hate Ebay with all my heart and soul!

[slow_jazz]

only had one bad experience on ebay. most of the time i have found out it takes quite a while to get the item. many items have been close to a month before receiving them. then sometimes you get them in less than a week. kind of a crapshoot.

[slow_jazz]

i agree on the outbidding.... i've been ahead with less than a minute and wound up losing the item by several hunderd dollars... sniping i think they call it.

[Donkey!]

I hate paypal, and paypal and ebay are the same bloody company, so I guess I hate ebay too.

Virtue's a bitch

[panhead]

A couple of pet peeves, I hate sellers who are so stuck-up that they won't leave feedback unless it's negative, or, won't leave feedback at all

im with ya on that deal,i leave feedback for every deal & when a lazy seller dont leave me feedback in return i wait until after the seller isnt allowed to leave me feedback due to the dead line then i poke his eye's out, i add to the feedback that i allready left him stating that he is a lazy slob who dont leave feedback for a hassle free deal.

[Loz-Pioneer-Nut]

To get the Pioneer gear I want ebay is the only real avenue. Its a case of "there`s nowhere else!!!" All the stuff I like seems to be in the States - ebay opens the door I walk through and take my chances like everyone else on there. :scratch2:

[mhconley]

I buy and sell about equally.

Martin

[Mark W.]

I've build collections in four hobbies using eBay I've bought or sold in around 1250 auctions with a feedback of 784 (many many multiple buyers and seller especially in the camera stuff I bought and sold) 1 neg (buyer stiffed me and retaliated on a 14.00 item) and one neutral (when my son sold some 30+ year old I live in my parents basement type a Pokiemon card he didn't think was all that great)

I haven't been doing much selling lately and only buying a few items mostly Vinyl but in about a month I'm going to get back to clearing some of this crap out of here I NEED SOME FLOOR SPACE. So I imagine this winter I'll do another 100+ auctions.

As to the whole love hate thing IMHO how silly it's a venue for connecting sellers with buyers the rules are all up front and if you don't like the way the game is played then I guess it's not for you.

[speakerlust]

I bought a scope-meter on Ebay, I had a handheld two channel but I wanted another one anyway. I got it for a scorching deal, as well, a few other electrical tools, and I sold one of my company vehicles there as well. Then,
after being away from it for awhile, I noticed a policy change, or did I just not notice it way back ??? I don't know ??? But it was/is that Ebay charges
a rather high rate for adding a Reserve Price to items. Did I read that wrong.
I went to Craigslist and sold several thousand dollars worth of items with no fee. There of course a worldwide buying community at Ebay, but with Craigslist I do not have to worry about shipping. I recently stopped selling on Craigslist as well, as I tire of selling.

[panhead]

Ive been thinking of giving up ebay alltogether & my mind was made up for me just this morning,with me its not so much ebay's doing its the sellers who try & cheat people.

Twice this week ive been shook down from 2 different sellers trying to hit me with inflated shipping costs in order to make up for my very low winning bid,in one case i won an auction for a pair of speakers worth about $200 for 99 cents,this seller wanted an extra $20 for me to pick them up,the other seller tried to gouge me with a handeling fee of $20 for a $5 auction.

Needless to say i told both sellers no thank you.

[Stoffie]

Occasional seller (mostly puter stuff then), but buy way too much on there. Knock on wood, but never had a single problem (except for package getting lost through our 'great' snail mail system here)...

[barrynsue]

I mostly sell with feedback of nearly 2250 positive and 3 negs. Selling vintage electronics can be very difficult as it is tough to pack properly, takes time to test and writing ads and taking good pics can get cumbersome. As with anything you do, there are difficulties as you are basically running a small (or large business) when you become a seller and dealing with a a faceless public can sometimes be a challenge.

The upside to all of it is the fact that I would not have been on this forum if not for ebay and I bet many others will agree that they came here to research something they had or wanted. My first experience on eBay was as a seller as I went to an auction and unwittingly purchased FIVE HT receivers when I thought I only bid on ONE! Not knowing wxactly what I was going to do with them, I researched ebay and gave it a whirl. I sold my first item for $255 more than I paid which was almost retail for it and instantly saw opportunity. It all grew from there.

There is no perfect venue and ebay has been the key to enable so many more of us to acquire and sell gear that would have otherwise been very difficult. My experiences from ebay have been much more up than down and have met some FANTASTIC people along the way.

Selling is not for everyone and it can get difficult but for me, ebay has been great. I even had two Paypal claims against different sellers for not as represented and for not shipping the items and was promptly refunded within 10 days of making the claims.

So there is no right or wrong answers about eBay, only the way it has affected you will determine your thoughts.

My 0.02

Barry

[radiotvnut]

You know what I hate? People on ebay who can't even spell.
You know what I hate? People who scam other people on Ebay by using someone else's pictures and sending YOU some poorly-packaged broken, rusted, and otherwise decroded piece of crap that YOU spent good money for and won't take it back.
You know what I hate? How all the Goodwills and Salvation Armies have dried up b/c people think "I can get money for this on Ebay!" and other campers who wait out in the electronics section to stockpile all the good stuff to sell on Ebay.
You know what I hate? How you always get outbid at the last minute by some bot belonging to some rich f*** who JUST HAS to have such and such an item and has more money than brains.
You know what I love? When two rich old f***s get into a bidding war and push up the price of like a Marantz 2220B to $10,000 and the winner wipes out their 401k
You know what I hate? When as a result of the above, the going rate of Marantz 2220Bs goes to $10,000 for everyone.
You know what I really hate? THE EBAY LOGO! Oh Jesus, Mary, Mother of God Almighty, I hate Ebay with all my heart and soul!

Your "hate list" and mine are equal!

I used to do a fair amount of buying and selling on that auction site; but, it seems like the selection of items I'm interested in is drying up and what I do find goes for more than what I'm willing to spend. Also, ebay has made some new rules I don't go along with (electronic payments only beginning in late October, for one).

Oh, let me add one more thing that I HATE: Sellers that don't know how to PROPERLY PACK an item!

So, I guess I'm back to hunting on the local scene. I can sometimes get a better deal and I don't have to worry about my item arriving in 25,000 pieces!

[birddog]

Boy, this poll came back from the dead! Look at the date!

I've only bought a few items, and only sold a few items, less than 20 transactions all together...

I think both the 'bay and PayPal suck, especially in the last year or two.

[Mystic]

Need a category that says "I used to sell on eBay but don't do so any longer"

Seconded.

Recommend adding a category for those who "used to buy on eBay, but don't do so any longer" as well.

[Justen]

Boy, this poll came back from the dead! Look at the date!


My first thought upon seeing this in my control panel was, "I don't remember subscribing to this thread. Why would I give a f*ck?"

Now it occurs to me I started the damned thing to begin with. Three fecking years ago....

Mercy sakes alive.

[tentoze]

My first thought upon seeing this in my control panel was, "I don't remember subscribing to this thread. Why would I give a f*ck?"

Now it occurs to me I started the damned thing to begin with. Three fecking years ago....

Mercy sakes alive.

This is the one that made you dead to me, Jethro.

[Justen]

Glad to know what button worked. I'll keep pushing them.

[Brian]

I keep telling my wife I'm going to learn to sell some stuff on it to reduce the collection; now I can tell her with the changes, it is not worth it.

[tentoze]

Glad to know what button worked. I'll keep pushing them.

No need. When you're dead, you're dead.

[jazzwolf]

I've had over 1,000 transactions on Ebay as a buyer and only a few have gone bad and that was for very poorly packed audio equipment. I had a BIC 980 that actually arrived in pieces due to that stupid popcorn packing and the seller not knowing to take off the platter and counterweight. It's a shame because it looked like it would have been a nice one. I've also received the so called Mint product that actually looked like someone took a crap on it. I just sold my first product on it and was actually sweating it out because they were concert tickets and they guy paid with paypal e-check which takes awhile to clear and the concert was over by the time it cleared. The buyer had a feedback of "1" but he was in Raleigh and if it had actually bounced he would have definitely been paid a visit by yours truly. I was thinking of selling my Nitty Gritty Record Master RCM on it but that selling stuff was too nerve wracking so I don't think I'll ever be doing that again. :no:

[Thyratron]

I dislike it. Of the few things I have bought on there (the most recent several years ago), too high a percentage have arrived either not as described or damaged from poor packing. Also, there is too much of the "I don't have a way of testing it" mentality, when they know good and well the thing just doesn't work. I also hate how the high bids on some exceptional items have made people think that their everyday item should be nearly as valuable due to some vague association. For example, some seller sees a beautifully-restored, early Zenith Trans-Oceanic go for big money. The next week, he gets a '70s made-in-Taiwan Zenith portable radio and promptly puts it on his swap-meet table for $70. Well, it's a Zenith, right? Or the guy that sees the '68 Dodge hemi-powered Coronet go for many tens of thousands, and quickly tries to sell his slant-six model for $20,000. See what I mean?

[Jay Gowens]

The concept of Ebay is a good one...needless to say. However, the one variable that over-shadows that is how crummy people can be. For instance, a Seller shipping Electronics (no less) and packages it in such a way that insures damage. Ebay allows Sellers to charge a certain amount for shipping, and supposedly, the figure quoted is one gotten directly from an established Shipper. The Sellers will then attempt to package items themselves to make a little extra on the deal and ship thru the Postal Service...what a shame!!!
If I win an item (this true especially if it is Electronics), I don't want the merchandise damaged in transit.

It's experiences like this that make buyers give Ebay a thumbs down. :thumbsdn:

[dokblues]

I have purchased way more than I have sold mostly swapping camera lenses,all the stereo gear I have purchased I still have. And yes you do have to watch out for as*hole`s, and thieves they`re out there and they SU**!!! They should be banned from ever selling on e-pay after 3 or more complaints!!