eBay guilt

[sirhansirhan]

As much as I hate to admit it, in my current unemployed state, how I make enough money to fend off the bills is to go around town, buy stuff, and then sell it for more on eBay. I know it's kind of a lame and skeezy thing to do, but what else am I going to do? It works, it's legal, and it's better than finding a job.

Even so, some auctions I just feel really bad about. For example, at this very moment I have an auction up for Firefighter F.D.18 on PS2 with a few hours to go, and it is going for $41. I bought it used last week for $18. I want to email the high bidder and point out that right now, at this very moment, there are auctions on eBay where you can buy it now for less than what his bid is. I've had similar things happen with in-print Criterion DVDs selling for considerably more than what they cost on Amazon, and stuff like that.

Having a conscience sucks. Does anyone else suffer from this kind of eBay-related guilt?

And for the record, before people stop dealing with me, I only sell stuff bought at stores in my area on eBay; I buy stuff from you guys for my own collection.

[Griking]

As much as I hate to admit it, in my current unemployed state, how I make enough money to fend off the bills is to go around town, buy stuff, and then sell it for more on eBay. I know it's kind of a lame and skeezy thing to do, but what else am I going to do? It works, it's legal, and it's better than finding a job.

Even so, some auctions I just feel really bad about. For example, at this very moment I have an auction up for Firefighter F.D.18 on PS2 with a few hours to go, and it is going for $41. I bought it used last week for $18. I want to email the high bidder and point out that right now, at this very moment, there are auctions on eBay where you can buy it now for less than what his bid is. I've had similar things happen with in-print Criterion DVDs selling for considerably more than what they cost on Amazon, and stuff like that.

Having a conscience sucks. Does anyone else suffer from this kind of eBay-related guilt?

And for the record, before people stop dealing with me, I only sell stuff bought at stores in my area on eBay; I buy stuff from you guys for my own collection.

I don't think that you're doing anything wrong at all. You're buying a product and then reselling it for a profit. That's no different from what everybody else on eBay (and in any business for that matter) does.

As far as the F.D. 18 game. Hey, it's the buyer's responsibility to shop and find the best deal. If they want to pay much more than its worth then that's up to them. All you should be concerned with is providing the item that you advertised in a reasonable period of time and in the condition that you advertised it.

[WanganRunner]

Not only should you not feel guilty, you should be proud of what you're doing.

You are, in essence, exploiting mispricing and enforcing the efficiency of capital markets, albeit on a very small scale. This is what makes capitalism work.

If goods/services/currencies/securities weren't traded, the proper prices wouldn't be determined. You're just doing what happens on the NYSE every day, you're speculating on a mispriced issue, purchasing it, and selling it for the proper price.

I know this all sounds a bit hokey, and on this scale, it sorta is, but the point that I'm trying to make is that there's nothing wrong with this philosophy, however applied. It's what makes our society work.

[chaoticjelly]

I'm a student and unemployed

I do this too, and its paid for my game collection which is quite large now - I keep all the nicest games I find and sell all the ones that I get that are swops etc

I also sell other stuff and ive built up a massive feedback profile over the past couple of years..

Nothing wrong with it at all :-P

[evil_genius]

I have sold a genesis with 20 games for like 80 bucks, I was fucking thrilled.

[ChronoTriggaFoo]

It's my long-lost brother! I always feel like you do. In fact, on a couple occasions when someone won one of my auctions for a high price (eg. Phantasy Star IV complete for $76), I've thrown in an extra game to make them feel better.

I started feeling even guiltier when my sister's ex, who is still close to our family (and not the brightest) was buying things off of eBay at ridiculous prices, and I really felt for him. I then taught him how to go about buying smart on eBay.

I sell on eBay because I have to also. I am currently unemployed, and its been keeping me afloat. It just helps alot if you think of the numbers and dollars more than the faces behind them. Although, if its hard for you to do that, like me sometimes, then just throw in something cheap extra to make their day and just be really nice to them to show your appreciation!

[smokehouse]

I bought a Jaguar, many games, an extra controller and a brand new S-Video cable for $25. I kept the good stuff and sold the rest for $85. I also bought a top load NES for $25 and sold it for $100. I bought a Bose center channel, USED IT for 3 years and turned around and sold it for $150. Last but not least I bought a Phillips TiVo for $75, used it for almost 2 years and sold it for $150.

If someone wants to fund my projects then fair enough. I’ve seen many people pay twice what something is worth and, well, it’s their money.

[evil_genius]

Things are only "worth" what someone is willing to pay for them. eBay allows you to find many more people, sometimes dumb people. LOL

But seriously, you have nothing to feel guilty about. it's not like you are selling things that can harm people. It is perfectly legal. Just think of your profits you are making as simply a "finders fee."

[VG_Maniac]

I buy stuff for cheap at garage sales and sell it back on ebay for profit all the time...and I've made some pretty good money doing so.

It's not the people who buy the stuff from you on ebay who are getting ripped off...it's the people who sell their stuff at garage sales for dirt cheap when they can actually be getting what their stuff is worth on ebay. I'd feel more sorry for the people you buy the stuff from, rather then the people you sell it to.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I buy stuff for cheap at garage sales and sell it back on ebay for profit all the time...and I've made some pretty good money doing so.

Me too. I've found that the local flea markets are, if you'll pardon the expression, filled with Mexicans who don't know the value of things.

Wait, lemme explain!

I live in Mexico, but I normally go to two flea markets across the border to scout for stuff. The place is filled with people from Mexico and the US (who're Mexicans!) who sell stuff, mostly clothing, games, and toys. I go there and stock up every three days on stuff to sell on eBay.

Wanna know the first sale I did? I bought a complete copy of Visual C++ 6 Standard two years ago for one dollar.

I sold it for $150.

Right now, I go buy stuff for $2, maybe $3, and sell them on eBay for $10 or more. Since I can't work until I get my bachelor's degree in October, and my job search has been in vain, this is a good way to make money at the moment.

So yeah. Don't feel bad. The items are worth something to someone - it's just a matter of time until someone finds them.

[jajaja]

This is how every business work. You buy cheap and sell expencive. If you go into any store and see the prices, they payed less. This goes for everything from catfood to plasma TV's. So you shouldnt feel any guilt at all for this. Its just a waste of energy and it doesnt do you any good.

[felix]

Thats the way the world turns... you supply and demand. The supply was greater than the demand in YOUR area, you are taking it to a new area where the demand is higher and you are making a profit..

Welcome to the wide world of commerce.

[NESaholic]

Yeah i agree,if people wanna pay that much for it let them,its not your fault they are bidding on it like crazy and you bought it for a good price to resell later.
Just see it as luck,sometimes you sell stuff for great prices,prices that you couldnt imagine so be glad instead of guilty.

[Jed]

It's also good to get lucky. Sometimes people need something and are willing to pay crazily inflated prices. I sold a hard drive one time, 40 Gig. It sold for almost $200. There were two people who both needed the exact model I had for a part to restore theirs, and I was quite happy.

As for guilt? Hell no. I just recently ran a bunch of copies of San Andreas through eBay, and all of them sold for $72.99, with one going for $80. Supply and demand. Capitalism. eBay. That's the way to make money.

[InsaneDavid]

It's not the people who buy the stuff from you on ebay who are getting ripped off...it's the people who sell their stuff at garage sales for dirt cheap when they can actually be getting what their stuff is worth on ebay. I'd feel more sorry for the people you buy the stuff from, rather then the people you sell it to.

Naaa, most of the time they keep dropping the price on items if I start looking at them when I planned on paying the stickered price or first price given - I was just looking over the state of affairs on the item. That's my experence anyway. Usually at garage or yard sales the sellers just want to get rid of crap they have around and are happy to get anything for their "junk."

If they want the money and it's "worth so much" THEY can go list it on eBay, however most of the time it comes down to "here's the cash NOW."

This is the same for me when I have a yard sale or head to the flea market. I usually have an eBay run the week before I know I'll be selling at the flea market or having a large yard sale. Then I have another eBay run the week after to get rid of what didn't sell and to sell items picked up cheap from the flea market if that's where I was selling. It's a nice little cycle and I always turn a healthy profit. The first eBay run makes money to aquire more stuff at the flea market, in turn the whole time there I'm making money selling goods (sometimes instant turnaround), and then I have twice the stuff to sell on eBay the next week but there is ALWAYS positive cash flow. It's been keeping me sustained for the past couple years during an odd time in my life where going back to work has been next to impossible.

All you need for something to sell for more than it's "worth" on eBay is two people that really want it fighting over your item.

[Stark]

So you feel guilty for making a profit! Holy crap I hope you can......get....over....it oh what a problem you have. Don't be such a wuss and suck it up. Why the hell would you even think about selling stuff on Ebay in the first place? Snap out of the guilt trip or you will forever be unsuccessful in life. Just ask Sothy. LOL

[Kitsune Sniper]

Naaa, most of the time they keep dropping the price on items if I start looking at them when I planned on paying the stickered price or first price given - I was just looking over the state of affairs on the item. That's my experence anyway.

I dunno about you, but people in my area RAISE the prices if I start eyeing an item. :angry:

Guy 1: "How much is that?"
Seller: "Two dollars!"
Me: (Notices it's an NES game which may be worth something.) "How much?"
Seller: "Five dolla-"
Me: NO THANK YOU BYEBYE

[rpepper9]

How's this for feeling guilty. I work at a retail store that has none-working demos of items like PDA's and Cell Phones. When these are no longer needed for demo purposes I take them home and sell them on eBay. I figure that if someone has that model of phone or PDA and they have a broken antana or a keypad where the numbers have rubbed off, maybe they could use the parts from the demo as a replacement.

One of the first lines in my listing states: This is a demo product, it does not work, and never will work. Very plain and out in the open. However about 1 out of 10 items I sell goes for a pretty high price, and I am almost certian that the person thinks that they are bidding on the real item.

I cannot spell it out any better, the item doesn't work, but still people don't read the listing. They see what they think is a great deal, and bid without thinking about it. Should I feel guilty? I don't think so, I think it comes down to buyer be ware, read the auction, it is the simplest way to protect yourself. Ebay makes it so easy to ask quetions too, so if you have any doubt if it is a real PDA or not why wouldn't you ask the seller a question? Stupid people!

[Yamazaki]

I sell used hentai comicsd from Japan. I buy them at 2$ and sell them at anime cons for sometimes 50$!!!!!! That's 2500% marge!!

So what? That's how capitalism works! People are willing to pay that price, fine with me! They complain that it's to expensive or want only cheap stuff, then go yourself to Japan and don't waste my time!!

Its that easy!

[smork]

I'm not Jonny Capitalism, by any means, but even I think as long as you aren't deceiving your buyers there's no problem at all with getting what a consumer will pay for an item.

This happens all the time in luxury items (games really are such things, essential as they may be to you or me). Think about designer clothes -- should Dolce & Gabbana feel guilt because they sell a $400 T shirt when someone can get a non designer, top of the line quality shirt for 10% of that? Of course not. People make their own choices on how to spend their money and it's not up to a retailer to make a consumer aware of a 'better bargain' on a luxury good.

Now if you're selling water to thirsty people or food to the hungry and you're making a handsome profit, you should look deeper for your conscience. War profiteers, for example, are particularly evil. But someone spending $20 too much on FD18? I doubt it's taking food off their family's table, and if it is, they shouldn't be buying any games at all...

All that being said, I don't get why people buy stuff off ebay that's really easy to get for a similar price either at a brick and mortar or from Amazon or something. There's so much uncertainty with buying from an auction site it doesn't much seem worth it to me to save a buck on, say, a Blazing Saddles DVD....

[sirhansirhan]

So you feel guilty for making a profit! Holy crap I hope you can......get....over....it oh what a problem you have. Don't be such a wuss and suck it up. Why the hell would you even think about selling stuff on Ebay in the first place? Snap out of the guilt trip or you will forever be unsuccessful in life. Just ask Sothy. LOL

Hmm... so now feeling guilty for inadvertantly selling overpriced items shows that I will be unsuccessful in life? You're a moron. Maybe I'll be unsuccessful in selling stuff on eBay, but life?

This is a particularly jarring statement from someone who puts masturbatory fodder as their avatar in a video gaming forum. Please teach me, o wise one, on the ways of living successfully.

[jajaja]

So you feel guilty for making a profit! Holy crap I hope you can......get....over....it oh what a problem you have. Don't be such a wuss and suck it up. Why the hell would you even think about selling stuff on Ebay in the first place? Snap out of the guilt trip or you will forever be unsuccessful in life. Just ask Sothy. LOL

Hmm... so now feeling guilty for inadvertantly selling overpriced items shows that I will be unsuccessful in life? You're a moron. Maybe I'll be unsuccessful in selling stuff on eBay, but life?

This is a particularly jarring statement from someone who puts masturbatory fodder as their avatar in a video gaming forum. Please teach me, o wise one, on the ways of living successfully.

I still dont understand why you would feel guilty. As I said before, all business is like this. Same goes for all worksspace also. I.g. if you make $40000 a year at your work, your work might make $80000 on you. Should you quit your job because they make money on your work?

And about bidding. The ppl who place the bids on ebay do it because they want. Its not like someone is holding a gun to their head and screaming "place a $3000 bid now!".

So stop wasting energy on this. Its very unnessesary and it doesnt do you any good.

[evil_genius]

Money makes the worlds go round.

[BobbyRobby]

I only feel guilty when bidding on items that are listed incorrectly. To make up for it a little I'll email 5 or so people every once in a while and tell them that their item is listed wrongly and that they can change it before bids are placed.

[dreamcaster]

Six months ago I bought a NES for $10, fixed it up and sold it later on eBay for just over $110.

Recently, I was looking though his feedback listing, and noticed that he'd sold something.

Turns out it was the very same NES I sold to him, as well as a pile of games he'd accumulated for it off eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3617&item=8189729690

He sold it for just over $70.

Do I feel guilty? Only slightly, only slightly.