The whole eBay thing

[Rickstilwell1]

Like Ze_ro said. Ebay is supposed to be an auction site, or atleast that's what it was designed to at the beginning. Instead of now being an auction site we have 25% or more of whatever is up there Buy It Now only.

You also have the same douchebag hypocrites posting on here that they like to trade on places like DP or other places(gametz) because they usually won't find a good deal on Ebay, and then what do they do. Throw their overpriced bullshit up on Ebay. Of course there's no need to extend the generosity to your other fellow collectors. I'm wondering if these people just buy from other "generous" collectors and then sell whatever they purchased on Ebay.

Don't people on this forum generally keep what they buy from others on here though rather than sell it?

[megasdkirby]

Don't people on this forum generally keep what they buy from others on here though rather than sell it?

I know I've seem members of Atari Age do this.

[Greg2600]

Here's an example of WTF price for that? 5200, console only, $75, with a cracked cover, no mention of controllers or AC adapter, and this is from a game seller. I can't see paying for than $25 for that, especially with a cracked cover, probably less. A large majority of the purchases I've made on eBay have been from people around US/Canada, who dig this stuff out of their attic, garage, basement, or closets, and just want to get rid of it. I have lots of patience, so I don't bid crazily. Half the time, I forget to bid. However, sort of like an oil well running dry, at some point, you're going to run out of non-gamers/casual gamers who are looking to dump stuff they find in storage. Especially for the older 1970's/80's stuff. At that point, everything just about will be collectors of some ilk selling. And I don't feel it does the community justice to sell common systems or games for 5 times their face value. Rare, CIB, sealed stuff, fine, the average gamer isn't going to collect those. Thankfully, there are forums like DP and AA, where gamers offer their extra stuff at very reasonable prices, to other members.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Don't people on this forum generally keep what they buy from others on here though rather than sell it?

Well, yeah. Unless they actually say they want the items to resell.

Someone bought a bunch of games from me a while back because he was trying to build a few console + game sets, so I cut him a deal. There's nothing wrong with flipping a game you buy from someone if you tell them that's what you want to do.

[ryborg]

It annoys me because eBay is supposed to be an AUCTION site, not a "make me an offer" site.

Like Ze_ro said. Ebay is supposed to be an auction site, or atleast that's what it was designed to at the beginning. Instead of now being an auction site we have 25% or more of whatever is up there Buy It Now only.

Ebay is a venue for selling merchandise. End of story, simple as that. The method of selling is irrelevant. The word "auction" doesn't even appear anywhere on ebay's front page. What ebay was in the past or "designed to be" is irrelevant. Nintendo was designed to be a playing card company. Arrgghghhh how dare they do something else????? I seriously cannot believe you guys are making that argument.

You also have the same douchebag hypocrites posting on here that they like to trade on places like DP or other places(gametz) because they usually won't find a good deal on Ebay, and then what do they do. Throw their overpriced bullshit up on Ebay. Of course there's no need to extend the generosity to your other fellow collectors. I'm wondering if these people just buy from other "generous" collectors and then sell whatever they purchased on Ebay.

Haha, you are such a crybaby. Get over yourself.

Well, yeah. Unless they actually say they want the items to resell....There's nothing wrong with flipping a game you buy from someone if you tell them that's what you want to do.

Please... Why does it matter what a buyer does with an item once a deal has been struck? I recently bought a large SNES lot from someone. Should I have gone down the list of games included to let the seller know which ones I needed and which ones I'll be flipping? No, because I'm not a lunatic.

When I sell stuff anywhere and anyhow, I could not possibly care less what the buyer does with the item. It means exactly the same to me if the buyer posts it on ebay for 10x my price or smashes the item to bits.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

If the items are not selling then they're overpriced and will lower the asking to better match demand.

What you describe is not happening. There are a ton of buy it now items that are overpriced. When they don't sell, the stupid seller just relists the item, again and again. I think they are looking at an outdated price guide when listing their items.

[Slate]

So? Are you paying their listing fees? Who cares.

For the few people who record auctions it can get annoying but I'll still document it. (I document auctions for Mosrite guitars, parts and such)

What you describe is not happening. There are a ton of buy it now items that are overpriced. When they don't sell, the stupid seller just relists the item, again and again. I think they are looking at an outdated price guide when listing their items.

Book price, Gotta love it. You can go by book price or current price... I'll go by the latter.

Austin

[nhm]

Like Ze_ro said. Ebay is supposed to be an auction site, or atleast that's what it was designed to at the beginning. Instead of now being an auction site we have 25% or more of whatever is up there Buy It Now only.

You also have the same douchebag hypocrites posting on here that they like to trade on places like DP or other places(gametz) because they usually won't find a good deal on Ebay, and then what do they do. Throw their overpriced bullshit up on Ebay. Of course there's no need to extend the generosity to your other fellow collectors. I'm wondering if these people just buy from other "generous" collectors and then sell whatever they purchased on Ebay.

You do realize that this is what every single business on earth does, right? Buy something for one price, and then re-sell it for a higher price. It's how THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WORKS.

So, Mr. "Generous", when you find a game at the Goodwill or Salvation Army that is priced cheaper than it's true value, do you insist on paying them the full value of the game? I mean, those organizations are great causes, right?

I'm sure your altruistic view on life and gaming prevents you from scoring a deal at the expense of the poor.

I have my own ebay store and re-sell lots of things I buy. I usually buy large lots, keep the few things I need, and resell the rest. This, essentially, allows me to build a collection for free.

[darkslime]

Like Ze_ro said. Ebay is supposed to be an auction site, or atleast that's what it was designed to at the beginning. Instead of now being an auction site we have 25% or more of whatever is up there Buy It Now only.

You also have the same douchebag hypocrites posting on here that they like to trade on places like DP or other places(gametz) because they usually won't find a good deal on Ebay, and then what do they do. Throw their overpriced bullshit up on Ebay. Of course there's no need to extend the generosity to your other fellow collectors. I'm wondering if these people just buy from other "generous" collectors and then sell whatever they purchased on Ebay.

I rarely bother selling on DP or Gametz anymore because everyone is a cheapass and tries to tell me the price is too high even when I offer a very good deal.

And I do buy things from these forums or GTZ to flip when I see a good deal and don't see a need to tell the seller. They could've easily researched the price and made it higher, but that's how much they wanted to sell it for. Not my problem.

[osprey]

Well, since starting this thread I've learned a lot from the posts. It's true with regards to eBay not advertising the 'auction' word all over the place. It's changed dramatically over the years. Still, I just don't get those stupidly high prices - no matter what anybody says.

[ryborg]

oh cool this thread's back

Still, I just don't get those stupidly high prices - no matter what anybody says.

You don't "get" the prices? Are you sure you've read the thread?

It's essentially free to post Fixed Price listings. If time is not a factor, there is no reason not to post most items for a high price and hope for a good offer. If it still doesn't sell, you can always lower the price. I don't know how to make this any simpler. Why is this so hard to understand???

[osprey]

I'm far from stupid, trust me. No matter the pros and cons of what seems to have become an argument?! - what I don't 'get' is why I keep seeing the same Turrican 2 game for sale at £160 (new/sealed) it's been on eBay for the best part of 7 months now. Everyone looks and no one buys because the price is excessive. Doesn't the seller see sense, he's paid eBay for 7 months and got nothing in return. My observation isn't skewed, it really seems like some sellers want to show off what they have without selling it. They need to get real, supply and demand is what it's about.

[Gameguy]

I'm far from stupid, trust me. No matter the pros and cons of what seems to have become an argument?! - what I don't 'get' is why I keep seeing the same Turrican 2 game for sale at £160 (new/sealed) it's been on eBay for the best part of 7 months now. Everyone looks and no one buys because the price is excessive. Doesn't the seller see sense, he's paid eBay for 7 months and got nothing in return. My observation isn't skewed, it really seems like some sellers want to show off what they have without selling it. They need to get real, supply and demand is what it's about.

Plenty of ebay sellers are just greedy, it's pretty simple to understand.

[pseudonym]

I sort of agree with kupomogli; but I took it differently than nhm. It's hard to give people here and elsewhere a deal anymore; more than a few times people have just turned around and sold it on Ebay, or on the same forums a few days later.

[ryborg]

Doesn't the seller see sense, he's paid eBay for 7 months and got nothing in return.

Yeah, wow, that $.35 for seven months of listing fees is just killer. How could anyone possibly afford that? Seriously, if you don't understand how a nickel a month is an absurdly low price to pay for the chance to make 300%+ of the item's value, you're entirely missing the point of selling.

Plenty of ebay sellers are just greedy, it's pretty simple to understand.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not, but I'll pretend it's not.

I (and most other sellers on ebay) sell solely for one purpose: to make money. I am not doing it to make friends or as a community service. This is how 99% of modern businesses work. Sometimes that means posting an item for a very high price when it's rare and a competitive price when I have a lot of common items to unload. I'm sorry that you think my (and other sellers') well-run, profitable online business is greedy, but your adjectives are irrelevant to everyone.

[Ryaan1234]

Ya know, I think I'm going to throw in my $0.02.

As an eBay seller I list stuff fixed price at what I think is a fair price. Usually I have all my fixed price listings last for 7 days. If they don't sell within 3-4 days I'll take 5 or 10 bucks off the price. My goal as a seller is to move stuff as quickly as possible for as much as I can. I can see how people hold on to games for months or even years trying to sell them, but I like to deal in audio equipment and other weird electronics, and that stuff takes up a lot of space. I've got to move it out to make room for more products. It's a vicious cycle, but I think it's a good way to make money. At least I'm not flipping hamburgers. I'm doing something I enjoy: Going to flea markets, garage sales, and estate sales looking for cool re-saleable stuff and video games .

Of course, the idea of selling things at a decent price and moving them out fast is just one of the ways to do things. There's also the idea of selling things at stupid high prices and moving it out like molasses .

[Gameguy]

I sort of agree with kupomogli; but I took it differently than nhm. It's hard to give people here and elsewhere a deal anymore; more than a few times people have just turned around and sold it on Ebay, or on the same forums a few days later.

Yeah, I know on another forum someone was selling Gameboy games for $5 each including several of the Mega Man games. Another member bought them and I saw them listed on their ebay account soon afterwards. I personally wouldn't be willing to give someone a great deal unless I either know them or they'll be getting a large amount of stuff all at once.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not, but I'll pretend it's not.

I (and most other sellers on ebay) sell solely for one purpose: to make money. I am not doing it to make friends or as a community service. This is how 99% of modern businesses work. Sometimes that means posting an item for a very high price when it's rare and a competitive price when I have a lot of common items to unload. I'm sorry that you think my (and other sellers') well-run, profitable online business is greedy, but your adjectives are irrelevant to everyone.

It wasn't sarcasm. I said plenty of ebay sellers are greedy, I never said you specifically or any other members here. I honestly don't know what your ebay account is and therefore have no idea what prices you're listing your items at(whatever your items are), and I wouldn't know whether your prices are reasonable or not. Your reply does seem like you agreed with it, so I guess my statement was accurate. I'll also agree that it's irrelevent, nothing will change as people will still be greedy and there will still be people willing to buy from these people.

[ryborg]

...and I wouldn't know whether your prices are reasonable or not.

For some items, they are; for most items, my prices are insanely high and you'd have to be an idiot to buy anything for anywhere near my listed price. About 80% of my items are higher than I'd personally pay, but I'm not selling to people who are price-savvy. Again, I'm selling to make money.

Your reply does seem like you agreed with it, so I guess my statement was accurate.

If making money by selling items is greedy, then we're all greedy and I agree with your statement. I know all people who are only buyers would like sellers to sell items at a massive discount FOR THE GOOD OF THE HOBBY but that's not going to happen. If this is untrue, please tell me how you'd like people to sell without being "greedy."

[Gameguy]

If making money by selling items is greedy, then we're all greedy and I agree with your statement. I know all people who are only buyers would like sellers to sell items at a massive discount FOR THE GOOD OF THE HOBBY but that's not going to happen. If this is untrue, please tell me how you'd like people to sell without being "greedy."

I don't have a problem with people making money, if someone finds a loose copy of Super Mario Bros 3 for $1 then it's fine to sell it for a fair price($10-$15 is still reasonable to me). I wouldn't consider that greedy. Pricing it for triple the value or higher with the hope that someone ignorant will buy it because nobody who's familiar with the actual value will ever buy it, that's greedy. Sure, those ignorant people should do some research so they'd have a better idea on pricing, but taking advantage of people just because you can doesn't make it any better. You even said that your items were priced "insanely high" and that only an idiot would buy them at the listed price, but if it works for you why change? Would you have a problem with being considered greedy? If not, who cares, you're still getting money from it which is what you wanted. You even said you didn't care about making friends or doing it for the community so why would it bother you?

I do feel that everybody is greedy at times, some more than others. I personally wouldn't sell anything for less than I paid for it and don't mind if I'm stuck with some stuff for years. There's also stuff that I wouldn't be willing to sell unless I got a really good price on it. There have been times where I sold stuff cheap just to see if get flipped for more, so I'd rather ask for what the stuff is worth than seeing someone else flip it. As I mentioned, I'd only be willing to sell stuff cheaper if I already know the person(such as a personal friend) or they're getting a lot from me, or I've already dealt with them several times before.

[Shellshock!]

Oh no, I'm a villain:

I specifically target certain kinds of sellers when I buy games on EBay. If they are auctioning something I want, I take a look at what else they are selling, how much feedback they have, and any other info I can gather to determine who they are and how much they know about their listed item. That way, if granny found Zelda DX for GameBoy CIB in the attic and she is starting the auction at $0.01 to get rid of it, I can send her a private message offering $20 for her to end the auction early and send me an invoice. It works half the time.

Another thing I do if I want a specific game is buy from the "Lots" section, keep what I want, and resell the rest of the stuff individually. Most people forget or just don't look there unless they are game resellers. Like someone else said, you can build a collection almost for free.