eBay

[wyethin]

I recently discovered eBay. In the span of less than a week I've already lost countless hours and a good portion of my savings. I'm in some sort of collector's fugue and have lost the ability to account for my actions or moods. My life outside of video games is probably over.

Uh, I will say this much though, eBay is infinitely better for collecting than Amazon Marketplace. That shit is weak in comparison. Full-color photos for heaven's sake! I was missing out.

Any sage words or cautionary tales?

[JimmyDean]

Um... check completed listings for prices, and don't buy those ridiculously high-priced BINs. Good luck with your collection, bro.

[TheClash603]

Generally ebay is great if you need something right away. However, there is always a premium that will be paid.

Buying a game from a yard sale is infinitely more satisfying. Or buying from a forum member on a game site brings a sense of community.

Do I use ebay a lot? Yes, I definitely do. If you asked me about my favorite purchases, none would be ebay.

[Arkhan]

I am often too impatient to wait til a deal appears, because usually the game I want is something I want to play asap.



sage words: Set yourself a limit man.

Dont buy 4000$ worth of games in one sitting. Those buy it nows + pay pal payments make it easy to add up a huge bill without noticing it.

lol.

[Ro-J]

There's also more than one auction site for games, dawdle and gamegavel might be worth your checking out. I've also gotten some great deals on shopgoodwill but that was years ago.

[skaar]

Yeah, here's some advice.

Don't blow your savings on items you think will bring you short term happiness. In the long run, they don't fix the deeper issue. Evaluate every purchase carefully.

"Will I play this?"
"Do I want this THAT much?"
"What else could I do with the money?"

Games are a wonderful diversion but not an escape. I suggest you look elsewhere for your happiness. You sound like you need to do some serious self evaluation.

Either that or end up broke and depressed with a CIB Mega Man set on your shelf.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Or buying from a forum member on a game site brings a sense of community..

So how would I know if a certain forum member would not run off with my money and or send me something that is broken? That is my biggest concern. Something like that happened to me 2 years ago when I sent my PC Engine Duo to a PCEngineFX forum moderator of all people just to get it reigon modded and have the sound capacitors replaced. He did return it to me modded but unfortunately the system still had sound problems assuming he never finished the job he promised. Then eventually my PC Engine Duo stopped working.

[megasdkirby]

So how would I know if a certain forum member would not run off with my money and or send me something that is broken? That is my biggest concern.

True, but at least for me, I've never had this happen on DP, but it has happened on Ebay.

I've had quite a few transactions on Ebay in which the seller does not ship items, keeps claiming that they did (and with Delivery Confirmation, even though it is never given when requested), and try their best to prolong the "case" so that the 45 day limitation passes. I am usually very patient, so when it's around a day or so before possibility of filing a claim ends, I open it immediately. This makes most sellers who try to "trick" me livid and even then they cannot provide a Delivery Confirmation number.

Fortunately, this has not happened to me for quite a few years (maybe two or so), so I am very happy. On DP, I've always had friendly transactions and everyone who I've ever dealt with has been awesome. Never had an issue with any of them and I prefer purchasing items here than on Ebay, as I never know what exactly to expect, even when described in the auction.

[skaar]

So how would I know if a certain forum member would not run off with my money and or send me something that is broken? That is my biggest concern. Something like that happened to me 2 years ago when I sent my PC Engine Duo to a PCEngineFX forum moderator of all people just to get it reigon modded and have the sound capacitors replaced. He did return it to me modded but unfortunately the system still had sound problems assuming he never finished the job he promised. Then eventually my PC Engine Duo stopped working.

Eat a dick.

[Baloo]

So how would I know if a certain forum member would not run off with my money and or send me something that is broken? That is my biggest concern. Something like that happened to me 2 years ago when I sent my PC Engine Duo to a PCEngineFX forum moderator of all people just to get it reigon modded and have the sound capacitors replaced. He did return it to me modded but unfortunately the system still had sound problems assuming he never finished the job he promised. Then eventually my PC Engine Duo stopped working.

This adds nothing of importance to this thread, except for you to try to shit on some random forum.

Quit it.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

This adds nothing of importance to this thread, except for you to try to shit on some random forum.

Quit it.

Are you illiterate or something? At least megasdkirby understood what my post was all about.

[wyethin]

Yeah, here's some advice.

Don't blow your savings on items you think will bring you short term happiness. In the long run, they don't fix the deeper issue. Evaluate every purchase carefully.

"Will I play this?"
"Do I want this THAT much?"
"What else could I do with the money?"

Games are a wonderful diversion but not an escape. I suggest you look elsewhere for your happiness. You sound like you need to do some serious self evaluation.

Either that or end up broke and depressed with a CIB Mega Man set on your shelf.

You would appear to have a shallow understanding of irony.

[skaar]

You would appear to have a shallow understanding of irony.

"My life outside of video games is probably over."

Apparently I took you too literally. Go ebay your savings away. I hope you die happy.

[wyethin]

Word.

[Bugbear]

Just be careful with Ebay; there are plenty of horror stories. People get scammed easily, and the bad sellers know all the ways around the rules.

For the love of ----, don't sell anything! You'll end up paying out your ass in fees.

[Arkhan]

True, but at least for me, I've never had this happen on DP, but it has happened on Ebay.

I've had quite a few transactions on Ebay in which the seller does not ship items, keeps claiming that they did (and with Delivery Confirmation, even though it is never given when requested), and try their best to prolong the "case" so that the 45 day limitation passes. I am usually very patient, so when it's around a day or so before possibility of filing a claim ends, I open it immediately. This makes most sellers who try to "trick" me livid and even then they cannot provide a Delivery Confirmation number.

Fortunately, this has not happened to me for quite a few years (maybe two or so), so I am very happy. On DP, I've always had friendly transactions and everyone who I've ever dealt with has been awesome. Never had an issue with any of them and I prefer purchasing items here than on Ebay, as I never know what exactly to expect, even when described in the auction.

If I sense something is up, I file the claim immediately. It gets things done when the sellers feedback and sale money is at stake!

[Haoie]

Check it out: You're helping the economy!

[Arkhan]

how? reselling used games just makes the economy stay like it is. it just move the $ around!

[wyethin]

Buy used games, stick it to the man.

[shopkins]

You would appear to have a shallow understanding of irony.

That's not really irony. Maybe in the Alanis Morissette sense, but real irony depends on clearly identifiable opposites and contrast. There's no clue in your post that you were being ironic, just that maybe you were exaggerating a bit or being dramatic about it. ebay addiction is a real problem that a lot of people have and it's not unreasonable for Skaar to assume you were telling the truth.

The rest of this isn't for you, I guess, but generally I can relate to people that actually have a problem with eBay. It's easy to let things get out of control and I've done it a couple of times myself. Collecting is great, but like Skaar said you should only collect things you actually want and can afford. Obsessive collecting as a way of trying to stuff a hole in your life with something else is no more effective than stuffing that hole with drinking, drugging, sex, or materialistic pursuits. And eBay makes it easy to turn to this and at the same time takes much of the fun, camaraderie and physical activity out of it, so it can make it sort of a mechanical and joyless pursuit. I know I'm most likely to spend too much on eBay when I'm depressed or going through a tough time.

When my grandfather was sick and very slowly and excruciatingly dying, for example, I spent hundreds of dollars on cheap anime that I was finding on VHS. I don't even like anime that much and have barely watched any of the more than 300 tapes I amassed in this period, but I got into that "gotta catch em all" mode because it was something that distracted me from the horrible mess that my life was. I even ended up overdrawing my bank account because I wasn't being careful with my purchases.

Also, I can't help but notice there are a lot of assholes joining the forum lately and shitting on random threads with both general dickishness and drama that must be carried over from other boards because I don't understand it. Did someone go to the forums where all the assholes are (apparently PCEngine and NeoGeo forums) and tell them about this place? I make a point of never mentioning it on any other forum I go to, I don't want those people to come here.