[Closed] Ebay bidders, incapable of searching on Ebay or other places on the net???

I know crazy, same for the lenses. Canon 7D great camera, bought mine from HDEW Cameras a few months ago, now around £775 body only.

So has anyone any idea what is causing this phenomenon? Are a lot of people too stupid to even do an internet search?

Matt24k - In a nutshell.... Yes.

Creamegg - You can get them even cheaper than that now. I'm borrowing a 7D at the moment, hence wanting one...I need something weather sealed and nearly went for a Nikon D7000 as there is some very good deals on them with a lens (£619 with 3 year warranty!). The Nikons are rubbish for video though, so that's ruled that out.

I think your final statement sums it up. People seem to believe that ebay is the cheapest place to buy goods.

It can be cheap for chinese imports like batteries and things but in nearly all circumstances you can buy new goods for less by searching for less than 30 seconds and as you say secondhand stuff can sell for more than new.

Madness it is

My wife sold a hello kitty onesie (I know...) for about twice it cost from primark and they still sell them..... A quick search showed that they all went for this on eBay.

If anyone needs some quick cash buy the lot and eBay it!

If you can get them brand new for less than that then it's a bargain. It's a very solid camera, much more than the canon 650 d model, and fits much nicer in the hand too

I think a combination of competition with other bidders and wine might have something to do with it ?

I like when they have a buy it now price greater tha tyou can get it else where and people still get it.
a grand case of the stupids all round

If i was buying a 7D id want 12 month warrenty and buy new to be honest, as the 2 I@ve bought both needed attension within 12 months

I think some people have the mentality that they've got money in Paypal and so need to spend it at ebay.
It's not true, but I've come across people who think this.

I think it might be because historically, there was a fee and delay to withdraw money. That's no longer the case.

I wonder if part of it is bidding on something when it's actually a bargain, then getting outbid and thinking "well, it's only another tenner..." and getting locked into a bidding war. I imagine it's a similar sort of affliction to fruit machine gambling.

I've seen it loads of times with stuff I've sold. Sometimes rather than return stuff I've bought because I don't want it I'll flog it on eBay instead as it'll make a profit!

I think the red mist descends on auctions just ending. People decide they just have to have the item and will just keep piling in with higher and higher offers.

BTW - if you want a s/h 7D (rather than buying from hong kong by bank transfer with Panamoz at £722), then forums are good.
The photographic ones, or AVforums.

This one sold for £610 for example:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/digital-camera-camcorder-classifieds/1703838-sale-canon-7d-vgc-630-inc-rmsd.html

people getting emotionally invested, see something at 99p get their heart set on owning it then see the bids getting higher and higher.

Stupid, but that's human nature all over innit?

Happens all over the place. Noticed a reverb in the classifieds asking £250.

I imagine it's a similar sort of affliction to fruit machine gambling.

It was happening 7 years ago when I bought my Canon 350D. Seems to happen a lot with cameras, maybe people just see the prices in Jessops and Currys, and then think its a bargain on eBay without bothering to look elsewhere?

Agree with all the above. I thought of a couple more possible but probably smaller/less common factors:

It is suprising how many countries Amazon.com (ie the American one) doesn't ship to internationally though (including the UK iirc, but that is because we have our own more expensive version 😉 )

If you live somewhere less than "first world", you may find that private ebay auctions/listings (as opposed to shops selling on ebay) are the only place you can buy some products, because private sellers do not place so many courties on their 'blocked' lists. Sometimes this is why ebay auctions seem to go a bit mental: it is two bidders who have the money and just can't get hold of the product anywhere else. When I used to sell stuff on ebay it was always Italian and Russian bidders who seemed to go the 'craziest' on my auctions, presumably beacuse most people refuse to post stuff there and my listing was the only one they could bid on at the time.

People also often ask private sellers to fiddle values on customs declarations as in many cases (eg buying an expensive frame or fork from the states) this can make a lot of difference to the total cost to the end customer even if it looks more expensive on ebay.

I was browsing ebay today for some lab equipment and came across a usb microscope on there for £299, the exact same ones we use for general inspection which we buy for around £40! and they claim to have sold at least one!. I wouldnt mind but it even gives the manufacturer info to make it easier to search for!. Ebay can be cheap but you really do have to be careful and not assume that its the cheapest place!.

eBay is a great place to sell, you will always get the best price you'd possibly get for that item. Not such a good place to buy for the exact same reason.

robinlaidlaw - Member

eBay is a great place to sell, you will always get the best price you'd possibly get for that item. Not such a good place to buy for the exact same reason.

Rope the Dope 🙂

Fair enough, I stand by that though. Certainly there's fees, but in every case I've sold on eBay (40 odd items over a few years) it has always been well worth it over selling to a mate, even after fees, plus you always get a sale in a week, plus there's no issue with still feeling responsible for something you used to own that your mate now uses.
Anyway, your own experiences and those of many others higher up the thread would seem to back me up, many things go for a ridiculous amount above their normal market value on eBay.
I do buy things off eBay too but I'll always snipe them at the last moment so I can avoid getting involved in auctions that might go beyond what I'm comfortable paying.

Double post.

[i]So has anyone any idea what is causing this phenomenon? Are a lot of people too stupid to even do an internet search?

[/i]

Nearly half the people you'll meet are of below average intelligence...

Same on this forum, too. There was a thread earlier in the week for nice jackets; very cheap at one retailer.

Now there is one on the Classiflids, only 50% more than that.

You know what they say about fools and their money.

For a few hundred quids worth of camera I'd shop around but for cheap items ebay is really great even if may cost more. You can see the price you will pay straight away. It's frustrating to find something online, fill out you details then find it's another £10 for postage. Also ebay is a couple of clicks and it's yours no need to create a log-in and fill out your CC details. Finally it's pretty safe as a buyer as there is feedcack and paypal protection you can be reasoanably happy you will get the item rather that giving your credit card details to a random website you found via google. There's still plenty of crazy buyers (and sellers) and enough bargains.

I'm finding lots of cheaper stuff on Amazon these days. I needed a camera bag in a hurry last week, found one cheaper than anywhere else and signed up for the 'Prime' free-trial...ended up getting free next day delivery on a saturday. Been buying lots of small bits too that you would normally have to pay a couple of quid postage on.

Anybody making use of the free-trial make sure you cancel before a month is out. Otherwise it'll cost you £49!

You know, Amazon is quickly becoming my go-to for a lot of non-book Internet purchases. I ordered a replacement Dyson brush roller from them earlier today. You wouldn't have managed that at Borders.

Bought a light saber on play.com in 2007 for £49. Sold it on ebay last week for £49 🙂

Same week sold my 12 year old Smart Halogen rechargeable lights for £34. I think they only cost me £39.99 at the time. Felt strangely guilty, hope it was no one on here.

I buy my vans from Autotrader and other classifieds with tax and MOT then a few years later sell them again on eBay without tax as MOT failures for with £10 of the price I bought them for

I once saw some selling the big blue ikea bags for £1.50 + P&P, which at the time were 25p new in store. A quick look at his feedback showed he'd sold hundreds of them.
The mind boggles.

Money locked in paypal, ill gotten gains in paypal

I buy DVD boxsets and then sell them on e-bay after I've watched them. I usually only lose a couple of quid. Cheaper then renting them.

Only just caught this thread I'm in same dilemma looking for a 7d or the nikon d7000 rumours are that canon and nikon replacements will be out at latest feb next year.. So I'm waiting to see how much these cameras come down.
Ebay is a joke anything electrical, cameras usually you can easily pick up cheaper elsewhere. Have a look for SDcards the good ones they go for silly money . I've been tempted when I've seen them on sale at play.com or amazon to buy a job lot and sell them on ebay. I have bought an sold on ebay and bought some bargains.but any thing camera or computer related forget it

Bought a Tomtom, one of the first ones out. Had it 18 months and I was going to France and wanted the maps.
Thought I'd sell old one on eBay and use to fund new model with euro maps.
They were going for £150 ish. Posted it and got a mail of a fella a mile from my house offering £200 if he could pick it up straight away. I dropped it off for him and then drove another half mile to halfords with a voucher code of the net and picked up new one for £225. (Without the euro maps it was £189!)

trevh - If you're planning on doing any video, go with the 7D. The video on the Nikon isn't as good and it can only shoot 5 minute long files! If that doesn't matter to you, Portus Digital have D7000's for £619 with a 18-55 lens and 3 year warranty! They also sell the body for £50-60 less. Which of course a lot cheaper than a 7D by the time you buy a lens too. Also the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lenses are an excellent purchase...great for biking pics and cost about £70, the same can't be said for the equivalent Canon lens.

what really boggles is when the same thing is available [i]on eBay[/i], new BIN from a trader, and used stuff fetches the same price or more. How is that possible? Ive just sold something that, including shipping, is MORE than they could have bought new BIN. Surely if you are looking for an item you search ebay, see whats available and set your max bids accordingly?! Or do people set their search to only list auctions and not BIN?

I bought a NOS Fox shock from a chinese ebay trader for £60, ended up selling bike before fitting it, stuck it back on ebay a couple of weeks later and it went for >£100....

So I'm waiting to see how much these cameras come down.

Weird stuff going on with cameras too. The 550D seems to have held its price/value and is often listed for more than the 600D that replaced it, and release of the 650D seems to have hurt the 600 but not the 550.

Did you notice this amazing 7D deal from Argos:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/canon-7d-15-85mm-argos-1033-80-1368182

Note that the lens is the 15-85mm which is almost 'L' class and sells for £499.

When you buy, you know exactly what you're paying...the price you bid.

don't forget about the stupid price people put for postage. I know I can post any item up to 32kg for no more than £12 next day! someone tried telling me it costs £5 to send a shirt via RM 1st class!

I'm selling a 7D, but I'm gonna stick it on eBay. 🙂

I recently tried to by a two year old cannondale cdx and was winning then in the last day it went for £100 less than a brand new 2012 one,yesterday i was outbided on a second hand pair of hunter wellies for my little un which will cost the bidder exactly the same price of a new pair with free postage? mental