Ebay Sellers

[mn shutterbug]

I'm always amazed at the price some ebayers are asking for their equipment. Just for the fun of it, I did a search for a Canon 500mm F4 lens. I found a new one on ebay for $6200 plus $173 for shipping, with a Hong Kong warranty. I then checked Amazon.com and found their price at $5552 with free shipping. That's over $800 difference. Evidentally, they must get these prices, eventually. People have got to shop around more. This isn't that uncommon.

[mjs1973]

I know what you're talking about. I have seen people paying more for used lenses than they could buy a new one with warranty from B&H. Some people just dont' research a product before they bid on it... It's funny to watch, and great for the seller though.

[another view]

...and great for the seller though.

Heck yeah!

[Frog]

I looked at prices for d300 on ebay and they were $200+ more than B&H.
B&H didn't have them in stock yet so I guess people couldn't wait a week to order.

[Ballen Photo]

I'm always amazed at the price some ebayers are asking for their equipment. Just for the fun of it, I did a search for a Canon 500mm F4 lens. I found a new one on ebay for $6200 plus $173 for shipping, with a Hong Kong warranty. I then checked Amazon.com and found their price at $5552 with free shipping. That's over $800 difference. Evidentally, they must get these prices, eventually. People have got to shop around more. This isn't that uncommon.

Yeah, ebay sellers have been getting that pawn shop mentality lately, aka, trying to get more for a "used" item that it sells for new from a reputable dealer.
I have bought a few good deals on photographic equipment on ebay in the past, but any more, I cross reference them with B&H Photo Video. I have found instances where B&H was actually cheaper for the same item, only brand new.
-Bruce

[rovowen]

I too, have found prices to be more then from reputable dealers. Since I know some dealers have bad store ratings that are on e-bay. I don't shop there anymore.

[another view]

B&H didn't have them in stock yet so I guess people couldn't wait a week to order.

Actually B&H will probably be one of the last to have them in stock because their waiting list is so long. I got an email from Hunt's Photographic a few days ago that said they had a few in stock - but they could be gone by now. IME they're pretty fair on pricing. Local places are good to check too because everyone will probably be selling them for full retail while they're hard to get.

[deckcadet]

B&H doesn't keep waiting lists, though. They have a very admirable system where they do not take orders until they have the cameras in hand or have an exact number from the manufacturer of what will be coming in that week.

(admirable IMHO, not that i'm saying that because I've gotten both my 1D mark III and D3 that way)

The D300 I think they opened to web orders when they came in stock. The D3 and Mark III at first they only opened to phone orders.

In re: the original topic about ebay sellers, some are taking advantage of it, but we ignore the fact that oftentimes in areas outside the USA, namely Europe, prices can be much higher than we get here. It's advantageous, therefore, to buy from overseas if you need to save money.

[photophorous]

In re: the original topic about ebay sellers, some are taking advantage of it, but we ignore the fact that oftentimes in areas outside the USA, namely Europe, prices can be much higher than we get here. It's advantageous, therefore, to buy from overseas if you need to save money.

Yep. The current exchange rate for the dollar helps US sellers, and sometimes things are just more available here.

[another view]

B&H doesn't keep waiting lists, though.

Hmm... Thought they used to, at least. I remember trying to get something when it was pretty new - the 12-24 maybe. I gave up on it eventually...

Good point about the exchange rate - could be a great deal to people overseas.

[Speed]

Some folks get so caught up in the bidding and the idea of having to win that they throw common sense out the window and bid way too much for some items. A fool and his money...

One problem I've seen on ebay: Someone will list an item, and when you bid on it, the bidding goes through the roof. I know some folks will post items, then have their friends bid on them to drive up the prices. This happened to me repeatedly when I was trying to buy my K1000 (five years ago). Prices kept going into the $250 to $350 range. No way that was legit. I finally bought my K1000, with a 50mm f2 lens for $125.

Another problem I've seen on ebay lately: I have a friend who semi-regularly lists items for sale on ebay. Folks will bid up the price, win the auction, and never come through. This has gotten to be a big problem on ebay lately. So just because you see prices above retail, doesn't mean someone is actually buying them at those prices. I guess this is the ebay version of a computer hacker and those that write viruses. Malcontents.

I'm not too keen on ebay anymore since I got burned. When I bought my F5, it was part of a package. Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AFS (never got it), Nikkor 105mm f2.8 macro (got a Sigma 105mm f2.8), Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8 ( got a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8) and a Tamron 17-35mm f2.8, which I did get. Went round and round with Ebay and the seller for months and months. It never got resolved. I calculated the used prices of the Nikon gear listed versus the gear I got, and figured I overpaid by at least $1000. Now I get all my gear from B&H or ASAP photo in Greenville.

[another view]

Folks will bid up the price, win the auction, and never come through. This has gotten to be a big problem on ebay lately.

Uh oh. Saturday morning, my drowned Fuji & lens closed at $108. Winner bid with less than a minute to go and after two contacts I still haven't heard anything. This guy has a great feedback rating and almost 3000 points.

I didn't know that story about your F5. That absolutely stinks. I've been looking a particular large format lens lately and being patient, but I might to to KEH instead. I've had a couple of less than perfect transactions but nothing like that!

[photophorous]

Uh oh. Saturday morning, my drowned Fuji & lens closed at $108. Winner bid with less than a minute to go and after two contacts I still haven't heard anything. This guy has a great feedback rating and almost 3000 points.

They still might come through, but I had to relist an item one time because the buyer ignored my emails. On day two Ebay kicked the person out because they had done the same thing to someone else. I think they have several days before they have to respond though.

Paul

[photophorous]

Some folks get so caught up in the bidding and the idea of having to win that they throw common sense out the window and bid way too much for some items. A fool and his money...

One problem I've seen on ebay: Someone will list an item, and when you bid on it, the bidding goes through the roof. I know some folks will post items, then have their friends bid on them to drive up the prices. This happened to me repeatedly when I was trying to buy my K1000 (five years ago). Prices kept going into the $250 to $350 range. No way that was legit. I finally bought my K1000, with a 50mm f2 lens for $125.

Another problem I've seen on ebay lately: I have a friend who semi-regularly lists items for sale on ebay. Folks will bid up the price, win the auction, and never come through. This has gotten to be a big problem on ebay lately. So just because you see prices above retail, doesn't mean someone is actually buying them at those prices. I guess this is the ebay version of a computer hacker and those that write viruses. Malcontents.

I'm not too keen on ebay anymore since I got burned. When I bought my F5, it was part of a package. Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AFS (never got it), Nikkor 105mm f2.8 macro (got a Sigma 105mm f2.8), Nikkor 28-70mm f2.8 ( got a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8) and a Tamron 17-35mm f2.8, which I did get. Went round and round with Ebay and the seller for months and months. It never got resolved. I calculated the used prices of the Nikon gear listed versus the gear I got, and figured I overpaid by at least $1000. Now I get all my gear from B&H or ASAP photo in Greenville.

Speed, that sucks about your F5. I've never bought anything that expensive and now I definitely won't.

I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but I have noticed that often times when people list a third party lens, they call it by the name of the lens mount instead of the actual brand that made it. Instead of saying it's a Sigma 50mm they'll say it's a Nikon 50mm and then you have to look at the pictures to see it's actually Sigma for Nikon. They are often very unclear in that way. I avoid auctions that don't have clear descriptions and photos.

I sold my Yashica TLR for an outrageous amount with out any kind of trickery. I bought it for $150 and then spent another $130 to have the taking lens replaced by Mark Hama along with a CLA. I thought I had spent way too much at this point, then I sold it to a guy in France for $380! I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to loose money. He obviously wasn't the only bidder in that range, but as far as I could tell, all of the high bidders where outside the US. He was happy with it when it arrived but he admitted to getting a little carried away.

Paul

[Speed]

Lesson learned. Check their transactions (6 or 8 - now way: 600 or 800 - sure thing) and satisfaction rating (97% or better I'd feel comfortable with).

"I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but I have noticed that often times when people list a third party lens, they call it by the name of the lens mount instead of the actual brand that made it. Instead of saying it's a Sigma 50mm they'll say it's a Nikon 50mm and then you have to look at the pictures to see it's actually Sigma for Nikon. They are often very unclear in that way. I avoid auctions that don't have clear descriptions and photos. "

He posted photo's alright - of Nikon lenses!

"I thought I had spent way too much at this point, then I sold it to a guy in France for $380! I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to loose money. He obviously wasn't the only bidder in that range, but as far as I could tell, all of the high bidders where outside the US. He was happy with it when it arrived but he admitted to getting a little carried away."

I'm glad that one worked out for you Paul. It is definitely a buyer beware world!

[Speed]

"Saturday morning, my drowned Fuji & lens closed at $108. Winner bid with less than a minute to go and after two contacts I still haven't heard anything. This guy has a great feedback rating and almost 3000 points."

Now I'm confused. 3000 points and he hasn't come through. That's odd. But the whole bid up and win, then not pay thing has been a real bugaboo on Ebay lately. The last thing my buddy put on Ebay was a car. A guy bid it up, won the auction, then didn't come through with the money. My buddy had to relist the car and do it all over again. It was a royal pain. I don't understand why someone would do that, but then I don't understand why someone who knows computers and how to write code would bother writing viruses either.

"I didn't know that story about your F5. That absolutely stinks. I've been looking a particular large format lens lately and being patient, but I might to to KEH instead. I've had a couple of less than perfect transactions but nothing like that!"

Check their stats: number of sales, satisfaction rating, etc. Make sure they are reputable.

KEH has an outstanding reputation, and I know several folks here at PR have bought from them and been completely satisfied. As for me, B&H and ASAP are my best friends.

[Speed]

They still might come through, but I had to relist an item one time because the buyer ignored my emails. On day two Ebay kicked the person out because they had done the same thing to someone else. I think they have several days before they have to respond though.

Paul

Yep, and that's no consolation when you have to relist your auction. It's a real problem, and I don't know how they are going to fix it.

[mjs1973]

I have a friend who had an old rail road car for sale. It was on his employers property and they wanted to get rid of it, so he offered to ebay it for them. He sold it, and got paid for it, but nobody ever came to pick it up. So he relisted it and sold it again. Again the buyer paid for it, but never came to get it. Eventually he sold it locally for scrap and got paid a third time for it.

I have purchased a few things from ebay over the years, and haven't had any bad transactions. My last purchase was for a 4gb CF card. I got it for about 1/2 price, but I have had some problems with it. I'm assuming that's why the guy sold it, but of course that was never mentioned in the ad. I did email hiim before I bid on it and he said he never had any problems with it, but it makes me wonder. I still keep it around as a last resort, but I don't trust it. It will eventually get replaced.

[Photo-John]

I wouldn't compare to Amazon's prices. I have seen less than honorable dealers selling through their site. So you have to be careful about viewing them as a pricing authority. I always check B&H or Adorama if I want to check a fair, low, safe price.

[photophorous]

I have a friend who had an old rail road car for sale. It was on his employers property and they wanted to get rid of it, so he offered to ebay it for them. He sold it, and got paid for it, but nobody ever came to pick it up. So he relisted it and sold it again. Again the buyer paid for it, but never came to get it. Eventually he sold it locally for scrap and got paid a third time for it.

A situation like this could turn ugly. How long do you legally have to wait on the buyer to come pick up their purchase before you can take it and sell it again? And then if the first buyer comes back and wants it, I guess you'd have to refund the money?...so, at what point does the money become yours regardless? How would you deal with any costs that might be associated with storing the item? That's just a bunch of rhetorical questions. I'm glad I wasn't involved in that one.

[deckcadet]

I wouldn't compare to Amazon's prices. I have seen less than honorable dealers selling through their site. So you have to be careful about viewing them as a pricing authority. I always check B&H or Adorama if I want to check a fair, low, safe price.

Though sometimes Amazon is a front end for Adorama as well so it pays to be careful

[mn shutterbug]

I wouldn't compare to Amazon's prices. I have seen less than honorable dealers selling through their site. So you have to be careful about viewing them as a pricing authority. I always check B&H or Adorama if I want to check a fair, low, safe price.

Actually, when I compare to Amazon's prices, I only use the comparison if the item is actually sold by Amazon. Besides, Amazon ships free for orders over $25. Of course, if I'm serious about buying, I do check others reputable dealers, also.

I've only been ripped off once on Ebay. A few years ago I bought a couple ink cartridges for a total of 30 some dollars. At that time, you had to go into the feedback to see what % was positive. I saw a feedback of many thousands so I wasn't worried. When I finally realized I was never getting them, I checked the feedback. It had been real good until the last 60 sales. By now, they had had their account terminated. Of course, they probably just opened another one. They had screwed 58 out of the last 60 buyers. Now, I don't bid unless the seller has at least 100 ratings and at least 98% positive. Another thing I check is, are all the ratings from selling or buying? If all their transactions were from buying, I'm not going to be too anxious to buy from them. You have no idea how they handle things when they are doing the selling. Also, if it's fairly high priced, I make sure the sellers other items that they've sold, have been for a larger amount of money. If all they've sold is $4 and $5 items, and now they are trying to get $200 for something, I'd be a little careful.

[another view]

Though sometimes Amazon is a front end for Adorama as well so it pays to be careful

Cameta too, I found out recently. Coincidentally, they are best known for selling on ebay (new and demo equipment) but they sell the same stuff on Amazon and it seems like overall the Amazon prices are lower.

Ebay is full of traps, but usually they can be found without much trouble - not always, of course. I was happy to just get an email from my buyer saying he would have paid by now but there's a problem with his Paypal (slight concern, but at least he acknowledged).

[Frog]

I look for good feedback but also check how long the person has been an ebay member.

[berrywise]

Oh how I love buyers that don't check around and get into bidding wars at the end of my items.