I was watching a Delta DJ-20 Jointer on E-bay that was in a cabinet shop going out of business that was 8 years old and it ended up going for $985.00 in the end. The bidding stayed reasonable till the end when it shot up. With the cost of new being the same or less, seems like it was not a bargain. My wife who does stained glass and watches e-bay a lot, often comments that people are buying stuff used i.e. tools materials etc., for more than retail. Any body ever get caught up in bidding frenzies and go oops at the end, just curious.
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Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Replies
"Any body ever get caught up in bidding frenzies and go oops at the end, just curious. " Although I've sold a fair amount on eBay, and bought a few things, I've "watched" (participted in) live auctions far more -- probbly 6,000+ hours minimum. It's not uncommon at all for people to get reckless in their bidding. They ride emotions and/or competitiveness instead of making a concious decision ahread of time as to what their absolute max is, based on availability and cost on the general market.
When I find something on Ebay I want, I figure out my maximum amount, and then see what happens. The only time I ever changed that, was for an electronic game my son wanted real bad, and I fortunately still lost the bid.
I've lost most of my bids, but what I've gotten so far, I feel good about the price I paid.
(No guarantee I won't get stupid for something in the future, though.)
Jerry
Yes, a couple of times for things I was not entirely familiar with, and within a couple of weeks of each other. I bought a clamp-on multimeter for $55, and a new one of the same make goes for $65. Then I bought a brand new 1st generation iPod for $165. This was when the 3rd gens (better, more storage)were selling for a little over $200.
I have since moderated my eBay time.
Most nights are crystal clear, but tonight it's like he's stuck between stations.
I purchased a teeter totter for my kids for more than it sold for at Harbor Freight but did not know it at the time... I am usually pretty careful.Drew
Ok, I know some are going to torque a few people off but I use a sniping service.
The deal is I can set the max price I’m will to pay for the item and the time to start bidding, typically 6 seconds before the auction ends.
I set it and forget it. If I win great if I don’t I didn’t get caught up in a bidding war.
I’ve won most of the auctions I’ve set on the sniping service.I also researach what the item should sell for.I know there are those that hate sniping but all’s fare in love and internet auctions.
I had never heard of the term sniping. Very interesting term. I once lost a bid on somehting at the last 6 seconds. Could not get by bid up in time. I wonder if that was you! I just took it as a sign that I should have bid higher to begin with, and moved on. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
most tools that are in good shape and people want will get bid on with less than two minutes remaining. I've seen a Stanley No 7 jointer plane go from $35.00 to $105.00 with one minute to go.
What's the name of your service (i.e., how can I get in on the action)?
http://www.esnipe.com
You join, buy points, (they're cheap) follow the instructions and go from there.
God, is capitalism a great thing or what! Necessity is the mother of invention!Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Yeah golly you betch'ya.It wasn't me bones, honest.. ;^DThe beauty of this for me is I don't make stupid eBay decisions, well most of the time.
i use esnipe.com too. i've had very good luck w/ it.- bww
I've never used a bidding service, but usually when I'm interested in something, I won't bid till the last minute of the auction. I decide long beforehand what my maximum bid is, set it and wait for the last 30 seconds or so before placing the bid. I know that this 'sniping' method is unpopular with some, but it's foolish to me to bid early on something because all it does is drive the price up and costs the buyer money. Too many folks get auction fever and pay over their max or the worth of the item. If I get outbid, that's the way it goes. If I win, good for me. Like someone said, all's fair....
I too have been amused like a previous poster about the purchase of used LN tools on eBay. Usually the buyer pays retail or higher, plus the super high shipping charges that some eBayers charge. If a seller is gouging the item through high shipping charges, I look elsewhere. Too many folks selling to get nailed on high shipping charges. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
I've seen some crazy stuff live and on e-bay. I saw an old 10" radial arm saw go for $550 once and it had to be twenty years old. I even saw a Powermatic jointer bed and fence go for $800 with no motor or stand. Clamps really crack me up, I've seen old pipe clamps go for $20 a set when you can buy new at LOWE'S for $12.
Hi,
I like to use http://www.mysimon.com to get a feel for the cost of items before making a buy decision online. On Amazon I factor in the free shipping and tax free aspect of the purchase. I normally won't buy from them if shipping isn't free (a third party vendor). I can usually get it for a similar price locally and i don't have to wait. Sales tax here is 7.5% in my county. Of course the amount i am spending is a factor too. I'll pay for shipping if i save enough money on taxes.
The Sony W-80 digicam for example goes from $207 to $320 on mysimon based on who you buy it from. Plus you can see a one to five star rating for the sellers. Tools are under the Home category if you have cash burning a hole in your pocket.
ken
If you want to have a good time laughing at people do an eBay search for "Lie Nielsen", pick a couple good looking used tools for your watch list, and keep track of them periodically through the end of the auction. When it's all said and done, if things haven't changed much since last time I looked at LN planes on eBay, you'll see people regularly paying 5-10% premiums for used tools when they could just as easily click over one page and buy it directly from LN's site. And I'm sure you can use your PayPal debit card there too.... :-)
That's not to say that there aren't deals to be had; just one example of a premium brand bringing premium prices on used tools. I don't quite understand. I'd rather pay retail for a new tool than more than retail for a used one. Is that stupid of me? And, I would rather pay LN directly for a retail priced tool than some eBay merchant for a new tool even at the same price. If you're paying the same price, I would rather see LN make the higher margin and stay in business making beautiful tools than to give their profit to ABC Chucklehead's Tool Store.
Anyway.
To add insult to injury, a lot of them will place silly shipping costs like $25.00 to mail a hammer or something. Its funny at times. I used the jointer as an example because you would have to go pick it up and for the cost you could either get a new one with full warantee, or another brand cheaper. It's crazy at times. The only premium we have ever got was for a Wii for my son's birthday. Could not find them at all and I had family in 3 states looking. So I paid a premium of about $75.00 for one, but it was for my boy, and I am a softy sometimes (don't tell the wife). Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I agree that most shop tools and power tools sell for too much on Ebay. The exceptions are large machines that are out in the country where shipping is an issue and industrial machines, especially 3 phase.
I bought almost all the appliances and accessories for my last remodel job on Ebay, saving the client thousands without any comprimise.
The keys to getting a good deal are to be flexible and patient.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
If I want something, I bid my max bid early on. I don't care if it goes over, I just wait until next time. If I REALLY want it, I'll use a snipe service. http://www.goofbay.com has a free sniping service I've used plenty of times, always works for me. As a seller who works on eBay for a living, I don't mind sniping in the least bit.Marc
Could you elaborate what you mean for sniping?
Thank you
John Cabot
Sniping is the description used when someone places a bid in the closing seconds of the auction. This prevents someone else from placing a countering, higher bid.
You can "snipe" manually, by waiting until the last few seconds, or you can use a service (some are free and some charge a small fee) to place a bid in the last few seconds.
If you ever had the high bid up until the end of the auction and expected to be the winner, then refreshed your browser and discovered someone placed a higher bid right at the close of the auction, you were "sniped"
Lee
As a general rule eBay is not where you look for current production items. There are very few bargains to b be had there on those kinds of things.
There was a guy selling Martin guitars. In the listing he said he sold them in his store for $329, and gave you a link to the store. People continually bid above the 329.
There was a guy selling Lee Valley stuff with his start price what the catalog price at Lee Valley was. People bought his stuff.
I bid 80% of retail on a Lee Valley plane. Three guys bid more than the catalog price.
Ebay is where you hunt for the bizarre, the old stock, and repair parts. Or, where I troll for mid-century design ideas.
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