Looking around for on-line suppliers of veneer, I Googled up a heap of ebay vendors. They all seemed to be selling a few leaves (mostly 2s and 4s), and some had multiple listings. So what’s going on? Are these guys buying in bulk and retailing small lots?
I thought I’d give it a go, and placed bids for a couple of small lots from Tasmania, Australia. For a day or two I had the top bids, then in the last 30 mins (just happened to be mid evening here, so I could track what was going on) other, slightly higher bids, appeared. I bid up in small steps, stopping a few minutes before the deadline when every bid I placed was beaten by another. What’s going on here? Can sellers bid? Was this guy chasing up my price. Was ebay taking bids off the wall?
The whole deal seemed shonky* to me.
What do the experts say? Is this a good place to buy veneer?
Malcolm
*”shonky”, an Auastralian and New Zealand term meaning something like ‘less than completely honest’.
Edited 4/22/2005 6:11 am ET by kiwimac
Replies
Kiwi,
I was talking with a woodworking friend a couple of days ago about veneer sources. He buys a lot of his veneers from eBay and pays $0.50 to $1.50US per square foot. He seems to be satisfied with his purchases.
As to the last-minute raises in the bids on eBay, that's the norm. Everyone is trying to make the winning bid and there's no reason to get excited until near the end of the time limit. I don't doubt that the seller might try to influence the bidding, but he still has to keep the price within reason.
Regards,
Bill Arnold - Custom Woodcrafting
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Food for Thought: The Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Last minute bids are the norm, it's called sniping. I never bid early, it takes the fun out of "ebaying"
Ebay auctions end at a specific time as opposed to a live auction which an auctioneer can close when he feels he has the highest bid, therefore most bidders try to submit highest ebay bid at the last second. It's a great sport!
Bob
Can't speak for the veneer but ebay gives you the ability to automatically increase your bid up to a maximum that you set. Everytime a bid higher than yours comes in, yours in increased. When your max is reached, it stops.
Bobby
Ebay has some catches in their software, for a seller to bid up his own price. Some loopholes are impossible to close.
If anyone bids on an item through the same computer, or same internet connection, as the seller, ebay notices the activity. The first time they will send him a warning, if it happens again he gets disqualified as a Seller.
From a different computer and connection, with a different name and password, it is still possible for a Seller to cheat though.
When I'm bidding on something on e-Bay I submit a bid that's up to the limit I'm prepared to pay.As noted previously, their software will up your bid to the limit as bidding proceeds.Later I check my e-mail or look at my page to see if I've won the item.If I'm outbid and catch the notice, I re-think things and either submit another bid or let it go, usually let it go.Regards,Leon Jester
"Sniping" is not a new phenomenon. Here's a little note by Paul Klemperer (economics professor at Oxford).
http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/users/klemperer/Sniping.pdf
Bottom line: bid late and get ready with the 'refresh' button on your browser!
Kiwi,
I have bought lots and lots of veneer on ebay all with fantastic results. The big plus is being able to see exactly what the veneer looks like before making the purchase, something you can't always do buying mail order. As for the sniping, get used to it. I have missed out on many great deals by being outbid at the last minute. Good luck and happy bidding.
Birdseyeman
Thanks Guys
That clarifies the process.
Still a bit suspicious about multiple small lots, but I guess the answer to that is to go direct to the retailers. There are fairly well-established benchmark prices for most species and grades.
Cheers
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking
Kiwimac,
"..but I guess the answer to that is to go direct to the retailers."Another answer would be to determine the maximum price your willing to pay, taking into consideration all the attending risks, and place a not to exceed bid. If you get it for your price or less...fine..if not, so what....you've determined your indifferent value for that purchase..
"If you get it for your price or less...fine..if not, so what....you've determined your indifferent value for that purchase..."
Yeah. And a bargain is only a bargain if you need it!
MalcolmNew Zealand | New Thinking
I generally will use eBay for bargain hunting for fairly common itmes, but not for things I need right away. Patience will get you some great deals. What I do is bid a low price on each item that I happen to be trolling for, with the expectation that I will lose the auction in almost every case. Every once in a while no one will be much interested in buying said widget but me and I will end up with it at a killer price.
I picked up a beautiful DJ-20 jointer for $600 a couple of months ago and a set of 9 original Stanley number 750 chisles for $150 last Fall. Well worth the months of patient bidding. I treat it more like fishing, than a place to go buy something immediately. It is lots more fun that way. :-)Michael BurtonThunderbird HardwoodsKD MesquiteLlano, TX
Mikey
I agree with you on the e-bay deal, if I need it fast e-bay isn't my first choice. However patience will usually get you some good deals.
I think I may have met you?
I was in Fredericksburg last fall, the Mesquite fest, or what ever they call it.
Bought a few bd. feet of Mesquite from you. At least from your Co. I know the place that I bought from was from Llano.
I'm looking for a few boards of mesquite, need wide ones, and fairly clean, got any?
You were fairly well picked through when I looked at your stuff last fall.
I'm new to Texas and the shop I work at did a big job with mesquite, not a real fan of the stuff but I figured I'm here, going to build at least one piece of furniture out of it.
Let me know if you got any thing that I can use. Would like at least something 6-8 foot long, and 10" wide! Would like clean if I can get it. Don't mind a few voids but not craters.
Doug
Hi Doug,
You probably met my son in Fredericksburg. I was in one of the tents with some of my furniture while he was taking care of the wood sales. I just pulled a nice load out of the kiln a coupla of weeks ago. The best I have seen. I am in West Texas til at least Wednesday, but will give you a holler via e-mail.Michael BurtonThunderbird HardwoodsKD MesquiteLlano, TX
Birdseyeman
I have exactly the same experience as you do on e-bay.
And by your name I wondering if its you who is bidding against me on all that figured/birdseye maple!
Doug
Doug,
That might be me. My ebay username is birdseyemaniac, what's yours?
birdseyeman
Birdseyeman
Sontotex
Has some hidden meaning! :)
I don't know why I buy so much veneer but I must have 2000 sq ft of different veneers! Mainly figured maple.
Gonna use some of it one of these days. Anyhow I keep telling my self that.
I haven't been biding on to much lately, gotta take a break and give the wallet a chance to cool down!
Doug
Doug,
I think we might be twins. I also have quite a bit of veneer mostly won on ebay. My wife keeps asking me "what are you going to build with that?" I keep telling her "I don't know"...
Birdseyeman
Glad to see I'm not alone!
Doug
PS, I'm sure I'll use it some day :)
Check out Auction Sniper.com. I've used it for years. It automatically places your bids at the last second. It's cheap too (like $0.25). I'm sure it's saved me a fortune because it reduces bid run-up. Check it out.
Best,
Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
O H EBAY welcome to the game Kiwimac.
I have been a woodworker for 25 years. I seen this tonight and was not surprised to see someone else is going threw the same thing I have gone threw time and time again.
I have been Bidding on Video Equipment for the past 4 years and have been BEAT out of many great deals in the last 4 -6 SECOND of the auctions.This has pissed me off so bad that this Last week I gave up on EBAY.
One person wrote on here that you have to Bid late and be Quick on the refresh button
This was well said. That is the secret to EBAY.
Best to you and be careful EBAY is full of SCAMERS.
Jimmy
Yay, go Jimmy
I guess if I was thinking about earning some pin money I'd bulk-buy some junk, break it into small parcels, make it sound/look real good, get myself a second on-line identity, stick it on ebay and bid against myself. What's the risk? Occasionally you'd maybe have to buy your own goods!
Even without the last bit (which is not that easy to do, apparently) I'd guess it would work. There are a lot of fully-commercial operations based on that business model.
Which means, if you're a buyer of stuff you know something about, you're mostly better off going to the primary source. There are quite a few good suppliers of veneer. During my investigations I contacted a retailler in Australia who forwarded my inquiry to their New Zealand agent, who sent me a box of samples. Get this: four sheets each of lacewood, heart rimu, face rimu, saligna (red gum I think) blackwood, monterray cyprus (macrocarpa) and eastern walnut, 5 to 8 inches wide and all 8 feet long. Samples! Free!! About 180 square feet. Beat that on ebay.
I'll buy from this outfit (although I still have a need for feature veneers - burl curl and crotch).
Malcolm New Zealand | New Thinking
FYI: there are sniping programs that many people use that will do the last second bidsDave
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