people selling on ebay

orangepip

Does anyone else think people expect too much for their stuff on ebay - there's loads of bikes on there which in my opinion are massively overpriced and people don't seem to want to think about auctioning them any more.

As a consequence I've noticed the same bikes being relisted time and again due to failing to sell.

Rant over

Thanks

bigpikle

yep, and I dont believe how much people actually pay for stuff! Have seen many cases where people pay more for a used item than it can be bought for new

ScottieP

Bigpikle wrote:

yep, and I dont believe how much people actually pay for stuff! Have seen many cases where people pay more for a used item than it can be bought for new

Yes - I've seen this loads too. It's staggering how many people pay way too much on ebay - but perhaps their definition of a bargain is very different than mine.

Once something gets above 70% of retail - I lose interest very quickly.

The other thing that always amuses me is how people price up their bikes by component at full retail - which you'd never pay anyway .... and I bet most of them didn't either. The assumed stupidity of the buyers is a regular .... but I guess if you look at what people pay ....

I quite like ebay and bid regularly but hardly ever actually win as I'm not prepared to pay through the nose (especially on used stuff).

orangepip

examples of this are the £800 someone seems to expect for a year old boardman. I don't care if you've only ridden it twice it's a year old.

nicensleazy

Bargains are few and far between on Ebay. People want over the top money for their bikes, clothes etc etc. I have seen quite a few bikes with no bids placed.

kingrollo

Well I started the bidding for my pinarello at 99p - I got over £500 !

Those people who fix a high price, may be pricing themselves out of a deal

nochekmate

I agree with the observation that some bikes are overpriced on eBay and it is pretty straightforward to spot examples which will need relisting as a result. Mind you in saying that, I've relisted a beautiful, new Colnago Primavera recently, which I don't think was overpriced but suffered from the fact that the 'newbies' are all chasing carbon framed bikes.

Equally there are occasional 'bargains' to be had and in the past year, I've bought a carbon Trek Madone 5.2 with Ultegra groupset (in excellent condition & with Look Keo carbon pedals for £675) a Specialized Roubaix (a couple of tiny cosmetic but not structural marks on the frame) for £425 and also an old steel Pinarello Treviso for £100!!! These are all Buy It Now prices, so not going to auction is not always a bad thing for the buyer.

Ultimately a bike is 'worth' what somebody will pay for it and I've also sold bikes on eBay for more than I've advertised them for on here - yes I know that there are fees to think about on the eBay sales but sometimes one still gets a better price selling on eBay eg. a Trek Alpha 1000 could not fetch £300 on here but reached £460 on eBay. Was it worth that much? Not in my opinion, hence the £300 tag, but in an auction the buyers determine the final selling price not the sellers.

I describe any bike that I sell accurately and photograph any blemishes clearly so that buyers can make up their own mind what they would like to pay - at the end of the day nobody is forced to pay the money that the seller is asking in a Buy It Now price. If you think a bike is worth it - buy it, if not keep your money in your pocket and move on.

It's a free market out there! Perhaps the strangest thing is seeing bikes being listed with a 'Buy It Now' price, which then disappears after the first bid is made and then watching the bidding comfortably exceed the BIN price - eg a Trek this week was listed at BIN of £200 (I would have bought it if the collection was a bit closer) and this then sold under auction for £300.

Similarly people will bid under auction for Garmin 705 Sat-Nav systems in excess of £300 when for less they can either use BIN on eBay for around £280 or indeed buy it online elsewhere for similar money or less. Why?? I don't really know but they do.

Monty Dog

There's a lot of ignorance - buyer and sellers alike. It's usually the beginner-level stuff too - lots of interest and little knowledge as to it's true worth. Anyone that values a used bike in excess of 75% of retail must be smoking something.

nochekmate

kingrollo wrote:

Well I started the bidding for my pinarello at 99p - I got over £500 !

Those people who fix a high price, may be pricing themselves out of a deal

Yes and your bike is just an example of my comment of eBay prices over Bikeradar for sellers in that you were offering the Pinarello at £450 on here and it made £510 on eBay (albeit with eBay fees and possible Paypal payment fees, you would not have taken much more than £450 on the deal) 'Twas a nice bike though and if I didn't have too many already, I may have been interested myself.

I agree that starting with 99p and no reserve is a good way to sell if you are confident that you will get the price that you are looking for. This is always my advice to people on these forums asking 'how much is my bike worth?' ie. put it on eBay at 99p with no reserve and you'll soon find out how much it is 'worth'!

pastey_boy

people tend to price stuff higher on ebay as they get raped in the wallet for charges.

nicensleazy

I can never understand why people rush to bid. I was watching a pair of Assos shorts recently go on Ebay. Witnin two days people were bidding silly money. I always bid around 5 to 7 secs to go!

hotnajers

The p+p on ebay is out of control sometimes its not worth it,some times its nearly as much as the item its self specially when more and more places offer it for free.

Pokerface

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

nochekmate

Pokerface wrote:

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

Yes exactly and sometimes the Christian name for both Mr Supply and Mr Demand is Ignorance.

passout

Pokerface wrote:

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

You sir, have a way with words.

Pokerface

passout wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

You sir, have a way with words.

Tru dat.

what brakes

I have seen quite a few real bargains! just wish i had the money! but i have also seen loads of stuff way way over priced!

doyler78

Just get a mate to put in a high max bid at the minimum value you are prepared to sell at and that way you can artificially boost the bidding whilst looking like a genuine seller just looking to get rid of your old stuff come what may. Choose listings on free listing days too and that way you minimise your risks further

nochekmate

doyler78 wrote:

Just get a mate to put in a high max bid at the minimum value you are prepared to sell at and that way you can artificially boost the bidding whilst looking like a genuine seller just looking to get rid of your old stuff come what may. Choose listings on free listing days too and that way you minimise your risks further

There shouldn't be any need to resort to those sort of tactics!

flanners1

The new Colnago EPS 2009 frame and fork for £1125 was a bargain I missed out on, umming and rrring!

Gutted still and that was in January. Been ebaying since 2001 and it is not as much 'fun' as it was. I love it when I presume; mostly males get involved in bidding wars and end up paying over the odds.

Anyone who bids with 7 to 1 days to go must be mad, why? Last few seconds using a 3rd party auction bidder system, stay lurking in the shadows. People expect too much for their stuff, pure greed. I reckon Ebay should enforce most auctions to start at 99p. Having to relist an item on sharkbay suggests it was well overpriced really or something totally obscure.

Recently with 'private' sellers taking the pi$$ in the money they want the Ebay bargains have been with BINs from people like DHSport, AbsoluteCycles etc. Some really good deals on bars, cassettes, cleats etc

People all want bargains but then expect full price when they come to sell it again under a different username, forum etc :roll: I have had a few items which were 'not as described'. Paypal refunds and disputes are a lot better settled these days giving the sellers more and better protection. Got a complete refund on a set of Campag Neutrons by Paypal and told just to keep them!

Inflated P&P charges is a way of getting a few more pennies not charged in the sale fees. On that note the sale fees are astronomical as are the Paypal fees IMO. I guess to pay for all the refunds they give for the shark sellers that they have on their 'books'.

I have had some stunning bargains like a mint as new Kawaskai ZX10 Ninja for £4.5K (roughly £2K less than going rate)which was showroom and I sold it end of last Summer 2.5 years after purchase for £100 more than I paid. In a 99p start auction, with no reserve.

I do Ebay but use it as an online Woolworths now mostly for cheap household/garage stuff I seem to need since Woolworths made it's exit from the High Street. Not for overpriced cycles.

carl_p

nochekmate wrote:

doyler78 wrote:

Just get a mate to put in a high max bid at the minimum value you are prepared to sell at and that way you can artificially boost the bidding whilst looking like a genuine seller just looking to get rid of your old stuff come what may. Choose listings on free listing days too and that way you minimise your risks further

There shouldn't be any need to resort to those sort of tactics!

Well I suspect that a bike store you good people on here know and respect do precisely that for their old stock that subsequentley appears on Ebay. I was watching one of their bikes very closely and the number of bids coming in at regular intervals throughout bidding period made it look fairly obvious that they were pushing the price along.

As long retailers are prepared to sell a pair of shorts for £170, £30 for a pair of socks and mugs on here are prepared to pay it, there will always be a strong secondhand market for cycling related stuff.

kingrollo

nochekmate wrote:

kingrollo wrote:

Well I started the bidding for my pinarello at 99p - I got over £500 !

Those people who fix a high price, may be pricing themselves out of a deal

Yes and your bike is just an example of my comment of eBay prices over Bikeradar for sellers in that you were offering the Pinarello at £450 on here and it made £510 on eBay (albeit with eBay fees and possible Paypal payment fees, you would not have taken much more than £450 on the deal) 'Twas a nice bike though and if I didn't have too many already, I may have been interested myself.

I agree that starting with 99p and no reserve is a good way to sell if you are confident that you will get the price that you are looking for. This is always my advice to people on these forums asking 'how much is my bike worth?' ie. put it on eBay at 99p with no reserve and you'll soon find out how much it is 'worth'!

Bit like estate agents fees really - you get a better price - but line there pockets. However the pinarello was worth to much to sit idle in my garage - more than happy with the £450 or so that I will net.

I wouldn't really pay big money for anything on ebay - you have to weigh up the savings - against the risk. In my job I get loads of calls from people have brought laptops on ebay - when I tell the mother board is knackered , and probably not worth repairing - they are £200 or so down - without any real prorection.

ive brought pedals, to save a £5 - similar a pollution mask £10 - saving £6 ....

Buy it now - just turns the whole thing into a classified ad - if you end up with a non sale it all re list again - far better to have open auction.

pontarlier_pete

Pokerface wrote:

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

No. When I was looking for a pair of rollers last September and saw that decade old pieces of worn out plastic were going for £90 plus £15 postage, when at the same time shops were doing brand-new Tacx rollers for £115 and free postage, there's something wrong. Good luck to the people who sold them, but some buyers have been a little foolish.

nochekmate

Simple answer - know the market and value of the goods that you are buying and selling.

markmw

nochekmate wrote:

Simple answer - know the market and value of the goods that you are buying and selling.

Exactly.
Don't see this as an eBay thing. If you go into any marketplace, either physical or virtual, and you don't know the rules and how the market works, then you're going to get fleeced or at least not get the best price.
If you're prepared to be patient there are some good bargains out there. Absolute Cycles were selling off a bunch of Fulcrum 3s - the sell price was generally around £300 but some much higher and one set went for something like £240ish delivered.

Pokerface

Pontarlier Pete wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

Mr. Supply, I'd like you to meet Mr. Demand

No. When I was looking for a pair of rollers last September and saw that decade old pieces of worn out plastic were going for £90 plus £15 postage, when at the same time shops were doing brand-new Tacx rollers for £115 and free postage, there's something wrong. Good luck to the people who sold them, but some buyers have been a little foolish.

I hate to point out the painfully obvious - but if someone bought that decades old set of rollers at the asking price, then you have clearly demonstrated my theory of supply and demand.

One person had the supply, the other - the demand.

And if it DIDN'T sell - still backs up my theory. Too much supply and not enough demand (for old kit!).

markmw

Pokerface wrote:

I hate to point out the painfully obvious - but if someone bought that decades old set of rollers at the asking price, then you have clearly demonstrated my theory of supply and demand.

One person had the supply, the other - the demand.

And if it DIDN'T sell - still backs up my theory. Too much supply and not enough demand (for old kit!).

Errr your theory? ;-)

xtrsmith

I like all the crazy, one-off stuff you can find on eBay... sovereigns, special edition products and stuff.