[meteorite-list] OT eBay (was AD Time to get back to work)

[GeoZay at aol.com]

When it comes to wheeling and dealing   meteorites, I'm so far just a 
buyer. Some day I might sell a few just to adjust  my collection some to my 
satisfaction. Most of my purchases have been off ebay.  I make one or two 
purchases per month and I try to be picky and exact as to what  I will bid on. I'm 
often a Watcher with  several items on any given day  though, whether I 
intend to buy or not. I like to try to second guess the other  watchers if I'm 
interested in buying. I also like to get a feel for what similar  meteorites 
will sell for. This kinda helps me establish my highest price for  
something. It also lets me know what I might be able to get away with if patient  
enuf. Some sellers are their own worst competitor. They tend to sell meteorites 
 like car dealerships. They get in a bunch and just must sell or move them 
within  a week. Often offering 30%, 40% But Wait!  Even 50% sale discounts! 
I look  at these offers this way...They are discounts from a price that they 
can't move  because they are often over priced in the first place. As a 
buyer, I'm looking  for a bargain and settling with a cost that should be the 
price in the first  place doesn't appeal to me. For some reason I like ebay 
and if it wasn't for all  those disgruntled sellers, I wouldn't be there. 

While I'm on the topic  of ebay etc, another thing that turns me off is the 
"Buy It Now" items. Those  prices are usually jacked up and I just ignore 
them right off. And those that  take bidding with a minimum price along with 
a "Buy It Now" price, I also  ignore. There's simply no wiggle room to find 
a bargain. I visit ebay in the  first place to look for bargains. I'm not 
there to make sure a seller gets a  "fair" price. :O) If you have high 
overhead costs, then don't expect getting a  "fair" price there. I use to be a 
seller of natural gold on ebay and even then I  got less than what I thought I 
should be getting. But I also discovered that  although I was getting less 
off of ebay, I was getting more than what I got by  selling thru non-ebay 
places...such as jewelry stores.


>>Buyers  should be pissed about this too. Why? Because of what happens 
when sellers  incur more costs. They raise prices to compensate! This in 
turn not only  allows Ebay to earn even more from final value fees, but 
it cost the buyers  money too. Though in an indirect way.<<

As a buyer, this wouldn't  work on me. You raise prices to compensate, I 
just simply won't buy. Not all  sellers will have the same overhead. I'll just 
look for those with less and wait  for the desired item to show up 
cheaper.. Judging by the apparent glut of  sellers out there, the wait really isn't 
that long. 


>>I don't  know about you, but I think that's a whole lot of money! And 
buyers are  paying for it through higher prices charged by  sellers!<<


Again...those sellers with less overhead can afford  to accept lower 
prices. It's their edge over the "used car" salesman approach.  


>>How this email turned into an Ebay rant I don't really know,  but buyers, 
you should really think twice before buying on Ebay, considering  Ebay is 
raising prices indirectly and you're paying for it! Their practices  are 
so blatantly unethical it's ridiculous but we forget about it because of  
the great deals and excitement of the auction atmosphere.<<

I  have checked many meteorites for sale websites and generally the prices 
listed  there are higher than what I can eventually acquire off of ebay. As 
a buyer, so  far I like my odds on ebay. I also do enjoy the excitement of 
the auction  atmosphere.

>>Ebay is run by sharks, 
sharks that eat  money for breakfast. They drink melted gold from 
platinum goblets and smile  their diamond smiles all the while dreaming 
up new ways to drain sellers of  their hard earned money through endless 
fee increases and unfair and  unethical business practices. Buyers you 
pay for it too whether you realize  it or not.<<

Maybe so...but it's cheaper than most meteorite  websites.
George Zay