eBay pricing policy?

[Chuck(G)]

I needed some SATA-IDE converters for a couple of old systems whose IDE drives were starting to act up. The one that I know works on just about anything is the Star Tech. https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/ide2sat2. Priced at $21.99 from Star Tech direct. Why is it that I see insane prices for the things (e.g. $42) on that auction site? I found a seller on the web who sells them for $16 and change and ships Fedex for $5.99, for any quantity.

I'm trying to figure out market strategies here and not having a lot of luck.

 

[djg]

I'm trying to figure out market strategies here and not having a lot of luck.

Hoping people who are used to buying from ebay don't know what the item is worth so will overpay. Would be interesting to see how many sales they actually get.

 

[Al Kossow]

The US drop-shippers are the people that bug me. "US Seller" demands 2x markup and don't actually have anything in stock in the US. You can tell by how long it takes to get to you.

 

[Plasma]

Many ebay sellers list items at inflated prices, so that they can give you a "discount." The estate sale resellers are notoriously bad. Quite often they will accept offers of 50% off.

 

[NeXT]

The US drop-shippers are the people that bug me. "US Seller" demands 2x markup and don't actually have anything in stock in the US. You can tell by how long it takes to get to you.

The first time I had that happen I was absolutely baffled why my item was delivered by Amazon.

 

[Ruud]

If I want something, I first check Aliexpress and then compare it with Ebay. With one exception Aliexpress was cheaper. And, with one exception, I never had troubles with the stuff coming from Aliexpress. The exception was that I got the wrong 8087s, that is, too low frequency. I got my money back and still could keep the 8087s. Still not a waist, I could use them in my IBM 5160s.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Even the Chinese have interesting shipping. The last bit of kit (a USB thingummy) had a mailing label from Azerbaijan stuck over a Chinese one. Can't see the economy in that, but evidently someone did.

My lowball purchase price, beating out eBay and Amazon was from an office-supply net vendor. Evidently they purchased a pile of things and realized that the prospects of selling them all were growing dim.

It's a strange world out there. My local Office Depot store stocks roller mop heads cheaper than any Amazon or eBay seller, for example.

Shop hard, live happy.

 

[VERAULT]

Its true, finding the best value isnt cut and dry anymore. Looking past big bin stores and Amazon is a must for many things.

 

[Agent Orange]

I needed some SATA-IDE converters for a couple of old systems whose IDE drives were starting to act up. The one that I know works on just about anything is the Star Tech. https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/ide2sat2. Priced at $21.99 from Star Tech direct. Why is it that I see insane prices for the things (e.g. $42) on that auction site? I found a seller on the web who sells them for $16 and change and ships Fedex for $5.99, for any quantity.

I'm trying to figure out market strategies here and not having a lot of luck.

Supply and demand. I wanted to buy the "Stevie Nicks" Barbie doll for my 4 year old great granddaughter as a Christmas present. It was advertised for $55 (USD). Mattel let buyers grab the dolls 30 at a time until they were completely sold out. A quick check on fleece bay had them for any amount you wanted to pay, but quick check back a few minutes ago showed one for $71. what makes it collectable is that the doll looks amazingly like Ms. Nicks and they have her dressed in her 'Rihanna' regalia. (you may have to be a Fleetwood Mac slappy to fully appreciate this).

 

[crazybrit]

I'm trying to figure out market strategies here and not having a lot of luck.

Prices are all over the place on eBay. Not much logic to it and not much point trying to figure it out. For used items the sold items search is good for establishing price history. I have my own search system using the developer API so I add a watch so I can snag deals fast. For stuff like you're looking for, Google shopping, Amazon, eBay, then pick the cheapest. One time I didn't do this and ordered from eBay, someone drop shipped it to me from Amazon where it was $2 cheaper. Lesson learned but I was amazed that people make a living that way.