"EBAY Ridiculous.....ness Thread" Topic

auction

Less than half a bag at 12.95, when you can buy a full bag for 20 bucks.

Your turn.

I've routinely seen stuff like that and it baffles me. I have bought OG15s for as low as 5¢ per figure (all arms) shipped (in bulk) and more commonly 9-15¢ (all arms) each shipped (not bulk).

When people post the stuff for retail or more than retail I am stunned. Your example is 54¢ per figure. Retail is 40¢ per figure without the bulk discount which would drive it down to 24¢ per figure. Just astonishing.

Cheers,

The Bandit

Yes it is frustrating as a seller to see how much some people are paying for items that they can get for less at a store or another seller.

One time I asked one of my customers at a convention why he paid so much (more than retail) for a bag of minis. He said that it was the thrill of the action of the auction. Sometimes he scored an item at a very low price and sometimes not.

Generally I use it to sell discontinued products and do not expect to get near retail. Currently I am selling long discontinued Frontier 25mm and soon 15mm which have been found in the company's storage building.

Later I have some Osprey and other items to sale.

Rudy,

any 15mm French Rev. I had some back in the early 90s.
can't seem to find them anywhere

thanks

E-bay has long ago proven the money is in getting people to pay for the thrill of winning, not to efficiently purchase stuff. That's what Amazon is for.

I found about 40 in an advanceing pose with a bicorne and a flowing plume on it. Maybe that is some.

I have given up arguing with dooffusses who brag about a "winning strategy" on eBay.
I just look at it as just another place to buy things, preferably below cost.
But no……

But God bless 'em when they bid on junk that I have for sale. Strategerize all you want! Snipe your friends!

But God bless 'em when they bid on junk that I have for sale. Strategerize all you want! Snipe your friends!

No kidding!

I only use e-bay if the models I want are not available from other on-line retailers or the shops where I live. I don't mind paying up to about double the normal retail price in this situation. Considering that the normal retail price for plastic 1/72 napoleonics is around £5.00 GBP, double that is not exactly prohibitive!
I do get a thrill from winning in this case, but its not from winning an auction but rather from the fact that I have secured what I need to improve my army. Dull, isn't it?

on occasion, BUY IT NOW option is good especially with free shipping but all depends on what I am shopping for really.

I buy often on eBay and never retail…unless I can't get it another way. The secret is to be patient, let eBay alert you to things in your search interest and view things just posted. Deals are there. On guy has 6x24 painted 25mm nap right now for 2$ per fig. That is a good deal and no one is buying them. eBay isn't for the casual browser, it is for the hunter.

What he said. I got 50 odd Essex figures for under a fiver.

As a game auctioneer I can tell you straight up that I play on the desire to "win". My goal is never to let it go for cheap but to get the highest price possible for the seller. I move my auctions along as fast as possible because I don't want you to think about what you are doing. EBay works exactly the same way and often people there don't realize what they are looking at or that they are paying to much for it. They see something that some one has said is rare and they go all in without doing any research on it.

Sorry this is a little off-topic. I remember once board game convention I attended where I went to the auction. It had a number of interesting items and some good bargains. However the auctioneer took an active part in the bidding and would bid on an item himself, driving up the price. When the irate public cried foul, he said he did this because the item was worth more than what the bidding was going at. When someone asked "Well if you have the highest bid, do you intend to pay it and buy it? He said "No." it goes back the person who put it up for auction with no sale.

One time at a con in the late 70s, I had done something to off a guy.
Later in the con, I was bidding on a mini Guadalcanal board game.
He noticed I was bidding on it and raised me at least 5 times. So I played his game.
I glared at him and ran it up to twice what it was worth. I let him top my bid and then dropped out, smiling at him. That was sweet.

Dodgy auctioneers call this "bidding off the wall", taking fictitious bids to drive up the price.

Im not sure if it's still legal.

The punters coubterstroke – the ring – certainly is though!