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08/16/2010 06:40:59 PM · #1
Why, if anyone out there can answer, do people buy something used off of ebay and pay more for it than if they just buy it new? Or why would they pay like ten dollars less than new for it? I can understand if the product is no longer available, but this is just not the case.
Examples:

Ebay used nikon 50mm 1.8

BH Photo new lens

If anyone has an explanation, please let me know. It just drives me nuts why anyone would do this...on purpose. Are people really this stupid, or lazy? Am I just missing something? I ran across this while looking for a lens, and this is not the only lens example, nor are camera lenses the only example.
08/16/2010 06:45:42 PM · #2
Sometimes it's just plain ignorance.

I've only purchased one thing off of ebay, and I paid about $10 more than it was worth. It was some sort of electronic pet thing that was really popular when my daughter was little. We wanted to get her one for Christmas, but they were all sold out. However, there were a bunch on ebay. Found one, bid, won the bid, pretty good price.

Turned out there was a smaller, less interesting version of the pet. I didn't know it at the time. So we got this wimpy, dumb thing.

Do you research, people!!

The only other possibility, is perhaps the shipping is less from that person that from a store (and no tax collected)?

Message edited by author 2010-08-16 18:51:57.
08/16/2010 06:50:15 PM · #3
If I buy something off Ebay or Craigslist, I am looking for a bargain. I'll buy something if it is a steal, or on the low end of reasonable, but if it's close to the new price, I'd rather buy new and have recourse if there is a problem. That's why I bought my wideangle lens new. There was only a $50 or so difference. Why take the risk if there is no reward for it?
08/16/2010 07:01:02 PM · #4
error

Message edited by author 2010-08-16 19:02:09.
08/16/2010 07:01:38 PM · #5
Originally posted by vawendy:

Sometimes it's just plain ignorance.

I've only purchased one thing off of ebay, and I paid about $10 more than it was worth. It was some sort of electronic pet thing that was really popular when my daughter was little. We wanted to get her one for Christmas, but they were all sold out. However, there were a bunch on ebay. Found one, bid, won the bid, pretty good price.

Turned out there was a smaller, less interesting version of the pet. I didn't know it at the time. So we got this wimpy, dumb thing.

Do you research, people!!

The only other possibility, is perhaps the shipping is less from that person that from a store (and no tax collected)?


Now this is a sensible reason to pay more. This would be one of the only reasons.
08/16/2010 07:34:19 PM · #6
i dont use ebay anymore... its s hard to tell if you are getting the real thing or some cheap knockoff. the trick to ebay now to to bid on items that everyone else is bidding on. if an item has like 30 bids its the real thing.
08/16/2010 07:50:25 PM · #7
Originally posted by mike_311:

if an item has like 30 bids its the real thing.

So how do the earlier bidders know it is the real thing without 30 previous bids to clue them in?
08/16/2010 08:01:39 PM · #8
Last thing we bought off ebay was the driver's door for the Toyota Coaster we are converting to a motor home for our retirement. We paid $75 (AUD)for it and a rear door which we don't need (yet) was thrown in. The cheapest we'd been able to source a driver's door from parts dealers was $600AUD and that had no window in it. We had to go and pick it up in Sydney (11 hour drive) and then stay in a motel overnight, but all costs considered it was an incredible bargain. The seller knew the value of what he was selling but was about to spend an indefinite period in Papua New Guinea, and was happy to make someone else happy rather than throw things out. If you know the value of something and take a bit of care, you can sometimes find great deals.
08/16/2010 08:30:57 PM · #9
First off, they are NOT the same lenses.
Ebay one is NOT a D lens.

08/16/2010 10:05:54 PM · #10
Im an Ebayaholic... works well if you do your research... ive often emailed for model numbers, serial numbers, etc. If there isnt non stock pictures Im not bidding..... Ive landed some pretty sweet deals lately!
08/16/2010 11:11:27 PM · #11
I've often wondered the same thing and it just comes down to doing your homework I think. I'm a real bargin hunter, but others just see what they want and buy it without a lot of thought to comparison shopping. You can get great deals, but you have to be careful. You learn - sometimes the hard way - what "red flags" to look for.

I've made many, many purchases off of Ebay and only encountered one real problem - which was resolved through Ebay and Paypal, although it took some time. We even bought our car off of Ebay and went from Cincinnati to Houston to get it :) A few items which didn't work out quite as I would have like I then simply relisted and made a profit reselling.

08/17/2010 12:20:04 AM · #12
I have both bought and sold off ebay, and they are VERY serious about enforcing honesty. Not only that, people are very quick to leave feedback on a buyer, especially negative feedback. So all the information is there for you to check out. If they have an approval rating of over 95%, you can be pretty sure they're the real deal. Fraud is cracked down on hard and FAST. I also do not buy stuff from overseas. Only from US based sellers. This has more to do with shipping pricing, as well has having legal recourse with national sellers, if it ever came to that. Which it never has.
08/17/2010 12:59:56 AM · #13
I bought a lot of my gear on eBay. I like the older Nikon Ai glass, and a few others, Sigma and Vivitar older Series 1. I bought one of my fav lenses, a 70 -210 macro Series 1 Vivitar a few months ago for $14.99 and 10 shipping. It sold cheap because it had one piece of green tape around the rubber grip. You just have to know what you are looking for and what it is actually worth. I had the same lens, in Canon mount in the mid 70's when they first came out, and loved it. The one I just got, is close in glass quality and construction to Nikkor Ai glass.

The camera that I am shooting with now, a Fuji S3 Pro was picked up on eBay for $95. It needed a full reset, and one of the flat strip connectors inside had started losing contact. I opened it up, reconnected the strip and it works great now. Adorama had evidently taken it on trade, and put it right on sale as being broken without checking it out first. I just wanted it for parts, and got lucky on that one.

So far, in about 40 deals, I have had no problems at all with eBay. I do the things that everyone has talked about as far as checking feedback, number of bids, and making sure that the item is what I think that it is. You also have to be careful when entering bids, and don't get excited and overbid. I bid what I think I want to pay for the item, one time, and let auto bidding work. If I don't get the item, another one will be along sometime before too long.
08/17/2010 01:53:00 AM · #14
Originally posted by rugman1969:

Why, if anyone out there can answer, do people buy something used off of ebay and pay more for it than if they just buy it new? Or why would they pay like ten dollars less than new for it? I can understand if the product is no longer available, but this is just not the case.
Examples:

Ebay used nikon 50mm 1.8

BH Photo new lens

If anyone has an explanation, please let me know. It just drives me nuts why anyone would do this...on purpose. Are people really this stupid, or lazy? Am I just missing something? I ran across this while looking for a lens, and this is not the only lens example, nor are camera lenses the only example.


The lenses are different. The one in B&H is a contemporary plastic barrel D lens. The one in Ebay is an older version, most likely made before 2001, metal barrel. For many, the older metal barrel Nikor lenses are more valuable than the newer ones, particularly since most reviewers agree that the older 50mm 1.8 are optically superb and al least as good (if not better) than the newer ones.

Ebay is a great place to purchase used items, including photography equipment. You can find almost any kind of item and save a lot of money. It is hard to go wrong if you purchase from sellers with 100% or near 100% feedback. Most reliable sellers offer a return option.

I think suggesting that ebay users are idiotic, stupid or lazy without knowing the facts speak more about you than about the ebay users.

08/17/2010 08:51:53 AM · #15
Originally posted by senor_kasper:


I think suggesting that ebay users are idiotic, stupid or lazy without knowing the facts speak more about you than about the ebay users.


I bet that leaves a mark eh? :O)

Ray
08/17/2010 09:25:16 AM · #16
Originally posted by senor_kasper:

Ebay is a great place to purchase used items, including photography equipment. You can find almost any kind of item and save a lot of money. It is hard to go wrong if you purchase from sellers with 100% or near 100% feedback. Most reliable sellers offer a return option.

The operative phrase, though, is "Caveat Emptor". If you don't know exactly what you're doing, you can get zipped simply because you don't get what you think you should. This was quite apparent in the collector car market where people all too often bought cars they simply were not well enough acquainted with to make informed decisions. As you yourself pointed out, if you don't know the difference between the older, metal barrel lenses and the current offerings, you simply cannot intelligently shop for what you're seeking. Of course, that applies to most any market where there are specialized offerings. E-Bay does a pretty good job of policing their activities, but there is still so much volume that an uninformed shopper can have problems.
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