Why are there so many idiots on ebay?

PsyClerk

PsyClerk

CAGiversary!
This has been building up for some time now. I absolutely cannot stand stupid eBayers. I'm not saying anyone using eBay is stupid, I'm complaining specifically about the idiots, ie the ones that drive the price of items up to ridiculous levels.

I can't count the number of times I'll bid on something, usually a game, and someone, usually several someones, will come along and up the bid until they're actually paying more for the item than if they went to a store and bought it. I just don't get it.

Perfect example from a few months ago: I got the itch to play Ace Combat 4. I had played it a ton before (can't remember if it was an online rental or if I owned it then sold it) and I had the urge to try it out again. I knew it was re-released as a GH so I expected it to be $20 max. So I cruise onto eBay to check it out...most of the people that had it up for bid had ok prices, but the shipping broke the deal. I bid on one or two, and eventually those copies wound up selling for nearly $30! That's before shipping is factored in! For an open, used copy of a GH game! I eventually gave up and bought a new sealed copy for $20 from a store. I wanted to email the people who were overbidding and ask them if they were either stupid or so wealthy that they didn't bother to do even a rudimentary price check?

Do these people that overpay for stuff live in some other country where they don't have normal access to it? Is it a scam where people drive up bids on their own auctions? Just stupid people?

And another thing...why do so many sellers try to skim off you on shipping? I'm an adult, I understand that shipping includes not just the carrier fee but also the time/materials needed to ship, but when the carrier fee is $2-$3, why do I have to pay nearly $7? Your time isn't worth THAT much to me. If you sell a lot on eBay, you should already have ready access to cheap shipping materials. The cost of shipping one video game in a padded envelolpe through the US Postal system is not $5, not even close. Some sellers are great on shipping (a dollar or two for most things), but some are just terrible, and it reflects in their feedback.

Yes, I troll the feedback for users just to read the negative entries....

Ok, rant off. Back to my hole.
 
It really does suck about people charging way to damn much for shipping. Mailing a game costs like two bucks (as does a dvd or cd for that matter) and you'll see people selling a game or cd with eight dollars shipping. Its like dude, I'm not paying your seller fees too, cockface.

Really, don't buy from these people, and send them email harassment asking them what your money is going to.
 
What really gets me is the people who don't list their shipping fees up front and stick you with it at the end. I once had to pay $14 to have an mp3 player shipped to me. The guy even sent it to the wrong address. Personally whenever I sell something on ebay I charge a flat rate of $3.85 for priority shipping exactly what I pay. I also try to price my items so the cost plus shipping doesn't exceed that of the retail price.
 
It could also be the sellers themselves who have goons to go around and drive up the prices of their items.

I don't doubt that they have a preset price they want to sell at and just drive up the price until they find someone who will actually go that high.

And yes the shipping on ebay is insane. I have seen people selling something for $20 for shipping.
 
There really isn't much you can do about this sort of thing though. It is an auction site and therefore the sky is the limit when it comes to the final price.

All you really can do is bid on items with reasonable shipping and set your max bid to equal what you would be willing to pay with shipping included.

Example: $20 game at a retail store. You don't want to pay more than $15 so you subtract the sellers shipping costs from that $15 and you have your max bid. A simple yet effective way to keep yourself from getting overcharged. Yea you will lose more auctions than win but you also get to keep that sum of money you would have otherwise overpaid.
 
today at work i was talking with a coworker about selling things on ebay while i rang up a customer. he asked how much to charge for shipping, and i told him about $3/3.50 for a normal cd, $3.50/4 for a shirt (including shipping price and envelope, and maybe a little gas money), and basic other things (he's a good kid, but has a hard time figuring things out for himself). anyways, the guy i was ringing up says "are you guys talking about ebay?", like i cared about what he had to say. of course, people like that won't be stopped, so i let him say his peace so he would leave. basically, this chump says "yeah i always overcharge on shipping. you can totally get away with it. i make it like $8 on a shirt, and at least $5 or 6 on a cd." so this shipping thing is because you have jerks who can get away with charging it because you have stupid people that will pay it.

and i agree about the people bidding way too high on things. i mean, sure it's nice that you don't have to leaev your house to buy something, but you could order the things elsewhere for less money AND get free shipping. the sad thruth is that people are stupid and will buy anything.
 
I do agree that there are plenty of shady eBayers and undisclosed shipping costs is pretty low, but If you don't like the terms of the dealer, don't buy from them. If you're going to attempt to haggle over shipping, do it before the auction ends. If you're unsure, don't bid at all. Once it's over, you're bound to the seller's terms.

Simple 'nuff. Haggling is one thing, harassment is entirely different.

Like it or not, the dealer is justified asking for whatever they want, whether it's the starting bid, reserve, or shipping price as long as it's disclosed before auction's end. It's their item to sell, not yours. You're not obligated to place a bid.
 
I think people charge high shipping rates to cover the seller fees they must pay to eBay. Some people are pretty shady this way, but I have had some good transactions with people who were honest about their shipping charges. Like this one guy who charged exactly $3.85 for Priority for all of his auctions that were game based.
 
Charging a high price for shipping is not 'shady.' It may be rediculous, but if it is posted as costing 30$ and you bid on it, there is nothing shady about it. If it is in fact, disclosed, well that's a different story.
 
There's a term for bidding on your own items to drive up the price (bid shilling I think). If you suspect it, turn them into ebay, because it's illegal. If a certain item is being run up by bidders A & B, check other listings of the same seller. If A & B are bidding on those items as well, it's possible that a scam is going on.

When I sell on ebay, I have low shipping costs that reflect the real cost of shipping. I think I get more bidders since they know I'm not trying to rip them off on shipping. And like daphatty said above, factor in shipping when you place your bid. If I'm only willing to spend $20 on a game, and the shipping is $5, I only bid up to $15.

I have a complaint about certain ebayers as well. I'll place an item up for bid, usually with a starting price of $5, and I'll have a bunch of people email me and ask that I end the auction early and sell them the item for the minimum price. One of the reasons I get is that they can't afford to pay any more than the minimum. WTF? "Oh sure lady, you can't afford more than $5 for the Wind Waker. No problem, how bout I throw in a copy of Mario Kart and a 20 dollar bill as well?" :x
 
Now for the most part ebay has been pretty good. NOw if I pay 5.00 dollars for shipping for a game. That stuff better come well packaged and by proity mail if not its the old negitive feedback. I paid 5.00 for shipping guy stuck just cd of game in a envelope ( not a paded on at that) and sent it media mail (.58) took two weeks and it got broken in my mail box cause of the stupid mail pers stuffed it in there with anothewr package to big for the box. emailed dude and he said it was my problem. I sell a ton of video games and lotr toys on ebay and i allways chatge noithing for shpping free shipping on me. I box in a box fill with bubble wrap and penuts and well package the outside and then send it prority mail. they get like the next day after payment. What it cost me 2.00 come get a life scum bag ebayers! I hate when I know i have been up bid by the seller! Oh well it costs them in the end for relisting the item again and again cause their friends won it! Well if you ever get a need for a cheap video game or lotr toys. look me up! Mr_hockey66
 
Hey, Mr Unoriginal, I 've been meaning to ask you: who's that on your avatar? Originally, I thought it was JoJo from K-Ci and JoJo fame.
 
Just a quick follow up here...after I posted I went looking for Robotech Battlecry on the Xbox. EB has it for $12 used, free shipping. With the AFF25 code, that makes it about $9. Most auctions for the game were starting at $9 or $10. One guy actually had a starting bid of $9.50 or thereabouts, with shipping charges...FOR ONE GAME....$8.50. And the description pretty much said that charge was non-negotiable. Absolutely outrageous. It makes me hate stupid people, because you know some idiot is going to pay that. At the same time, another guy has a copy for a decent price (so far) and shipping of only $1.

For the record, I never contact the seller when I am bidding on something. If the shipping charge isn't listed, I don't buy. In fact, if any needed info isn't clearly listed in the auction, I move on.

I realize that it's THEIR item, THEIR choice of shipping charges. That doesn't make it ethical, though. That's what I was trying to get at.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal'][quote name='Santorum X']Hey, Mr Unoriginal, I 've been meaning to ask you: who's that on your avatar? Originally, I thought it was JoJo from K-Ci and JoJo fame.[/quote]

It's Bubb Rubb from a funny news clip. Check it out here: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/bubbrubb.html

You will be a fan in no time.[/quote]

WOO! WOO!

Thanks Mr Unoriginal!
 
Don't hate.. I drive up the price when some punkarse outbids me at the last second. I know I'm not going to win but at least he can pay more for pissin me off

As for people who bid up over the retail price to win, I can see how people would just do that to get the victory to inflate their self-esteem bubble. Either that or they don't want to put in time or effort to be CAGs
 
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