4 thoughts on “eBay”

  1. I did not know that about ebay. What site do you recommend for online auctions?

  2. I gave up on EBay years ago, and not just because of their hoplophobia. Amazon is a much easier place to sell stuff, and they aren’t allergic to shooting accessories. And as far as I know, Amazon isn’t a bazaar for shady characters selling items that “fell off a truck.”

  3. Amazon selling is pretty much limited to stuff that’s already on the site, unless I guess you sign up for a pro seller account or whatever that allows you to create your own full product listings. For the stuff that’s not there already or bulk lots it would seem cheaper to sell it on eBay.

  4. @JR: I’m pretty sure you could sign up individually to sell things on Amazon. While I have never attempted it, I purchased my Zaurus from Amazon when it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to afford one from eBay; the Zaurus came in a box without any padding–which made me think it was an individual seller who sent it.

    With regards to eBay itself: I’ve recently been interested in slide rules; a certain slide rule museum (perhaps HP’s museum) had some interesting warnings about eBay. Among them: you can’t trust rankings, because if you post a bad review of a seller, the seller posts bad reviews of you as a buyer–so bad reviews are rare. When someone gets a batch of slide-rules, it’s not uncommon for the seller to sell them one at a time, advertising “Rare! Only one in existence!” It’s also not uncommon for bids to be pushed way up beyond the actual worth of the slide rule–this is caused by a combination of shady seller tactics, and naive, excited buyers who push up the prices. (I think I experienced this effect when I attempted to purchase my Zaurus.)

    In other words, it’s probably reasonable to avoid eBay altogether, unless you’re very careful, and you know what you’re doing!

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