There are some time wasters out there.

[TJExcalibur]

I Bought a TBS 6925 PCI-E DVB-S2 card and it was no use with my ancient computer. So I put it on fleaby for £130 plus postage. 11 watchers, 4 lots of emails from buyers, some offering half the asking price and one telling me it was illegal to own such a card, whilst another wanted it as he would save £35 and £17 import duty. I haven't paid any. What a load of time wasters so I popped it into a draw and maybe save it for when I get a new computer.

 

[Vipersan]

I agree TJ ...its most frustrating when time wasters appear on ebay ..
From the other perspective ...and a much less valuable item ..
I placed a bid on a laptop cpu on friday ...
it was a used item in working condition ..
Starting bid 99p
No one else placed a bid ...so I won it ..
..and paid for it immediately ..
The vendor still hasn't claimed the £3 including postage ...and the cpu hasn't been dispatched.
Chances are ..it wont be ...as my guess is ..the cpu went for less than he envisaged.
Still ...its not my fault no one else bid ...and a contract ..is a contract...
I'll give him a couple more days ...but he's gonna get some grim feedback if he doesn't honour the deal.
His own fault if he doesn't set a buy it now ...or reserve price.
rgds
VS

 

[TJExcalibur]

Ebay has some good points. I recently bought a new kenwood breadmaker. Looked new, but it never completed a bake cycle. Asked for a refund, seller refused but Ebay sent me a link to print a free return label to the sender and I got a refund. Now I am carefull who I buy from and often if its that cheap its dodgy.

 

[2cvbloke]

When it comes to expensive technology, some people can be real PITAs, you get the sellers thinking they're sitting on a goldmine, and then you get potential buyers trying to get you to sell stuff to them for a lot less than their worth, I'm a cheapskate, but I don't ask people selling a £400 laptop for £50...

And yes, do be wary of cheap prices too, especially if sold as new, cos you can be 100% guaranteed that it's cheap rubbish produced in the good ol' PRC, regardless of them being well-known name brands, cos such imports are often illegal copies, and often dangerous too...

At least ebay has some decent policies in place to deal with the Del boys of the internet...

 

[Vipersan]

agreed 2CV
...another thing i've taken note of ..
Those selling an item on a -buy-it-now- ticket ...but with an option to -make-an-offer -..
There's no point in trying to offer ridiculously low ££s ...
but mor often than not they will accept the original price ...less the postage ...
So for example an item on sale for £110 plus £5 postage ..
An offer of £104 - £105 ..will secure it ..and you save the postage.
..but an offer around £100 ...will most often be refused
rgds
VS

 

[2cvbloke]

I've often low-balled sellers on the Make Offer thing, some have it set to reject low-balls right away, but most actually allow it or the seller has a chance to review and counter-offer or accept your offer...

I like the Make Offer option, gives the buyer a bit more room to bargain with, rather than "This is the price, you will pay that for this item" with a straight Buy-it-Now, it's a modern version of bartering at a market...

 

[hexah]

I Bought a TBS 6925 PCI-E DVB-S2 card. . . a load of time wasters so I popped it into a draw and maybe save it for when I get a new computer.

It is a decent card so it should still be usable 10-15 years from now. I'd expect it to outlive your next computer!

 

[Captain Jack]

But also some great bargains can be had from people who don't know how much their kit is worth.

Like my 1.2m Channel Master dish with polar mount and a heavy duty ground stand/wall mount for £35

 

[hexah]

The laws of supply and demand apply, so if no other local was interested, £35 is a fair price. It would cost that much again if you had to pick it up from a seller who was 100 miles away.

The law of shiny new things also applies. People love shiny new things so I suspect most buyers would prefer a brand new Gibertini 1.2m.

 

[Channel Hopper]

I agree TJ ...its most frustrating when time wasters appear on ebay ..
From the other perspective ...and a much less valuable item ..
I placed a bid on a laptop cpu on friday ...
it was a used item in working condition ..
Starting bid 99p
No one else placed a bid ...so I won it ..
..and paid for it immediately ..
The vendor still hasn't claimed the £3 including postage ...and the cpu hasn't been dispatched.
Chances are ..it wont be ...as my guess is ..the cpu went for less than he envisaged.
Still ...its not my fault no one else bid ...and a contract ..is a contract...

A litte piece of advice. Ask for insured and signed for postage, and if there is an answer, pay immediately. A lot of the ebayers that find their product sells below what they like 'more than often' go missing in the post.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The laws of supply and demand apply, so if no other local was interested, £35 is a fair price. It would cost that much again if you had to pick it up from a seller who was 100 miles away.

Funny you should mention that....

 

[hexah]

Aha!

I have seen the other thread so that is £35 + £69 van hire + say £35 fuel + £?? for the missing parts = over £139.

So not really a £35 bargain then!!

That said Captain Jack is having fun with it which is the important thing.

 

[Captain Jack]

Yeah the van hire was a big chunk. But I'd have to pay for the van whatever the cost of the dish was as few people like sending large dishes out.

So far:

Dish: £35
Van: £69
Fuel: £free (company provided)
2x flanged bearings: £5
1x steel tube for the above to cut to size: £4.76
1x can of primer/anti-rust/black paint thing: £8

Still to buy:

Grease: £?
V Box: £25 + p&p
Jack actuator: £40 ?
40 metres of 4 core cable: £20 ?

Didn't someone once say this was an expensive hobby? Still, hopefully the above won't devalue as time goes on if I ever have to sell it.

 

[TJExcalibur]

I use Shipley and its usualy quite cheap when compared to quotes fron carriers. I had several items of bedroom furnitrure I wanted as it matched the existing. Got it collected and delivered for less than it woluld have cost me in petrol one way.