[TroutBum]

I had the day off from work today and was able to get in some Ebay time after a nice long, peep free ride this am. I'd been watching several items and lucky me they were ending today. What amazed me is the number of people who pay more than what an item would cost brand new! Now, I don't mind paying the same price if the shipping is less, but I saw no less than 6 items go for $10-20 more than brand new at some of the good online retailers.... 2 sets of Z-pedals, XT shifters, an XT crank and some moron paid $125+ S&H for an XT shift/brake lever set that I can buy anywhere for $100.



Just don't get it...maybe I should part out my ride; I'll end up with enough cash for two new bikes!

 

[JmZ]

It doesn't work that way.

I had the day off from work today and was able to get in some Ebay time after a nice long, peep free ride this am. I'd been watching several items and lucky me they were ending today. What amazed me is the number of people who pay more than what an item would cost brand new! Now, I don't mind paying the same price if the shipping is less, but I saw no less than 6 items go for $10-20 more than brand new at some of the good online retailers.... 2 sets of Z-pedals, XT shifters, an XT crank and some moron paid $125+ S&H for an XT shift/brake lever set that I can buy anywhere for $100.



Just don't get it...maybe I should part out my ride; I'll end up with enough cash for two new bikes!

When you want to buy the parts, they go for more than retail. (Do a search on Ebay for Paul's thumbie mounts, buy 'em retail for $40, they are selling for $45-$50)

When you have parts to sell, it's often hard to break even with the listing cost, shipping, final valuation fees, and paypal charges. I don't understand it, but seems to hold true for myself, friends and family. If you can figure it out, pass along the info!

JmZ

 

[dirkfh]

Please help me find...

I'm looking for a new XTR M-960 crank set. E-Bay buy-it-now for approx. $320.00. Bike web sites it at least $100.00 more. LBS, even more. Were can I find this part for less???

I agree to some extent,,I have seen some items with bid prices higher than the buy-it-now price. I have seen new forks with bid price higher than one sellers website, but I think this is the exception.

Please inform me with specific details if I am wrong. The cheeper I can get quaility parts the better.

Dirk

 

[gabe0807]

It is all about supply and demand. A lot of times it is uninformed buyers. This used to happen a lot a few years ago. People would think that it was cheap just because it was on eBay. I made a killing several times on eBay because of that . It is also a matter of scarcity. For example, right now Avid Juicy Seven brakes are listed at $155 per set at JensonUSA, but they are out of stock. In fact, everyone is out of stock. Ventanarama said that it would be September before the distributor would be getting more. For that reason, people will be paying in excess of $200 per set on eBay just because they can have them now rather than later.

The morale of the story is that you should always do your due diligence on a purchase no matter where you're buying from. If I'm building a whole bike I make a spreadsheet tracking the parts I need and the lowest price for them as well as where that was. It makes for an excellent quick reference. When I see what I think is a good price I"ll just check the spreadsheet and make sure. I'm a total geek though.

 

[gabe0807]

As for the M960 crankset, if you can get it for $220 ($100 less than the $320 eBay price), that's as good as it is going to get right now. Jenson is listing them for $460 and they're usually pretty cheap. XTR stuff is just expensive.

 

[AL29er]

E-bay is full of dumb people. I see sellers with buy it now at below wholesale. I often pick up items that I may use at a deal then clean them up and resell for double what I paid.

As a buyer, look for buy it now deals on high end items. I got my juicy 7's when all of the distributors were out and the guy was selling at about 10% over wholesale. Often the best deals on items like cranks, brakes, framesets can be had since you don't get into a bidding war. If an item is going to bid out I use e-snipe and almost always win with it unless someone has gotten into a bidding war that went out of my price range. In that case it is water under the bridge.

As a seller, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of good pictures. A well described item with clear pictures will net you 50-100% increase in closing price. So clean it, take some good photos, and be straight up with your listing and you will make out well.

 

[MoeChedda]

Yup Good Pics and Description



I totally agree with that. I've been able to find great buys on eBay and some classifieds because the person selling was lazy and didn't take the time to take pics or didn't put much description -- so they might not have had any bids or very low bids.

I always take great shots with my Canon G3 and I try and make my description as clear as possible. My wife thinks I'm crazy because I clean the thing I'm selling and will take several shots until I get the right ones. In my description I especially highlight the good points along with any issues. So far so good!

Peace,
Moe

E-bay is full of dumb people. I see sellers with buy it now at below wholesale. I often pick up items that I may use at a deal then clean them up and resell for double what I paid.

As a buyer, look for buy it now deals on high end items. I got my juicy 7's when all of the distributors were out and the guy was selling at about 10% over wholesale. Often the best deals on items like cranks, brakes, framesets can be had since you don't get into a bidding war. If an item is going to bid out I use e-snipe and almost always win with it unless someone has gotten into a bidding war that went out of my price range. In that case it is water under the bridge.

As a seller, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of good pictures. A well described item with clear pictures will net you 50-100% increase in closing price. So clean it, take some good photos, and be straight up with your listing and you will make out well.

 

[pting]

Also, most power sellers with high feedback have their own online stores and often sell the same items cheaper than what people bid for them on ebay.

If you're thinking of selling something, check the completed listings on your item and see what people are paying.

I need to clean up and list an old Sugino road 170mm crankset that I've seen go for far higher than what I paid for them...

 

[borregokid]

I just bought a new set of wheels. I didnt intend to pay more than the power sellers. I think with shipping I am about $5 too high. I never bid it up I just set the bid too high and other people bumped me up, the shipping sent me over what I might have paid at Supergo. . I have bought four things off ebay including two bikes and twice I paid a little too much. Only one bargain.

 

[roadiegonebad]

don't be surprised... people are paying $20 or more for those laf yellow bands... go figure

 

[ozlongboarder]

I was amazed as well when I was watching 2 auctions for workstands go $10-15 over for what you can buy new online. Simply amazing, I got to find some shyte to sell.

 

[JohnnyTooBad]

don't be surprised... people are paying $20 or more for those laf yellow bands... go figure

Thaey are?!?!?! I've got 4 of them laying around the house!

On a good note, I bought a new set of Candy SLs (new in box) for $65. The e-tailers were selling the Candy Cs for $75, and the SLs for over $100 (don't know what they are now). I think thst's the best deal I've gotten on eBay.

If you can get that crank set for $100 less than the e-tailers price, go for it. No one is going to sell it for less than that.