From: "Tim Gray"
> In the 8 years I've been on ebay, I too have noticed that things
> really are leveling off. It's hard to get a good deal there anymore,
> and with all the fraud, I'm scared to bid on the items that do look
> like good deals.
There is far more talk of fraud by folks that don't use ebay than actual
fraud. As a percentage of transactions, fraud hardly exists on ebay and
for the most part it's pretty easy to avoid. Buying from regular mail
order places can be about as risky. I am happy the more people are
scared to bid, it just makes the deal better for me.
If anything you need to watch out for on ebay, it's the shipping
charges. Since ebay charges the seller a percentage of the selling price
there is a temptation to pad the shipping, which ebay does not get a
cut. And, of course, the greed express for gas prices is having a effect
on shipping charges too.
What has happened on ebay is there are more and more folks that are
running a small mail order operation via ebay. Often they may have
everything as a buy it now, but even if there is open bidding they will
set the level so that only a small discount is available. They do create
the impression that ebay bargains don't exist much anymore. But the
original flea market of ebay still exists, and good prices can still be
found.
Ebay is one of the "stores" I shop at often. And the amount of money I
save is huge.
> Hope someone here gets the 800 - I'll keep an eye on it, but you guys
> are always willing to outbid me.
It went for just over $1900, well less than it's new price. Though more
than double what I paid for each of my MKH-80's.
> So... anybody want to sell some MKH's?
What is it? When you pry my cold dead fingers off them. They are keepers.
Walt
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