On Wed, 17 Mar 1999 12:24:08 EST, ClassicVW@xxxxxxx jammed all night, and by
sunrise was overheard remarking:
> In a message dated 3/17/99 9:31:53 AM EST, phalpern@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> << And that is why some of us sometimes spend too much on eBay, but you have
> to agree that this scenario makes sense.
> I don't think the average e-Bay buyer is
> putting that much work into their buying, but I have been wrong before.
> (or was I wrong when I thought I had made a mistake? ) I don't remember!
I think you're probably right. But this isn't unique to ebay, it's a
general phenomena that most retailers count on. After all, CompUSA is
doing a dandy business, though you can save $100 or more buying much of
the same computer gear on-line. There are plenty of pricing sources to
compare with, whether you're buying on-line, locally, or somewhere else.
I bought my original OM-1 and most of my early equipment at Olden's in
NYC, which had good prices, fabulous service and knowledge, and they'd
even ship the boxes to NJ so I could carry the new toy home. Today,
Olden's is no more, but the mall camera stores, often staffed by folks
with little more photo experience than "Wal-Mart graduate", are thriving,
offering worse prices and little real service, at least for those who
know their stuff.
What's missing from the equation is that cost-of-item is only part of the
question. Other factors most people consider, implicitly or explicitly:
- The impulse buy. It's exciting to buy a new toy at the mall, or
snipe your competitor on e-bay. This comes from emotion, not
logic.
- Ease of purchase. The local mall is easy, and you probably had
to buy some socks or a cable at Radio Shack or something
anyway. It's a hassle to drive the three hours to NYC, pay for
parking or bus, etc. E-bay, with all its faults, is easy --
their search works very well, the bidding process is easy even
if you're not a certified computer wizard supreme, etc.
- Local service. If my OM-1 had problems back in '75, I would
have taken it back to Olden's, necessitating a trip to NYC with
my Dad (since I couldn't ride my 10-speed that far) or a
shipment. Some want it to be as close to the neighborhood as
possible, and will pay for that.
- Cost of research. You have the near-potential for "perfect"
competition on the net, since there are prices posted, search
engines to browse them, links in your browser, etc. But these
don't come for free -- you pay for them in your time. Is saving
$100 worth an hour of your time? Probably. Is saving $20 worth
four hours? At some point, folks will draw the line.
- Patience. Some people just don't have the patience necessary to
conduct research, or shop around.
Now, I buy stuff on e-bay, and I do research. Just last this week I
bought an OM-1n with Winder 1 there, I'd rate it EX condition (slightly
better than my OM-4, which I bought new in Japan in '86), for what still
seems to be a very good price. I did look up the going rate at KEH,
Olympus Guy, B&H, several other places. Of course, I've been expanding my
system for the last year, these are all bookmarks in the browser, and
since I can scan a price in only a few minutes, every time I buy I'm
amortizing the cost of my original research over the total number of
items I buy used. I'm also fairly patient -- which also helps in places
like e-bay against the first point. You have to know there's practically
always
another one coming along.
--
Dave Haynie | V.P. Technology, Met@box AG | http://www.metabox.de
Be Dev #2024 | NB851 Powered! | Amiga 2000, 3000, 4000, PIOS One
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