On 4 Mar 2001, at 12:11, Tom Scales wrote:
> I think Chris' comments are right on. A couple things on being a buyer
> that I would add:
Thanks, Tom! Being a smart e-Bay buyer (and seller!) has been a
learning experience for me. Glad to hear from "pro buyer/seller" that I've
gotten it mostly right. :-)
> - Clean feedback profile - I agree, but if they have a lot of feedback
> (100+) then the odds are they've have at least one negative. I do. If you
> do the homework on their negative, you'll often find that the person that
> posted it has a flood of negatives. Just like society, take everything
> with a grain of salt.
Agreed! If the seller has a few negative or neutral feedbacks for
hundreds of sales, that's not necessarily a bad sign. But if the seller
has a number of negative/neutral feedbacks for just a few sales, be
wary. Bottom line: DON'T just go by the numbers... READ the
negative/neutral comments!
Btw, something that throws me from time to time is that e-Bay converts
positive comments to neutral comments when the commenter is no
longer an e-Bay member! I've NEVER figured out the logic of that one,
and (IMHO) it skews the seller's profile to look worse than it is!
> - Pictures and regular camera sellers are nice, but it is just a factor in
> your bid, not the only decision process.
Absolutely! Actually, ALL of my suggestions should be factored
together, along with price, "gut feeling," and a host of other factors. I've
bought from sellers who didn't have a clue what they were selling, and
gotten good deals. I've also bought from sellers who specialize in
camera equipment and gotten not-so-good deals.
> This is probably even more true for me, as I am a gambler and trade
> enough to absorb the occasional 'challenge'. My approach is to snipe low
> on these auctions. You occasionally win one.
I think the point is, "If you're gonna gamble, you've gotta expect to lose
once in awhile!" I recently bought that OM-PC for dirt cheap
(remember?), hoping that it was a minor problem. While I *was* able to
get it going (thanks, mostly, to this list!), it appears the problems are
more serious that what I had hoped. It's currently being evaluated by a
repair shop, so I'm not sure of the final outcome of that one. BUT, if it
ends up being too much to fix and I lose some money on that particular
deal, that's okay because I GAMBLED when I placed my bid!
> Overall, ebay (and buying used OM in general) has been a success for me.
> I've had a heck of a lot more sucesses then failures.
Ditto!
> Most sellers, when a problem is discovered, work with you on a
> solution.
Ditto, again! I've had one case (missing parcel from Italy) where the
seller and have been trying to sort it out since Christmas! On that one, I
may end-up on the short end of the stick, but it's only US$5 so it's not
big deal. But, if that happens I'll blame the Italian and Canadian Post
Offices... NOT the seller.
> I did have one bad one with a big kit that the seller knew he was inflating
> the quality. Could I have gone after him? Possibly, but I didn't. In the
> end, I lost a little, not a lot, just didn't make the profit I expected.
Poop happens, as they say! But, I DO hope you gave him negative (or
at least neutral) feedback?!?!? That way, other people at least *know*
that the seller is not "squeeky clean."
> Even this last purchase of the fungus farm is, I think, going to end up
> working out.
Hope so!
> So, bid low, bid often, win the occasional steal!
Agreed! But, ONLY bid if you're prepared to follow-through if you win!
That's why I'm not doing any major bidding right now... I just don't have
the money (SIGH!) so I'm in "window shopping" mode at the moment.
> P.S. I made the mistake recently of totally up all the OM equipment that I
> have purchased in the last year or two. Almost had a heart attack.
LOL!!! I almost have a heart attack when I think 'bout what *I* have
bought (and sold) in the last year. If I'd gone to *your* extent, it wouldn't
have been "almost!" :-)
> Luckily I also keep track of what my current investment is.....that number
> was OK.
I haven't checked the exact numbers in awhile, but I've pulled together
'bout US$2,000 in equipment in the last year, and my investment has
been 'bout US$700 to US$800. Those are guesstimates, but let's just
say I'm VERY happy with my track record thus far.
Regards,
Chris
---
I'm *not* a Zuikoholic.... I'm a Zuikohobbiest!
Chris O'Neill (coneill@xxxxxxxxxxx)
http://www.nucleus.com/~coneill
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