DONT BE FOOLED BY E.BAY PRICES

[Don Tovey]

Hi Everyone,
Ive recently noticed a few bids on e.bay higher than the cost of buying new in a shop. Then sometimes the cost of postage is really high as well.
I have bought items myself on e.bay & had good and bad experiences.
A stab jacket that never arrived, one that was used by Hans Hass I think & a computer that did not work properly (although that was from a dealer & they did refund my money). Some things have been real bargains in great condition.
A week ago I saw someone bid up to £122 + postage for a used Mares M2 computer, but they were on special offer Brand New at £99 + postage in a well known Norhern Mail Order Dive Store.
All I'm saying is search around first for the best new price before you bid on e.bay.
Its just a question of using common sense. (No offence intended)
Happy Diving, Don

[steven matthews]

i think you see that a lot on ebay people paying over retail prices, i think some just seem to get carried away with their bidding, they just have to win! or ebay is the only site on the net they know how to use.

[justin_champion]

I think as the last poster said people do get carried away with this site. I remeber quite a few years ago buying a new dive computer from a dive show and then putting my old one on that auction site just to get some money back for it. In the end I got more than the new one cost me and some I was jst amazed that people would bid this much on an out of date model.

[gordon mackie]

Yup
I put an old Aladin Air on ebay once...2 folk got into some mad bidding frenzy and paid me twice as much as I paid for it brand new!

And a guy in Japan bought an old leather bike jacket for £150 and asked me to airmail it to Tokyo at a cost of £125

There is nowt as queer as folk :-)

[Richard Whitcombe]

I've bought a load of stuff on ebay over the years and a fair bit for the diving club and had no problems.

Provided you do your research before bidding and stick with a sensible maximum figure then its great. To date ive not had any problem buying or selling.

The reason postage costs are high is its a fiddle - ebay take commission off the total selling price and not the complete total so offering a high postage but lower final price means the seller pays less to ebay. Simple solution is to not buy off anyone with silly postage figures.

People do pay over the odds - they get into a bidding war. That's great for the seller and ive got no real problem with that as its their own choice.

In short, do your research and exercise common sense and ebay can be fantastic.

[Woz]

eBay. Great for selling, rubbish for buying unless you are really careful.

[ChristianG]

A stab jacket that never arrived, one that was used by Hans Hass I think
Huh?

Do you mean that that particular jacket was used by Hass? Or that that make and model was?

Whichever, it's a con. Hass didn't really dive any more after he sold Xarifa in (IIRC) 1960, way before stabs were invented. He got too busy with other things which eventually turned him into a Professor.

[Nigel Hewitt]

I sold my Halcyon torch as:

"Flooded! Again! No reserve, starts at 1p"

and got over a hundred quid for it.

[Cobie]

There was a 'well used' Trans-Pac and RecWing, must have been about 5 years old, that sold for £321 (inc P&P) two weeks back. The buyer will probably spend another £30-£40 having it seviced. I can get the same, brand new from my local dive shop for £330!!
Why do these people never buy my stuff on EBay? ;o)
Rob.

[IanDennis]

eBay. Great for selling, rubbish for buying unless you are really careful.

Very true Woz

People seem to spend over the odds on rubbish or fail to check out the best price that they could buy for new.

Still as long as they pay more for my old diver gear than I did thats fine ;)

Ian

[croppermj]

People tend to think that if its on ebay, then its a bargain - cheaper than 'the shops'.

For people either starting out (such as myself) or on a budget, where else can you go for 'discount' or good quality second hand equipment?

Me for example, I'm sat now with ebay open desperatly looking for a first full size wetsuit - other than paying £100++ for one to train in and to see if I actually want to take it up seriously ebay seems to be the only place I look - I'm watching two-pages of wetsuits (I'm looking for large just in case anyone's readying this and thinking hmm ive got a suit I dont use anymore!:D )

[Vic]

For people either starting out (such as myself) or on a budget, where else can you go for 'discount' or good quality second hand equipment?

Your branch is alway a good place to start. You can frequently borrow kit from people who don't use it any more...

Vic.

[croppermj]

Your branch is alway a good place to start. You can frequently borrow kit from people who don't use it any more...

Vic.

Good point. But, I cant help but look out for a bargain as I would expect to begin purchasing my own equipment, certainly fins, mask and wetsuit by the time ive finished my Ocean Diver course, so that branch equipment is always there for new members.

[bakerstreet]

i think you see that a lot on ebay people paying over retail prices, i think some just seem to get carried away with their bidding, they just have to win! or ebay is the only site on the net they know how to use.

On some products it can also be a stock situation. People may be bidding ion a product that isn't in stock at their local shop or even in the UK/ Look what happened with the Wii before Christmas.

I have had mixed experiences with Ebay and dive gear. OH got a bargain of a Scubapro Mk20/S600/Mares 3 Gauge/R190 for £120, which was bargain. However before that we lost £120 for a set of regs in germany.

Sings and round abouts innit :)

[Don Tovey]

Huh?

Do you mean that that particular jacket was used by Hass? Or that that make and model was?

Whichever, it's a con. Hass didn't really dive any more after he sold Xarifa in (IIRC) 1960, way before stabs were invented. He got too busy with other things which eventually turned him into a Professor.

Hi Christian, I was being sarcastic, I meant it was so old. I still have my Fenzy MK 6, but I dont use it for fear of people taking the mickey, but it still does the job & is nice & fluorescent.
Thanks for the info on Hans Hass. What about Lotti his wife.
Cheers Don

[JamieG]

For sure totally agree with some people that on the Bay people can pay well over the odds for something!

This here could well be a bargin for someone though - Yes?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290217251982&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019

I don't know the seller or want this myself but it seems a good deal.

[Nigel Hewitt]

Hi Christian, I was being sarcastic,
<sniff>Pity...

I'd pay for a Hans Haas spec Dräger in original condition. And I'd dive it.

[bakerstreet]

For sure totally agree with some people that on the Bay people can pay well over the odds for something!

This here could well be a bargin for someone though - Yes?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290217251982&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019

I don't know the seller or want this myself but it seems a good deal.

With two days to go, it wont be bargain. It will just be slightly less than buying a new one. It will probably go for £150 plus

[JamieG]

With two days to go, it wont be bargain. It will just be slightly less than buying a new one. It will probably go for £150 plus

I put it on my 'watched list' and it went for £102 (plus £17 P&P) so no bargin to be had there - why are people paying these prices?:confused:

[Nigel Hewitt]

I put it on my 'watched list' and it went for £102 (plus £17 P&P) so no bargin to be had there - why are people paying these prices?:confused:Convenience.

I bought a hand held vacuum cleaner from a 'Buy Now' on Ebay for about the price I could have got walking into town at lunch time once you figured in the shipping. No saving at all other than it was raining.