Join Now
Join ePHOTOzine, the friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more for free!
Some poor soul is currently bidding for a Canon EOS450D with 18-55IS lens on EBAY (seller Canon Outlet). They are bidding £510 + £2.95 P/P for something they could walk into Jessops and get for £13.95 less. They are bidding on a 'refurbished' item to boot! Warehouse Express will sell the same item to them , brand new for about what they are currently bidding (still 6 hours to go!)
Are these people 'genuine' bidders or is something else happening as this kind of thing seems to happen frequently? A retailers dream if these people are genuine!
Think its probably a mixture of both - retailers bidding on their own stuff, and also normal Ebayers getting caught up in Auction fever!!
I personally would only get hard to come by stuff from ebay - no way i would end up paying over the odds for something. I often wonder why these people don't do any research first to get an idea of max price . . . .
As alluded to above, you can often make more on ebay simply because people get carried away with the idea that they are "winning" something (as if some sort of competition, skill or effort is required) and prices can often go above retail prices as a result. It's very dumb, but part of ebay's success is how it taps into innate human traits, including the aforementioned competitiveness as well as the gambling risk/reward urge, and the hunter-gatherer instinct.
I have always hated the phrase 'won' when associated with ebay, nobody has 'won' anything, they paid the most for something!
On a forum I go on there are frequently threads starting "Look what I won!!!" and I click on it thinking it's a competition win or something only to find all they've done is just bought something for more than anyone else was prepared to pay for it.
But it's not 'winning' is it?
I don't think something is 'worth' what someone is prepared to pay for it though, if I paid £20 for a penny chew, it doesn't mean that penny chew is worth £20, it just means I was an idiot paying £20 for it.
I collect old RF`S and most of mine came from charity shops and the like, most cost me less than a fiver.
I often see them going on ebay for vast amounts.
What is the terminology in auction houses, do they say 'won' a lot?
It isn't inaccurate to say you have won because you are effectively in a competition with other bidders. It isn't eBay's fault that people act like idiots and don't do their research properly before bidding.
I've 'won' loads of bargains on eBay and always take a look there when I have something to buy.
Ian
Quote: I don't think something is 'worth' what someone is prepared to pay for it though
It all depends on the person's viewpoint and circumstances. (Everything is relative, remember...)
Take Paul's example.
We don't have charity shops over here. So if he was able to buy items over there in charity shops for say a pound, and they're on eBay for ten pounds, you might say that they're not worth more than one pound because that's the lowest price someone can get them for.
But I can't get them for that price, so to me those same items might be worth ten pounds or more, and I might consider eBay finds for that amount a bargain.
Add a Comment
ePHOTOzine, the web's friendliest photography community.
Upload photos, chat with photographers, win prizes and much more.
Join Our Free Newsletter
Awards
Current Competitions
Olympus 'Portraiture' Competition - Win £1000 Worth Of Gear!
30th April 2013 - 31st May 2013
This month, to celebrate the launch of Olympus' new micro site Olympus Image Space, Olympus are giving you the chance to win £1000 worth of Olympus gear!...
Featured e2 Photo
May's Photo Month
Check out ePHOTOzine's inspirational photo month calendar! Each day click on a window to unveil new photography tips, treats and techniques.
