What is the the real story on E-Bay

[onuthin]

Like a lot of members in the club I keep my eye out for a good deal to pop up on E-Bay.Sometimes I luck up on things I think I can't live without.Like a lot of you I have a lot of duplicate parts and when I see what some people pay for it I get tempted to sell parts I really and truly will never use.What I don't understand why the prices vary so much on the same item same day?I sold a few parts last year and came out all right,But now I basically give parts to members to help out.I feel that is the least I can do after all the info and help I have gotten from yall. I keep my stash of real hard to find parts unless I think it will help someone in a bind then I part with it.But what gives on the big fluctuation on the same stuff other than condition.

[280z1975]

My other passion (ahead of Z cars, but then again it's my job) is cycling. About once a year I unload things I don't need and stuff I accumulate over the year. This past month I listed a cycling racing Helmet which previously was unsold at 19.99 (only back in November) that went for 54 and change. It's all about timing and who is there to buy things at that moment. It's subjective to a degree, but every once and a while something just surprises the crap out of you when you list it.

[EScanlon]

HOW and WHERE people search on e-Bay has more to do with this than you might think.

If you search for =240Z= (between equal signs) in "ALL CATEGORIES"

will yield 917 items. Then search for =240 Z= also in all categories and 100 is all you'll get.

Change those SAME searches to "e-Bay Motors" ONLY and now the first gets 739 and the second gets 75 items.

Granted those are pretty straight forward results, but jiust that separation alone will be enough that some buyers will never see some items (many people have "favorite" searches that they use and re-use).

Then consider the hundreds of other words that people use to search for items for their cars. Throw in that not all sellers will use the same "key" words and .....

FWIW

E

[geezer]

Every once in a while I do a search and intentionally spell the key word wrong. This has paid off more than once. Not too long ago I waited a whole week for an auction to end. The seller spelled Datsun as Datson and had some 1970 NOS metal sail panel emblems listed in an odd catagory, like collectables or something. I was the only bidder and won at the starting price of $5.00. He then told me he had a few more that he wasn't sure were new or not and said he would throw them in as a BONUS! Newly listed Buy it NOW items are another favorite search for me that turns up some great deals. Still haven't turned up a NOS Ditson dash yet though. :bandit:

[AWC]

Another factor is the terms of the auction. Large items which are specified for local pick-up only will usually sell pretty cheap because the pool of potential buyers is limited. Also the seller's feedback is directly correlated with the final price of an item, all else equal.

[sakijo]

Sometimes, it's WHO is looking and WHEN the stuff is up for sale. I bought a few things very cheap after losing out on the same item several times to high bidders. I figure that everyone who was looking for the item bought it at the higher price and I got the same thing after no one else was looking for it. Sometimes it pays to be a first time loser . . . .

[Arne]

HOW and WHERE people search on e-Bay has more to do with this than you might think.

If you search for =240Z= (between equal signs) in "ALL CATEGORIES"

will yield 917 items. Then search for =240 Z= also in all categories and 100 is all you'll get.

Change those SAME searches to "e-Bay Motors" ONLY and now the first gets 739 and the second gets 75 items.

Granted those are pretty straight forward results, but jiust that separation alone will be enough that some buyers will never see some items (many people have "favorite" searches that they use and re-use).

Then consider the hundreds of other words that people use to search for items for their cars. Throw in that not all sellers will use the same "key" words and .....

FWIW

E

Enrique has hit on a real issue on this one. When I was buying parts for my old graymarket BMW 323i, most of the good buys I got on eBay were when sellers listed the chassis type as "E-21" rather than the more accepted "E21". There were always far fewer bidders on the "E-21" items. Typos and suchlike can have a huge difference in the number of people who find and bid on an auction.

[MikeW]

But what gives on the big fluctuation on the same stuff other than condition.

I think it just depends on who's looking for that particular item at that time and how bad they want it. If only one person is interested it will go for the starting price. If two people both can't live without it you'll see a crazy bidding war. That's just the way auctions work. Those are the extremes, of course. In the middle you have to take into account those people who are reasonable about how high they'll go as well as people who don't really need the item but are purely buying it on speculation.

[Go240Zags]

One time at band camp... wait that's not it. One time I sold three ugly chromed plastic armrest finishers for a 260/280Z to Australia for $54. I couldn't believe it as I put a very detailed description and the photos showed the cracks in two and the peeling chrome in the other. They must be rare in the land of Oz. Then I sold a Series I console for $9.99 (starting bid). That was a tough one to let go of. It wasn't perfect, but someone got themselves a heck of a deal. I have begun to believe the gods of logic have nothing to do with eBay and it's more of 'things are worth whatever someone's willing to pay for them' - crazy or not. I search using 240 Z and 240Z -thinkpad (that eliminates a lot of notebook chargers, etc.) Haven't tried the = signs on each side, but will. I always search the full site, not just eBay Motors, because lots of listers don't get that specific. For 240Z - thinkpad I search title and description, for 240 Z just the title. I've also done the dotson search with some pleasant results. From the buyer side of things I hate seeing "Seller has canceled all bids" especially when I'm the only bidder and the auction is almost over. To me that means the seller has decided he isn't getting the price he wants and doesn't want me to get a deal (unfair and dishonest) or that he has sold off-site to someone else privately (also unfair). Be aware of email bid cancellations notices that are phishing expeditions as well, they sometimes are just trying to get your password info before you realize it. I like eBay, perhaps too much, but it's a crapshoot when selling, especially when you think your item is worth more than the buyers are willing to bid on it. We're all trying to get a deal.