Ebay buyers. Are they Stupid or too lazy???

[kichu]

I always wonder why would somebody buy a used , like new item from ebay when they can buy a brand new one cheap from somewhere else?
Let me make it clear, I always buy (or atleast check the prices of) things from ebay, especially electronic items.
Last week I was trying to find a cheap Financial calculator from ebay, people were so crazy to bid used calculators (with minor scratches, missing manual etc.) for prices atleast 25-30 % more than the one I got from best buy. Office depot, walmart and almost all other stores have it cheaper than ebay.
Second Instance I got a Nokia shorty phone from Radioshack much cheaper than ebay's listings price.
Why would people do this? Are they stupid or are they just fascinated by bidding or are they too laz to walk in to the stores?

[CJsoccerchic]

I've wondered that myself too... But I have come across amazing deals on eBay as well... so i guess what it comes down to is.... Is the buyer educated to know that a USED item going for x price plus x shipping cheaper then going to the store and buying it new? Personally, I price check everything everywhere! if it seems like a good deal to me, then I go for it.

[sweeps]

I think you're right, sometimes it's just a foolish bidder -- maybe they get caught up in the competition and don't want to lose. But there are a few other possibilities. The bidder may have an ebay or paypal coupon which makes the item worth the price. Or the bidder may have no intention of paying for the item -- he may be using a 1-time user id just to see how high the bidding will go, and/or he may have stolen someone's paypal account.

[abowers]

I think some bidders may just be uneducated as to what some things really retail for, and get really into the bidding. There are a lot of really good deals out there, you just need to do your research and know what the things sell for in a store before you bid on them (and then take shipping cost into consideration).

I wouldn't buy electronics on Ebay to begin with, I'd rather buy them new so they hadn't been tampered with and if it's a big electronic purchase there'd be some sort of warranty.

[Fern]

I agree with abowers. If you haven't bought a particularl item recently, you might have no idea what these thigns are going for these days, and in many cases, prices are a lot cheaper now than they used to be. Think about how home computers came down so much in price; same thing with digital cameras.

I think people are just conditioned to believe that buying 'used' means it's cheaper than buying new and can't be bothered to actually check the prices.