Some ebay auctions baffle me

[disneysteve]

We recently ordered some shampoo and conditioner from Amazon because I have a big credit with them. Today, just out of curiosity, I searched for the product on ebay thinking maybe some dealer would be selling case lots.

I found an auction selling a single bottle with a starting bid of $3.33 but shipping of $6.00. The stuff only costs $3.00 or so in the store. Why would anyone buy it on ebay for over $9.00? Amazon sells a 4-pack for just over $12.00.

Makes you wonder what people are thinking.

[simple987]

Were people actually bidding on the auction? I have always wondered why giftcards sell for more than face value on ebay. It must be people who live in remote areas or dislike going out for shopping.

[moneybags]

I found an auction selling a single bottle with a starting bid of $3.33 but shipping of $6.00. The stuff only costs $3.00 or so in the store. Why would anyone buy it on ebay for over $9.00?

I just posted about this on the other Ebay thread. People are just not informed or don't want to do the work to price compare.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by simple987

Were people actually bidding on the auction? I have always wondered why giftcards sell for more than face value on ebay. It must be people who live in remote areas or dislike going out for shopping.

No, there were no bids, so the auction may not be successful, but still, why would anyone try and sell something for 3 times what it costs in the store.

Gift cards are another type of auction that I don't understand. I've benefited from that a few times when I've sold cards, but I still don't get it. A few months ago I sold a $100 GC to Ruths Chris and it went for $99.01. Why would anyone buy a GC on ebay to save $.99?

I have bought Marriott Bonus Bucks coupons on ebay, but they always sell at a discount, usually about 1/4-1/3 of face value, so a $50 certificate sells for about $15. That makes sense.

[sweeps]

One possibility: The buyer may have been using an ebay or paypal promotion to lower his price, making the gift card worth it.

Another possibility: The buyer is using a stolen paypal account (or is attempting some other form of fraud). This happened to us. We were excited (but very perplexed) that we sold a $50 Olive Garden gift card for $51. Turned out the paypal account was stolen. And we got a chargeback after the gift card was shipped (and gone for good). Since then we only ship to confirmed/verified buyers, and we don't ship to buyers with a 0 rating.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by sweeps

One possibility: The buyer may have been using an ebay or paypal promotion to lower his price, making the gift card worth it.

That could be, but take a look at completed gift card auctions. Almost all sell for very close to face value. Are there that many promotions out there? If so, how come I never get any?

[sweeps]

Did some searching on the 'Net, and a commonly held theory is that the winning bidders would rather pay face value or slightly higher because it would be more trouble and/or more costly (have to spend money on gas, have to wait in line for 30 minutes, etc.) to go to the store and directly buy the gift card.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by sweeps

Did some searching on the 'Net, and a commonly held theory is that the winning bidders would rather pay face value or slightly higher because it would be more trouble and/or more costly (have to spend money on gas, have to wait in line for 30 minutes, etc.) to go to the store and directly buy the gift card.

I suppose that could be true, though it seems odd to me that so many people would do that. And I can't say that I have ever stood in line for 30 minutes to buy a gift card. Perhaps right before Christmas but certainly not the rest of the year.

[moneybags]

I suppose that could be true, though it seems odd to me that so many people would do that. And I can't say that I have ever stood in line for 30 minutes to buy a gift card

And some stores ship their gift cards for free, so why not go straight to the source online?

I will buy gift cards at a discount on Ebay. When my sister got married, I wanted to get her a gift from Tiffanys. I got a great deal on a gift card on Ebay & used it to buy the present. There are certain stores that don't sell close to face value, those can be a bargain for shoppers. On the other hand, I have looked for Starbucks cards, forget it...

[LuxLiving]

On some items Steve, they might not be carried in the bidders part of the country or world.

Hubster likes a certain brand of potato chips that are made in his home state. A higher bid on ebay over the price locals pay is still cheaper for me than driving cross six states to go get him some.

[Snowgirl]

Auctions on video games are often puzzling as well. Right now, I'm shopping for Wii games (got it for Christmas!), and I see many games going for over Amazon price. Not a big international market on that, games are region coded and available on the Japanese market earlier than America, but still. That funniest ones are the auctions for the Wii Play: small game that comes bundled with a Wii remote in stores for prices between 50-60$ The remote itself sells for 40-45$, so the game could be valued at 10-15$. And frankly, that's what it's worth. Now many auction for the "game only" (not the remote), go for 40$! Come on, buy the bundle for 50$ somewhere, and you'll get an extra remote to play with friends!

[Gruntina]

Originally Posted by LuxLiving

On some items Steve, they might not be carried in the bidders part of the country or world.

Hubster likes a certain brand of potato chips that are made in his home state. A higher bid on ebay over the price locals pay is still cheaper for me than driving cross six states to go get him some.

This still don't make sense to me... why not order for the potato chips directly.

Unless gift cards being used on the website gives extra discounts on their product, I dont see purchasing gift cards in order to order online.

Also getting a Visa gift card enable us to purchase almost anything we want, I rather not buy over face value and use that instead.

[cicy33]

One thing I have been told is sometimes people have some money in their paypal account and they don't really associate it with "real" money. Which of course it is! Not to mention Walmart sells almost ANY gift card now!

[krayziebone33]

My guess as to why someone would bid on something that actually costs less at the store is that the person probably never bothered to check the store website or the physical location. Some people, and I used to fall in this category, automatically assume that things are cheaper on Ebay. I obviously know better now after years of experience with Ebay.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by krayziebone33

Some people, and I used to fall in this category, automatically assume that things are cheaper on Ebay.

I just don't understand this, though. I can see not wanting to run around to different stores to comparison shop, but comparison shopping online takes seconds. It would take seconds to discover that this shampoo is $9.00 each on ebay and the very same item is 4 for $12.00 on Amazon. Not much effort involved there.

[ceejay74]

Originally Posted by Gruntina

This still don't make sense to me... why not order for the potato chips directly.

Unless gift cards being used on the website gives extra discounts on their product, I dont see purchasing gift cards in order to order online.

Also getting a Visa gift card enable us to purchase almost anything we want, I rather not buy over face value and use that instead.

My husband sold a GPS device to someone in Australia--this guy said you can't buy it direct from the manufacturer or distributor, so the only way for them to get these is from private buyers. Thus he was willing to pay full price plus shipping--he could sell it for more than that in his country if he wanted to.

[cptacek]

Originally Posted by ceejay74

My husband sold a GPS device to someone in Australia--this guy said you can't buy it direct from the manufacturer or distributor, so the only way for them to get these is from private buyers. Thus he was willing to pay full price plus shipping--he could sell it for more than that in his country if he wanted to.

Aren't individuals held to ITAR and EAR restrictions like corporations? What I mean is, some software and hardware and other technologies are restricted to outside countries (Australia is probably not one of them, but Iran and North Korea and Cuba probably are), so couldn't an individual selling to someone in those countries get in trouble for this? Not saying that your husband did anything wrong in this particular situation, but there is a potential for trouble there.

[marvholly]

To me Many auctions are TOTALLY puzzling. Several years ago I followed some cruise auctions. By the time you added up the bid price, port charges, taxes and fees it was FAR cheaper to just buy the cruise at a discount broker or even the cruise line's own web site.

People are just NOT well informed, consumer conscious.

[vinnieg24]

People will sell just about anything on these auction sites. I think they are an excellent source for purchasing and re selling text books though. I have never had a problem selling or buying books from there and are ten times cheaper than purchasing them in a school bookstore.