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Re: [OM] Re: Buying from e-Bay

Subject: Re: [OM] Re: Buying from e-Bay
From: "Chris O'Neill" <coneill@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 11:46:06 -0700
On 4 Mar 2001, at 12:11, Tom Scales wrote:

> I think Chris' comments are right on.  A couple things on being a buyer
> that I would add:

Thanks, Tom!  Being a smart e-Bay buyer (and seller!) has been a 
learning experience for me.  Glad to hear from "pro buyer/seller" that I've 
gotten it mostly right.  :-)

> - Clean feedback profile - I agree, but if they have a lot of feedback
> (100+) then the odds are they've have at least one negative. I do. If you
> do the homework on their negative, you'll often find that the person that
> posted it has a flood of negatives.  Just like society, take everything
> with a grain of salt.

Agreed!  If the seller has a few negative or neutral feedbacks for 
hundreds of sales, that's not necessarily a bad sign.  But if the seller 
has a number of negative/neutral feedbacks for just a few sales, be 
wary.  Bottom line:  DON'T just go by the numbers...  READ the 
negative/neutral comments!

Btw, something that throws me from time to time is that e-Bay converts 
positive comments to neutral comments when the commenter is no 
longer an e-Bay member!  I've NEVER figured out the logic of that one, 
and (IMHO) it skews the seller's profile to look worse than it is!

> - Pictures and regular camera sellers are nice, but it is just a factor in
> your bid, not the only decision process.

Absolutely!  Actually, ALL of my suggestions should be factored 
together, along with price, "gut feeling," and a host of other factors.  I've 
bought from sellers who didn't have a clue what they were selling, and 
gotten good deals.  I've also bought from sellers who specialize in 
camera equipment and gotten not-so-good deals.

> This is probably even more true for me, as I am a gambler and trade
> enough to absorb the occasional 'challenge'. My approach is to snipe low
> on these auctions. You occasionally win one. 

I think the point is, "If you're gonna gamble, you've gotta expect to lose 
once in awhile!"  I recently bought that OM-PC for dirt cheap 
(remember?), hoping that it was a minor problem.  While I *was* able to 
get it going (thanks, mostly, to this list!), it appears the problems are 
more serious that what I had hoped.  It's currently being evaluated by a 
repair shop, so I'm not sure of the final outcome of that one.  BUT, if it 
ends up being too much to fix and I lose some money on that particular 
deal, that's okay because I GAMBLED when I placed my bid!

> Overall, ebay (and buying used OM in general) has been a success for me.
> I've had a heck of a lot more sucesses then failures.

Ditto!

>  Most sellers, when a problem is discovered, work with you on a
> solution. 

Ditto, again!  I've had one case (missing parcel from Italy) where the 
seller and have been trying to sort it out since Christmas!  On that one, I 
may end-up on the short end of the stick, but it's only US$5 so it's not 
big deal.  But, if that happens I'll blame the Italian and Canadian Post 
Offices...  NOT the seller.

> I did have one bad one with a big kit that the seller knew he was inflating
> the quality.  Could I have gone after him?  Possibly, but I didn't. In the
> end, I lost a little, not a lot, just didn't make the profit I expected.

Poop happens, as they say!  But, I DO hope you gave him negative (or 
at least neutral) feedback?!?!?  That way, other people at least *know* 
that the seller is not "squeeky clean."

> Even this last purchase of the fungus farm is, I think, going to end up
> working out.

Hope so!

> So, bid low, bid often, win the occasional steal!

Agreed!  But, ONLY bid if you're prepared to follow-through if you win!  
That's why I'm not doing any major bidding right now... I  just don't have 
the money (SIGH!) so I'm in "window shopping" mode at the moment.

> P.S.  I made the mistake recently of totally up all the OM equipment that I
> have purchased in the last year or two.  Almost had a heart attack. 

LOL!!!  I almost have a heart attack when I think 'bout what *I* have 
bought (and sold) in the last year.  If I'd gone to *your* extent, it wouldn't 
have been "almost!"  :-)

> Luckily I also keep track of what my current investment is.....that number
> was OK.

I haven't checked the exact numbers in awhile, but I've pulled together 
'bout US$2,000 in equipment in the last year, and my investment has 
been 'bout US$700 to US$800.  Those are guesstimates, but let's just 
say I'm VERY happy with my track record thus far.

Regards,

Chris

---
I'm *not* a Zuikoholic....  I'm a Zuikohobbiest!
Chris O'Neill (coneill@xxxxxxxxxxx)
http://www.nucleus.com/~coneill

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