eBay pissing and moaning

[jordana@nucleus.com]

Hi Murray and all.. I sell regularly on E-Bay, over 60 items per month, as I am legally
unemployable (insurance) due to a back problem... if it wasn't for E-Bay I wouls be
relegated to the poor house... the fact that SOME items seem to go for high prices only
indicates that there is a market for the item and not that poeple are charging too much...
I have never heard of anyone getting blasted for paying too much for something , but MANY
people spend too much time saying that someone was asking too much for an item , or that
the price was way too high.
The price was ONLY too high if no-one bought it, as there can't be a transaction without
both a buyer and a seller... I have seen ridiculous prices asked for items at Hamfests
MORE OFTEN than on E-Bay, and recall a Heath SS-9000 rig and P.S. being offered last year
at a Hamfest for over 1800.00 US$... Needless to say it didn't sell... and on top of that
almost everything sold at a hamfest is in AS-IS condition....
If you look closely at E-Bay the majority of sellers on E-Bay have the " someof the items
I sell are over 50 years old and are sold AS-IS " disclaimer, but there are those who test
every piece of gear and state their findings clearly...That is what I do.. If someone
bought something from me that is not in the conditon or shape that I claimed it to be,
then I would offer to refund the cost of the item upon return of the goods .. As long as
the item is in the same cosmetic shape as it left here in , then I am fine with that ...
There are execptions to the rule, and even those I am willing to bend.. I can think of a
case where I sold a Heath tube type rcvr to someone on E-Bay. After having it in the
packing room for 3 months in daily use, I offered it for auction and it was sold.. it was
shipped and upon arrival I was told that smoke began to come out of the unit.. I offered
to refund the money regardless of the fact that the rig was about 40 yrs old, and I
couldn't understand how a cap would fail after daily use with no crackling, hum etc. I
told the buyer to send it back last December, and I am still waiting....!! Anyway that is
not my point... My point is this... Vintage gear is now ,as it has ALWAYS been, as much a
commodity as it is a pice of gear... is there any of us that have not traded commodities
(read gear)...??? Never swapped a Ranger for and SX-100 , or a bug for a pair of
4-400's..??

All that has happened is that people realize that this stuff is valuable, well-built (for
the most part!!!), and it is all collectible... Hell I remember selling my Viking Ranger
for 65.00 about 10 yrs ago, along with a National RCK rcvr for 35.00.. and that was
Canadian Dollars..!!!! You'd have to spend at least 5 times that to find one today,
especially in the clean working shape it was in...

There are also those "dealers" who have always been out there picking up stuff cheap that
they know people are looking for and making enough $$ to get that 75-S3 after 3-4 deals,
well that day is nearing it's end... And so they are usually the ones making the most
noise, as they WERE the only ones who were making enough $$$ to be able to spare 5-600.00
to but that rig and turn it over ( or "flip" it in todays lingo) a month or two later for
double the $$$ .... Now it is fast, easy , and accessible to the general public thanks to
the internet.. Just a small benefit from this ease , is the fact that I think that at
least one of every item Heath or National,or Collins or whomever  has ever produced has
been made available to whoever could afford it... This has always been a "If you can
afford it" hobby, and it always will be... I have also found MANY items that I have been
looking for on E-Bay at prices that are very fair and in some cases cheap..!!!!

Anyway thats the way of the world, and if you'd rather go back to the days of the 4 month
deals thru QST ads then I feel for you, but I for one like the fact that almost everything
is available in a way it never has been.... 73 de Jordan....

Murray Leshner wrote:

> I agree ham prices can be rediculous on eBay, but not all of them are.
>
> But, I'm getting sick of hearing all this stuff about how evil it is , shut
> it down, etc.
>
> Go look for other stuff on there, other than ham stuff. There are some great
> bargains I would not have access to otherwise. I have been buying some
> industrial automation stuff on there (say, is this Heath related? Yes, it
> is; I am reverse engineering SB-610 power transformers and building a
> winding machine). I bought a $2600 2-axis motor controller for my winding
> project for $200. I was pretty happy about that. Thank you eBay. It has also
> given me an outlet for Heath stuff that people on this list passed over, so
> I get a littlemoney for it (nothing outrageous), and it doesn't go in the
> landfill.
>
> I hope to be able to make 54-182's for alot less than Peter Dahl.
>
> Of course, alot of people complain that the shipping on iron-core
> transformers is twice what they paid for the items! maybe I should have
> priced them higher so the shipping was only a fraction of the price.
>
> Murray
>
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>
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