discussion Sometimes!!

[The Smythe Meister]

I can`t just be me....or can it?!! :flushed:
I saw something,earlier in the week, that i really wanted.....so i placed a bid on it..... only to think,the next day that i`d bid far too much!!:astonished:....
..... i then looked in and saw i`d been winning all this week!!:anguished:...... Should be great,but i think someone had been engineering bid ups?!!:fearful:....
............... luckily for me,"Someone",(I`m actually supposing the seller tried to crank up the sale figure if i`m honest!!),outbid me....BONUS!!:thumb2:... I have now invested the sum of £20 that i`ve saved for some resin figures for my newly acquired liking of Vietnam War stuff!!
SOMETIMES,it`s nice to lose a bid eh Guys?!!!
Andy

 

[GerryW]

Oh yes, had a few things that I've put a bid on, only to regret it the day after, thankfully I've been outbid on most! Though I usually 'set' my limit at a price that I'm happy with. What gets me, are those things that go well over the new price - saw a 1/72 Catalina go for more than a new kit was priced at - plus postage (new kit price included post).

 

[wasdale32]

Interesting that recently I've had three or four items where I was outbid suddenly having the higher bid retracted making me the high bidder again. This is a new one on me as I was under the impression that bids could only be withdrawn in very particular circumstances. Two of these were the same seller but "different" bidders.

I've also had a couple of items that were suddenly removed from sale only to reappear a day or so later at a higher entry bid.

I'm beginning to think that certain people are not being totally honest on ( name of well known auction site redacted )

 

[Dave Ward]

caveat emptor! - , if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is 99% of ebay is perfectly straight, but you will always get sellers who are plain dishonest. It helps to be cynical ( like me! ). I've been prowling the auctions for many years - I got stung, the first year I was active - that was before PayPal was really going - I sent a cheque for £90+ for a computer CPU- never turned up - reported to police - but of course no comeback! Luckily, any problems I've had in the past few years have been refunded/reimbursed by ebay/PayPal, although the amounts have been <£50.
I too am mystified by those articles that go for silly prices, even though a short browse will find the identical item at a lower price - possibly a way of laundering money? , or is there some other reason?
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

I think it’s just the thrill of combat and the competitive spirit Dave. The auction becomes a competition that the participants don’t want to lose. Common sense then takes a back seat....

 

[Jim F]

I never place a bid until the last 20 seconds, regards Jim

 

[PaulTRose]

it also works the other way

earlier tonight, on the auction site 'that shall not be named' i won one of my grail kits, been watching it for last 5 days and mine was the only bid!......would have paid 50% more than i got it for!, which is normal price when one comes up

happy days, looking forward to it arriving

 

[Tim Marlow]

I don’t understand bidding behav on there at all. When I sold off my railway kits last year I had two copies of an OOP white metal kit up at the same time as different lots. Expected auction price was around fifteen pounds. One went for fourteen, which was as expected, but the other was subject to a bidding war and went up to thirty five! What I didn’t get was that the two bidders that pushed the price so high never appeared to look or bid on the other one at all? If it was me, and the seller had a kit I wanted that much, I would at least see if they had any other items of interest.

 

[wasdale32]

I don’t understand bidding behav on there at all. When I sold off my railway kits last year I had two copies of an OOP white metal kit up at the same time as different lots. Expected auction price was around fifteen pounds. One went for fourteen, which was as expected, but the other was subject to a bidding war and went up to thirty five! What I didn’t get was that the two bidders that pushed the price so high never appeared to look or bid on the other one at all? If it was me, and the seller had a kit I wanted that much, I would at least see if they had any other items of interest.

I wonder if people have the same suspicions that I have when seeing two ( or more ) apparently identical postings for the same item especially when it is a rare "used" item.

I guess the temptation is to follow the "busy" item.

Personally I know what I'd be happy to pay and set that as my limit - I know that I've missed some items that I really wanted by a few pence (sniped at the last second) but that's the game.

In general I'd much rather buy from my LHS (with a discount) if the price is similar to the P&P included price.

As far as P&P is concerned - I've seen items with a starting bid of £1 and P&P of £50 - I guess that it's going to be delivered by a convoy of security guards accompanied by dancing girls and a marching band.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I know what you are saying Mark, but a cursory look would have shown that the pictures were different! Still, I probably got a bit more out of it, so caveat emptor.....
I know what you mean about postage as well.....but at least I know what postage should be now I’ve sold quite a few items on there......what always irritates me is paying small parcel rate and getting the item in an envelope!

 

[PaulTRose]

In general I'd much rather buy from my LHS (with a discount) if the price is similar to the P&P included price.

i used to buy a lot of my kits on ebay.......simply cos i liked the fun of the bidding........i know what id want to pay and not go above it.......win some, lose some............i always used to like seeing what people who were within 10 miles were selling......save cash by picking up, used to pick up bundles of kits to make it worth while......obviously not been able to do that for the last 12 months!

but the one thing the last year has brought home is that i dont need to go to a shop for the run of the mill things as well

nowadays i only use ebay for the bargains that slip through and for finding the hard to find/out of production items............i now buy kits online, either from john on here or 'another well known outlet'...........as for paint and sundries, i would guess 98% has come via John in the last 12 months

its got to the point where the prices of online shops are the same as physical shops even once you have took in to account the postage........and the choice is way better online too!

I guess that it's going to be delivered by a convoy of security guards accompanied by dancing girls and a marching band.

as long as they are wearing masks and socially distancing thats perfectly fine :smiling5: :smiling5: :smiling5:

 

[stillp]

As far as P&P is concerned - I've seen items with a starting bid of £1 and P&P of £50 - I guess that it's going to be delivered by a convoy of security guards accompanied by dancing girls and a marching band.

There used to be a lot more of that, as ebay charged 10% of the sale price but not the postage. I once saw a classic vintage camera with a starting price of 1p, but postage £1000!
Pete

 

[langy71]

Had the exact same 'price bidding war scenario' recently myself,

I put a couple of Bandai Star Wars kits up for sale, (Darth Vader's TIE Fighter and a Rebel Y-Wing fighter, both in 172 scale), both were put up for what was the last known selling price was as they are both extremely rare in the uk now due to Bandai not producing any for a while..(i think it's something to do with the licensing rights given out by Disney),

anyhooo....
They were both priced between 20 and 25 pounds, cue a bidding war between two buyers, and at the end of the auction, the Y-Wing fighter went for 65 pounds and the Tie fighter went for 40 pounds... so £105.00 for two models. which originally cost just short of £45.00

 

[prichrd1]

There used to be a lot more of that, as ebay charged 10% of the sale price but not the postage.

They got wise to that after a lot of complaints - they now charge 10% commission on the postage as well.
Very annoying especially if you put in the p&p at cost - then loose the 10% - then loose PayPal fees as well.

Paul.
:smiling:

 

[Dave Ward]

They got wise to that after a lot of complaints - they now charge 10% commission on the postage as well.
Very annoying especially if you put in the p&p at cost - then loose the 10% - then loose PayPal fees as well.

Paul.
:smiling:

A physical auction house can charge a 'buyer's premium' of between 15 - 25% of the hammer price and around 2.5% for the seller, so in real terms, ebay isn't that bad. When I used to sell on ebay ( many years ago, now ), I never used a reserve - just put the starting price at that level.........
Dave

 

[GerryW]

Those of you who have a local hobby shop, I'll put the plea in to use them - the nearest to me, is now well over an hours drive away, we used to have 2 or 3 in the local town, now the only one is 3 or 4 towns away.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I use mine when it’s open, but it too sells on eBay. It is Frome model centre, and hasn’t been open much in the last twelve months. Most of what I do these days is a bit specialist (28mm gaming stuff) and not stocked in any quantity by my LHS. My purchases from the shop are usually glue, paint and thinner, but they are my first choice if I can use them. My old haunt (Salisbury) also has a good well stocked LHS, and almost all of my Vallejo paint collection (around 150 items) originally came from them. Unfortunately restocking these days means going elsewhere because I moved!

 

[Dave Ward]

My Local Hobby Shop is Antics, either in Stroud, or in Gloucester - either way, it costs me £7.20 return bus fare to visit one of them ( I don't qualify for a bus pass - yet! )., You can tell that online buying is a no brainer - added to that my limited mobility, and it's not even worth considering. I lurk on ebay, visit most of the online retailers, almost on a daily basis, and I have a lot of patience.............
Buying a 'wanted' model at a discount is part of my enjoyment, knowing that I paid below the odds just adds that final touch! :thumb2:
Dave

 

[GerryW]

Fully understand that a lot of shops have already gone - and it's easier online - I must admit that I'm guilty as anyone and do most of my 'hobby shopping' online, mainly because local shops don't stock what I want/need/use - but if I can buy local, then I will, even if it's online)
Sorry, drifting off topic.

 

[minitnkr]

Only one LHS left,12 miles away by freeway & mostly radio controlled stuff & slot cars. Search evilbay but don't find much anymore. Can't believe all the poorly executed printed stuff. PaulE