on 25-06-2012 10:06 PM
Has anyone else noticed how items on Ebay appear to be getting more expensive these days. I think a lot of sellers now have an over-inflated sense of value of the items they are trying to sell. Its almost at the point where its cheaper, if not the same price, to buy it from a main stream shop nowadays.
22-02-2020 09:47 PM - edited 22-02-2020 09:48 PM
@springyzone wrote:
@4channel wrote:
@springyzone wrote:
The woolies price wouldn't have included home delivery though.
And you would have to bring your own bag to carry it home, no wrapping of any kind included either.
What possessed you to buy Glen 20 as a one off from ebay anyway?
I could understand buying it as part of an online grocery purchase from some place like Catch of the Day, but even there, postage would not be free for one small item.
Realistically, it is always going to add on to the cost if something has to be posted out and it is always going to take a few days to get to you. The convenience might be worth it, but usually you'd be better off popping into a supermarket if you're after very small things.
You need to realise sometimes supermarkets & big stores can negotiate extra special prices on some items because they buy in bulk, and sometimes they will sell something at cost price or lower. Sometimes they can sell things cheaper than smaller retailers can get it for at trade price.
Prices vary on these sorts of things from week to week and shop to shop. There's no guarantee ebay will always be the cheapest.
You bought, you paid, you got what you ordered. Not entitled to a refund in my book.
Yeah, I'd never buy something like Glen 20 on ebay.
Perhaps then a positive feedback would be warranted with "Seller came through but bit expensive". Actually without seeing the auction and having second thoughts. Maybe just move on and put it down to experience.
Then again, the seller is selling everyday stuff on ebay. If doing it often, they should think about naiive punters falling into a trap.
Actually, 4channel, I think that feedback would be fine. I know i am going against the tide there.
But lots of buyers make comments like that in feedback and yes, I know, before people here give me a clip around the ears,
I do agree buyers should do a bit of research before buying things.
If the normal price is around $8 then $15 isn't actually too bad with delivery.
But a comment such as 'but a bit expensive' does tip off other buyers to do their homework. The first bit 'seller came through' would alert me to the fact it was a reliable seller and that's the main thing. Then I could decide if the extra cost was worth the convenience.
I personally love specific feedback like at, as opposed to vague comments such as 'ok' or 'terrible'.
Buyers can see it's a bit expensive just by looking at the listing. If they don't see it, it's not the seller's fault. All the seller is doing is offering a product at the same price it can be bought for in a store, but with the added convenience (and cost) of delivery.
As for saying "but the seller came through", I ask what did the seller come through on? To me that phrase sounds like the seller fixed their mistake, yet they never made one to fix. That sort of phrase is like waving a red flag so scammers know they can buy and then complain about the price and get a partial refund.
As far as I'm concerned the seller fulfilled their end of the bargain. They sent exactly what was advertised and presumably in a timely manner (can't be re-reading to check on that point). How can they deserve anything but positive when they did exactly what they were supposed to??
on 22-02-2020 10:21 PM
@brerrabbit585 wrote:
@springyzone wrote:
@4channel wrote:
@springyzone wrote:
The woolies price wouldn't have included home delivery though.
And you would have to bring your own bag to carry it home, no wrapping of any kind included either.
What possessed you to buy Glen 20 as a one off from ebay anyway?
I could understand buying it as part of an online grocery purchase from some place like Catch of the Day, but even there, postage would not be free for one small item.
Realistically, it is always going to add on to the cost if something has to be posted out and it is always going to take a few days to get to you. The convenience might be worth it, but usually you'd be better off popping into a supermarket if you're after very small things.
You need to realise sometimes supermarkets & big stores can negotiate extra special prices on some items because they buy in bulk, and sometimes they will sell something at cost price or lower. Sometimes they can sell things cheaper than smaller retailers can get it for at trade price.
Prices vary on these sorts of things from week to week and shop to shop. There's no guarantee ebay will always be the cheapest.
You bought, you paid, you got what you ordered. Not entitled to a refund in my book.
Yeah, I'd never buy something like Glen 20 on ebay.
Perhaps then a positive feedback would be warranted with "Seller came through but bit expensive". Actually without seeing the auction and having second thoughts. Maybe just move on and put it down to experience.
Then again, the seller is selling everyday stuff on ebay. If doing it often, they should think about naiive punters falling into a trap.
Actually, 4channel, I think that feedback would be fine. I know i am going against the tide there.
But lots of buyers make comments like that in feedback and yes, I know, before people here give me a clip around the ears,
I do agree buyers should do a bit of research before buying things.
If the normal price is around $8 then $15 isn't actually too bad with delivery.
But a comment such as 'but a bit expensive' does tip off other buyers to do their homework. The first bit 'seller came through' would alert me to the fact it was a reliable seller and that's the main thing. Then I could decide if the extra cost was worth the convenience.
I personally love specific feedback like at, as opposed to vague comments such as 'ok' or 'terrible'.
Buyers can see it's a bit expensive just by looking at the listing. If they don't see it, it's not the seller's fault. All the seller is doing is offering a product at the same price it can be bought for in a store, but with the added convenience (and cost) of delivery.
As for saying "but the seller came through", I ask what did the seller come through on? To me that phrase sounds like the seller fixed their mistake, yet they never made one to fix. That sort of phrase is like waving a red flag so scammers know they can buy and then complain about the price and get a partial refund.
As far as I'm concerned the seller fulfilled their end of the bargain. They sent exactly what was advertised and presumably in a timely manner (can't be re-reading to check on that point). How can they deserve anything but positive when they did exactly what they were supposed to??
Yes. The convenience of buying online and associated delivery cost is the key point in your comment. The seller simply offered a product for the buyer to purchase from the comfort of their home. If they have the ability to make a purchase online, then surely they have the ability to research prices and make an informed decision before purchasing.
Interesting your take on how that feedback might be perceived by buyers. It could very well be seen as a red flag which I agree would be unfair
on 22-02-2020 10:30 PM
To add to my last comment, I've seen feedback comments where the buyer complains about the item being a bit pricey but if they didn't like the price, why did they buy it?
I rarely ever buy online because I have to be very frugal to support myself. Plenty of stuff I would love to buy but postage always kills it for me. Shame but the flip side of that is if our postage was cheaper, we'd probably raise our prices anyway 😁😎
on 22-02-2020 11:17 PM
on 23-02-2020 12:18 AM
@brerrabbit585 wrote:
I buy very little online now but there's very little online that I want or need, and I bought most things when the exchange rate was much better than it is now.
I was looking at an old pp receipt yesterday and the exchange rate was $1 AU to $1.04 US. I can remember when I bought all my stock that I thought things were getting bad if the exchange went up (down?) to $1.20 US. It got a lot worse just after I stopped buying.
I don't know what the US exchange used to be before I joined ebay in early 2004 but I remember when I went to England in about 1998 the exchange rate plummeted just before I got there and it took over $3 AU to get 1 gbp. It seems bad enough at the moment at 2:1 but 3:1 was a lot worse. I think I was lucky and bought everything at exactly the right time!
The sort of things I buy in Australia can be posted as fairly cheap large letters but a lot of sellers insist on using satchels and I refuse to pay it, but I don't want their stuff that bad anyway so it's a good deterrent.
Yes shocking how bad the US exchange rate is atm. I bought an old toy today, bit rare, finally found one listed in the US for about $55 their money but was shocked when I saw the conversion to AUD at $83! Wow! You absolutely timed it right. I remember when it was pretty well dollar for dollar. I bought quite a lot of stuff from there at the time just prior to becoming a seller, buying toys I had as a child that I couldn't find here. I got a little carried away though and bought a heap of coca cola stuff shortly after. That was a big shipment lol but the exchange rate wasn't too bad at that time. They have some cool stuff for sale in the auction houses over there
on 23-02-2020 08:11 AM
The Australian dollar is performing as well (in terms of currency exchange rate) as a disease-riddled rent boy. (I watched Maigret in Montmartre last night, hence the comparison that sprang to mind. Rowan Atkinson does a wonderful job with the character. My favourite Maigret is still Bruno Cremer, )
Yet there are things from overseas which are quite high on my wish-list. Australia is still disadvantaged when it comes to specific items or variations or colours or functions or models within certain brands. I would like to see that changed, but in some instances it's unlikely to.
on 23-02-2020 09:31 AM
@brerrabbit585 wrote:Buyers can see it's a bit expensive just by looking at the listing. If they don't see it, it's not the seller's fault. All the seller is doing is offering a product at the same price it can be bought for in a store, but with the added convenience (and cost) of delivery.
As for saying "but the seller came through", I ask what did the seller come through on? To me that phrase sounds like the seller fixed their mistake, yet they never made one to fix. That sort of phrase is like waving a red flag so scammers know they can buy and then complain about the price and get a partial refund.
As far as I'm concerned the seller fulfilled their end of the bargain. They sent exactly what was advertised and presumably in a timely manner (can't be re-reading to check on that point). How can they deserve anything but positive when they did exactly what they were supposed to??
I wasn't suggesting anything other than positive feedback. I agree, the seller fulfilled his part of the transaction.
I was just saying that the feedback comment 4channel offered was actually pretty specific, which is what i like.
Seller came through-I just took it to mean the seller sent the item okay, I never thought of it in relation to scammers etc but if it is a bit iffy, then maybe the FB could instead say 'reliable seller, item was a bit expensive' if that is how the buyer perceived the transaction.
Being a positive feedback, it would probably not affect the seller too badly and would have limited exposure, probably only to the next few who happened to buy and check out feedback first. Then it would travel down the page.
It is neutrals & negs that last the distance because (if you're anything like me) they are the first ones I check out.
I think there's an elephant in the room though. I'm seeing a lot of people who are saying that a buyer should not agree to buy something if they are not happy with the price & that they are agreeing with a price when they buy.
I'm not so sure that is true. I agree with the sentiment-that by rights, buyers should only buy if they are happy & prepared to pay that.
But in real life (on ebay & elsewhere) I don't think it works like that.
I think quite a lot of people want something but maybe there is some reason they can't shop around or delay too long or maybe there just aren't many of whatever they want on sale-but whatever, they buy but sometimes even at the time feel resentful a little bit.
To give an extreme example (and I am not suggesting this case is anything like this-but just as an illustration), during the bushfires, there was a photo on the internet of a service station charging a small fortune for bottled water. I have no doubt the person posting it wanted the water and possibly bought a bottle or two, but they still felt a bit ripped off, even though they 'agreed' to pay the price and no one was twisting their arm etc
The comment 'a bit expensive' is subjective, but then again, most feedback is. As a buyer myself, if i read it, it wouldn't necessarily turn me off buying something, I'd just double check that the item I was getting seemed okay.
on 15-03-2020 05:54 PM
Glen20 was $5 on special at Coles just before the bug!
Then $8 everywhere.
Now, none on the shelves, that capitalism!
on 15-03-2020 06:00 PM
Nope, just "supply and demand"......................
on 16-03-2020 12:32 PM
Things are not only getting more expensive on eBay from a few sellers upping the prices, I've found in the last few days a bigger issue is the value of the Oz dollar going down.
I buy some collectables and craft items from overseas (I wish I could find them in Oz...believe me) and the cost of items are going up several times a day it seems against overseas currencies. It's crazy and getting too expensive for me to buy right now.