Isn't one of the main purposes of e bay to allow customers to grab a product at a bargain price? Checked whether I could buy my Alph h facial products at a cheaper cost and I was shocked when I noticed some of the products at double the cost of the product bought at a beauty salon or the exclusive Dept. Stores. I understand that sellers need to make a profit but to exploit people !!!!! Maybe I got it all wrong but please could somebody enlighten me?
Please note that I have been purchasing from e bay for a few years now at very good prices. There are sellers who want to build a clientele based on quality service. The same, unfortunately,can not be said for all.
When eBay started, it was the place of bargains. An online garage sale if you will. That is no longer the case. A lot of sellers, this is their full time job. Would you want to be paid 1/4 of your weekly wage, ao someone thinks they are getting a "bargain"? If you can buy cheaper in a local shop, do so. No one is forcing anyone to buy from eBay, or any other online market place. As a buyer, it pays to do your homework before making a purchase. Sellers are NOT exploiting buyers. If people don't do their homework before buying, that's their problem.
I lose about 20% of my selling price in fees so I would never be able to compete with bricks and mortar stores or other websites.
Some of the sellers you're referring to may have had to pay a lot more when they bought their stock.
Then there are the snobs who won't buy anything that isn't expensive, and some sellers could be catering to those customers. A lot of people don't ever seem to walk into a shop to check prices but buy almost everything online.
The main purpose of eBay is to provide a platform for sellers to sell to buyers. Nothing about 'bargains'.
As tippy said, if you can get your facial products from a B&M for less, do so. Nobody forces you to buy from anybody you don't want, regardless of how much you feel you are entitled to buy authenic stuff for way less than RRP. People who don't have access to stores that sell what you want might still find it cheaper to buy from sellers here, though.
I assume what you are talking about is a highend product. I don't feel a need to put anything other than water on my face, so I have no idea of the pros and cons of the myriad 'beauty' products out there.
The main purpose of eBay is to provide a platform for sellers to sell to buyers. Nothing about 'bargains'.
As tippy said, if you can get your facial products from a B&M for less, do so. Nobody forces you to buy from anybody you don't want, regardless of how much you feel you are entitled to buy authenic stuff for way less than RRP. People who don't have access to stores that sell what you want might still find it cheaper to buy from sellers here, though.
I assume what you are talking about is a highend product. I don't feel a need to put anything other than water on my face, so I have no idea of the pros and cons of the myriad 'beauty' products out there.
As middle aged female, that's about all that goes on my face too. Occasionally if we've had a run of really cold, snowy weather, I might slap a smidge of moisturiser on, but that's about it. It's like a $2 jar of cream from the Chemist Warehouse that lasts 10 years. I actually get offended now when people don't believe my age. Apparently I look 20 years under my age. I feel 20 years older. How dare they! I've even been accused of having botox. REALLY?
Apparently less is more when it comes to beauty products. In my case anyway.
Isn't one of the main purposes of e bay to allow customers to grab a product at a bargain price?
As has been said, eBay started out with buyers often being able to snaffle a genuine bargain. It was a community of friendly and fun interaction, and for the most part the sellers were just selling off things they had, rather than setting up an online retail business. Some of the sellers were businesses seeing a new opportunity, and the fee structure at that time, plus the lack of forced returns from buyers claiming "not as described' when it wasn't the case, enabled sellers to offer some lower prices than B&M stores were offering. (Too, it was the age before everyone was internet-savvy with buying... and eBay certainly didn't have the competition of millions of online shops, etc.)
Nowadays, the fee structure requires sellers to take into account significant fees. Sellers must also factor in losses through accident or scam, and losses for returns (with PayPal transaction costs not returned even after a cancellation). Competition has increased. Retail is down. Suppliers are selling as well, in competition with the sellers to whom they supply. It's not reasonable to expect the eBay of today to be a place where a customer can grab a product at a lower price than is available from other online sellers, or even from B&M stores. As a buyer, you should be doing your own price comparisons, and only purchasing if you're happy that you are buying a genuine product (with Australian warranty if needed for that product) from an authorised reseller at a fair price.
eBay is no longer marketing itself as a place for a bargain. It's competing with so many other online marketplaces, seller presences, stores - globally. There's a very, very strong focus in eBay - by eBay itself - on NEW items rather than bargains. We can bewail this, and the loss of so many unique items that used to be available on eBay, until the cows not only come home but also put on their pyjamas, and it won't make any difference. The current eBay has changed.
That said, you may be interested in the eBay Best Price Guarantee. I've never used it, as I always do price (and other) comparisons before buying... but it may be useful for you.
Checked whether I could buy my Alph h facial products at a cheaper cost and I was shocked when I noticed some of the products at double the cost of the product bought at a beauty salon or the exclusive Dept. Stores.
Sellers can, of course, choose to set whatever price they wish. There's certainly no obligation for an eBay seller to be the cheapest price, or even to set a reasonable price. It's caveat emptor.
Sometimes some sellers will have a price that discourages buyers... probably because they are not aware that they can set the item quantity to zero if they need to keep the sales history for that item. Or... the seller may offer additional value for money - free delivery, or extras included, or combined postage discounts, or goodness knows what else. For whatever reason it may be, the price may be higher rather than lower than the RRP.
Another thing of which to beware is the prevalence of sellers who are not authorised resellers of items. This is truly important when it comes to skincare and makeup, because you're putting the stuff in the tubes and jars ONTO YOUR SKIN - right on your face! I would not risk it, knowing that knock-offs can look and smell extremely convincing, and the seller may not even be aware that what they're selling is not genuine. If it's not genuine, there is no telling what the ingredients actually are. Forget whether or not there's any benefit in using the product; I think the real worry is what damage could be done as a result of ingredients that are not selected for the purpose of actual skincare, but merely to mimic (in the cheapest possible way) the look of the genuine product. If the ingredients are carcinogenic, the Chinese factory that made the knock-off won't care... If the ingredients irritate or cause damage, ditto.
There's Alpha-H themselves... or authorised resellers such as Sephora, Myer, Ry...
I understand that sellers need to make a profit but to exploit people !!!!! Maybe I got it all wrong but please could somebody enlighten me?
As a buyer who has internet access in order to make comparisons, you could be exploited by sellers if you allow yourself to be exploited. On eBay, just as anywhere else online, you can pay too much for something. (eBay do not police their sites for items that are priced well above RRP, or for items that are stolen, or for items that aren't genuine. They may act on reports, and of course should/do co-operate when there's a police report re stolen items, but they certainly don't cap prices for items. They are cautious about acting on reports of items that are knock-offs, unless it's a buyer producing a stat dec or a statement on letterhead by the company of the product. (Otherwise you can imagine competitors reporting each other left, right, and centre, in the fight to emerge triumphant from the Reporting Wars.) Another thing to be aware of is that reporting sellers for policy breaches when the seller is a Chinese eBay seller is by and large a waste of time, because eBay Australia hasn't any (or much) power over eBay China, and eBay China operates under Chinese law which is vastly different to ours...
You do have the tools to prevent the "paying too much" sort of exploitation, though. As I said ... comparisons... You can check prices and find the best price. A far worse exploitation (in my opinion) is the proliferation of knock-offs. As long as Australian buyers buy on the basis of the cheapest price, irrespective of any other consideration, they will be exploited by Chinese eBay sellers and by Australian eBay sellers who buy from Chinese suppliers/factories who churn out these knock-offs.
Some sellers are honest, fair, legitimate... They'll sell at a price which the market can bear, or as much as they want in the hope of one buyer coming along and purchasing (especially for rare or hard-to-find items), and there will also be those who aren't honest, fair or legitimate, who will set a price that is designed to lure buyers. The buyer is always best off doing some checking before buying - check the country of registration of the eBay seller, check the negatives, check the feedback percentage, etc.
Please note that I have been purchasing from e bay for a few years now at very good prices. There are sellers who want to build a clientele based on quality service. The same, unfortunately,can not be said for all.
If by "very good prices" you mean "well below RRP", I hope that is true for you, but the possibility exists that you've been buying non-genuine items at well below RRP - because genuine items cannot possibly be obtained by eBay sellers at a better supplier-issued discount than, let's say, a major retailer such as David Jones whose bargaining power with suppliers is so much more potent than an eBay seller. Yes, there ARE some sellers who can give excellent prices. I often purchase from Peter's of Kensington, for instance - very good prices, entirely genuine products - but their price is often matched by some other stores, and it's not so completely ridiculous that the price could not give at least some profit margin for them. I hold it to be my responsibility to gauge a seller's trustworthiness.
For preference, I want to buy from Australian (authorised) sellers; it benefits me (genuine warranty, buyer protection under Australian Consumer Legislation, no need to post item overseas for warranty claim or repairs) and it benefits Australian sellers. I've frequently passed over an item listed on eBay at quite a lower price than others, out of my suspicion that the product is not genuine, the seller is not authorised, and I'd simply be making a mug of myself to buy that product from that seller.
In summary for this point - a good price? Yes. A ludicrously good price? My spidey senses tingle and I'm extra-cautious in checking all the details, with the usual result being... no. No sale. Not for me.
Could anybody out there "please explain ?"
I hope that at least I've given you some food for thought.
I assume what you are talking about is a highend product. I don't feel a need to put anything other than water on my face, so I have no idea of the pros and cons of the myriad 'beauty' products out there.
As middle aged female, that's about all that goes on my face too. Occasionally if we've had a run of really cold, snowy weather, I might slap a smidge of moisturiser on, but that's about it. It's like a $2 jar of cream from the Chemist Warehouse that lasts 10 years. I actually get offended now when people don't believe my age. Apparently I look 20 years under my age. I feel 20 years older. How dare they! I've even been accused of having botox. REALLY?
Apparently less is more when it comes to beauty products. In my case anyway.
And you too! This water stuff - I must get hold of some!
I think one of the best ways to preserve good skin and look as good as one can is to stay out of the sun. There's no doubt that it also helps when one eats healthily, gets enough sleep, and - if using any skincare products - makes sure that the ingredients are not harmful to the skin. I have the perfect excuse to stay out of the sun; I have either Type I or Type II skin (very fair skin, a testament to my European DNA) and I don't tan, hence I have no temptation to bask in the sun and turn my face into creased leather! I'd just turn red and blotchy and become very irritated and weepy and curse Coco Chanel for ever popularising the tanned look.
I make a point of never wearing a hat when I'm outside so that I can get as much benefit from the sun as possible. Apart from water, I might use my home-made castile soap on my face occasionally, but absolutely nothing else. People are so indoctrinated with the "must use moisturiser" that I used to get told I should use it even on an oily skin, but I've never used it all my life. I honestly don't know why people get so obsessed about their appearance - you could scrape the muck off some people's faces with a pitchfork but it does absolutely nothing to enhance their looks.
The main purpose of eBay is to provide a platform for sellers to sell to buyers. Nothing about 'bargains'.
As tippy said, if you can get your facial products from a B&M for less, do so. Nobody forces you to buy from anybody you don't want, regardless of how much you feel you are entitled to buy authenic stuff for way less than RRP. People who don't have access to stores that sell what you want might still find it cheaper to buy from sellers here, though.
I assume what you are talking about is a highend product. I don't feel a need to put anything other than water on my face, so I have no idea of the pros and cons of the myriad 'beauty' products out there.
As middle aged female, that's about all that goes on my face too. Occasionally if we've had a run of really cold, snowy weather, I might slap a smidge of moisturiser on, but that's about it. It's like a $2 jar of cream from the Chemist Warehouse that lasts 10 years. I actually get offended now when people don't believe my age. Apparently I look 20 years under my age. I feel 20 years older. How dare they! I've even been accused of having botox. REALLY?
Apparently less is more when it comes to beauty products. In my case anyway.
I have seen your face and it doesn't look like you have had botox done.
and it doesn't look like you have had botox done.
