Searching Cheapest Prices.

[wan303win]

I've dealt as both buyer & seller on ebay since almost its inception.

Ebay was, earlier on, a lot like Gumtree is now, in so much as it was a great place to sell off unwanted items around the house, & buy at a very competitive price when you wanted a particular item.

As time went on ebay became a venue for people who wished to run a high volume sales set-up from home. This in turn was upsetting to big business (Hardly Normal & their ilk), as ebay sellers were not burdened by having to allow for overheads on the final sale such as paying staff, warehouse rental etc. So some of these firms began selling on ebay also, however, ebay was still a great place to get a good price. 

I've found in recent months that if I research a particular item on ebay, get the best price available, then go to the store, haggle, and offer cash settlement, that the price will be better than available on ebay. Having to attend the store is no more a hassle than having to attend the post office. Perhaps this has a bearing on why some sellers are complaining about fewer sales nowadays.

Some of ebay's policies don't help either.

Just my thoughts on this matter. 

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

"Ebay was, earlier on, a lot like Gumtree is now, in so much as it was a great place to sell off unwanted items around the house..."

And still is - if you're selling second-hand items, eBay pretty much still works better than the alternatives (Gumtree, Facebook, etc). 

If you're selling brand-new items (and especially higher dollar ones), yes, eBay's pretty much gone to **bleep** with the entry of bigger players, and the now-obligatory Chinese dump-and-run merchants.. 

[digital*ghost]

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@wan303win wrote:

While accepting your comment, (I was in business for almost 40 years, so I understand your point,) I make the following clarifercation of my point. If you make something and nobody wants it, it's no use claiming how much it owes you. If there's no buyer, your item is worthless no matter how much time and materials you put into it. This is why I say that in the final analysis, the buyer will always determine the value of your item/s. You can't always expect to find a "sucker", as many sellers on ebay do. 

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I also understand your point, but we obviously have very different ways of looking at the same scenario.

Your approach can certainly hold true in a lot of cases, but if I make something and no one buys it, most of the time that doesn't mean it's worthless, it just means I haven't done my job properly, in one way or another (more specifically, conveying the value I've put on it). I know this because lowering prices isn't a good enough method to sell items that aren't moving, in fact through all of the times I've attempted that on my own work, it's failed miserably. Marketing the item differently, at the same (and in some cases, higher) prices, has a much better success rate for me, and I don't feel my buyers are suckers for seeing the same value in my items that I do (I know you weren't specifically suggesting that they were, but I felt like saying that none the less 🙂 ). 

[4946marks]

Not anymore all owned by JB HI-FI Home

[lyndal1838]

JB HiFi took over the Muir family holdings....the business is still running with the individual franchisees running their own stores.

[davewil1964]

My recent research showed the same price here as their website for a $300 item.

The only problem here was a $70 delivery charge (no pickup option available) which more than covered the available discount.

Plus I'm not prepared to take several hours off work waiting for a delivery when I can pick it up at the store at my own convenience.

[lyndal1838]

Was it a very large item Dave?

My GG purchases have been a 22" TV, an Easy Cook portable cooker and several DVDs.  They all had $10 postage but where there was a pick up option we used it.

As I was saving $100+ because of the ebay discounts I felt $10 was very reasonable postage.

I must admit it might have been more of a problem is I was not home all day......I am the delivery point for family members as well as a couple of friends/neighbours who work full time.

[davewil1964]

It was a fridge