Who are these Hams who pay way too much on Ebay?

[zz0468]

You're missing the part where all the gear we're talking about in this thread is available from 20 different retailers BRAND NEW for less than these auctions and sales. That's not market demand, that's people being stupid.

I'm not missing anything. If someone is willing to pay a high price then, by definition, that IS what the market will bear... At least on that one sale.

 

[wbswetnam]

I've noticed allot is from this zombie prep folks who know nothing about radios and want it incase etc etc. It's insane. I guarantee majority don't have ham tickets. If they do someone must have took the test for them. I noticed they throw in prep or shtf etc you get that paranoid crowd In fantasy land. Granted it's ok to be ready for certain circumstances but these people don't prep for that they prep for the tv land never to happen. They drive up the pricing by buying at outrageous prices making a seller say hey I can make my quick buck. It's gotten to point in some areas it's cheaper to buy from the oem vendors or businesses rather then used. I've seen it with /\/\ stuff also. It's getting ridiculous.

Ahhh thanks! Now I know what keywords to put in my ad next week when I sell my Icom R20 handheld DC-to-daylight radio... SHTF ultimate radio for any prepper! Only $700!!! Buy now before the FEMA goons get it and confiscate tomorrow! Defend your rights to monitor the government! Buy this indispensable monitoring tool before they are outlawed! etc etc (snicker snicker)

 

[mfn002]

Uh-oh. It does say CCI on it, but every single LST5 I've seen listed over the years has the same thing. It seems to only have about half of the available channel groups activated on it, and it looks in awfully good condition (very few paint scratches, etc.). I have no idea where the seller got it from, but I think it's the same place people are getting those LST5s and other more modern military radios from.

 

[AC2OY]

We tristate guys or northern New Jersey guys are very fortunate to have Jene at KJI Electronics. I just bought a entire station a few weeks back and he was very reasonable. I'm quite sure that's why he is in business so long. He even came to my QTH to advise me of antenna placement and coax length....ect. How cool is that?! If he wasn't open for business the day I'm going to have my club have my antenna party I'm going to ask him if he wants to stop by and have lunch with us!! My radio will be in Monday im beyond excited to finally have a HF rig and try to work some DX,!!

 

[dave6890]

I'm not sure if anyone else brought this up but most for-profit (business) sellers include the eBay and PayPal fee into the price. You will find better stuff than on Amazon though, especially with Baofeng and homebrew stuff that experienced Hams build and sell (lots of J-poles in this arena).

Now there are some cases where Hams are cleaning up their shack and they list some of their gear on eBay. Then they go and tell their friends and stuff who will likely bid on it and pay more because it's a friend. I've seen this happen with graded coins as well.

There are other cases where you get what my uncle would call, "stupid people paying stupid premiums for stupid reasons." In any regard, it's your money. How you spend it or what you spend it on is not my concern. From the point of view of a seller (I have been selling on eBay for over 6 years), if you don't like my prices, you are free to shop elsewhere.

 

[dave6890]

I'm happy to say that these 'fools' on eBay permit me
to sell my 3-5 year old well used ham rigs for +/- 80% of what
I paid and use that cash and a very little more out of pocket
to keep myself in state of the art rigs for a pittance.

Thanks to the 'fools'.
There's no shortage of you.
God bless America and capitalism.

Have you ever stopped to think about the buyers who will pay more for a used quality rig because it is still cheaper than buying a brand new rig? If all you are looking for is a dual band mobile with no frills or digital this and that, eBay is one of the few places where you might find one. Retail stores rarely carry 10 year old rigs, pawn shops are a hit or miss. I like collecting milsurp and civil defense comms gear and eBay is one of the few places where I can buy an entire spool of Field Phone cable and two working Field Phones.

It has nothing to do with people being fools.

 

[hotdjdave]

if you don't like my prices, you are free to shop elsewhere.

I'm not saying you do this, but I hate it when I see someone selling something for an absurdly high price. For example, an item that everyone is selling in the $149.00 price range, and some yahoo is listing the exact same item for $239.00. It irks me so bad that sometimes I email the jerk and ask why (of course, with an innocent sounding question).

 

[XTS3000]

I'm not saying you do this, but I hate it when I see someone selling something for an absurdly high price. For example, an item that everyone is selling in the $149.00 price range, and some yahoo is listing the exact same item for $239.00. It irks me so bad that sometimes I email the jerk and ask why (of course, with an innocent sounding question).

Why get irked/mad when someone sells an item above what most others sell them for? It's a free country and if someone wants to pay more for an item, let them. The higher price may include additional services, free overnight shipping, programming, better return policy, etc.

Do you get mad and yell at the gas station attendant because they are selling a gallon of milk for $3.99, while the grocery store down the street sells it for $2.99?

I needed a big tree cut down, got 3 estimates and went with the company with the highest price because they had better references, others recommended them. The 2 others seemed like amateurs with little experience.

I listed an xts5000 on eBay, starting bid was $0.99. This radio got bid up to well over $800 before the auction ended. Other identical XTS5000's were selling for $500-$600 BIN. If someone can get more money for an item, does that make them bad or a criminal? I put extra work into my ebay auction, making it look professional, good photos, and very detailed information about my xts5000. Extra work was rewarded by getting more cash for my item. The buyer was happy, I was happy so it was a win-win situation.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Have you ever stopped to think about the buyers who will pay more for a used quality rig because it is still cheaper than buying a brand new rig?

How do you figure? Most of the 'used quality' rigs are still not nearly as quality as my V71. Heck I can not think of an older rig I would replace my V71 with. Anything older won't have DCS, and usually does not have much for memories(I have over 400 channels programmed in mine), usually does not do alpha display. Not to mention PL decode was almost always an option.

I bought my TM-V71a for about C$450 all in, this included taxes and shipping a few years ago. I just checked ebay, and found it average, about C$530 shipping NOT included... Radio World is selling NEW for C$420 plus shipping.

Only ONE was showing under C$500 and it was an auction, used, for C$433.xx with 10 bids and 2 days 12hours remaining.

If all you are looking for is a dual band mobile with no frills or digital this and that, eBay is one of the few places where you might find one. Retail stores rarely carry 10 year old rigs, pawn shops are a hit or miss.

My V71 is pretty no frills. My LMR a gear has better features, and a better receiver, but I like being able to monitor 2 different frequencies at a time. The V71 does not do digital voice, and aside the 'packet' port is not a 'digital this and digital that' radio. A radio I can buy NEW IN THE BOX, SHIPPED a to my door for significantly less than I can find it on ebay.

I like collecting milsurp and civil defense comms gear and eBay is one of the few places where I can buy an entire spool of Field Phone cable and two working Field Phones.

Yup, ebay can be a good place to go to buy things. No argument from me. But bidding up a POS single band TX dual band receive radio, from 1996 that was an utter failure in the ham market, to twice its NIB price is parting a fool and his money.

It has nothing to do with people being fools.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha I guess, just some old timer re-living his past, and the 'gotta win' attitude. Makes me wish I had a bunch of POS radios from 1996-2000 to dump on ebay, and make my retirement nest egg with.


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[N4KVE]

Then they go and tell their friends and stuff who will likely bid on it and pay more because it's a friend. I've seen this happen with graded coins as well.

I find this humorous. Friends don't charge friends more, they charge them less because they're friends. I mean seriously, if you were going to put an item on E-bay for $100, but a local friend offered you $80, you'd say no & want $120 because he's a friend. I don't think so. LOL.

 

[SCPD]

Aside from 2 ways over priced I noticed cell devices are also being upped beyond the reasonable cost even defective equipment on some sellers. When I asked why the reply by several was you cam buy parts and restore it to used like new with resale of full value. I disagree with that but hey each his own and some people are fine with garage work I guess Paying full price or over price. I have noticed allot of cell phones brand Name from China for 100 bucks or so looking new And inland sellers buying and reselling at over price or full retail such as note 4s. Only thing is the internals are different to the capability of what band. I avoid those.

 

[mikepdx]

I wonder if they are having a similar conversation
in Korea and China...

- Can you believe we make those smartphones
for $15US and those suckers in the US line up
in droves to buy them for hundreds of dollars?

There's one born every minute.

 

[dave6890]

I find this humorous. Friends don't charge friends more, they charge them less because they're friends. I mean seriously, if you were going to put an item on E-bay for $100, but a local friend offered you $80, you'd say no & want $120 because he's a friend. I don't think so. LOL.

Well yea, it's dumb overall. I wouldn't pay more for something that there are truckloads of. Sure there are some radios that are more sought after than others but if you are willing to pay double or triple just because your buddy is the one selling it.......Nonsensical.

 

[dave6890]

How do you figure? Most of the 'used quality' rigs are still not nearly as quality as my V71. Heck I can not think of an older rig I would replace my V71 with. Anything older won't have DCS, and usually does not have much for memories(I have over 400 channels programmed in mine), usually does not do alpha display. Not to mention PL decode was almost always an option.

I bought my TM-V71a for about C$450 all in, this included taxes and shipping a few years ago. I just checked ebay, and found it average, about C$530 shipping NOT included... Radio World is selling NEW for C$420 plus shipping.

Only ONE was showing under C$500 and it was an auction, used, for C$433.xx with 10 bids and 2 days 12hours remaining.



My V71 is pretty no frills. My LMR a gear has better features, and a better receiver, but I like being able to monitor 2 different frequencies at a time. The V71 does not do digital voice, and aside the 'packet' port is not a 'digital this and digital that' radio. A radio I can buy NEW IN THE BOX, SHIPPED a to my door for significantly less than I can find it on ebay.



Yup, ebay can be a good place to go to buy things. No argument from me. But bidding up a POS single band TX dual band receive radio, from 1996 that was an utter failure in the ham market, to twice its NIB price is parting a fool and his money.



Hahahahahahahahahahaha I guess, just some old timer re-living his past, and the 'gotta win' attitude. Makes me wish I had a bunch of POS radios from 1996-2000 to dump on ebay, and make my retirement nest egg with.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Seems like you're taking this a bit personal. It is as simple as this: If other people want to waste their money, it's their funeral.

Maybe I just spend more time browsing eBay for stuff to buy and not to see what absurd prices people are paying for vintage stuff for their shack. I wonder...If money wasters on eBay drive you so crazy, do you have seizures over those pictures of cars like this one?:

 

[dave6890]

I'm not saying you do this, but I hate it when I see someone selling something for an absurdly high price. For example, an item that everyone is selling in the $149.00 price range, and some yahoo is listing the exact same item for $239.00. It irks me so bad that sometimes I email the jerk and ask why (of course, with an innocent sounding question).

No, I don't do that. My prices are generally competitive. I don't sell electronics on eBay either. I've seen guys selling Baofeng UV-5R's for $40..scroll down and some seller has the same radio at $180.00. Might be a typo but I hope nobody pays $180 for a UV-5R.

I've emailed sellers as to why they are asking $300 for a $100 item and usually their response it to piss off if you wont bid. I've gotten similar messages as well but it was when I had a $480 item for $500. I explained to the person that eBay takes $50 (I don't recall what PayPal's cut was) and I needed to sell it at $500 so that I could make a profit instead of taking a loss. BTW, I was selling a 1800s gold coin that would have been worth $650 if the price of gold hadn't fallen below $1,500.

 

[TheSpaceMann]

Got a friend who rarely makes an issue over price. The fact that he has a net worth of over $20 Million, just might have something to do with it! These are the kind of buyers that those sellers just love to deal with.

 

[N4KVE]

Got a friend who rarely makes an issue over price. The fact that he has a net worth of over $20 Million, just might have something to do with it! These are the kind of buyers that those sellers just love to deal with.

Don't laugh, but those are the people who are the tightest with their money.

 

[Jimru]

Basically, I agree with the folks here that say: "it's their money, their problem". The fact that the prepper types don't do any research and buy radio items strictly based on their fears of an apocalypse is, again, THEIR problem. I don't fault the sellers. It's not as if they are committing fraud!
If ever the preppers start realizing that they are grossly overpaying, then the sellers will adjust their prices accordingly.
Yes, it does drive prices up on some items, but that's life.

 

[dave6890]

Basically, I agree with the folks here that say: "it's their money, their problem". The fact that the prepper types don't do any research and buy radio items strictly based on their fears of an apocalypse is, again, THEIR problem. I don't fault the sellers. It's not as if they are committing fraud!
If ever the preppers start realizing that they are grossly overpaying, then the sellers will adjust their prices accordingly.
Yes, it does drive prices up on some items, but that's life.

You really shouldn't generalize like that. As a "Prepper" and someone who teaches Urban, Woodland and watercraft survival, there are plenty of Preppers who do their research before they buy something. There are also plenty of Gear Whores who don't care about price, if they want it, they'll buy it even if it is totally irrational to do so. Heck if more Preppers did their research, they would buy gear from my website instead of the other guys because I have cheaper shipping and more times than not, cheaper prices.

I've done over 30 videos and articles on radios like the Baofeng UV-5r, Icom 2300H and scanners like the Uniden BC355N, RS Pro-164, Pro-651 and others. Combined they have over 80,000 views/reads. Most of my viewers/readers fall into the category of Preppers. Are there Preppers who will pay too much for something? Absolutely; but not all Preppers do.

 

[hotdjdave]

Why get irked/mad when someone sells an item above what most others sell them for? It's a free country and if someone wants to pay more for an item, let them.

Because the one selling it for higher (starting off higher) is a jerk for doing so.

The higher price may include additional services, free overnight shipping, programming, better return policy, etc.

I'm talking about the exact same item. Of course, if an item is better or has additional items (accessories), then the price would be higher.

Do you get mad and yell at the gas station attendant because they are selling a gallon of milk for $3.99, while the grocery store down the street sells it for $2.99?

Yep. And I tell them so (or to tell their owner that customers are unsatisfied about the prices).

I needed a big tree cut down, got 3 estimates and went with the company with the highest price because they had better references, others recommended them. The 2 others seemed like amateurs with little experience.

Services are different than products (particularly those that are exactly the same). The service you received may have actually been better than the others; at least you perceived they were, so you were willing to pay a higher price -- that is normal.[/QUOTE]

I listed an xts5000 on eBay, starting bid was $0.99. This radio got bid up to well over $800 before the auction ended. Other identical XTS5000's were selling for $500-$600 BIN. If someone can get more money for an item, does that make them bad or a criminal? I put extra work into my ebay auction, making it look professional, good photos, and very detailed information about my xts5000. Extra work was rewarded by getting more cash for my item. The buyer was happy, I was happy so it was a win-win situation.

Auction tems for bid are different than "Pay Now" bids or bids starting higher than the item normally cost in the first place. If the auction goes higher, that is a result of the buyers making it higher, not the selling starting off too high in the first place.

Sellers who start their item (equal in all forms to the others being sold for the same price) for sale higher than what they normally selling for are just jerks and gouging, and probably taking advantage of not-so-savvy buyers. I know it's supposed to be caveat emptor or "Buyer Beware," but when sellers take advantage, it's just wrong and bad form. I have often seen items selling a certain price and a selling listing the exact same item for three times the price (example: a $400 item for sale for $1200.00 - why?).

I don't agree.