I think a lot of people who used to do their scamming on Ebay have moved over to Craigslist, which is real shame.
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EBay - Anyone Else Notice This?
- Thread starter Illbay
- Start date
I think a lot of people who used to do their scamming on Ebay have moved over to Craigslist, which is real shame.
CraigsList has gotten all crazy now and requires you give up all this personal information (like a verified phone number) and establish a "personal account" before you can even sell a $12 stomp.
Screw that. No way. This is not for anyone's "protection," as Craigslist doesn't provide any.
It's a local, face-to-face sale. The newspaper classified ads don't require that information, the local advertiser mailers don't require that information...and no, it has nothing to do with CraigsList's big prostitution flap, either.
What kind of datamining is CraigsList conducting? This is obviously a marketable database.
Overnight, this policy killed about 80% of the musical instrument ads.
Really? I've listed stuff lately on Craigslist and was never asked to set up an account. This must be something really new.
I agree, I used to be able to get Blurays for around £4 which is something like 6 or 7 bucks. Now they are nowhere to be found.
It also appears localized.
I think it started about six months ago here, and the categories to which it applied seemed to be pretty arbitrary. I couldn't list some effect I wanted to sell without it, though.
It was really a hassle, too, compared to placing an ad before. You had to have your phone number verified by some mechanism or other, etc. At that point, I said screw it and quit.
I haven't looked lately and they may have stopped doing it, but the chilling effect on the number of ads has remained in any case.
I find enough deals from private sellers, but you do have to hunt. And as far as getting a good deal, I think the sellers have been educated now that e-bay has aged and real steals are few and far between. What gets me is the guys on Craigs List that want more for practically and in some cases the same bass! Than the guys on E-Bay.
I usually stay away from ebay when it comes to buying basses or amps. I may shop for effects but usually the bigger ticket items just aren't worth the money vs. buying them from an actual dealer's website. If I'm going to buy a bass without seeing it first (used of course) I'll just check out the TB classifieds since I'll more than likely get an awesome deal, the communication will be much better, and the person on the other end will probably be able to answer questions that I have a lot better than someone just trying to sell something since that person has experience with that bass.
Same here, I sell computer parts every week and have never been asked for a phone number etc...
I would never buy used from an eBay private party again. I never, ever bought anything that wasn't substantially misrepresented -- some ineptly concealed flaw that wasn't supposed to be there or a faked-up "factory sealed package" containing obviously used equipment, etc., etc., etc., etc.
Eventually I got fed up with that half-bright grifter nonsense.
Most recreational buyers aren't perceptive enough to recognize this and they all bawl about their "awesome" deals, but on close inspection, I simply don't see it. They just don't know what they're doing.
I do buy from the eBay "stores" as they are accountable for their actions and don't typically deal in much used stuff. You can get some great deals -- like the recent jaw-dropping prices on those SWR pro amp blowouts.
Where are you? I'm in NorCal.
As I said, it was apparently localized. When it first happened, I was in discussions with other people griping about it while CraigsList users someplace else didn't have to go through it.
I never tried to sell in those categories, so I don't know if computer gear was affected here, but I would think so.
The final value fees have become absolutely ridiculous. Selling a somewhat expensive item on ebay will break the bank. It's become a better buyer's market than sellers market.
The key to getting an awesome deal is to know EXACTLY what you want to buy before you go looking. That way you're aware of the prices on ebay, MF, GC, etc. before you go hunting in the classifieds. The more you can eliminate the middle man mark up, the better IME.
Tru Dat.
The first instrument I ever bought from eBay, back in '98 or so, was my fretless Fender Jazz. I didn't pay attention to what I was doing, just thought "$670! What a steal!"
Of course, once I got it I noticed the "Made in Mexico" sticker. Yes, the guy was legit; he stated that it was "MIM" (though in the fine print, as it were). My "great deal" turned out to be buying a used bass for pretty close to what a new one cost. (FWIW, it has been a GREAT instrument for all that, and I've compared it to many a MIA bass. I really can't find anything wrong with it other than the word "Mexico," so at least there's that).
So that taught me the lesson, and I've not been ripped off since. And maybe I've just become MORE cautious as time has gone on. It just SEEMS like the "great deals" aren't there any longer. The last "great deal on a bass" I got was from TB, the Alemibic I bought from "Climb." That was a win-win deal, I thought.
Maybe, but it's more important to know what you actually bought once you got it.
That's where most buyers fall down. I can't believe some of the imagined "great deals" people brag about here and on other fora.
It's almost impossible to get a significantly good eBay deal (which I define as a price low enough that I can flip the gear at a profit when I'm bored with it) on really common used gear unless someone screws up. The prices don't vary that much which makes it sort of pointless for me. Never mind the shipping gouges, lost or damaged packages, etc., etc., etc. Feh.
I've put my snipes in on a couple hundred items in the past few years at my top sensible buyer's price and I think I've gotten only one item, something pretty obscure in a badly done listing.
Face to face dealings are where my abilities are to my advantage. I'm a skilled buyer and I used to do it for a living.
In some auction, I lose all that edge. I'm reduced to being just another mook with a bid. It's not for me.
It's optional, not mandatory. You don't HAVE to, but it's somewhat convenient if you do so you don't have to keep retyping your info every time you post a new ad.
And in my opinion, ebay sucks. I wouldn't sell anything on there. I still check it every now and then to see if there are any deals but it's no longer an "online auction" site, it's just a big giant online flea market.
It was not optional here at the time I first encountered it.
It may still not be. I'll check again tonight.
I agree that eBay has changed, but I just bought a great bass cheap there last month, so does still happen:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110381437015
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110381437015
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HOORAY!
They've completely changed my local page and dropped any mention of an account, optional or not for "Musical Instruments For Sale."
I guess all the complaints worked.
Dunno when they switched back. They do all sorts of experimental changes here in California and I guess this was one that didn't pan out over the long haul.
