Ebay Overpaying

[alexthacowboy]

prolly i'm wrong but for me the idea for looking used gear that can be good gear and cheap now people is paying like boutique hardware.

example.

i was tracking the Now Famous Peavey VMP2 for at least 2 years, and i can said people is giving almost 900 USD per unit plus shipping.

i think the vmp2 is a great unit but at 500 usd, i have the Peavey AMR tt2 and is a great unit for me better than the vmp2, still i get that TT2 at 280 USD.

another examples, beyer 400, man i saw people paying over 150 per mic.

ashly's sc-50's cl-52, mxr dual limiters, jbl's 7110.

Now the Budget gear cost more than real gear?

example. i think u better get 4 Sytek channels factory new at 900 than a than 2 channels VMP2 for the same cash.

and dont forget old gear most of the time need service.



my 2 cents.


PD sorry for my bad english, but i speak spanish :P

[Flangerhans]

I couldn't agree with you more. I've seen the price of certain somewhat rare but noisy pedals go up so high that I've resorted to building them myself from schematics I get online, or getting existing boutique stuff custom modded. You can actually build most effects with superior components for a tenth of what is charged on feEbay. Those of us who use the things can't afford them, but thank god for my soldering iron.

[MOFO Pro]

Wow... I stopped selling stuff on Ebay a couple years ago because I thought the buyers were getting too Savy... It seemed that everyone was bidding up to the reserve... then setting an auction sniper to bid within minutes of the close... I'll have to take another look now... Got a bunch of stuff to unload...

[amra]

Originally Posted by MOFO Pro

Wow... I stopped selling stuff on Ebay a couple years ago because I thought the buyers were getting too Savy... It seemed that everyone was bidding up to the reserve... then setting an auction sniper to bid within minutes of the close... I'll have to take another look now... Got a bunch of stuff to unload...

They still do that, but now everyone snipes auctions, so you still get pretty good money for stuff, but now everything happens in the last minute or so...

[NRS]

Originally Posted by amra

They still do that, but now everyone snipes auctions, so you still get pretty good money for stuff, but now everything happens in the last minute or so...

Indeed. That very sniping often creates a competative type atmosphere among the snipers themselfs at the end and nobody hates being outsniped more than a sniper!

[MOFO Pro]

Originally Posted by NRS

Indeed. That very sniping often creates a competative type atmosphere among the snipers themselfs at the end and nobody hates being outsniped more than a sniper!

I guess I've got to adjust my reserve price then... I found that with all the sniping in the last five minutes, there just wasn't enough time to drive the price up... I've got a 16 meg connection so I always snipe in the last 15 seconds... either I get it or I don't...

I like the good old days of ebay... bid early... bid often...

[photoresistor]

hahaha sniping is it? i just thought it was smart buying!

if i would have waited until the last few seconds to bid on my ampeg svt-cl i couldve saved myself 70 bucks... one guy bid like 4 times in the last couple minutes trying to beat me. i still got it for $700 tho!

but i learned my lesson and just won this a couple days ago... my little "bogner": http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=330094732703
check out the winning bid time! that was all me!

[orksnork]

you mentioned the ashly compressors...

these things are pretty hot tickets...i like them better than any dbx anywhere near it's price range...

i've seen the single go anwhere from 50 to 150 dollars and the double upwards of 300 (0_o)

i've managed to pick up a few units at a super cheap price and it makes me feel very happy

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Pricing for some used gear is ridiculous now. I've seen "vintage" ( ) SM7's go on ebay for more than the cost of a brand new SM7B.

It's good if you're a seller though, I bought a TL Audio pre 3-4 years ago (when ebay was good for buyers) for £120. I sold it last year to a buyer in the US for £220.

[amra]

Ebay can still be good for buyers, you just need to have a good feel for what something is worth, and then bow out when it gets past what you are willing to pay. Let some other buyer be the sucker...

[altitude909]

Ebay is capitalism at its finest. If there is a demand, the prices go up, simple as that. It does not really matter what something is worth, what is important is what someone will pay for it. Any smart seller will look at what the item he is punting sells for before setting his price.


As for sniping, it is a completely legit tool since it does not matter when you snipe, it just matters who has the highest bid. If ebay gets 10 bids on an item 1 sec before the auction closes, the highest one always wins. What it does do is keep the action to a minimum as to prevent early bidding wars and helps keep the overall price down

[zbert]

A VMP2 on ebay just sold March 2 for only $450. A great price. Like anything on ebay you just got to keep an eye out. I know most of the VMP2 are going over $700 now but $900 you have to be foolish to spend that much on the unit. I have one. It's really nice. Fat sound. Great on vocals and really sweet as a bass DI.

[alexthacowboy]

my idea wasnt said the gear was bad, my idea was to tell people who comes to forums and c a post where people said, the ashly's the vmp, dbx 242, etc etc are good gear, but dont overpaid for that gear thats my point.

we read forums and find text like " yeah this gear is like a poorman .....", and that means u can buy that for cheap and will works great for the rite money.

my point is, if u are starting your studio and u find in forums, hear for friends that some gear is great value, yes try to pick that gear but pay the correct price. i think u can spend 900 usd better in preamps than in a vmp2 thats my point.

[alexthacowboy]

yeah i c that vmp2 for 450 but when i saw was listed as vmp1, i email the guy and ask if was the vmp2 or the vtp1, when i check again the unit was gone.

but i saw another vmp2 with BIN at 900 and take like 5 hours to get a buyer, thats damm crazy.

[MOFO Pro]

Originally Posted by altitude909

What it does do is keep the action to a minimum as to prevent early bidding wars and helps keep the overall price down

My point exactly... it's amazing what can happen when you get a bidding war that starts a week before the auction closes... now that was some serious jing!!!

[Reggie]

Yeah, Ebay has become a seller's market, IMO. It used to be that you could go on there and snag some pretty good deals fairly regularly. Nowdays there are just too many people watching, and prices get driven up to near full retail price. I've seen many things sell for more than you would pay at other online stores. I guess I can't complain right now, as I am in seller mode at the moment.

[pohaku]

It's all about having a good feel for the value of items you are bidding on and being firm in setting limits on what you are willing to pay. I've seen lots of used items go on e-bay for more than I could buy them brand new on line. Either the buyers are not so smart and didn't shop around first, or they got caught up in auction fever (which, of course, is a major attraction of auctions for sellers) and paid too much. I'll admit to being a last 5 seconds sniper, but I set my price (hopefully intelligently) and have no remorse if someone gets the item by paying more. I think I paid @$600 for my VMP-2, but that was off the GS Board.

[giraffe]

sniping= what for?
i bid my maximum one time. just know what something is worth to you, and life's easier.

and yes, e-bay is a great place to sell.

buying on occasion, usually if you catch someone who has set a reasonable buy it now.

most auctions sell things at (like has been said) too near retail

[SonicAlbert]

Originally Posted by alexthacowboy

my point is, if u are starting your studio and u find in forums, hear for friends that some gear is great value, yes try to pick that gear but pay the correct price. i think u can spend 900 usd better in preamps than in a vmp2 thats my point.

"Correct" price? The market sets the price, not you. Items on eBay are valued at whatever the buyer wants to pay for them. That is the "correct" price.

As has been pointed out, prices vary greatly on eBay within even a single month. It's pretty common to see the value of any particular item fluctuate by 50% over the course of several auctions. Patience is usually greatly rewarded on eBay. The other nice thing is, you don't ahve to buy it if you think it is overpriced!

As far as the best way to spend $900, that totally depends on what it is the buyer needs. Spending that money in preamps might be better for you, but it would certainly be a bad idea for me since I already have preamps I'm happy with. It's all relative. For someone else, buying the Peavey might be the perfect thing.

[pohaku]

I bid my maximum one time as well (unless it's a BIN). I just do it in the last 5 seconds. If I do it earlier, then there is more opportunity for people who want to bid against me to drive the price up incrementally as they seek to determine what my maximum bid is. We've all seen that happen where Bidder 2 incrementally bids up multiple times to determine what price Bidder 1 has actually bid. When it's all done at the end, they don't have that opportunity and have to throw down their best guess price -- which might be lower than they would have bid on an incremental basis.

At least that's my theory of e-bay bidding

Originally Posted by giraffe

sniping= what for?
i bid my maximum one time. just know what something is worth to you, and life's easier.

and yes, e-bay is a great place to sell.

buying on occasion, usually if you catch someone who has set a reasonable buy it now.

most auctions sell things at (like has been said) too near retail

[MOFO Pro]

If I have something to sell... I'll usually do a search for pending auctions, and put them on my watch list to get an idea of what it will fetch... I was thinking of selling an old Alesis Quadraverb... There were probably a dozen out there and they sold from around $30 to $150... all in similar condition.

[talontsiawd]

My experience is ebay is defineatly far better on the sellers end. I had some kind of rare things i bought locally and got much more than i paid for them on ebay. I actually might start buying and selling equipment, mostly so i can test stuff out and then sell. Just realize what is popular, what people can afford and you can make money. I never buy used on ebay anymore, only new unless i find something listed wrong that people miss. I see alot of used stuff go for retail, etc.

My advice for buying used stuff is local. Word of mouth, craigslist, etc. Those people want quick money, you always find reasonable deals and if you wait, or just look, you find great deals.

[funckyfinger]

My experience is ebay is defineatly far better on the sellers end

I love selling on ebay, people go crazy. In the last three years I've bought one item, and the only reason it was a deal was it had a great buy it now price.I've had used items sell for the same price as new.

[cello_pudding]

all of my mics, my interface, my electric guitar, accordian, bells, violin, cello, bows....ebay.

oh man do i like ebay. $1250 cello in the store..260 ebay..$600 guitar...250 ebay...$700 onyx...for 400 with a free sm57. glock bells were like..20 bucks...accordian 20 bucks..

its still great for buyers.

[pohaku]

Originally Posted by cello_pudding

all of my mics, my interface, my electric guitar, accordian, bells, violin, cello, bows....ebay.

oh man do i like ebay. $1250 cello in the store..260 ebay..$600 guitar...250 ebay...$700 onyx...for 400 with a free sm57. glock bells were like..20 bucks...accordian 20 bucks..

its still great for buyers.

Yeah, I've got about 100 mics and at least 80% were bought on e-bay. Same with a lot of my outboard gear -- NHTPro A-10s, Peavey VC/L-2, DBX 160xt, Groove Tubes MP-1 pres and EQ-1 equalizers, Auto-Tune, Symetrix comps and pres, DBX 242 EQs, Speck ASC-T EQ, API lunchbox and modules, MXR Phase 100 (pre LED), Keeley Comp, etc. You just got to know what you are buying and what it's worth. If you don't do your due diligence, then it's buyer beware. It may be that there were more good deals for buyers earlier on (and I don't doubt it), but you can still do OK if you are discriminating and don't get caught up in the bidding process.