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Ebay Questions
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,692 ✭✭✭✭
I am looking at buying a balance beam bathroom scale.
I looked this item up on google. Many companies appeared on google that sell the scale I want. They have prices from about $200 up to $230. Sometimes free shipping, sometimes not.
I went over to Ebay. There are many companies that have the same exact scale, NIB. At least five companies have this scale for $165 more or less, with free shipping. These scales are heavy, shipping runs about $30.
I have never bought anything from Ebay. All the Ebay companies I looked at had satisfaction ratings of 99 percent plus. Some had thousands of reviews. Most of them declare themselves to be factory authorized dealers.
How can a company sell an item on Ebay for $40 less than the other guys sell it? Are these companies legit? Can you pay with a check?
I looked this item up on google. Many companies appeared on google that sell the scale I want. They have prices from about $200 up to $230. Sometimes free shipping, sometimes not.
I went over to Ebay. There are many companies that have the same exact scale, NIB. At least five companies have this scale for $165 more or less, with free shipping. These scales are heavy, shipping runs about $30.
I have never bought anything from Ebay. All the Ebay companies I looked at had satisfaction ratings of 99 percent plus. Some had thousands of reviews. Most of them declare themselves to be factory authorized dealers.
How can a company sell an item on Ebay for $40 less than the other guys sell it? Are these companies legit? Can you pay with a check?
Comments
Got Guns?
Payment methods are decided strictly by the seller. Some sellers will accept checks and some will not.
some sellers accept checks ,look carefully at the auction or when in dought ask !!
wrench
99% feedback with thousands of sales is very good. No concern there. Just be sure to read the whole page and the fine print. Sometimes they will only give you vague details and skimp in one aspect or another. Example: I bought a new Nike fairway wood a while back. Auction said "Head cover included". Well, they sent me a cheap Callaway head cover because the store could get 15 bucks selling the neat zip up one that was supposed to come with it. They didn't lie. They just didn't give me the whole truth and I didn't think to ask.
Also, many times if they're trying to hide something, they'll make the auction page a mile long so there's a lot to read and then bury an important fact in the middle or the bottom. Read those especially careful. The safest way to pay would be by credit card through paypal as the CC company will reimburse you and back charge the company if there's a problem. Don't count on Ebay or paypal to help you if you get screwed.
All in all, I've had very good experiences with ebay and saved a ton of money....while actually spending a lot. [:)]
ANY damage to the carton will very likely result in damage to the scale. Inspect it before signing.
BTW Decto scales are the only American made ones as far I know.
Some sellers will take checks or money orders or even a debit card.
The credit card idea makes sense as my experiences with paypal have been negative to say the least!
Good luck
Allen
http://www.amazon.com/Health-Meter-402KL-Physician-Balance/dp/B0009MFUZY
The key is checking the sellers feedback, and look to see if they ship quickly. I've bought several hundred items from Ebay; a lot of auto parts.
I always try to buy new things, rather than take a chance on used. If something is brand new, you stand a better chance of getting what you paid for. I've had a few exceptions, where something new wasn't and didn't work - and since I paid by PayPal with a credit card, had some protection. I say some protection because PayPal doesn't care what condition the item was in, as long as it was delivered to you. If you file a claim that the item wasn't as described, they will almost always turn it down -- then you have to dispute the sale on your credit card, and prove the item was returned to the seller. Then, they fight with your credit card company and try to keep you from getting a refund. Luckily, I've only had to dispute twice and won both times.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Healthometer-Physicians-402LB-Balance-Beam-Scale_W0QQitemZ130073242990QQihZ003QQcategoryZ33166QQcmdZViewItem
Balkowitsch Enterprises in North Dakota. They have 26,067 reviews, and are 99.6 percent positive. They say they are Ebay Platinum Plus Sellers.
item #130073242990
Another question I have: It says the auction ends tomorrow, in one day and eight hours.
This item isn't really up for auction in the first place, is it? Is this time limit on the "auction" just window dressing, or what?
allen You might want to take a printout down to a local medical/physicians supply place and ask if they would try to match it. I used to sell health o meter scales @ $150 and if memory is correct they were about $89 wholesale (several years ago) We used to get them in lots of 36 and always had a few somewhere in stock that I would have been glad to move.
ANY damage to the carton will very likely result in damage to the scale. Inspect it before signing.
BTW Decto scales are the only American made ones as far I know.
Some sellers will take checks or money orders or even a debit card.
The credit card idea makes sense as my experiences with paypal have been negative to say the least!
Good luck
Allen
That is a good idea, Allen. I have contacted two medical supply stores here in Asheville, nobody sells scales. There are about ten more medical supply stores, but it looks like nobody in town even deals in them. The guy at Bed, Bath and Beyond said you need to go on the internet to get a balance beam scale.
I am looking at buying a balance beam bathroom scale.
I looked this item up on google. Many companies appeared on google that sell the scale I want. They have prices from about $200 up to $230. Sometimes free shipping, sometimes not.
I went over to Ebay. There are many companies that have the same exact scale, NIB. At least five companies have this scale for $165 more or less, with free shipping. These scales are heavy, shipping runs about $30.
I have never bought anything from Ebay. All the Ebay companies I looked at had satisfaction ratings of 99 percent plus. Some had thousands of reviews. Most of them declare themselves to be factory authorized dealers.
How can a company sell an item on Ebay for $40 less than the other guys sell it? Are these companies legit? Can you pay with a check?
Okay, let me let you look at it a different way.
I buy and sell choke tubes all day long on eBay. These choke tubes retail for $25 in most stores. Wal-mart will sell them for between $15 and $19. I have my starting price at $7.99, and I always offer free shipping.
How am I able to sell the exact same, New in Package choke tube, and undersell Wal-mart and everyone else? Am I legit?
Of course I am. I buy the choke tubes are $4.00 each (that's the most I'm willing to pay). Despite the fact that plenty of other sellers at eBay will charge you $3-6 to ship a choke tube (which is insane), postage is $0.87 anywhere in the US via First Class mail. Tack on the cost of the envelope, and you're talking a buck. Most of my choke tubes wind up actually selling for $12 - $15, so I've made plenty of money.
The trick is to take advantage of the horrible ways that people list their items. Many sellers on eBay don't know how to write a title. They don't understand that auctions closing in the middle of the night or early morning doesn't sell well. I also take advantage of clearance sales at brick-and-mortar stores.
Are these guys doing the same thing that I am? Maybe. Maybe not. As someone else said, theres a lot of sellers (Make Tons of Money Selling at eBay!) who have gone to seminars and have learned how to drop ship everything. You make a few bucks over your "cost" for the item and you're happy. Some other people demand more than a few bucks, and they receive less sales overall because they don't make it on volume.
Hope that helps.
I am looking at buying a balance beam bathroom scale.
I looked this item up on google. Many companies appeared on google that sell the scale I want. They have prices from about $200 up to $230. Sometimes free shipping, sometimes not.
I went over to Ebay. There are many companies that have the same exact scale, NIB. At least five companies have this scale for $165 more or less, with free shipping. These scales are heavy, shipping runs about $30.
I have never bought anything from Ebay. All the Ebay companies I looked at had satisfaction ratings of 99 percent plus. Some had thousands of reviews. Most of them declare themselves to be factory authorized dealers.
How can a company sell an item on Ebay for $40 less than the other guys sell it? Are these companies legit? Can you pay with a check?
Thank you forum members for all the info. When I see reputable dealers on google getting $50 bucks and more for the same item, it seems suspicious, as I have never bought anything from Ebay. Here is a link to one of these Ebay dealers:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Healthometer-Physicians-402LB-Balance-Beam-Scale_W0QQitemZ130073242990QQihZ003QQcategoryZ33166QQcmdZViewItem
Balkowitsch Enterprises in North Dakota. They have 26,067 reviews, and are 99.6 percent positive. They say they are Ebay Platinum Plus Sellers.
item #130073242990
Another question I have: It says the auction ends tomorrow, in one day and eight hours.
This item isn't really up for auction in the first place, is it? Is this time limit on the "auction" just window dressing, or what?
No, it isn't up for auction. It's there to just purchase. The end time just lets you know how much longer it will be available before ebay removes it. Also, this particular seller will accept a check and the shipping is FREE.[:)]
I suggest going with a M/O
Anyway, some people have multiples of the same item to sell and will pay for the listing to stay up an entire month. It costs more, but then you also don't need to worry about re-listing it 4 or 5 times. The cheapest listing runs 5 days. The average is usually a 7 day listing.