My observations about online auction sites versus standard retailers with
respect to shortwave.

E-bay is the ultimate economist's example of a supply-demand economy,
thus for most items with reasonable demand better prices on E-bay will
NOT be found than you might find elsewhere, simply because more people
who want the product can bid on it.

Good
----

- Ebay has good deals for foreign versions of domestic-marketed products:

For example, the Degen 1103 is the Chinese market version of the
Kaito 1103. You can get a decent markdown on it by buying from the
chinese seller. The same goes for the Tecsun PL-200/550 with the
domestic versions of the Eton E100/E10.

- Ebay has decent deals for parts

Often E-bay can be a decent place to find hard-to-get parts. On the
other hand, these are often pulled from radios which are then listed as
complete units.

Bad
---

- Many sellers gouge on shipping and offer poor return polices in
comparison to standard retailers

It is very common for a seller to charge exhorbitant prices on
shipping. It is quite likely when someone says "Buyer pays actual
shipping" that the buyer will pay for a premium shipping service and
receive the cheapest shipping possible. It is also not uncommon to see
$10 items go for an equal amount in shipping or worse.

An example is a seller charging $40 shipping for a seemingly good
deal on a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, with the markup making it equal in price to
a retailer like Universal Radio, but with a much more limited guarantee

Another b.s. thing is sellers charging $5 for "insurance," when most
shipping companies in fact include insurance of $100 minimum.

- Items can be easily misrepresented, with little recourse.

Many sellers add the disclaimer "as-is", which means you could
receive a turd in a box and have little way to get your money back.

- Ebay favors sellers

Ebay seems to ignore all but the most blatent examples of
misrepresentation and shill bidding. In most cases, shady sellers will
get a slap on the wrist.

- Ebay feedback is of little use.

A seller might have +10000 positive feedback, but when they are all
"A+++++++++++++" can you really take them seriously? Buyers are expected
to leave exaggerated feedback by many sellers, or they will receive
mediocre or negative feedback in return. Thus you are unlikely to hear
than an item took 6 weeks to arrive when it should have taken two.


E-bay to standard English translations
--------------------------------------

"AS-IS" - Has serious problems but sort of works

"UNTESTED" - Sold to the seller in liquidation at scrap prices and
obviously not working, but never "tested" by the seller so he can
honestly say untested. Alternatively, blatently known to not be working.

"BUYER PAYS ACTUAL SHIPPING" - Buyer pays actual shipping price for
priority mail, but receives slowest ground method possible.
Alternatively, buyer pays actual shipping cost, plus $2 per mile for the
seller to drive the item to the post office.

"NO RETURNS ALL SALES FINAL" - The seller will be out of the country by
the time you receive the item and realize something is wrong.

"Item works as-pictured" - The clock, as shown in the picture, works on
this radio, but who knows if the rest does (probably has some problem).

"Item works as-pictured" (2) - Usually seen with an item with a blank
screen in the picture, it means the item is probably dead, "as
pictured," but the stand on the back works nicely.

"Like New" or "As-new" - 10 years old, but the case has been wiped down
with wet-naps or degreaser

"Immaculate" - see "like new," but here the seller is trying to confuse
people with glorious sounding words. Immaculate means perfect, without
blemish, but seldom is such a claim about an auction-item true.

"New in box" - Generally works, NEWly put back in the box after someone
else returned it.

"we pack items carefully" etc. - Item will be crammed into the smallest
box possible, with the thinest layer of padding possible.

"NO PAYPAL" - We've had so many charge-back's through Paypal, they won't
do business with us anymore.

"Item not exactly as pictured" - Item MUCH WORSE than pictured.

"VERY RARE" - Only 100 000 units were made, due to low demand.

"You won't find one of ____ in this condition anywhere else" - A blatent
lie. SOMEONE has one in better condition somewhere. This statement is
simply a useless platitude to boost bids.

It boils down to,Let the Buyer Beware! or as some folks like to
say,Caveat Emptor.
cuhulin

wrote:
It boils down to,Let the Buyer Beware! or as some folks like to
say,Caveat Emptor.
cuhulin
.................................................. ................................
Supplement to online auctions guide.
OK, it's a jungle out there but the game is to figure out who the
good guys are and buy from them. I have bought about 50 radio and
computer items on ebay over the past three years and almost without
exception they were accurately described, well-packed, and promptly
mailed. (one vendor took six weeks to ship and I doughnuted him).
I tend to buy from people who are selling their own stuff and know it
well. I also check feedback and look for negatives and comments. I
avoid dealers who don't even know if an item is working but have pages
of legal boilerplate about paying and suing. Many vendors are honest
and go to great efforts to get that 100% rating.
While ebay may not be cheap, for those of us in the boonies mail is
much cheaper than driving 500 miles to a flea market and often not
finding anything. The variety of goods on ebay lets you pick exactly
what you want.
The greatest problem I find is the increasing use of computer bidding
by dealers where a choice item is sniped with one second to go. These
weasels will lurk in the the background with no bid for weeks and then
suddenly appear with the winning bid with 1 second left. Sometimes they
will rub your nose in it and beat your high bid by 50 cents. I don't
know how they do this, but it is discouraging.
A true auction goes on until the last and highest bid is heard. The
expiration time of the electronic auction means that big operators with
fast machines and super bid programs will always win if they are in the
game.
Gresham's Law states that the bad will drive out the good. Until
then, there are lots of good guys if you look for
them............73.......ken.........

wrote in message
oups.com...

The greatest problem I find is the increasing use of computer bidding
by dealers where a choice item is sniped with one second to go. These
weasels will lurk in the the background with no bid for weeks and then
suddenly appear with the winning bid with 1 second left. Sometimes they
will rub your nose in it and beat your high bid by 50 cents. I don't
know how they do this, but it is discouraging.

Here you go:

http://auctioninsights.com/ebay-snipe.html

Honus wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

The greatest problem I find is the increasing use of computer
bidding
by dealers where a choice item is sniped with one second to go.
These
weasels will lurk in the the background with no bid for weeks and
then
suddenly appear with the winning bid with 1 second left. Sometimes
they
will rub your nose in it and beat your high bid by 50 cents. I
don't
know how they do this, but it is discouraging.

Here you go:

http://auctioninsights.com/ebay-snipe.html
.................................................. ................................
Thanks for the link. With 733 mhz and 45 k line, I'm toast.

wrote in message
...
I reckon I am going to phone the Jackson Police department Animal
Control center later on this morning.Lately,I have been seeing two stray
dogs running around on the road I live on.

Just remember, when you call in about those streetwalkers, don't ask for the
Vice Squad.

Want another limerick?