ebay idiots strike again!

[kmw1954]

Last week I cam across a Lee Load Master with some other accessories for a starting bid of $100.00 or a Buy It Now price of $175.00, which if the wife wasn't out on medical leave with a knee replacement I would have bought it at that price. I put this on my watch list and on the second day someone bid and then someone raised the bid, $110.00.. Well it just closed at $323.00..

BIN price $175.00 auction close price #323.00 = Over bid of $148.00. Insane!!! Bet the buyer thinks they really got a deal.

 

[troy fairweather]

Last week I cam across a Lee Load Master with some other accessories for a starting bid of $100.00 or a Buy It Now price of $175.00, which if the wife wasn't out on medical leave with a knee replacement I would have bought it at that price. I put this on my watch list and on the second day someone bid and then someone raised the bid, $110.00.. Well it just closed at $323.00..

BIN price $175.00 auction close price #323.00 = Over bid of $148.00. Insane!!! Bet the buyer thinks they really got a deal.

haha thats funny glad its not my money lol.

 

[boom boom]

Last week I cam across a Lee Load Master with some other accessories for a starting bid of $100.00 or a Buy It Now price of $175.00, which if the wife wasn't out on medical leave with a knee replacement I would have bought it at that price. I put this on my watch list and on the second day someone bid and then someone raised the bid, $110.00.. Well it just closed at $323.00..

BIN price $175.00 auction close price #323.00 = Over bid of $148.00. Insane!!! Bet the buyer thinks they really got a deal.

Common occurrence on auctions--people get excited and want to win so badly that they ignore common sense (or in your case apparently did not even read the item description with BIN--stupidity). However, some auctions also have seller related shills to push up the price. I start with bid for what I am willing to pay and try to stick with it.

 

[PapaG]

If you look around you can find new ones on sale for just about that "buy it now price".

 

[jar]

Doesn't the BIN price disappear once bidding starts? If so it's very likely the bidder did not even see the $175.00 offer.

 

[badkarmamib]

Especially when you can buy them brand new on Amazon for $240-270, depending on caliber. A lot of people get caught up in trying to "win" (if you have to pay for it, you didn't win it) an auction, they don't bother to see what the actual value is.

 

[kmw1954]

Yes, I posted in another thread that Titan Reloading lists the bare press for $164.00 and the complete press for $248.00 and I'm pretty sure there wasn't another $75.00 worth of extra parts included.
Yes I do believe the BIN ends with the 1st bid.

When I go to auctions I usually have a very good idea of what the New one costs and on that I decide how much I am willing to pay for a used one! Most everything I bid on is common enough that soon another one comes along!

 

[.308 Norma]

Over bid of $148.00. Insane!!! Bet the buyer thinks they really got a deal.

Yep. And in a couple of weeks, the buyer will probably show up in the reloading section on an internet message forum arguing about how much money they save by loading their own 9mm ammo instead of buying it at Walmart.

 

[Texas10mm]

Yep. And in a couple of weeks, the buyer will probably show up in the reloading section on an internet message forum arguing about how much money they save by loading their own 9mm ammo instead of buying it at Walmart.

Hmmm... my 9mm reloads run me $0.05 each. Or $2.50 a box.

 

[boom boom]

Doesn't the BIN price disappear once bidding starts? If so it's very likely the bidder did not even see the $175.00 offer.

That may be a setting on ebay but I have noted BIN prices still posted even with bidding. Won a few auctions that way when the seller set the BIN to nosebleed prices.

 

[boom boom]

Yep. And in a couple of weeks, the buyer will probably show up in the reloading section on an internet message forum arguing about how much money they save by loading their own 9mm ammo instead of buying it at Walmart.

Wicked comment but probably quite true. The second post may very well be--how do I get this thing running.

 

[FROGO207]

IIRC the buy it now price disappears when you exceed that price. Then let the fun begin.
At least it is the way it happens on Gun Broker for sure.

 

[Skgreen]

Doesn't the BIN price disappear once bidding starts? If so it's very likely the bidder did not even see the $175.00 offer.

Sure thought so,,,
Bought a set of saddlebags for a MC once with a 'very low' BIN price. Jumped on it right away and the seller started crying the blues,,,,

 

[JONWILL]

At Auctions people get the fever. I have been to live gun auctions where people bid well over retail price for guns.

The price really goes up if there isn't a background check.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Hmmm... my 9mm reloads run me $0.05 each. Or $2.50 a box.

You must be casting your own bullets. As powder and primers are close to that.

That said, I load 9mm and I save a little if compared to inexpensivd Wallymart special cheap stuff. But I like to think my ammo is a lot better and it’s using better bullets and powder to make a custom load. If we figured this vs higher end ammo I’m “saving” quite a bit.

The reality is it’s an apples to orange comparison. I really simply am able to make the ammo the way I like. Claiming I’m saving is simply a justification and a mental game.

Oh yea and what’s the value of enjoying reloading and finding it relaxing?

 

[kmw1954]

In this case the BIN vanished with the first bid. I find it hard to think a shill bidder started the bidding, especially so soon into the auction. More inclined to believe it was someone that thought they could get a steal for less than the BIN, didn't understand the market and bid too soon. So hard to judge this one.

As I stated in my first post, if I was in a better position I would have bid the BIN as soon as I seen the auction. Three things stopped me. Wife's knee replacement. Really don't need or want it because I really want a new Pro4000. Lastly there is another pistol on Gun Broker I'm watching very closely and I'd much rather have the pistol.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

I always find auctions, Black Friday sales etc a bit of an entertainment event. Now don’t get me wrong, there are deals and such, but often they’re ways to get the people excited and to spend more. A few loss leaders and a mob and people start grabbing things to get the “deal” even though the deal may not be a real deasls.

Most forget or don’t know the main purpose of an auction is to drive the price up as high as possible by having two or more people in a bidding way. It’s said over and over that all a seller needs is the right bidders and they’ll do well.

I tend to be frugal so I tend to do research. Look for deals, shop for value and figure out what is best for me and my needs.

Last year I did a post on how to setup a basic reloading setup inexpensively. I didn’t cheap on the items. Instead I looked for good basics that could be built on. I’ll have to repost it with an update some time. The bottom line was shopping wisely someone can have a nice setup for under $200 and get started.

Now when adding a progressive press, things get more expensive but the items in a basic setup are all useful.

Frankly, I’m not ready for a progressive setup, but I may soon. Unfortunately I’m not sure what is the best value. Opionioms are all over the place and it’s hard to figure out what’s the “best” deal.

Folks get gear from Lee to work, and then there are the Dillion crowd on the other extreme. Neither IMHO are wrong or bad, and either can be “best” for someone. But paying more than the “buy now” clearly isn’t a best deal to me and many here as we’re seeing from this thread.

 

[dh1633pm]

BIN goes away with the first bid. I find that reloading equipment that I sell always goes for a premium.

 

[kmw1954]

Hokie_PhD most everything on my reloading bench is used that I acquired via ebay. 3 presses, a beam scale, couple Lee powder measures, dies, books, all bought used and serving me well. All bought at reasonable used prices.

 

[.308 Norma]

Oh yea and what’s the value of enjoying reloading and finding it relaxing?

To me, it's priceless.
I don't handload to save money. I don't think I ever did, and I've been doing it for a long, long time - over 40 years.

Hmmm... my 9mm reloads run me $0.05 each. Or $2.50 a box.

Uh huh. You didn't just pay $323.00 for a Lee Load Master on ebay, did you?
Just kidding around Texas10mm.

 

[TomJ]

I've sucessfully bought a few guns on Gunbroker at below market prices by placing my maximum bid and letting the auction run it's course. If someone outbid me, I let it go. The key, as others have pointed out, is to not let my competitive nature take over.

 

[armedwalleye]

I think some folks get carried away on the auto-bid feature. If two folks do it on the same item, get some popcorn and watch the show, because neither one can stop it. Case in point: 20 years ago, Blue Fox tackle company made a plastic stand up fishing marker buoy that was a pretty popular item in pre-GPS days. 5 or 6 years ago, some dude must have found a case of them and was selling them off one at a time. They were going in the $25-30 range, which, although a fair bit of money for a plastic floating buoy, it was still a good price, since they actually were the best buoys on the planet for their time, and some folk still use them, like me. Two guys apparently both wanted the same one, and entered crazy amounts in the "auto-bid" area. Once the second one entered the fray, the auto-bid took over, ratcheting each of them skyward until one ran out of bid.
Said marker buoy sold something just north of $150.... Be careful out there.....

 

[Legionnaire]

I haven't sold anything on ebay for a looong time. Used to, but the listing fees got too stupid for my taste. I don't buy much there any more, either. But I will drop by for entertainment value. It is always amazing to me that people savvy enough to use the internet and set up a payment instrument at an auction site forget that they can price shop. See what looks like a good deal? Check it out against Amazon and other etailers. Crazy how items bid up past the point where you could buy the item--sometimes new--elsewhere.

I do like the "Buy it Now" option on Gunbroker. I will often include a BIN price in an auction I am running if I have a good sense of market value. I tend to set a BIN just a bit higher than what I really want for an item. If it's priced fairly, it goes quickly. I don't use a BIN on anything that has potential collector value; while I know what such items are worth to me, I have no idea what they might be worth to a motivated buyer ... and in that case the auction format works to my advantage. I also like buying fairly priced items using the BIN option. I bought a very nice Ruger Blackhawk from my birth-year using BIN. It was fairly priced and I got what I had been looking for.

But any way you cut it, auctions can be pretty entertaining!

 

[BearBrimstone]

I have to admit that I have let the heat of the moment get the best of me and overpaid in order to win an auction a few times. I have also seen plenty of other people do the same thing. I went to a police auction a few years ago where a Hi Point pistol sold for $250 and a Ruger Mini 14 nearly hit $1,000.

 

[1911 guy]

I saw a television special once, forget entirely what the real point of the show was. But they conducted an experiment auctioning off a 20 dollar bill. Everyone involved knew it was a 20 dollar bill. But due to some people's overly competitive nature (or maybe just competing when it didn't make any sense at all) it finally sold for well over twenty bucks.

I seldom, as in I cannot recall the last time, buy anything via online auction. But I have been seriously entertained by several. The same thing applies to guns as to livestock auctions. Know what you want, know what it's worth, know when to walk away.