Ebay's treasures....

[M. Valdemar]

Yes, that's my point exactly.

Some people like taking a chance, speculating, and making calculated risks in the hope of getting some huge sleeper bargain. It's like a game. They don't whine if their purchase isn't as good as they hoped, and sometimes they get something worth thousands for peanuts.

Others don't want to take any risk and want buy something that works perfectly with guarantees and return privileges. Buying from a good dealer is far better for them.

 

[pesphoto]

Yes, that's my point exactly.

Some people like taking a chance, speculating, and making calculated risks in the hope of getting some huge sleeper bargain. It's like a game. They don't whine if their purchase isn't as good as they hoped, and sometimes they get something worth thousands for peanuts.

Others don't want to take any risk and want buy something that works perfectly with guarantees and return privileges. Buying from a good dealer is far better for them.

Fair enough... I know my way around the internet pretty well but want cameras I know I can use as that is most important to me. I can do minor repairs but that's all. Im a photographer...not an investor, collector, or camera repair/restorer person....period. So ebay isnt for me. Plus I dont have the time to sit on the computer all the time researching cameras.....I think I just heard my wife calling.......
That's my point.

 

[M. Valdemar]

Well, that's fair enough too. There's nothing wrong with paying a fair price and getting a tool that works when you're not into the whole online "game".

My post was more directed at those who want to play at being an "amateur bidding genius" and then get all bent out of shape when what they get is more of a doorstop then a camera.

 

[kevin m]

I just bought a medium format camera from a reputable online dealer and paid way less than I would have on ebay any day...

Keep it mind it's "you" you're talking about, and not necessarily anyone else. "I" would wait until the right deal came along and beat the price any reputable dealer could offer, unless he simply made a mistake in pricing.

I don't understand all the "evilbay/fleabay" grousing, either. If you're careful and patient you can do quite well buying on ebay. The pitfalls are well-known and fairly easy to avoid.

Right now seems a great time to buy, actually. I've seen several cameras sell cheap recently, perhaps due to the holidays. An M2R in decent user shape just sold for $767 and I kick myself for missing it. It must have been a pretty good deal because Youxin Ye bought it! :bang:

 

[pesphoto]

I understand that Kevin. Each to his own, yes. I guess I didnt wish to be patient for what I saw as a very fair price for a Mamiya M645 with finder and 8omm lens. These go for such a low price nowadays.

 

[Thardy]

Where did all the nice chrome M6s go? There were many for auction a couple of weeks ago on eBay. Well, maybe the first of the year.

 

[Doug]

eBay seems to promote the idea that it's all a game that you can win. One can observe that "winning" is simply paying more than anyone else is willing to pay. I try to keep these things in mind, and maintain skepticism and caution, know the product through research, and in the case of camera gear avoid bidding more than about 70% of what KEH (or other used markets) asks for the same thing.

I'm careful about the way the auction is presented, and look at the seller's other auctions. I "lose" a lot... mostly not even bidding as the item's price rises past my limit. When I do bid, it's usually very near the end for two reasons: it gives the other bidders no opportunity to respond to my lone bid, and secondly, it gives me no opportunity to re-bid more than I should. I avoid auctions having a bidding war, as egos are at stake.

But I think the real "losing" on eBay comes out of a poor "win". I've done that too, but just try to work hard to avoid it. Right now "I'm done": I turned off all my automatic searches before going on vacation last month and have not turned them back on. I've got sufficient gear. For now... 🙂

 

[mw_uio]

I won a F3HP, my second bad boy [sorry it's not a rf 😀 ] this month in December that arrived last week. I tracked all the possible F3's each month. I know who the best sellers are. I found my F3HP, while not mint, made my only bid in the first 24 hours of the listing, and won @ $265 plus shipping, for a total of $310 shipped to UIO. I might have lucked out, but I did my homework.

Cheers,

MArk
Quito, EC