M4 for $700, why didn't it sell??

[HuubL]

Apparently lost with the system problems. Check out # 170135829829.... I wonder why this nice M4 didn't sell for that price... Is it because of the "Ships to United States only"? With the low dollar Europeans would've had a great deal for this price...

 

[Thardy]

It's eBay, sometimes things don't sell for whatever reason. Maybe no-one in the cash poor U.S. thought it was worth $700.00



At $700 you think a rich European could of just bought it and flown over here and and picked it up.


It was re-listed and sold as BIN for $650.00

 

[erikhaugsby]

Then there's the issue of that really nasty dent above the RF adjustment screw on the top plate...
But for whether the one dent is worth a few hundred dollars in reduced value, I don't know.

 

[reagan]

Looks like somebody grabbed it for the new BIN. Can't blame 'em. Ding or no, it'll probably be a great shooter.

 

[varjag]

It is also vacation season in much of the world.. eBay selling seems on its low. If it was offered 10 days before Christmas, it'd probably sell within minutes.

 

[Bosk]

Lack of good, close-up high resolution images didn't help the seller's cause.

With better images that allowed buyers to 'inspect' the camera at a closer range and see every little ding, dent and scratch on it's surface it could have sold for much, much more.

Then there's the fact that the seller only accepted Paypal. Successful eBayers always accept as many payment methods as possible, it just looks better to the customer even if they intend to pay via Paypal anyway.

Lastly, ALLCAPS is something that to me always screams "scam" and I'm not comfortable bidding on items with all-caps descriptions, even if the seller is genuine - it can be impossible to tell if their account has been hijacked sometimes.
A lengthier and more descriptive description would have also helped, that goes without saying.


I think it's the 'little things' like that that really make a difference on eBay, after all you are pretty much taking your seller on trust so they more they do to reassure you that they're genuine and serious the more $$ you're willing to risk giving them.

 

[Matthew Allen]

Lack of good, close-up high resolution images didn't help the seller's cause.

With better images that allowed buyers to 'inspect' the camera at a closer range and see every little ding, dent and scratch on it's surface it could have sold for much, much more.

Then there's the fact that the seller only accepted Paypal. Successful eBayers always accept as many payment methods as possible, it just looks better to the customer even if they intend to pay via Paypal anyway.

Lastly, ALLCAPS is something that to me always screams "scam" and I'm not comfortable bidding on items with all-caps descriptions, even if the seller is genuine - it can be impossible to tell if their account has been hijacked sometimes.
A lengthier and more descriptive description would have also helped, that goes without saying.


I think it's the 'little things' like that that really make a difference on eBay, after all you are pretty much taking your seller on trust so they more they do to reassure you that they're genuine and serious the more $$ you're willing to risk giving them.

Good points. Photos make such a huge difference to people's willingness to bid. I am constantly amazed at the appalling ones that people use. They are often glary and blue with nasty direct flash or completely fuzzy with poor focus or camera shake.

And the descriptions are a problem too. Have a look at this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pentax-35mm-c...ryZ15240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Not only did the seller not bother with photos, she didn't list the model of camera, its condition or any information about the lenses whatsoever. What's so stupid is that she clearly knows this information, as she's provided it as an answer to a question. You'd think someone with 264 feedback would have more ebay nous.

Matthew

 

[reagan]

Lack of good, close-up high resolution images didn't help the seller's cause.

I read a description of an M recently that stated, "The only reason I'm selling is because I just bought an M8..." and the pics of the item were worse than my cell.phone's! 🙄

 

[Nog Bluteau]

Fixed price "Buy it Now" items often don't sell, even if the price is reasonable.

An auction started at $1 will sometimes go to astronomical heights.

1) People are lemmings. If they see other people bidding, they are encouraged to bid because they think someone else knows better than they do. On the other hand, if it's a fixed price, they think "why didn't someone buy this already? there must be something wrong with it".

2) Sometimes eBay prices are entirely random. Once in a while you get a "sleeper" or the serious buyers were just not searching that week.

 

[edodo]

For me the dollar is not low. When I was a kid, (before euro was imposed) one dollar=5 french francs.
Now 1.3 dollar = 1 euro
and still 1.3 dollar = 1 euro = 6.6 french francs so 1 dollar now still is aproximately 5 francs...
My 20 centimes of francs!