Electric Guitars

[Meowy]

Originally Posted by esphil

I agree, ebay knows it and it just sucks they have to take such advantage of it. And also the fact there is no real competitor, its a monopoly.

No, actually it's called business.

You obviously don't know what a monopoly is. You want to start an auction web site?... go right ahead.

[bjcarl]

I used to sell but stopped way back when they took away a seller's ability to leave bad feedback. I had a blackmail situation that really turned me off from selling ever again.

The thing that gets me...as a buyer, I used to be able to go on Ebay and find virtually ANYTHING that I was GASing for, now it's very rare unless I'm looking for something common that I could just buy from a major retailer for the same exact price...

[bjcarl]

I used to sell but stopped way back when they took away a seller's ability to leave bad feedback. I had a blackmail situation that really turned me off from selling ever again.

The thing that gets me...as a buyer, I used to be able to go on Ebay and find virtually ANYTHING that I was GASing for, now it's very rare unless I'm looking for something common that I could just buy from a major retailer for the same exact price...

[BushmasterM4]

Add in your ebay costs to the starting price (if you have one). I always have a starting price that incorporates estimated fees.

[BushmasterM4]

Add in your ebay costs to the starting price (if you have one). I always have a starting price that incorporates estimated fees.

[esphil]

Originally Posted by Meowy

No, actually it's called business.

You obviously don't know what a monopoly is. You want to start an auction web site?... go right ahead.

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

[esphil]

Originally Posted by Meowy

No, actually it's called business.

You obviously don't know what a monopoly is. You want to start an auction web site?... go right ahead.

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

[Sheraton]

Originally Posted by Meowy

Yes the eBay fees are expensive but makes selling a hell of a lot easier.

With all due respect, none of eBay's fees are hidden so you should be able to ballpark your overhead before you list and adjust your price accordingly

I agree. I will usually try to sell on CL first but for anything a little out of the mainstream I do much better on Ebay. I think sellers would do much better on CL if they priced the guitars they sell there relative to what they will net on Ebay.

Example: A Gibson 60's Tribute SG selling on Ebay for $625 + 35 shipping = $660.
Sellers fees of 9% = $59.40
Paypal fees of 3% = $19.80
Actual shipping = $30
Total costs = $109.20
Net of $660.00 - 109.20 = $550.80

So why wouldn't you list it on CL for $550 and avoid the hassel of packing and shipping?

Here's a quick story to illustrate my point:
I saw a guitar I was interested in on Ebay and saw the same guitar listed on my local CL for a higher price than the opening bid on Ebay. I emailed the guy and said that I would offer him his opening Ebay price in cash. He refused my offer and said he thought it would go higher. I didn't think so and said I would watch his auction, and if nobody bid on it I would let the auction end with no bid rather than bid the minimum and pay him the opening bid price in cash to help him get a little mor for it than if he had to pay sellers fees and Paypal.

Sure enough, no bids on Ebay and the auction ended. I emailed him again to make arrangements to pick it up and pay the opening amount in cash. He backed out saying that he wanted to get more for it. Jackass.
I should have just bid the minimum and let him eat the fees.

Moral of the story? If you know what Ebay will cost you, subtract that from what you ask on CL or the Forum and you'll sell more stuff faster.

[Sheraton]

Originally Posted by Meowy

Yes the eBay fees are expensive but makes selling a hell of a lot easier.

With all due respect, none of eBay's fees are hidden so you should be able to ballpark your overhead before you list and adjust your price accordingly

I agree. I will usually try to sell on CL first but for anything a little out of the mainstream I do much better on Ebay. I think sellers would do much better on CL if they priced the guitars they sell there relative to what they will net on Ebay.

Example: A Gibson 60's Tribute SG selling on Ebay for $625 + 35 shipping = $660.
Sellers fees of 9% = $59.40
Paypal fees of 3% = $19.80
Actual shipping = $30
Total costs = $109.20
Net of $660.00 - 109.20 = $550.80

So why wouldn't you list it on CL for $550 and avoid the hassel of packing and shipping?

Here's a quick story to illustrate my point:
I saw a guitar I was interested in on Ebay and saw the same guitar listed on my local CL for a higher price than the opening bid on Ebay. I emailed the guy and said that I would offer him his opening Ebay price in cash. He refused my offer and said he thought it would go higher. I didn't think so and said I would watch his auction, and if nobody bid on it I would let the auction end with no bid rather than bid the minimum and pay him the opening bid price in cash to help him get a little mor for it than if he had to pay sellers fees and Paypal.

Sure enough, no bids on Ebay and the auction ended. I emailed him again to make arrangements to pick it up and pay the opening amount in cash. He backed out saying that he wanted to get more for it. Jackass.
I should have just bid the minimum and let him eat the fees.

Moral of the story? If you know what Ebay will cost you, subtract that from what you ask on CL or the Forum and you'll sell more stuff faster.

[Meowy]

Originally Posted by esphil

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

Just because no one else has yet been able to succeed as an auction competitor, does not mean eBay is a monopoly. There are plenty of web sites that charge for classified listings. (i.e. similar to eBay's Buy it Now). One is called Amazon.com

eBay is doing nothing to lock competition out of the online auction market. Buy a domain name, go do some heads down software development for a few months and start advertising. Go ahead and lowball the shit out of eBay's fee structure. You could be the one to take some market share.

eBay's pricing model is not opportunistic. Premium? perhaps, but so is any smart business who is among the best at what they do.

And their exclusive use of Paypal whether they own it or not is not monopolistic either. I believe if the buyer and seller agree to use cash, a MO, personal check or credit card eBay does not prevent these methods of payment. Sorry, but again smart businesses have vertical service channels

[Meowy]

Originally Posted by esphil

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

Just because no one else has yet been able to succeed as an auction competitor, does not mean eBay is a monopoly. There are plenty of web sites that charge for classified listings. (i.e. similar to eBay's Buy it Now). One is called Amazon.com

eBay is doing nothing to lock competition out of the online auction market. Buy a domain name, go do some heads down software development for a few months and start advertising. Go ahead and lowball the shit out of eBay's fee structure. You could be the one to take some market share.

eBay's pricing model is not opportunistic. Premium? perhaps, but so is any smart business who is among the best at what they do.

And their exclusive use of Paypal whether they own it or not is not monopolistic either. I believe if the buyer and seller agree to use cash, a MO, personal check or credit card eBay does not prevent these methods of payment. Sorry, but again smart businesses have vertical service channels

[illinismitty]

Think ebay is bad? Amazon takes 15%, and pretty much dictates what you have to charge for shipping, which is absurdly low. They expect me to ship a box to CA for $5.99? My cost is at least double that. They expect you to charge the rates that they charge, but us small fish don't get the special rates of a multi billion dollar company.

Bottom line- if you want to sell something and reach a wide audience - it's going to cost you. Build it into your cost and hope it's competitive.

[illinismitty]

Think ebay is bad? Amazon takes 15%, and pretty much dictates what you have to charge for shipping, which is absurdly low. They expect me to ship a box to CA for $5.99? My cost is at least double that. They expect you to charge the rates that they charge, but us small fish don't get the special rates of a multi billion dollar company.

Bottom line- if you want to sell something and reach a wide audience - it's going to cost you. Build it into your cost and hope it's competitive.

[tlbonehead]

Originally Posted by esphil

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

No, they really aren't a monopoly. Have they tried to buy out Amazon? Have they tried to shut down CL or the for-sale forums here?

[tlbonehead]

Originally Posted by esphil

Of course it is a business, have you ever heard of a non-profit that is a monopoly?
"In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices."
What other viable website alternative is there? Ubid? Ebay owns paypal, and will not even allow other checkout methods such as amazon or google payments. YES they are a monopoly.

No, they really aren't a monopoly. Have they tried to buy out Amazon? Have they tried to shut down CL or the for-sale forums here?

[tele0507]

better than a pawn shop

[tele0507]

better than a pawn shop

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally Posted by Meowy

No, actually it's called business.

You obviously don't know what a monopoly is. You want to start an auction web site?... go right ahead.

Ebay certainly is a monopoly. They dominate the industry and because of that there are high barriers to entry. Nobody with any sense is willing to start another auction site because of the dominant market presence of Ebay. Ebay has virtually no competition.

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally Posted by Meowy

No, actually it's called business.

You obviously don't know what a monopoly is. You want to start an auction web site?... go right ahead.

Ebay certainly is a monopoly. They dominate the industry and because of that there are high barriers to entry. Nobody with any sense is willing to start another auction site because of the dominant market presence of Ebay. Ebay has virtually no competition.

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally Posted by tlbonehead

No, they really aren't a monopoly. Have they tried to buy out Amazon? Have they tried to shut down CL or the for-sale forums here?

This is uncorrect! Ebay is a monopoly.