I've bought shedloads of stuff off Ebay, both on auction or "Buy it now". Be
it England, Europe, US, Hong Kong, China, wherever, no problem. Best thing
out since sliced bread.
An hour ago, "won" 33 years worth of issues of the old "Electronic
Engineering" magazine. Seems I was the only bidder
. There's no way on
earth I could have come across such nerdy items as these, by searching local
newspaper ads etc.
My own personal thoughts are ...
Equipment resellers are there to run a business. They make a profit or die.
Hence their prices will/must always be comparatively exorbitant. Stay clear
of them. Play the waiting game. Buy, only if you've a customer willing to
pay for that item as part of your work.
It's obvious who the resellers are, as apart from the high initial bid
price, or silly "buy it now" price, the liability issues mean their item
descriptions will be minimal yet correct, with a lot of body text dealing
with conditions of sale. One UK company has now put the same piece of
stupidly priced electronic junk through Ebay at least 50 times. A sane
individual would have binned it 12 months ago. From a business POV it can be
worth it, if they catch the unique someone looking for that exact item. Then
that someone is happy and satisfied.
Don't worry too much about bidding against equipment resellers. They just
cannot profitably afford to pay the prices you as an individual are liable
to bid up to. You know you paid a worthwhile price, the reseller shakes
his/her head knowing they cannot compete, as they could not add anywhere
near a useable profit margin, which must be >>100% to allow for the risk and
other factors
If you've the skills, then buy the stuff plainly offered as 'broken' 'won't
power up' or 'needs repair'. Only do this after you've located the
availability of a circuit diagram (schematic!). 99.9% of potential bidders
avoid these items like the plague and you'll only be up against a couple of
other hardened enthusiasts. You'll get it for a song, and a couple of hours
work (usually
has it running again.
Do NOT under any circumstances bid for newish items that say "fails self
test".
Unsure of a good price to bid?, then always look over the 'completed items'
listings. Items such a particular 'scope model will turn up regularly,
(moreso in the states with it's vastly increased market size). There can be
say a 5:1 ratio on final prices but it's a good marker.
There's no 'ideal seller', as good stuff at a good price can come from
anywhere. If anything and afeared of the unknown, then the guy selling his
personal kit is a good starter. He'll describe it with great accuracy,
explain why it's for sale and how well he's looked after it. If he can cause
you to shed a tear for him then all's the better. And of course, a lot of
other bidders will now jump in and the final price will be top whack.
(that's how to auction stuff!)
Be leery over the 'don't understand what it is', or 'lights come on when
plugged in' type descriptions. Most are genuine, some are BS descriptions of
junk. Look at their other stuff for sale, see if it's consistent.
Ignore the "classic/vintage/collectable" tags, They're worthless. The person
is clueless and selling passed on junk. Bid accordingly.
Work out the maximum price you want to pay. Don't bid, just regard the
goods as being on display. It's essential you keep a daily eye on the item's
'view counter'. The rate of change of this shows the level of interest and
what you will finally be up against. Any bid placed early on unfortunately
shows that someone values the item. Sheep instinct then takes over with
more and more bidders turning up.
The problem with early bids is that people have time to think and mull over
how much they -really really- want the kit.
Assuming no or low bids, then two thirds of the way through the sale put a
bid in of half your final maximum. The idea is to scare off the casual
bidders looking for a bargain. They'll find they are constantly "outbid" by
Ebay as they ratchet up their own bids in minor increments and then lose
interest. More persistent, hardy individuals will ratchet up to a 'highest
bid' position and then feel smug. Ignore these, they must be dealt with at
the end-of-days.
Ensure the radio controlled clock has a good battery. Log into Ebay and the
item. During the last couple of minutes refresh the page regularly.
Watch for the late bids coming in. These are from those who have lost their
nerve and are now exposed. Now watch the bidding list to see if anyone's put
in a big bid at some point such that it is knocking the others down.
During the last 60 seconds you now are up against machine software bids
'sniping' and the seasoned players. At T-20 seconds put your maximum bid in.
It may not be enough. If you want, you have just enough time left to try the
extra 10% you knew the item was -really really- worth.
If you lose, then no problem. Someone was determined to buy the item at a
price you aren't prepared to pay.
Late breaking news ...
Goody!. A HP 8640B has just turned up. I've been looking for summat like
this for a month. Very low phase noise synth. Even better, it needs "repair"
and even better I've already a circuit.
The pic' is damned poor but the style and quantity of stick-on labels are
suggesting ex UK military, which is a good sign that it's had a decent
service history and may be complete internally.
Tally Ho!.
