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I'm so tired of eBay

A.Goldberg

A.Goldberg

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 31, 2015
2,549
9,715
Boston
I'm so tired of using eBay...

- Not because of the expensive buyer or seller fees
- Not because I was ever personally scammed.
- Not because all of the last 3 items I have purchased have been poorly packaged and probably damaged in shipment.
- Not because the last 3 items I have purchased have taken routes all over the US thanks to shipment through USPS

It's literally just turned into the world's biggest virtual flea market of overpriced garbage. It's full of comically overpriced items from sellers apparently seeking to rip off an unknowing buyer. It seems to becoming progressively worse and worse and worse with time. I'm not sure if people are dumb enough to actually shell out money for such things, but I'm personally tired of sorting though the nonsense. We have a thread about overpriced CL ad's, but I think eBay is far worse.

They should charge people a nominal fee for posting ads, whether it sells or not. Perhaps that might dissuade people from making such ridiculous listings. Or people should be able to rate the listing to minimize the schmutz :p

Realistically, I will probably use continue using eBay to buy parts and such. Of course, not every listing is a joke. I'm just tired of sifting through the BS.
 
Are you talking about only the Used listings, like the listings of iBooks and stuff like that? Because there's a lot of really cheap and pretty good stuff in the "New" listings from china.
 
There are sill some good deals to be had on eBay, and I've bought several Macs from there (one just today in fact) for what I consider to be an acceptable price. That being said, I've been watching this gem for quite some time now.
 
A.Goldberg said:
It's literally just turned into the world's biggest virtual flea market of overpriced garbage.
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I feel your pain...

In the UK, it seems to me that ebay is using it's punitive fees and rules to deter private traders and want it primarily as a marketplace for retail businesses.

Also I find it erodes your faith in human nature - statistically, bad experiences are now outweighing the good - there really are some lousy people out there who take, grab and steal whatever they can.
 
I do not feel your pain. After my bargain Lombard, I bought this the other day. RAM is almost maxed out and the screen is bright and evenly lit. Long live FleaBay.
 

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I just bought a Tandy 102 for $30, and its 31 years old. I think that was a pretty good deal. Although I will admit, eBay does indeed have a lot of crap on their site.
 
If I do have a gripe with eBay then it is with bulk sellers who sell 100s of a single item but list each item separately to ensure maximum visibility. With Apple stuff it is often RAM, pirated software or power adapters.

When I do a search on my phone using the eBay app I tend to have to scroll past umpteen generic adapters or 'Yosemite/Maverics/ML recovery' USB flash drives that crop up. Tedious but nothing that gets me that worked up given the bargains that can be had.
 
The other day I was on eBay looking for a PowerBook for my friend, and came across a PowerBook G4 17". It was an original 2003 1Ghz, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD, for 500$!! Listed as "like new condition" and has been listed for over a year. Looks like a scammer trying to make it look like a MacBook.
 
I've been around Ebay in some form or another for 17 years.

In the past few years, my best deals have come from watching newly listed BINs like a hawk. Of course, doing so with watches is a lot different from doing so with Macs.

Among some of the deals that come to mind that I've been able to snag:

1. A Hamilton Model 22 "deck watch"(oversize WWII era pocket watch) for $225 that I sold for $650

2. A cheap Elgin in a heavy 14K gold case for $400 that sold for $1250

3. A cheap Waltham in a moderate weight 14K case for $500 that sold for $900

4. The crown jewel of my watch collection-an 1860 model 16 size Waltham in a virtually unused original engine turned 18K gold case for $1200. I still have that one, but if I needed to could get on the phone for and sell it for $3000 in 10 minutes or less(I was talking to a friend one day and mentioned that I could hang up the phone and have it sold in that amount of time, and his response was "you wouldn't have to hang up the phone")

5. A rare-possibly unique-private label Elgin 21j Wind Indicator for $900 that I resold for $1500 cash($100 bills) two days after it arrived. Everyone I showed the watch to said "I've never seen something like that before!"

6. A lot of 30 movements for $225 that netted an IWC(International Watch Company) movement that sold for $450, an Agassiz PL for a Chicago jeweler that brought $300, and a Patek Phillippe for Tiffany that brought $900. There was also a lot of "chaff" that brought anywhere from $20-$100 each. I think, dollar wise, that was my best purchase, although it involved a lot of work.

That's not to mention the multiple times that I've spent $100-200 for a lot of watches that netted me a couple hundred dollars plus getting to keep one or two items I wanted out of it.
 
MacCubed said:
The other day I was on eBay looking for a PowerBook for my friend, and came across a PowerBook G4 17". It was an original 2003 1Ghz, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD, for 500$!! Listed as "like new condition" and has been listed for over a year. Looks like a scammer trying to make it look like a MacBook.
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I've seen that listing.

It's the original owner of the Mac and he believes that since he paid so much for it, he's entitled to get that much out of it. The seller refuses to acknowledge market conditions.

I laugh at the seller because I just bought an A1013, his model, a couple of weeks ago and it's in better condition than his (almost perfect) for $69.

Some people are stupidly stubborn and this is the case here with this seller.

-----

Goldbook, I just have to say that my experience has not been quite the same as yours.

Most of my problems have been the quality of the stuff I am finding. But we are in a point now where it's either going to be used crap or something that was well taken care of. The middle ground is rapidly shrinking because these Macs are getting old.

I took a chance last year on a $45 A1013 with a broken screen. After swapping in my screen the connector for the trackpad ribbon cable snapped off the logicboard. The lid will not close correctly because the entire bottom pan is bent upwards (which I didn't know until after I got it).

I can get the Mac to start if I futz with it, but anything that stresses the Mac sends the CPU skyrocketing in heat (probably needs new paste) and I have to use a keyboard and mouse with it because the trackpad and keyboard no longer function.

I was very unhappy wth all of this, but the new A1013 has helped allievate a lot of that. However, at $45, I had taken a gamble.

The upshot is that I have A LOT of replacement parts for this new A1013 should anything break.

My point is that finding decent Macs and parts is getting harder at the prices we expect for them. Again, that's because parts in that category are drying up.

Then you have two types of seller. Those who have no idea what they have and underprice their wares. That's how I was able to get my A1013 for $69. A lot of these sellers assume a flashing question mark on the screen is a very big defect for some reason.

Then you have the other guy who wants to take advantage of people by positioning PowerPC Macs as the latest and greatest and demanding the price for it. I avoid those people. Fortunately, they seem to be a small group that doesn't sell much because buyers just aren't that gullible. Even if you don't know much about Apple, people can still the difference between a retina MBP or MBA and a PowerBook G4.
 
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Instead of complaining, all of you living in the USA should be happy you have a thriving market of old computers and parts at decent prices. :p

I live in Europe where everything is more expensive than in the US. Not only that, but in MY part of Europe the second-hand PPC Mac market is almost non-existent. The few PowerPC Macs I can find on our classifieds sites are often in a poor condition.

I do find more stuff on eBay Germany or UK but most of the sellers there don't ship outside their country. Last PPC Mac I got two months ago from Germany was a PowerMac G4 MDD 2x1.25 GHz manufactured in 2004. It was 110 Euros plus 31 Euros shipping. I don't know if that's expensive or not but the computer was (is) in a really great condition, almost like new, so I am happy with it.

eBay USA is great but now we have to pay outrageous shipping and customs fees because of their Global Shipping Program. :mad:
 
eyoungren said:
Then you have two types of seller. Those who have no idea what they have and underprice their wares. That's how I was able to get my A1013 for $69. A lot of these sellers assume a flashing question mark on the screen is a very big defect for some reason.

Then you have the other guy who wants to take advantage of people by positioning PowerPC Macs as the latest and greatest and demanding the price for it. I avoid those people. Fortunately, they seem to be a small group that doesn't sell much because buyers just aren't that gullible. Even if you don't know much about Apple, people can still the difference between a retina MBP or MBA and a PowerBook G4.
Click to expand...

So maybe it balances out, for every greedy seller hoping to rip off the gullible public there is sharp buyer looking to take advantage of a less then knowledgeable seller. ;)
 
jbarley said:
So maybe it balances out, for every greedy seller hoping to rip off the gullible public there is sharp buyer looking to take advantage of a less then knowledgeable seller. ;)
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Yes. :D

Some of my best deals have been from business liquidators. They mostly deal with PCs and Windows and have very little to no experience with Macs.

The other type that carefully takes pictures so you can't see that it's NOT a MacBook Pro or a MP usually finds themselves not selling.
 
Beavix said:
I do find more stuff on eBay Germany or UK but most of the sellers there don't ship outside their country.
Click to expand...

Just a tip: Mailboxde.com

Often works out cheaper than shipping directly, especially if you group purchases together. Now, if only the Germans could be persuaded to use Paypal more often than bank transfers...
 
Another thing that annoys me is this "seller refurbished" crap. Ok, I can see listing that for a peice of furniture, like refinishing an antique table or rebuilding a watch, but when it comes to something like a used computer especially a laptop, I highly doubt it. Yes, refurb is a vague term as it is, but I can't imagine much, if anything, is being done to "refurbish" these other than wipe the dust off.
 
A.Goldberg said:
Another thing that annoys me is this "seller refurbished" crap. Ok, I can see listing that for a peice of furniture, like refinishing an antique table or rebuilding a watch, but when it comes to something like a used computer especially a laptop, I highly doubt it. Yes, refurb is a vague term as it is, but I can't imagine much, if anything, is being done to "refurbish" these other than wipe the dust off.
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I sort of have to agree with you there.

The MBP I recently bought was implied to be 'seller refurbished'.

When I asked the seller for a new keyboard because two keys did not work and the seller offers a one month warranty I was told that he doesn't sell "parts".

If the Mac is 'seller refurbished' how do you not deal with parts?

Ultimately, he credited me back $20 which was the exact amount I needed to purchase a top case with a keyboard* for my model.

That goes back to not knowing what you have. The top cases for my model I saw going for around $80 and keyboards for about $40. But the vendor I bought this from marked the top case for a 17" MacBook Pro Air and listed a model number that is actually a part number for a battery!

First off, none of the MBAs are 17". Second, they are all unibody. Third, as I said, the part number was for a battery, not a Mac model number, fourth, there is no such thing as a MacBook Pro Air and fifth it's not just a keyboard, it's an entire top case!

I will continue to take full advantage of those who have no freaking idea of what they are selling.

*MODS, not my auction, I bought this!
 
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Is it hard to be a seller on ebay? Like if you want to sell a few items like iBook parts, is it very difficult? And is it profitable or do you spend a lot on fees and stuff?
 
This guy, after I offered him £80 for a 2003 PowerBook G4 (on Gumtree, for local sales listings):
 
keremtezcan said:
This guy, after I offered him £80 for a 2003 PowerBook G4 (on Gumtree, for local sales listings):
Click to expand...
LOL!

When the buyer demands from the seller an explanation as to why he cannot install Yosemite on this PowerBook the seller will get what's coming to him.

:D
 
Here's some of the the "Best Match" search results on eBay for Power Mac G4

Here are some stellar deals:

Model/Processer/RAM/HD - BIN Price + shipping
AGP/450SP/256/10 - $129 + 36
MDD/1.0DP/1.00/120 - $149 + 49
AGP/500SP/768/100 - $110 + 29
MDD/867SP/2GB/80 - $200 + Free
QS/933SP/1.5/80 - $200 + Free
QS/733SP/128/40 - $135 + 43
MDD/1.25DP/2.0/500 - $250 + Free (w/keyboard)
MDD/1.4DP/1.0/120 - $325 + 28
PCI/400SP/512/40 - $140 + 52
AGP/400/192/10 - $120 + Free
AGP/400/256/10 - $120 + Free
AGP/500/256/20 - $135 + 36 (But it "can be upgraded to a 1.8ghz G4")
MDD/1.42/2.0/250 - $333 + Free (with k&m + 15" ACD)
MDD/867/256/40 - $285 + Free
QS/800DP/1.25/80 - $189 + 55
AGP/400SP/640/80 - $188 + 30
Cube/450SP/???/??? - $499 + Free (w/15" ACD, k&m)
Saw/400SP/256/10 - $95 + 30
QS/800SP/512/40 - $160 + 33
MDD/1.0DP/2.0/80 - $275 + Free
QS/733SP/128/40 - $150 + 29
QS/?????/???/??? - $250 + 29 (w/15-17" ACD, k&m)
DA/533SP/1.5/240 - $199 + 45 (w/17" ACD, k&m)
iMac G4/1Ghz/256/??? - $399 + Free

And that's just on the first page!
 
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