Ebay more expensive than internet

llh189

I was looking and therefore bidding on a phone - I lost but winning bid was £70 plus £10 postage. And the phone was used ( with some damage alough very little) and not boxed and didn't say in came with a manual, just phone and charger.

I have today order the same phone brand new, with £10 credit for £40 free delivery.

The ebay phone was unlocked and therefore suitable for T mobile, the one I have ordered is on Orange but a friend will unlock it for free - I am missing something!

Moglex

The phone may have been bought by a scammer.

It may have been bought after a 'bidding frenzy'.

Or it may simply have been bought by someone who did not research the alternatives properly.

I have seen several things that consistently sell on ebay for more than you could get them elsewhere.

motorguy

Moglex wrote: »

The phone may have been bought by a scammer.

It may have been bought after a 'bidding frenzy'.

Or it may simply have been bought by someone who did not research the alternatives properly.

I have seen several things that consistently sell on ebay for more than you could get them elsewhere.

Realistically thats how quite a few sellers on ebay make their money - check out the likes of our 'Quick Grabbit...' board, or the hotukdeals forum, buy the items and sell them on to unsuspecting buyers, who dont know where to look online for the best deals.

windswept

It's not just ebay, the whole net is full of huge price differences for the same item. not everyone does research before buying, I have just ordered a micro sd card from amazon, for £3.65, on other websites they are £15 - £20!
I freely admit to charging more on ebay for my best sellers, yet all someone would have to do is google the item and find it cheaper - even on my own website!
I routinely charge £1.50 more for a £10 item, to cover fees, so that way I keep my profit margin. It helps that I have no competition for the 3 things that outsell my other products x 10. I am amazed that no-one else has started to sell them as some of my competitors use the same manufacturers. I fully expect that someone will start selling them as they are there on the new feedback page for all to see how many I sell.:mad:

shellsuit

Maybe they had funds in Paypal which they wanted to spend ~ you can't use Paypal on all normal shopping sites can you?

pennylane99

shellsuit wrote: »

Maybe they had funds in Paypal which they wanted to spend ~ you can't use Paypal on all normal shopping sites can you?

you can on some...Harrods take Paypal.....;) and Boots....

I have seen a number of online shops that take it

Contains_Mild_Peril

Mobile phones seem to go for a lot of money on eBay for some reason.
I will admit to having bought some very cheap slightly out-of-date photographic film from 7dayshop.com and selling it at a profit on eBay. It pays to shop around.

competitionscafe

Happens all the time. Maybe some people think if it's on ebay it must be a bargain (!) I have even seen books go for more than the rrp price which is printed on the back of a new book (readily available in any bookshop books not rare or oop ones) Why would anyone pay more than the high-street brand new rrp price for a second hand copy of the same book!? Not to mention that most popular books, dvds etc are at least 30% off online. If somene has heard of ebay you would think they would at least be aware of Play.com CDwow, amazon etc and take 10 seconds to check the price there....but it seems many don't.

soolin

There is no rule that says ebay is cheaper than a shop..as has already been said many of us buy part of our stock at 'normal' places and sell it on at a profit.

Just use ebay as you would use any other site, and research all the prices and sources first. Just this week I've bought myself some Egyptian cotton bedding from an online shop and saved approx a third on ebay prices, I have also just bought a DVD at approximately half the price that is it selling for on ebay.

ampersand

shellsuit wrote: »

Maybe they had funds in Paypal which they wanted to spend ~ you can't use Paypal on all normal shopping sites can you?

I am surprised by what you write. There's no charge for withdrawing from £50 upwards to a Bank account which is logged with Paypal. This will be there already as part of your being with Paypal.
#
I agree that many books are cheaper on Amazon and I speak from both sides of the transaction. Posting costs and communication with seller also influence buying decisions.

peter_the_piper

ampersand wrote: »

I am surprised by what you write. There's no charge for withdrawing from £50 upwards to a Bank account which is logged with Paypal. This will be there already as part of your being with Paypal.

Not everyone wants the amount to show up on their bank statements, Partners--Taxman etc are a few that come to mind.