What is going on on eBay??

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danst96

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I saw a Scheppach TS82 sell for £900 on eBay at the weekend, that saw is around £600 when bought new. Granted it's out of stock everywhere, but £900 for a second hand £600 saw??🤯
 
Conversely, I recently bought from the bay, a bandsaw for £60. Ive seen the same model listed for as much as £2000. Go figure 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
Seller's market?
I guess so, but that example is just ridiculous. I guess its a combination of sellers market and people bidding and buying who don't know what they are doing. I speak carefully because I did spend on TS recently that needed a fair bit of cleaning up but not without research and knowing its resale value after it was cleaned up.

It is so random though because there are a few Kity 1619's for sale with sliding carriages which go for around £600 as far as I can see. Not sure why people felt the need to bid considerably more for a smaller bladed, Chinese made machine?
 
Rowing machine list at £860, selling used on eBay for £1250+. It's not eBay's fault. They're out of stock and I'm on a 15 week waiting list.
 
I guess so, but that example is just ridiculous. I guess its a combination of sellers market and people bidding and buying who don't know what they are doing. I speak carefully because I did spend on TS recently that needed a fair bit of cleaning up but not without research and knowing its resale value after it was cleaned up.

It is so random though because there are a few Kity 1619's for sale with sliding carriages which go for around £600 as far as I can see. Not sure why people felt the need to bid considerably more for a smaller bladed, Chinese made machine?
Sometimes it is just a combination of insufficient knowledge and the bidding fever where ego takes over common sense.
 
Makes me think of the man who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing.
 
Perhaps pricing on ebay is all part of a strategic game played for different reasons:
  • price competitively, small margins, need to sell a lot to make a profit, lots of admin
  • price high, exploit product shortages, get the odd sale at high margin
  • price low, turn excess stock into cash
  • price high in the hope that the one born every minutes comes along
  • simple mistake in listing
 
the weirdest thing about lockdown for me was expecting another massive recession and prices to drop, but they just keep going up.
 
To be fair Ebay and other auction sites have always had cases like that, " Auction fever" my dad used to call it when we went to local auctions to get timber. Some people get carried away and they have to have it (doesent matter what it is ) if only to stop another from getting it. The Auctioneers activly encourage this daft behaviour because it means more cash to them.
 
Ebay is a universal secondary market for anything instantaneously in demand.

Sometimes when you're a seller, you sell stuff poorly because there's no roving online market for it, and sometimes the opposite happens. Earlier this year, I still had 2 LN planes left. A LN 62 that I purchased just to test the unicorn sharpening method as I figured it would work better than a flat facet (it does), and then sold after testing.

I guess I got lucky getting the plane in the first place, but it was about $270 and I expected to eat about $70 net of fees. I woke up after selling it on a straight auction and some guy in france bought it for $360. I was shocked and figured it might be a scam. I had improved the plane while having it and listed that (it was within LN's spec but hollow in its length to a noticeable amount, and I flattened it to anything a starrett edge would let light through). I also expected to eat it over that because LN's typical new customer doesn't know much about things like that and I would've avoided anything non factory early on. The payment came through, The guy got the plane and was super pleased with it (apparently, nothing has been going to continental europe from LN for a while).

I had a bronze 4 that I pondered selling with a modified stock and cap iron to be able to use LN irons but also stanley thickness irons. Same fear (describing those details maybe ends up doing you no favors because it confuses some newer buyers). I was just hoping for market value after the france fluke. I sold it on a straight up auction starting at a penny and it sold for $550 (they're $375 or something from LN). I pondered giving the buyer some refund, but he was so happy to get one (and from california of all places - he said LN wasn't going to make more until at least a month later and he wasn't waiting). That plane was my user plane and wasn't short of handling marks on it, either. Unlike the 62, it was dead flat from the factory.

I offered to make him an O1 iron fitted to the plane since LN doesn't make those and then he could have both types, and he was super pleased with that, too.

got plenty of complaints from people who tried to send messages to take the listing down early and sell for new plane price, a couple accusing me of being a shill bidder. The final buyer blew them away (I don't shill bid with anyone - ever. It's not even illegal in all states here, but I don't care if it is or isn't, it's horrid). I sent messages to the guys who pounded me about shill bids about maybe keeping things to themselves until they see the feedback from the legitimate sale. One was apologetic, the other one was just being infantile all the way to the end.

Long story short, when you really want something and it's not available, going to ebay isn't a great place to go unless you have a saved search on a fixed price item. The other ones, people will go nuts. Apparently listing something at auction these days without reserve is so uncommon that people think you're a scammer. The reason that I like to do it is that it takes it out of your hands worrying about when something will sell or how much. You list it, it sells. You can wring your hands about bad (low finish price) sales if you want, but it all evens out in the end.

It takes a month or two for prices on the ground here to catch up with ebay. going rate for a nice stanley four has doubled in the last 5 years but at swap meets and such, prices closer to the older prices aren't that uncommon.
 
Hi,

A few years ago I noticed on eBay a Burgess Sprayit SR122 paint spraying kit that I really fancied it having a starting bid of £20 on it. I used to borrow my friends Sprayit about 50 years ago and even sprayed my then VW classic split screen camper with it; I liked this little compressor unit a great deal and just out of nostalgia I wanted one.

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I contacted the seller offering £100 which was way higher than it was worth but the seller replied the sprayer was attracting lots of attention so the auction was allowed to run. I was doing a lot of work indoors and needed a sprayer to spray emulsion so I bought an Apollo sprayer for the job; funds weren't a problem but out of curiosity I checked the Sprayit at auction end and it hadn't attracted a buyer at the starting bid; how strange to receive an email from the Sprayit owner saying I could now have the Sprayit for £100. I politely replied saying that as my initial offer had been rejected by him I'd already bought a much more expensive Apollo and thanked him for his email.

The Sprayit was once again put on eBay auction with a starting bid of £20 so I decided to watch it; within the last ten seconds of auction end I placed a £30 bid and got the Sprayit for it's starting bid of £20 with no other bidder.

My wife and I enjoyed a summer's morning drive over to Cheshire to collect the Sprayit which I still have and will never part with it. The seller was obviously unhappy as I handed over the £20 cash but I did save him the expense of PayPal.

I love stories with an happy ending.

Kind regards, Colin.
 
Many years ago I saw 12 pine kitchen cupboard doors for sale about 5 miles from me with a starting price of 1p.

I felt sorry for the guy when I handed him the 1p but hey ho.
 
I find the best prices for tools are when you buy locally in joblots. My first lot included a Stanley No 4 plane, a Sandvik hacksaw, heavy metal hammer, 2 stanley screwdrivers, various masonry chisels and pry bars, a 20m and 30m tape measure and a manual push lawnmower all for the princely sum of around £30!

Edit 20m and 30m, not 50m! They're quite nice I've used them a couple of times already. The 20m is a Rabone Chesterman made in England and the 30m one a Lufkin Rule Co made in Canada of all places.
 
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As few weeks ago i bought something collect only on eBay went to collect all ok.he also had a nice dust extractor sitting there.he said thats for sale ...i offered £50 he seemed most offended and said no not at all not even saying well £15O or so
It was on eBay last week sold for £40
 
Ebays a funny place.. in the last year i "brought" a Wadkin BGS 12, well maintained but barely ever used for £300 but i regularly see items sitting there far over-priced for months, if not the last two years but i imagine they must sell or they wouldn't operate like that.
I did have the thought recently though that it seems something is up; watching multiple AGS 10s in ok condition but parts missing, needing rewiring, 3ph, etc, go for £100's more than far better options that have been sat on other common online markets for months:dunno:
 
I can't seem to find woodworking machinery so easily on ebay nowadays. I used to just search for used woodworking machinery, and lots of different types of machinery came up. What has changed, and how should I search?
Also, chap in the unit next to me deals in used woodworking machinery, not the big stuff, but single phase saws. bandsaws planers etc. He reckons prices have shot up. he can charge 40% more than a few years ago?
 
I often see the same stuff on for months and months at silly prices. You can put it on at whatever starting price you like. Doesn't mean it will sell. I've seen things worth £30 on ebay at £300 for half a year before they give up.
 

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