Thread: Is it just me.

Originally Posted by pipeclay

As a lot on this forum already have there opinions of me I would just like to ask,

Why do some go out of their way to bag or ridicule or denigrated Ebay adds.

I will admit that some adds are a little to be desired,after all isnt it buyer beware.

It also appears that a lot of people who are prepared to judge an item by either its description or the photos displayed whether good or not have no real understanding of what the item is.

If that is the case, same reason anyone ridicules or denigrates anything i suppose... makes them feel big and as though their opinion counts.

Originally Posted by pipeclay

As a lot on this forum already have there opinions of me I would just like to ask,

Why do some go out of their way to bag or ridicule or denigrated Ebay adds.

I will admit that some adds are a little to be desired,after all isnt it buyer beware.

It also appears that a lot of people who are prepared to judge an item by either its description or the photos displayed whether good or not have no real understanding of what the item is.

As one of the protagonists in eBay ad bashing, I'll give you the short form.

Because I can.

I'm well aware it's buyer beware. As long as the seller is honest about the information provided, I'm fine. Equally if they list something at a totally idiotic high price, I'll happily ridicule them a Sheraton lathe comes to mind). If they list something at a fraction of it's value to me, I'll hit the BIN button if that's an option, or sweat on the closing seconds while hoping nobody else spots the gift in making.

And why? Because I can. That's how the rules work and that's how I play the game.

WRT your patronising comment on people with no real understanding of what an item is, that's your interpretation. For my part, I know what I'm bidding on and why.

Have a nice long weekend, now, and don't forget to check your eBay watch list & searches every so often. Who knows, you might find a clueless seller with blurry photos and useless description that has *just* the thing that you never knew you needed, if only you could figure out what it does and what you'd use it for.

I'll just go and polish the shiny chrome knobs on my $58 eBay surface grinder.....

PDW

I am a moderator on a bonsai forum and we have banned any topics that have anything to do with ebay - it seems a really contentious issue. We have lots of members who get their knickers in a twist about overpriced items but I just think if you think it's overpriced skip to the next item. I have found lots of bargains on ebay and gumtree as well - but you have to wade through a lot of crap. Sort of a lot like life really . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wow it looks like you have some friends Peter. Maybe you should call them NUTTERS and see how it goes.

For a little background i believe this thread here https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/what-do-you-think-184125 lead to this discussion.

Ew

Keep it nice.

DavidG
Moderator.

Life's too short to get you knickers in a twist about little things. If I see an ebay add selling something that I think is outrageous in price, I'll have a laugh and tell him he's dreaming! (Jousting sticks come to mind) I've even been known to send a message saying the same just for s and giggles!

Now, if I purchase something based on the description and the photo's and it turns out that it's clearly misleading then I'm really annoyed! Everyone deserves to make a good living and if they work really hard then they deserve to be rewarded, but if I leave the transaction feeling ripped off then they will never see another cent from me and they will get their share of -ve feedback from me.

Of all the hundreds of items I have bought on ebay, only one purchase has left me truly disappointed. Life is awesome, life goes on.

So, in summing up PC, it is partially you. You are a bit quirky but I do get you. I have never met you but you remind me of my Dad, He was very talented and willing to help others but being somewhat blunt and to the point tended to rub some folk the wrong way….

Simon

A truly buyer beware ebay would be a perfect example of a lemon market:

As quality is undistinguishable beforehand by the buyer (due to asymmetry of information), incentives exist for the seller to pass off low-quality goods as higher-quality ones.

The buyer, however, takes this into consideration, and takes the quality of the goods to be uncertain. Only the average quality of the goods will be considered, which in turn will have the side effect that goods that are above average in terms of quality will be driven out of the market.

For manufacturers, this has the effect of lowering the incentive to produce anything more than average quality products, as the market will only want to pay an average price.

And then we all whinge about where the quality tool manufacturers have gone!

See also: Akerlof, George A. (1970). "The Market for 'Lemons': Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism". Quarterly Journal of Economics (The MIT Press) .

I only buy old tools on ebay if I want new or electrical etc I go to a shop. I haven't got the time or the inclination to bag sellers on ebay who are selling what you guys are complaining about. But I have bought some gems from sellers who didn't know what they had. In one case a guy in America listed a pair of fairly nondescript/ damaged braces, he didn't describe it but in the photo was a crank handle for a tool I wanted to get my hands on. I kept my mouth shut and eventually got them for about $20. The seller was surprised when I told him to keep the two braces, that I was happy to pay $20 +pp for the crank handle only. It worked out well for all concerned so why sneer at his lack of knowledge?
A friend of mine told me that if you've got a tool that you think may have been made at the Wundowie Foundry, take it to a local tool show and label it as "made in Port Kembla" he says people will be climbing over each other to tell you how wrong you are. Works for me.

Geoff