So I’m looking through eBay. I’ve been kinda in the mood to get a Nintendo Game Cube for the Minnesota winter months that are approaching and wanted a deal. I’ve been shopping eBay for a bit over 3 years I think and I always come across these type of auctions: Ebay item
Anyone have the scoop on 'em? I know you don’t get anything tangible unless you consider touching your monitor when you get a $49.99 email is tangible. (I also hope not to offend anyone by insinuating that this is a possible scam, but it does seem suspect).
Look at his feedback, and what items it is based on. A guy selling belts is now selling GameCubes…and he has a high proportion of neutral/negative feedbacks compared to other ebayers.
I am not an E-bay user but the seller is telling you that you are not getting the Game Cube. I have a feeling he is going to send you a list of places country-wide that sell the GC. Perhaps he’ll also mention (and give details) of where you can buy refurbished GC’s at discounted prices. Thats just speculation on my part though.
Whats the deal with the two prices? Is it that you can guurantee to get it for $49.99 or take a chance and bid at a lower price ($9.99 and higher) and hope to win the bid?
No he’s not, and he says as much in his advert. He’s selling an email telling you where you might (or might not) be able to pick up a cheap Gamecube.
Reading between the lines, it sounds like he’s just flogging a list of wholesalers. The “software that will help you get your new eBay business off the ground” (quote, gratuitous caps and screamers omitted ) implies that you can then flog this self same list using the same ad. It’s like those “Make money fast - send $5 to this address for details” ads, where I imagine the “details” take the form of a letter saying “Place ads saying ‘Make money fast - send $5 for details’, then when you receive the money send them a copy of this letter,” and so on…
We used to get kids advertising paintball guns “cheap”, using the same idea. Advertise the gun, give detailed descriptions, start the auction at some absurdly low “no reserve” point ($9.99 for a $1,000 marker) and have a line in 9-point font at the bottom saying winners of the auction will be told via E-mail where to find the item in question for a “cheap price”.
The “cure”, I’m told, was to get three or four buddies together, register shill accounts, and have a bidding war. Rack up the kid’s auction amount, then not pay. The kid would have to fork over his 2% of, say, $1,400 and get nothing in return.
Exactamundo. The Buy It Now price disappears as soon as someone places a $9.99 bid, and it just goes up like a regular auction. I have no idea why he would use Buy It Now (an optional service) on this kind of auction. If he thinks there is a demand for this information, he would be better of running a Dutch Auction (another optional service) where the the seller can offer several identical items for sale in the same auction. Hard to imagine it goiung above $9.99 when there is no limit to the supply.
He’s probably got the info on where you can get one for $10(maybe more) less than high street price (i.e. almost any online retailer), but he’s relying on people not reading the blurb properly and thinking they are getting the real thing); these used to pop up on Fark.com every now and then and the price when the auction closed was often about the same as the item itself would cost you.
Its probably just info that directs you to a government auction or surplus auction. If you want a cheap GC legally, try gamestop.com I gor mine there used with Luigis Mansion for $129 plus shipping ($9)
) implies that you can then flog this self same list using the same ad. It’s like those “Make money fast - send $5 to this address for details” ads, where I imagine the “details” take the form of a letter saying “Place ads saying ‘Make money fast - send $5 for details’, then when you receive the money send them a copy of this letter,” and so on…