Why So Much Overpriced Listings On Ebay?

I’ve been Ebaying since the early 2000s and listings with ridiculous offer prices only seem to increase by the years. Why are there so many listings for common goods that are available for brand new on Amazon for less than $10 where the Ebay seller asks for more than $100? Are there really enough dumb Ebay buyers to make it worth the while? If so, why are my buyers the most value-driven buyers in the universe?

Also, why sell stuff over the internet for less than a $1 plus $2-4 shipping? Anything less than $10 seems like a waste of time to me.

I wonder about those questions too.
Just got a charger for my iphone 4s for $4 with free shipping from China, lol

I dont get how they make money on it.

I sometimes scan my local want ads (kijiji.com)

and I frequently see people who will list cheap items on there like a used VHS movie for ‘$5 or best offer’

I’m thinking "WTF? You’re going to list an item, have to reply to emails, make appointments for people to come to your house to get it, all for 2 or 3 bucks? How hard up can you be?

I dunno!

Because once the Intarwebs became accessible to everyone, the stupid people started using the marketplace. :wink:

Obviously, it’s because (1) the seller erred in entering the asking price when he listed the item, or (2) the seller has no freaking idea of what the overpriced item is worth in the market, or (3) the seller knows exactly what he’s doing and hopes that there’s one of those suckers that are born every minute that will buy it.

I watch “Pawn Stars” on TV sometimes and people have the craziest ideas of what stuff is worth. They think their stuff is worth a lot more than it is. It is not unusual for someone to want 10 times what I think their good stuff is worth. And if they can get some dolt to pay that much, then why not?

This is a common topic on the eBay and PayPal boards. The answer seems to be, people will over pay or else it’s a form of laundering the money or high cost credit card advances

In may ways ebay has morphed from a yard sale into a retail store for a lot of sellers who use ebay as a virtual retail store and their prices are pretty close to retail if they are going head to head on a commodity product. What ebay sellers can offer is stuff like overseas shipping or access to discontinued (but desired) merchandise.

I’ve had buyers offer 2 to 5 times retail for something they really wanted if I would convert the auction to “buy it now” and sell it to them immediately.

When I had my internet business selling automotive aftermarket accessories I called Ebay “the land of the stupid”. I had a feedback rating of more than 6000 so I got to see it all. I will say that when I finally closed the business in 2008 there wasn’t as much overpaying as in the early days. But, those early days sure were fun. People would pay more than retail for the items I was selling. They could have gone to my website and purchased the same item for much less. It almost seemed that once the bidding started that no amount of sense could save someone who was determined to purchase it. A $70 shift knob could easily sell for $120.

But, that was on pure auctions. I haven’t the slightest idea how people are dumb enough to pay the prices they do for the Buy Now items. A simple search would show they could get it for far less on other venues. But, the same hold true for those selling items far below what they should cost. I am referring to new items. I would have others selling the same items I was selling for less than I could get them for from a distributor. And it wasn’t just one or two items. Plus they would throw in free shipping. It seems that the items must have “fallen off a truck”, for there was no way they were legally purchasing the items for resale.

Since most answers to the OP will be opinions, let’s move from GQ to IMHO.

samclem, Moderator

The listings are overpriced because people need to make money. Not saying it’s right but, if the sellers price the products regular priced then no one will shop ebay.

There are dumb buyers out there. I’ve certainly seen things go for significantly more than you can get them on Amazon.

But there are also dumb (or lazy) sellers out there who don’t really know what what they’re selling is worth and aren’t willing to put in some time to find out.

I’m interested in a fair number of collectibles (stamps, trading cards, etc.). It’s amazing how often people will slap up an auction with descriptions along the lines of “500 Magic cards” or “album with old stamps” and one picture. The seller obviously isn’t a collector and can’t provide any details to help someone who is estimate what a fair price would be. This wouldn’t bug me except that the amount of info provided tends to be inversely proportional to the start price. Someone might bid a few bucks in the chance of finding a hidden gem, but if your start price if $50, you’re just wasting everybody’s time.

Yes, sorry for posting in wrong category. My question doesn’t regard hard facts.

I’m curious about the increasing volume of rubbish Ebay listings, in particular, the power seller listings with stock photos for common, in-print stuff that is easily available for much less on Amazon.

I also have always wondered about the petty theft listings where they list the goods for less than $5 plus $2-4 shipping, but over-grade the goods as “like new” when they’re clearly used condition. Why go to all the trouble just to risk damage to your reputation, feedback rating, to make maybe $1 profit if Paypal doesn’t refund the buyer? This type of listing is more common among the individual sellers trying to get rid of their unwanted belongings. It would be easier for them to give it to Goodwill or put in a yard sale.

I have had this same argument with my family regarding my refusal to craigslist/ebay the old crap I’ve been clearing out of my house. "But it’s OLD! You could sell it on ebay! I try to explain that once my time and labor is factored in the profit disappears, but they just shrug and say, "Well, it’s your stuff, you can do what you want with it. " :smack:

Did you buy your accessories from www.cellphoneshop.net?
I have gone there and had some success. They don’t have the highest quality but when you can buy two car chargers for less than 1 retail charger you are definitely coming out ahead.
As far as ebay I wonder if sniping had anything to do with the price increase. I got out of buying on ebay when i realized that bots were sniping any and everything I wanted. All my friends now seem to use craigslist. I am a little leary of having some stranger come by the house.

When I was pregnant with my daughter in 99, I looked on ebay for baby clothing. My thinking was that the babies grow out of things so fast, clothing would be practically new and they were. I would get boxes of clothes for less than 10 dollars (20 with shipping). My daughter was clothed by ebay auctions for her first 4 years of life.
Recently a friend of mine had a little girl and since I have already given away my daughter’s things, I looked on ebay for her. I was shocked to see that people were advertising used clothing by piece for what I paid for 10-20 things! I guess people must be buying or the prices would have to go down. It is no longer a bargain site but a buyer beware and know your prices site. Pity.

Once ebay was taken over by the people who made a business out of it, it lost both its charm and its reputation for being a bargain shopper’s paradise.

We have an electronic bulletin board here at work. While there are still occasional bargains, I’m amazed what people list (a used book, a used mattress), and how much they want for it! One person wanted $10 for her used copy of “The Help.” Another wanted over $500 for a 3 year old patio set that retailed for $750. Still another wanted $125 for a set of three horrible paintings. I guess she was hoping buyers didn’t realize that teal and mauve went out two decades ago.