Why are eBay prices so expensive lately? I stopped buying on eBay.

[Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 13:56

I started restoring a car to help fill my days after retiring. So, being on a pension thought I would go on eBay to buy my parts and whatnot. Well, was I surprised. The prices on eBay were most of the time on par, or MORE EXPENSIVE than retail, for the item I needed!!!

Namely, from paint, to hardware, electronics, etc. I ended up buying retail from mostly Bunnings, and Jaycar, Radio Parts, Supercheapauto, Bayford Motors, Ford dealers etc, rather than eBay. I find that the convenience of seeing the physical item, as well as ease of returns if it’s not right, far outweighs a few cents saved or the free delivery.

In fact I have not bought anything from eBay for the past 4 months.

Just 2 of my most recent examples: I was after some WAGO electrical connectors. The cheapest ebay price was $1.30 each, whereas RadioParts was $1.20 and Jaycar was $1.25 retail. I also wanted some D-Ring anchor points. The cheapest ebay price was $16 for 4, but Bunnings has them for $12. I would be stupid to buy from eBay.

Now I will only buy on ebay if I can’t get it retail, or it’s only available interstate or overseas. Even then if I contact an interstate retailer on their website I can get a better price.

Has anyone else noticed this? Now I don’t even take notice of all the 10%, 20% ebay promotions as I know they are all BS.

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Comments

  • doweyy on 03/04/2018 - 13:59
    +7

    eBay isn't the living saviour of bargains, it's good to get a saving on items sold from your local retailers who are on it, but the 14% fees that sellers need to pay does not make it cheap most of the time.

    Getting a further 10% off Officeworks is good because it's hard to get a normal saving. But buying cheap from smaller sellers is hard because they need to make profit and sometimes they're running on small margins because of the massive fees.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 14:09

      Granted, but my comments are ebay prices COMPARED TO a few years ago, even last year.

      A guy in his house in cranbourne has no overheads, no wages to pay, no rent, no superannuation, no tax on earnings. The ebay fees are far less than those overheads. In my examples, the prices were 20-25% more than retail.

      In other cases, there are guys selling car parts panels etc, for a $3000 markup. A wrecked bonnet sells for $300 whereas the whole car is not worth more than $200.

      As they say buyer beware.

      • Quantumcat on 03/04/2018 - 14:27
        +5

        A guy in his house at Cranbourne also can't get wholesale pricing

  • ninetyNineCents on 03/04/2018 - 14:08
    +1

    Jaycar cheaper than most of ebay ?

    I added the most but i find it hard to believe Jaycar is cheaper than anyone except for those joke listings that arent serious.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 14:12
      +1

      I agree, I have been a customer of Jaycar and Radio Parts, for more that 20 years. Even their prices have skyrocketed. My examples were examples only. But they are confirmable just by doing a search.

  • zonra on 03/04/2018 - 14:11
    +3

    I never understand the "I'll never shop at store X again because of prices" mentality.
    Sure if the store poses serious trust/fraud/warranty concern then I'll avoid it for good.

    Otherwise, when I want/need to buy something, I'll look at all venues where I can potentially get it from, and choose the cheapest option (taking delivery time and other risks into consideration, e.g. grey imports)
    Any who, eBay is a market place, it's the sellers that set the prices, and you'll find that there are different prices/listings for the same item, one same item can be $10 here but $199 "Rare, hard to find" elsewhere.
    Also, buying from eBay means you are also paying the 14 something % fees and delivery cost that sellers already built into the prices, so at times it's cheaper to get stuff locally.
    But there are bargains to be had depends on what you're buying, so shop around, there is no one best place to buy everything online or offline.

    • [Deactivated] on 03/04/2018 - 14:15

      I did not say I will never buy from ebay again. Once again those sellers sitting in their loungeroom, do nat have any of the overheads of retailers, or pay tax on income. Official ebay stores excepted.

      • zonra on 03/04/2018 - 14:32

        I stopped buying on eBay.

        I did not say I will never buy from ebay again.

        Any who, in regards to overheads and tax cost to the average eBay sellers, while they are somewhat relevant, they are not the biggest deciding factor in the final price.
        I'm no businessman, but I believe the price is set to maximise profit to the sellers, not to make it as fair as possible to the buyers.
        Supply and demand, cheaper listings will get bought before more expensive ones, and that's that.

        And don't be surprised when you see one sellers have two listings of the same item, one more expensive than the other, it costs them (almost?) nothing to have an extra listing, so if unsuspecting people buy the more expensive listing, more profit for seller, otherwise if they buy the cheaper listing, seller still make some money.
        Vote with your wallet, look for the most convenient and cheapest option of your item, and buy that.
        You'd be surprised, sometimes they're where you least expect them (e.g. cheap Ipad minis at Myer, PS4 Pros at Harvey)

  • ausdday on 03/04/2018 - 14:15
    +1

    ebay tends to be more expensive if you are after some very specific items, that china doesn't mass produce.

    I bought a lot of my arduino / electronic sensors from ebay, most of them are really common. For example,

    AM2302 humidity sensor:
    Jaycar selling it at $10.22 (was 19.95 before sales), while ebay seller from china sells for less than $4, including postage.

    Soil Moisture Sensor:
    Jaycar selling at $4.95, while ebay china sellers are selling it for $1 delivered.

  • whooah1979 on 03/04/2018 - 14:49
    +3

    The cheapest ebay price was $1.30 each, whereas RadioParts was $1.20 and Jaycar was $1.25 retail.

    Which of these sellers provide free shipping?

  • whooah1979 on 03/04/2018 - 14:51
    +3

    The cheapest ebay price was $16 for 4, but Bunnings has them for $12.

    How much does bunnings charge for shipping this item?

  • inherentchoice on 03/04/2018 - 17:19

    feeBay.

    Also, Australia Post price gouging and excessive numbers of executives on high pay.

  • knk on 03/04/2018 - 17:23

    For the electrical side of things - Aliexpress can be dirt cheap. Shipping take forever so you're best to buy a whole bunch at once and hope you have what you need on hand when doing the project.

    I spent about $40 the other day and got a heap of fuses, relays, inline fuse holders etc etc.

    The other day I needed a fuse holder and a relay….that's $25 from supercheap for those 2 items alone lol.

    http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/Tridon-Micro-Relay-…
    http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/SCA-Automotive-Fuse…

  • [Deactivated] on 04/04/2018 - 08:51

    Since the invasion of the brick and motar retailers and China starting to sell direct leaving me no margain for dropshipping profits, I have ceased to bother with ebay myself. Sometimes I am surprised to see a cheap listing when browsing, but reading the fine print always shows its not a bargain. RIP old internet.

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