Ebay Buying.
* Before someone comes in saying that this isn't strictly a hardware thread: I know, but it isn't strictly a software thread either, so I had to pick one, and as this is mainly about my Packard Bell, which is currently in transit, I picked "Hardware", so sue me 8) *
I've never bought anything off of ebay, until this year a few months ago, when I bought a Microsoft Home Mouse in box, and then I later bought an internal modem card.
I have known about Ebay for a very long time, but haven't ever had a need to purchase anything from an Ebay seller until recently because stuff I need/want now is not coming up on Kijiji (local Canadian classifieds website), and when it does, it's very rare and some people are not willing to ship.
I did also buy a vintage Marilyn Manson T-shirt off of a Chinese seller, I thought I got scammed because the expected shipping date went by, then another week or two and nothing came, but then like 3 weeks, ago, I got a package and it was the goddamn t-shirt! So that's good.
Buying the Packard Bell PackMate III off of a seller in Richmond, Virginia in the United States is the first time I have ever made a large purchase, both by amount of money (a little over $300 if you include shipping, exchange rate, and paypal fees), and by size, because it is computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, user manual, and MS-DOS 3.3 on 5.25 and 3.5 floppy disks.
It is currently on it's way to the global shipping program in Kentucky, where it will then make it's way to me. It is expected to arrive in Kentucky tomorrow according to the USPS tracking.
If it gets to me in one piece and in good condition, I will maybe be willing to buy more computers and/or peripherals off of Ebay, if something goes wrong, that'd be the end of Ebay for me for large purchases.
This would be the first time I have ever purchased a significant piece of hardware over the internet, hopefully it all ends well.
I'm curious to know what your experiences are with Ebay, if you have had any.
I've never bought anything off of ebay, until this year a few months ago, when I bought a Microsoft Home Mouse in box, and then I later bought an internal modem card.
I have known about Ebay for a very long time, but haven't ever had a need to purchase anything from an Ebay seller until recently because stuff I need/want now is not coming up on Kijiji (local Canadian classifieds website), and when it does, it's very rare and some people are not willing to ship.
I did also buy a vintage Marilyn Manson T-shirt off of a Chinese seller, I thought I got scammed because the expected shipping date went by, then another week or two and nothing came, but then like 3 weeks, ago, I got a package and it was the goddamn t-shirt! So that's good.
Buying the Packard Bell PackMate III off of a seller in Richmond, Virginia in the United States is the first time I have ever made a large purchase, both by amount of money (a little over $300 if you include shipping, exchange rate, and paypal fees), and by size, because it is computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse, user manual, and MS-DOS 3.3 on 5.25 and 3.5 floppy disks.
It is currently on it's way to the global shipping program in Kentucky, where it will then make it's way to me. It is expected to arrive in Kentucky tomorrow according to the USPS tracking.
If it gets to me in one piece and in good condition, I will maybe be willing to buy more computers and/or peripherals off of Ebay, if something goes wrong, that'd be the end of Ebay for me for large purchases.
This would be the first time I have ever purchased a significant piece of hardware over the internet, hopefully it all ends well.
I'm curious to know what your experiences are with Ebay, if you have had any.
Comments
You can ocasionally run in to a numnut who packages a fragile item in a flimsy torn up box with absolutely no padding, and you wind up with wad of taped up cardboard full of plastic and glass shards. The good news is you will almost certianly get your money back, the bad news is the world is down one vintage item.
The big problem with eBay is the flip side - it sucks for sellers. I haven't personally sold anything there yet (but I need to eventually), but I have heard some horror stories. For everything that is sold, eBay takes a % in fees. And add in how shipping has gone through the roof the last number of years (not to mention the costs of packing materials), and many people would rather throw an item in the trash than sell it. They just don't make much profit from small items. Then, of course, with all the buyer protection, that means sellers can be out big bucks if a buyer complains for any reason. And I have heard that some of eBay's other policies and rules are a pain in the ass too.
As you noticed, local listings are nice, and can save quite a bit of money, but the primary savings is in local pickup. So most sellers on places like craigslist won't want to ship.
Now that you have gotten your first one, before you know it, your closets will be full of eBay crap
I'm not really concerned about this one though, as I bought off of a collector who has shipped before and just needed to downsize his collection.
He said he will pack it good, and also I'd expect he'd know how to pack a computer system properly because he's also into this stuff.
So no worries really.
Ebay is a pain to use. Their listing system site hasn't changed in 10 years, good or bad. Finding catagories to list the item in is wonky, as you go through a series of some random lists to hope you click the right one. As a matter of fact, trying to list an item is wonky itself. It's usually extremely slow and unstable and you'll end up losing progress if you don't save what you're doing.
Words can't describe it, and the experience varies by user.
On top of that, they charge fees up the wazoo, and try to sneak some in out of the blue for simplest of things such as listing periods. Bear in mind, the first 24 hours your listing IS NOT VISIBLE on ebay search, unless you opt for the 24 hour listing. Which costs money.
Generally, if you get through the process and land a free listing, and sell your item, ebay charges 11-20% on EVERYTHING money related, shipping included. And, you also have to pay the fees even if you had to refund the buyer. (which is why lots of sellers do not accept refunds or charge "restocking fees")
I believe the fees may be graduated as well, so at certain points the fees they charge increase with the auction listings.
Factor in rising postal costs, and the typical ebay seller is looking to cut costs at every point, or charge the buyer for as much as they can.
When buying, do pay attention to seller ratings. Users with 95% or better with large volumes of reviews from buyers are a good sign. And, also look at the individual aspects of reviews, such as item as described.
Altogether, if the seller charges a reasonable shipping cost(free can be iffy), they have good reviews, then you may have a pleasant experience. Now sometimes fresh users can be decent as well, but it's a gamble.
That said, I should mention that when looking for vintage computing items, you can go over to http://www.vcfed.org/forum/ and post a "wanted to buy" message, or if you have something to sell you can post it for sale there too. Of course there are no protections, and the forum takes absolute zero responsibility for private transactions. And there is no bidding so you must know what you want to sell for/pay for an item. (A couple of notes, I think you need at least 10 posts or so before you can send/receive Private Messages. Also, publicly posting a message that says only "PM Sent" is against the rules)
http://www.ebay.ca/usr/shabba?ul_noapp=true
My experience has been fairly positive overall. Sellers usually ship pretty quick and in some cases I get items almost as fast as I would buying from big name sites like Amazon. Packaging is usually good. Some sellers go overboard with it and sometimes they use odd materials like old magazines or grocery bags. But so far I haven't had an item damaged in shipping. (Where's some wood to knock on?)
I had one incident though with a car part. They had the correct part pictured and the item description was correct, but what they sent me was not the right part and didn't match the picture or the item description at all. I think they simply shipped the wrong item. I contacted them about it and they refunded me my money and surprisingly enough, they didn't ask for the part back. I even asked them just to be sure and they said to keep it. Not that it does me any good, but at least I got my money back and I could order the right part from a different seller. Mistakes happen.
I haven't bought any vintage computers, but I have bought a few vintage phones and it always makes me a little nervous because if it gets damaged in shipping or stolen*, well then, it's gone. And if it's sufficiently rare, it could be years before I find another one, if at all.
* = I've had packages stolen from my doorstep before. It's happened twice and thankfully with cheap and easily replaceable items from Amazon and not with anything vintage... but just something to keep in mind. If you have a vintage item shipped, make sure you or someone you trust is able to receive the package when it arrives. It gets more common around Christmas time when people get more desperate.
However, I am already checking the tracking at least once a day, so when I see it should be arriving the next day, I will tell one of my parents about it for sure, without a doubt.
the cost of the computer itself was only $110, and it comes with monitor, mouse, keyboard, user manual, and DOS on both 5.25 and 3.5. So not bad. The rest is shipping and currency conversion.
Will post about it later, and include photos.
It's not silly if you're parents won't let you drive alone, and so you either have to find something in your local area or have the seller deliver themselves.
If not, then you have no choice but to pay shipping if you want the item.
Yes, there were a *few* items that have went through the unlucky depths of damage during shipping, I remember the front panel on my Presario desktop broke and I had to superglue it together and use shipping tape to help hold it on without cracking, thankfully the rest of the machine was fine so that's good.
Everything else that I've bought was outstanding and I almost always give the sellers feedback when I have the time to, some sellers have very good return policies (for example: I bought a charger board for a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop, the part had difficulty working when I installed it so I asked the seller about returning it and they gave me a refund).
Those are things that I always keep in mind as well.
Just be wary of what you're getting into when you bid or commit to buy. Make sure you understand exactly what you're paying for, that you're really willing to pay that much, factor in shipping cost and where it's coming from, and the seller's feedback and return policy.
Aren't you 22? It's time to get out from under mother and dad's thumb, man.