Been watching e-bay for about a week or so for a k&n and a set of aluminum heel guards for my wifes 04 Baja. It seems the Buy It Now price that these e-bay stores have posted is what the item sells for in the end. Right???? Went to my local dealer who is not a DS dealer and bought the same items, and saved about $50.00 !!! I guess that I will keep supporting a local shop over the higher priced e-bay stores....

 

andew the high pirces its very chip compare to anader state in the world . (israel)
here its cost alot .
nerf bars cost here 600 $ and in ebay i can find it in 200 $.
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I agree the prices are getting up there on certain items.
The shipping is another thing that some take advantage of!!!

 

I think that there are people connected to the sellers that are bidding to drive up the prices.

 

Yeah, a lot of ebay stores now only have a "buy it now", don't even give you a chance to get a deal or bid,and often is very close to every day store price. Also, I have seen a lot of mutliple bids on items 7 to 10 days before it closes, so either a lot of bidders are idiots, or friends of the seller are bidding to get the price up. A real bidder waits for the last minute or so to bid to get the best prices,and beat the competition. It looks like a lot of sellers are bidding up items to panic buyers into bidding, or setting reserves a lot higher than most want to bid.

 

A smart e-bay'er know the cost or value of the item they are searching for. You have to be a wise buyer because often times items will sell for much more then their value in a aftermarket catalog.

 

Guess I will keep suportimg my local dealer......

 

Ebay is getting out of control. But, its not just because of the sellers, its EBAY. We sell alot of items on ebay, and it seems every other week, they are jacking up costs. The ebay store prices have trippled in the last 2 years. Most small ebay stores are considering closing them. They work, but the costs are getting brutal. Our auction costs have doubled in the last 1 1/2 years. Thats just the listing fees. Then you add in the final value fees and jimmini crickets, you just lost your ars. Ebay doesnt seem to be that wonderful garage sale anymore to pick up those items you need. Ups, fed ex, and USPS rates have gone up. The USPS system is terrible. In my expierience, you got about a 75% chance of your package arriving where and when it should, if at all. You can insure it, maybe you get a refund by x-mas. Although, there are alot of dishonest sellers out there asking unreasonable rates for shipping. But like Scoundrel said, you have to know what your looking for and what it will cost locally. I think you guys are right, certain items are cheaper from dealerships.

Within the next 2 years, Im willing to put money on it, that the IRS is going to get a choke hold on ebay sellers and snuff out what used to be a profitable resource. I wish there was an alternative to them, but many have tried and they all failed. Oh well, life goes on.

Gary

 

Very well said.

Not that the earlier info wasnt accurate, but I think you hit on the real problem EBAY themselves.

Personally I am not a fan of the idea of buying from real store or company that sells their normal items at their normal price (buy it now) on a auction site, but do like the idea of getting in on closeouts and the garage sale type sales by private individuals.

I think ebays goal was to create a combination of both retail and private sales, but with their greed and the amount of items listed by real businesses clogging up the searches etc it may very well backfire on them.

Now with their fees being so high and cumbersome to doing business that many items will either be more expensive than local sources or reduce the profits of the seller so much that they will dicsontinue selling that way things will change, maybe [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Now with the various states looking into tax related issues (both sales and income) it should start to get interesting for sure.

Also your take on the shipping issues or problems are on target too, and I have had to deal with that crap from both sides and its a mess when things dont go right.

There are many ways for people to purchase their items, and ebay is one of them that has its place, but it seems that their real place is bringing sellers of used or overstock discounted type items to the public, and their push for having people run real businesses on their site may just be causing more problems for all concerned.

 

I have been on ebay since 99, and boy how it has changed.... Ebay stores are for the most part; WORTHLESS. The prices most charge for shipping is insane. I have contacted some sellers about their shipping charges (such as one selling a 2 ounce part that cost 1.30 to ship via usps, and they are charging 10) and they state that is to cover all their fees. Dont know about the rest of the world, but you can get boxes for free (any retail store) and padded mailers are no more than a buck, even if you pay retail for them.

I used to have ebay email me new listings for "ds 650" and "ds650" but gave up once I saw the same items over and over again (that, combined with seriously over priced use parts makes me barely check ebay anymore for ds stuff)