Ebay rip off

Why do so many people buy junk off ebay without thinking about it first?

Don't get me wrong ebay has its place and I love it but why buy something secondhand for more than it costs new?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180183733259&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

ECP do this cheaper and you get a new item. There's loads of examples of this silly behaviour.

Tian

I see that kind of thing all the time, there was a (well used) set of GTI 9 spokes that were at ?499.99

surprisingly… it didnt have any bids :roll:

Not sure its cheaper, once VAT + delivery are added in.

paul_c said

Not sure its cheaper, once VAT + delivery are added in.

?4.75 + Vat I can walk down the road and collect it now, if they had any in stock. :roll:

Tian

Tian said

paul_c said

Not sure its cheaper, once VAT + delivery are added in.

?4.75 + Vat I can walk down the road and collect a them now, if they had any in stock. :roll:

Tian

?4.75 is the price for one lens, not two:

2x ?4.75 + ?7.99 delivery + ?3.06 VAT = ?20.55 from Euro Car Parts

?5.01 + ?1.99 = ?7.00 from eBay

:roll:  wasnt you who bought them was it paul :wink:  I got a set of them in my garage…………someone had put them on the cabby but they arent the right depth for clipper kit cars………have to put them on the bay of lurve then :wink:

Like I said, I'd walk down and collect new lenses and not secondhand. Besides the temptation is to get carried away with the example. My point isn't about THIS sale. It's about all the sales like it where people pay over the odds for secondhand gear they could easily get from a supplier for just a little more or even less.

Examples

ECP Expansion Tank ?10.48 + VAT = ?12.31 for collection immediately

Ebay Expansion Tank ?9.50 + ?4.95 = ?14.45 delivery at sellers discretion

GPC NEW INDICATOR LENS SMOKED…….?2.50 each! = ?5.00 a pair Yes add VAT and p+p but they're new!

Ebay items secondhand ?5.01 + ?1.99 delivery at sellers discretion.

GPC CHROME HANDLE TRIM ?2.50 each plus the usual P+P VAT

Ebay CHROME HANDLE TRIM Start bidding at 4.99 a pair + delivery

Even if you have to pay a couple of quid more you're getting a new item!

Tian :roll:

Topoftherange said

:roll:  wasnt you who bought them was it paul :wink:  I got a set of them in my garage…………someone had put them on the cabby but they arent the right depth for clipper kit cars………have to put them on the bay of lurve then :wink:

I've got clear ones on my Cabby and keep meaning to fabricate something to make them fill the hole better.

Tian

You need to compare like-for-like. If you're including delivery in one price (to the door), then you need to include it for the other. Also, if you collect the parts yourself, you might be lucky enough to be able to walk to your branch, but I live in the countryside and my nearest ECP is 9 miles away. I've never been to my local GSF because of the distance.

Also, you need to take account of the quality - this goes both ways, eBay items could be inferior quality but also ECP don't tend to use genuine quality parts, for around half the stuff). I bought an expansion tank and cap from ECP, they're so poor quality that one doesn't screw onto the other…..

Having said that - I agree with you, there's a lot of rip-off stuff on eBay! But there's also rip off stuff at ECP, GSF, VW Dealers, etc etc. You need to use a bunch of different suppliers (including eBay, or more accurately the people who sell on eBay) to achieve the best value for money on equivalent parts.

paul_c said

Having said that - I agree with you, there's a lot of rip-off stuff on eBay! But there's also rip off stuff at ECP, GSF, VW Dealers, etc etc. You need to use a bunch of different suppliers (including eBay, or more accurately the people who sell on eBay) to achieve the best value for money on equivalent parts.

Ultimately yes, it's a case of shopping around, you're right. I just get frustrated with gits ripping people of or to be more accurate people just not being that bright and thinking that because it's on ebay it must be a bargain. The indicator wasn't the best example but you get what I'm saying.

As for the expansion tank, I bought one a while back and had no problems with it. The old capo fitted fine, but yes it's not an OE item but hey, I don't mind after market on that kind of thing. When it's mechanical and more vital then it's worth paying the premium.


Tian :wink:

This is a prime example of an ebay ripoff

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180184865822&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

This is ?8.00 from GPC, plus P+P etc!

Tian

Yeah I made the mistake of buying one of these and then had to wait 6 WEEKS 8O , for the privilage of receiving it in the post. When I left negative feedback about the time it took to arrive, he/she got all snippy and sent me a message back saying, "it's lucky i'm not having a bad day or i'd leave you bad feedback too" .  The product it'self is great but now I know you can get them cheaper I 'aint happy. Apparently these are direct from vag and thats why I had to wait so long for it cuz they were out of stock. Lesson learned SHOP AROUND!! cuz they will rip you off :evil: !!

This scuttle panels have long been a common ebay rip off, got a genuine one from GPC for about ?10.

Apparently these are direct from vag and thats why I had to wait so long for it cuz they were out of stock

How can he get them direct fom VW if they are no longer available new as stated in the ad :dontknow:

I know :evil: . Don't even go there. I think we should all start asking him some awkward questions on his listings about his pricing stratagy and see how many sales he gets then!!

But this is ebay… if you dont shop around and want to sit on the couch watching telly and bid on random stuff then if that suits you then fine, However i have benefited from ebay. Need to sell a car quickly you could almost certainly sell it in 7 days rather that 4 months in auto trader !! but obviously you may get less than you want but surely this reflects a "true value" i.e. its only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it !!

Second hand parts..buyer beware, but a cheap way of sorting you car out if you have a problem, and on a budget. and for the seller a proffitable way of getting rid of potential rubbish.

remember its a worldwide system, my mate buys stuff for his Harley 1/2 price, and then benefit again from exchange rate,  sent from usa, recieves in 3-4 days, than he can get anywhere in Uk /Europe.

I think it has its place, use it to your advantage  

Ebay rip off is the title of the thread, poorly thought out perhaps. So, to clear the water let me rephrase. It should be titled Rip Off Ebayers!

Of course ebay has its place, everything has its place. That's like telling us water is tasteless, we know!

Allow me to assure you I love sitting on my arse watching TV and scanning the bay for stuff. I bought my car and half the things on it from ebay, I think it's brilliant!

Just to reiterate it's the scam, rip off and dodgy ebayers I take umbrage with. Not the doubtless millions of brilliant ebayers who use it in its true sense,   which is to trade stuff and perhaps make a bit of money from unwanted items.

Yes the world is full of idiots who pay over the odds because they don't have the time, brains or plain old common sense to shop around. That's no reason to salute the gits who take advantage of them.

Tian  :naughty:

my sis bought what was advertised as an outdoors jaccuzi/hot tub from ebay, when it arrived its no more than a 4 seater bath!!! no heaters to warm the water, no lid to keep the water in and the bugs out and no jets to make bubbles!!! she's having a pig of a time trying to get her ?900 back for it!!

I cant get enough of ebay, i sell the rear chrome 'VW' badges from Mk2 Golfs for ?10-?35 i get them free at the scrapyard lol. And the chrome ones that are no good anymore i spray them black and they become 'GTi' ones and sell for ?10-?25.

And i know that GSF sell brand new chrome badges for ?12.

You should find something like that and you will love ebay. It took me 2 weeks to sell enough badges (Which i get for free) to but my new suspension on my Polo GT.

I too have had my moments with selling stuff for a decent price on eBay. Simply to say eBay is bad, is too much of a generalisation. There is a certain element of people who will try to rip you off, they'll use any means and eBay is a really convenient one to do it due to distance selling and anonymity!