I was wondering how many of you use ebay? I’ve sold and bought a few things on ebay but the sellers fees are getting alittle out of hand.
Do any of you use any other auction or ebay type sites? Found one but it didn’t seem to have much paddling stuff on it.
I use it
Both as a buyer and a seller. The items I have sold have a limited interest group. Having such a vast market to advertise in—the fees don’t seem that much to me.
Ebay Kayak Sales
I’ve sold several Kayaks on Ebay with great results. I live in Houston so it’s a big enough market to sell without shipping which makes it easy. All the buyers have been cool, up beat and a pleasure to deal with bringing cash in hand.
I bought a kayak on e-bay
Call me nuts. I likely paid too much but not by much. Paid 1/3 price of new. I am happy about it, got it from a Seattle paramedic. If you cannot trust a paramedic, who can you trust?
Fees
Recent fee increases were for eBay Stores and certain special areas - not the regular auctions. Still pretty cheap given the reach.
I have bought and sold kayaks and gear there. All went well, from $10 to $2000 sales. I can move something in a week that might sit on kayak site classifieds for months - or not move at all.
Only downside is there is a lot of stuff there. I used to search (titles and descriptions) for “kayak” and get 300-400 items. Now it brings up 2000 items. A lot of multiples of same old stuff by regular sellers. Not as fun to look through - and harder to spot the odd little items. Some very nice kayaks show up regularly.
P’net is best for free listing site - and I’ve bought/sold a couple things here too. Depends on the item and how quick I want it gone.
ebay
I had really good luck selling a boat here on the classified ads. I wasn’t going to ship it, and was worried about someone bidding on it that wanted to negotiate on that later (happened before).
Selling other things on ebay makes more room (and helps finance) new stuff! I’ve had very good luck and the seller fees are a small price to pay versus having something sit around unused IMO.
fees apply to all…
No, the fees were for all of us sellers. I hear ebay is rethinking the fees because people are complaining and going to other auction sites. I sorta agree that the fees weren’t that bad if you weren’t selling in volume,(not that I am)but they have go up consideribly.
I guess my original question should have been, Do any of you know any other auction sites like ebay?
Email from eBay
I got several email notices from eBay explaining the fee changes - and one very emphatic letter clearly stating increases charges were not across the board. No change for normal auctions.
Who to beleive…
Using P-Net
I use eBay, but I listed my inflatable here on P-Net, and guess who bought it? A local from the same county! Go figure! I sold it fast, no shipping involved, he was happy and so was I. I didn’t expect that, but you never know . . .
Ebay is a good source for some stuff
but be forewarned. If you ever find yourself needing to use their “dispute resolution” service if you get ripped off, you will quickly learn that they are useless. Keep that in mind when deciding when and how to pay.
I use pnet for paddling stuff
But we got really two nice coffee and espresso makers on e-bay, and buy dvds, and tapes there all the time.
With so many bozos using e-bay, bargains are not as plentiful as they once were. It’s worth what the biggest fool will pay.
My wife and I did a cheap tickets auction for tickets to the middle east. The eventual winning price (for an unnamed airline) was $150 more per ticket than I paid direct to lufthansa. Go figure?!
HA HA
Maybe trust them with your life but in a business deal? I don’t know about that! (Just kidding I’m a paramedic and just had to comment on that! 
)
I’m amazed at the amount of stuff
that ends up going for about 5% less than retail price. Given the risks, shipping, and work of bidding, can it possibly be worth it? No. But there seem to be a cadre of ebay users who ee the auctions as a game they have to win. And winning means getting the item–even if they end up paying way too much.
I got a great deal
. . . on a kayak on ebay only to have it get trashed with the shipping. After all was said and done, I learned much about heat guns and polyethelene, became pen pals with the shipping company claims department, and finally got a $75 dollar check which, after all the travails, seemed like a victory despite the significant damage done to the boat.
This was my first kayak purchase. I have since learned (and extolled!) the virtues of supporting the sport by supporting my local paddling shop. All purhcases have been wonderful experiences since.
Nice boats Chaz
I took that photo of Dennis’ Sapelo. He managed to paddle it just before the snow fell, and is crackin’ to get out again at iceout.
Unique items
Most of you seem to be comparing eBay to retail shopping - for commonly available items. As most have noted - pure price deals are rare now with millions looking. There will almost always be someone that wants an item more than you do.
The other reason prices are so close to retail - is most of the listing are basically from retailers!
The thing I really like it for is finding unique items as gifts. More off beat stuff only that certain someone will appreciate. These tend to be from individuals - not stores.
It’s also been good for hard to find and out of production stuff - including kayaks. So far on eBay I’ve scored a Kevlar Heritage Shearwater and a Tsunami X-1. Also an original Pintail. All were in FL. Shearwater and Pintail weren’t cheap - but fair and in great condition. X-1 was super cheap, but did need some work.
A “good deal” is relative - and they can still be had. Can’t be a mainstream retail item - and timing/demand so that no one else really wants it. I sold a 14’ x 23" 33# fiberglass SOT in great shape for $400. I think that guy got a heck of a deal. No one else even bid. Bonus for me - he lived 5 minutes from where I work.