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The Ebay Factor

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by Guest, Feb 3, 2001.

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    aa7bq writes


    The Ebay Factor



    Oh the things that find their way into the QRZ editor's mailbox. Some
    of them might amaze you, some maybe not. Lately, there's been a few
    complaints regarding policy on our very popular
    Online Swapmeet and ads
    for Ebay auctions.
    This article will address those complaints and shed some
    light on my own buying and selling philosophy.










    The basic question is this: Should sellers be allowed to post ads on
    the QRZ.COM swapmeet that point the user to an active online auction
    being held at the Ebay website?





    Some people really get peeved about these kinds of ads. They
    see it as an advertisement for a sale taking place somewhere else.
    I don't know why this bothers them because it doesn't bother me at all. Anyway,
    one irate reader wrote in to tell us that "It's as if [the seller]
    was saying Please be a sucker and come over to Ebay where you
    can help run up the price... These types of sellers should be
    banned...
    ".




    Suckers??? Now hold on a minute!
    I've bought and sold a lot of stuff off of Ebay and I scarcely
    consider myself a sucker. Let's examine this idea.




    Suppose that a local ham, let's call him Joe, is looking for a
    Collins 312-B4 to complete his S-Line station. After several weeks of
    looking around and asking, he can't seem to find one. Then, as luck
    would have it, one pops up on the QRZ Online Swapmeet. As Joe reads
    the article he notices that the item is being offered at auction on
    Ebay. So, I wonder: does this make Joe mad?[/b] I don't think
    so. I'd have to bet that Joe was pleased to finally find what he
    was looking for.




    Next, Joe wonders, "How much should I bid for the unit?". After asking
    some friends, he's heard that they usually sell for between $300 and
    $400. The current bid is $225 and there's 6 hours left to go in the
    auction.




    Our complainant alleged that being on Ebay runs up prices. Do you
    agree with him? Why? On any given day there is a market price for
    anything. Whether you feel that the market price is high or low
    depends on your individual perspective. Generally, if it's more
    money than you have, then it's too high. Never mind that hundreds
    of units are sold every day at the same high price to hams all
    over the country.




    Within the United States,
    there are few regional or geographic differences anymore. In other
    words, it's fair to say that an average TS-440 sells for about $400 on
    the east coast, just as it does in Tennesses or on the west coast.
    We're in pretty much of a homogeneous economy in this respect.




    Back to the 312-B4. The Ebay seller, Mike, wants to off the the unit
    because he's got two of them and doesn't need them both. Mike bought
    them both at a government surplus auction for $125 apiece and suspects
    that they are probably worth a little bit more than that but he's not
    really sure. Not being an expert on Collins collecting, Mike really
    doesn't have a clue as to what the units might be worth.




    In order to maximize his opportunity (and profit), Mike has a couple of
    choices. He can spend some time on an exhaustive research of the price
    or, he can take it directly to the market where it will automatically
    float to the current market price. With any luck, Mike
    believes he might make a small profit.




    Choosing to go this route, Mike places the item up for auction on Ebay,
    with an opening bid of $100. By the time Joe gets there, the bid is up
    to $225 and Joe jumps on it with a $250 bid. Fortunately for Joe, he
    wins the auction with that bid and now he's extremely happy since in
    his mind, its "below market" based on what he heard from his friends.
    Needless to say, Mike is happy too because he just doubled his
    investment and effectively got one unit for free!




    Joe paid the fair market price and Mike received the same. No buyer or
    seller should expect more from a fair transaction. As a side note, the
    above story is a true except that the names were changed to protect the
    innocent. I will reveal, however, that the Mike character was me.




    I've been to a lot of hamfests, auctions, and garage sales and there's
    always a few hams who call me a "profiteer" with a look of disdain on
    their faces. I've never been able to decode the logic of these folks
    because it seems as if they're trying to tell me that I had some sort
    of moral obligation arising from my Ham Brotherhood to sell the
    speakerboxes for exactly what I'd paid for them, and not a penny more.




    What's wrong with these people? Many of the same folks couldn't get
    their wallets out fast enough if I had offered them up at $50
    apiece. Of course, each and every one of them would try and
    haggle me down on the price before they begrudgingly paid the 50
    bucks and then walk away quickly with the box under their arm.




    A lot of people in the hobby don't like to use the P-word. -PROFIT-
    Okay, so I've said it. There's a large group of people who think that
    our hobby is somehow sacrosanct and that profiteering is some sort of
    slimy filth that must be avoided at all costs, lest it eat away at the
    very fabric of our honorable and devoted hobby. And yes, to be sure,
    our hobby does have it's share of the unwashed and non-devout who only
    hang around for the money. They don't bother me.




    Do profiteers help or hurt the hobby?




    Arguments that I've heard (first hand, I might add), usually center
    around their effect on raising prices and therefore raising the bar for
    newcomers. In other words, this suggests that increased profiteering
    will generally raise prices overall and in doing so will make it
    difficult for people with little or no money get into the hobby. Call
    me jaded if you like but offhand I can't think of any decent hobby
    these days that doesn't cost lots of money.




    Actually, profiteering is a sign of a healthy market. A healthy market
    means that there will be increased competition which inevitably leads
    to lower prices. Lower prices mean that there is more gear in the
    market and it guarantees that lower priced gear will be available
    to those who need it the most. Trust me, a TS-820S is a fine radio.
    Even a $100 HW-101 will get you QSL cards from around the world.




    I was once accused of being a P-man. This led to my being singled out
    and denied a tailgate space at a small hamfest. Never mind that my
    activities were non-commercial and that I was a licensed ham. For
    some, being witness to my activities was just too much to bear. It was
    said that I had often been seen buying and selling at the same
    swapmeet. People had seen me arrive at daybreak and snap up all the
    early-bird deals from other sellers. They also judged that it was
    somehow apparent that I had no need for the gear I was buying.




    Well then, what was I doing with all this stuff? Not that I'm
    obligated to defend myself but, I was playing with it. This
    was my favorite part of the hobby. Some like to chase DX, others do
    moonbounce, and I liked to play with the equipment. I like to tinker
    and I like to fix things. I'd buy one radio, fiddle around with it a
    while, and then sell it. Then I'd buy another. Over and over. This
    activity reached a pinnacle when I bought a used IC-765. I loved that
    radio. I finally sold it when I realized that it was a shame to watch
    it sitting on the other side of the room as I worked at the QRZ.COM
    console. Today, I have a TS-440 that I inherited from my Dad. It
    gathers dust too, but, it has sentimental value.




    I've been out of the hamfest and junk trading cycle for a couple of
    years now, and I do more QRZ administration than hamming. I really get
    a kick out of Ebay. In a way, to me, Ebay is no different than a
    hamfest except that it's perhaps a bit more diverse and has far better
    attendance. Most of the same buying and selling rules apply, and most
    of the same complainers and hagglers are there.




    Just as in the non-virtual world, there are sellers who always seem to
    think that their gear is unusually pristine and exceptionally well
    cared for followed by the buyers who want to pay half the true market
    value. There is nothing unusual about this, it's just human behavior.
    The auction is a great way to bridge the expectation gap between buyers
    and sellers. At the auction you can always rest assured that the true
    fair market value is always lurking nearby.




    Sure, there will always be folks who will bid too much, but, like
    Darwin's theory of evolution, these people tend to weed themselves out
    over time. If you're patient, you will eventually find and get what
    you want at a price that you'd expect to pay. You'll also learn to
    reset your expectations when the need arises.




    Some of you might wonder why I would praise Ebay when doing so would
    draw traffic away from QRZ's swapmeet. Why? It's a fair question and
    one which I believe has multiple answers. For starters, Ebay only
    deals with cash. On Ebay, you can't put something up "for sale or
    trade" because all deals are for cash, and Ebay gets their percentage
    of it. Ebay doesn't have "Wanted" listings either.




    Adding to that, some people prefer to haggle directly with sellers in
    the hopes of getting that coveted below-market deal. Some sellers
    can't come to grips with how their once new equipment has now
    depreciated and so they seek to hide it from the current prices. This
    way they can at least hope to find an unsuspecting fish who will be
    ignorant of the current market and help them out of their bind.




    Still others just like the informality of a QRZ listing and enjoy
    dealing with people one-on-one. Finally, QRZ always beats Ebay in
    on respect: its FREE. It doesn't cost a penny to list your item on
    QRZ whereas on Ebay, sellers must pay up front - whether the unit
    sells or not. Isn't it funny how some folks will sit on an FT-1000MP
    before they will pay $30 in commission fees to sell it?




    Now that I've made this the longest QRZ article ever, I hope that
    I've made myself clear. We're not going to change a thing on
    the QRZ Online Swapmeet. Let the market decide.




    73 and happy buying/selling,



    -fred"
     
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