Confused about Ebay

I don't deal with Ebay but I can't help but notice that people and companies selling Surefire have huge price discounts over the established dealers. How is this so? I thought Surefire was very rigid with their suggested retail prices. Are these imported gray goods? I wonder how Surefire feels about them?

I know what you mean, I just dismiss them as scams of some kind or another. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Maybe these lights are heavily used? Who knows, maybe someone couldn't find 123 cells cheap, so they figured the flashlight was too expensive to own? There's no reliable return policy (if any) on eBay either.

WHat I believe is that some of these goods are aquired through the black market or are stolen and are sold at lower prices.

-tom

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Cornkid said:
WHat I believe is that some of these goods are aquired through the black market or are stolen and are sold at lower prices.

-tom

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Since practically even surefire light is serial numbered, I find this extremely unlikely.

I have had no problem buying and selling surefire lights on ebay. Oldgrandpajack here on CPF gets some of his lights from ebay.

I just got a mint A2 the other day for $119 there. And at the same time..... saw another A2 that had a cracked lens (ouch) sell for $138! Idiots!

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Cornkid said:
WHat I believe is that some of these goods are aquired through the black market or are stolen and are sold at lower prices.

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Is there any evidence to suggest so?

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IlluminatingBikr said:
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Cornkid said:
WHat I believe is that some of these goods are aquired through the black market or are stolen and are sold at lower prices.

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Is there any evidence to suggest so?

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No. People just like to falsely think that about things on ebay that sell for good prices...

I would just like to add, I do a lot on ebay too, and have bought many things there in the us, and over here in the uk. the scammers you have to watch out for are the ones that say "e mail me direct for a faster response" and anyone that mentions Western Union in their add, or if they are buying, the'll want to send you a check for more than the item sells for and want you to take the rest to western union to send to their agent. Those are mainly nigerians. but they do mobile phones and electronics, they probably have never even heard of surefire. Besides I'd rather buy from someone on ebay and give a little more or less, than to buy from an established online business that I know has their prices set at a third above surefire's "suggested retail". I know a guy that does a lot of business on ebay, as well as direct business...from the us to here and I don't think you could find a better one to buy from whether on ebay or not. He's a cpf member too and is especially willing to help out fellow cpf members. If anyone wants to know, just pm me

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Cornkid said:
WHat I believe is that some of these goods are aquired through the black market or are stolen and are sold at lower prices.
-tom

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The correct term is "gray market" and it is common in any industry that puts high demands on dealers for selling relatively high price items. It used to be common in the computer industry.
Dealers have to buy a certain minimum quantity a month or quarter, the more they buy they better their discount.
They buy to maintain the dealership and then sell excess inventory out the back door. It's the same item you'd pay a lot more for in the legatimate shop and it is unlikley that Surefire in this case can track serial numbers well enough to deny warranty. (Most good gray market people will handle it themselves) IBM hard drives are about the only quantity I know that was tracked. For replacement you gave the serial number and the name of the seller and they knew.

Also a lot of big companies are using eBay to test market new product to see what the demand is and what people will pay.

Deals on the G2 on eBay haven't been so great. I've been watching them for a couple of weeks and they regularly sell for $29 - $32 dollars. When you factor in shipping(anywhere between $6 and $10), it's a higher price than you'd pay at a trusted retailer($34 at brightguy with free shipping). I just don't understand some people.

This always been an interesting part of auctions since the very first ones auctioning off old computer equipment. I'd watch as people bit up a used piece of gear with a list of missing pieces, no manual and no warranty to within $20 of a new one!

I don't fully understand the phenomenon, but it's real and it's been part of the human mind since before eBay /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Depends who you buy from on ebay.

My second Surefire purchase was through eBay and it indirectly led me to CPF. Amazing as it sounds, there are actually honest ebayers out there. Now the "Send money and I'll send info on how to get {certain product} FREEEEEEEE" -- those I would be suspicious of sending even a single cent.

James, I'm guessing that people get carried away. Once you've 'invested' (or perceived to have invested) some of your time putting in your initial bid, you start to get focused specifically on that item, forgetting you can get it elsewhere, then get carried away and sometimes people even overshoot MSRP. Guess that's why smart sellers let it start cheap and the buyers do their work for them.

These are all good points as I myself, have been my own victim and bought something as I just did...a smartphone with a cracked screen for £70.00, plus £6.00 shipping. where I went wrong was thinking I could get it fixed for around £30, which would have been a good deal, but found out today it will be £90.00 including vat. A brand new one I can get for £150.00 Moral, know what's in the water before you jump. Other times I've come out quite good..but not this one.

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James S said:
This always been an interesting part of auctions since the very first ones auctioning off old computer equipment. I'd watch as people bit up a used piece of gear with a list of missing pieces, no manual and no warranty to within $20 of a new one!

I don't fully understand the phenomenon, but it's real and it's been part of the human mind since before eBay /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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We've been on eBay for about 5 years now and have seen this happen. Back "in the ol' days" it was relatively easy to get really good items for very low prices. Soon enough that reputation spread, and some buyers ("a large number?", especially unseasoned?) seem to think that is still true. Experienced sellers have taken advantage of that and now we routinely see goods selling for much more than in your regular store. But since people don't do their homework and don't compare prices, and still believe *everything* on eBay is cheaper... they get to pay more. That, or the famous $1 product with $25 shipping charge (OK, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point).

I'll watch a certain product for about 1 month and do all sorts of price comparisons before I start bidding. And I place a cap on how much I want to pay for something and stick to it.

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greenLED said:
>>>>>>>>>> That, or the famous $1 product with $25 shipping charge (OK, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point).
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

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Not too much. Though sometimes that product is a $40 product, so $26 is a good buy. I see lots of $1-2 items with $5-10 shipping. It is a way to offset some sellers fees IMHO.
So watch the shipping but just because it is high don't pass it buy, look at the total cost.