Musings of the White Lion - My Opinion On Ebay and Auctions in General

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I've been tinkering around for the first time on eBay for years, mostly to get a handle on what stuff is going for nowdays and am surprised at some of the price spikes certain items are seeing. Of course, I am always wondering if shill bidding might be involved and how much of this stuff is going overseas to foriegn bidders with deep pockets. As such, I always take values on eBay with a grain of salt as the old saying goes. Really, I quit eBay years back when they went paypal only.
When it comes to eBay and auctions in general, I guess you could say I don't like them. I'd rather buy an item straight out rather than have to deal with ePay erm, eBay in any way. Yes, it can give you some idea on the value of a piece, but remember, IT IS AN AUCTION! There are always those nuts out there that go overboard on bidding and of course the whole bidding war thing. I am ok with someone basing some price ideas on eBay as long as they are willing to work with me and be fair about things.
I suppose my opinions come somewhat out of being stung over the years. It seems if I want an item, the prices go sky-high, but if I try to sell an item, I basically get raped. That is a good description of the 6 antique radios I auctioned off at a local auction house a while back. First batch of stuff I took up made nearly $200.. cool. I took even nicer radios up last time and made... $40! $200 invested in that stuff over time, got $40 back out of it. So, that ended me with auctions again. I expected to take some loss on the radios, but not that bad!
All I am saying is: We all need to take prices on eBay with a grain of salt, whether we are buying or selling items. I've seen both the good side and the dark side of eBay and how it can come back to really bite you in the arse!

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/595/entry-12594-my-opinion-on-ebay-and-auctions-in-general/