# eBay Arbitrage



## patmat2350 (Aug 15, 2017)

Doh! They skunked me again.

Looked for an ER32 collet/hex block on eBay... found a good price at $37 and change, bought it. Came in an Amazon box.
???
Then I remembered- this has happened to me before. The eBay seller uses "arbitrage" software... he finds a deal on Amazon Prime (with free shipping), posts it on eBay for a few bucks more, and crosses his fingers. If he gets a sale, on this or any of the 10,000 other things he has listed, he orders it from Amazon and drop ships it with a gift receipt to my address. Brilliant. In this case, I could have saved nine bucks, it's in his pocket now.

Moral: Shop on both eBay AND Amazon to find the lowest price.

Read all about it at : https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/278622


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## Superburban (Aug 15, 2017)

Wow! And they even have the returns covered so they still make money on returns.

I like the seller buying from the e-bay buy it now, then changing their price on amazon, before the amazon sell goes through.

"_One of those people, Eric Wildermuth, who sells a line of children’s hats called Snuggleheads, came up with a particularly sneaky punishment: He bought his own hat from an eBay arbitrager for $27 -- and then, before the arbitrager could go to Amazon and make the purchase, Wildermuth changed his Amazon listing price to $199. Result: The arbitrager could either lose $172 on the sale or cancel the purchase, which would damage the arbitrager’s eBay ranking. Wildermuth repeated this about 10 times. “I got these frantic calls [from the arbitrager]. He said, ‘Please don’t do this,’” says Wildermuth. “He knew what I was doing. And I let out a string of expletives._”


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## patmat2350 (Aug 15, 2017)

Here's the seller in my most recent purchase:
http://stores.ebay.com/nbdeals79?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
Over 10,000 items listed in the store, store has one category- "Other". Only 931 feedbacks... but this means he's a "Power Seller", which gives him some kind of protection- I can't leave neutral/negative feedback for 7 days.
I'll wait...


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## Cobra (Aug 15, 2017)

patmat2350 said:


> Here's the seller in my most recent purchase:
> http://stores.ebay.com/nbdeals79?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
> Over 10,000 items listed in the store, store has one category- "Other". Only 931 feedbacks... but this means he's a "Power Seller", which gives him some kind of protection- I can't leave neutral/negative feedback for 7 days.
> I'll wait...



Great.  Go after him.


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## Superburban (Aug 15, 2017)

Just picked a few of his items, Highlight part of the description, and then use that to search Google. Since he copied and pasted the description, the original Amazon add will come up. Now you can find the item at the lower price.  I will have to remember that for future purchases.

I have not sold anything on E-bay. Don't they still have to pay e-bay something for the auction, even if the item does not sell?

Explains all the sellers on ebay with a big variety of items.


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## ELHEAD (Aug 15, 2017)

Caveat emptor


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## projectnut (Aug 16, 2017)

You may need to go at least one step farther when researching the cost of a specific item.  Many E Bay vendors have E bay online stores, and independent online stores.  Often times the prices they offer on E Bay are higher and the shipping is also higher.  A few months ago I needed a set of tool holders for a new lathe.  I checked E bay and several other online sources.  I found what I was looking for on E Bay at Discount Machine.  This is the E Bay arm of Shars.  In this case the tooling was less expensive, the delivery time was quicker,  and the shipping cost was lower when ordered directly from Shars


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## Superburban (Aug 16, 2017)

projectnut said:


> You may need to go at least one step farther when researching the cost of a specific item.  Many E Bay vendors have E bay online stores, and independent online stores.  Often times the prices they offer on E Bay are higher and the shipping is also higher.  A few months ago I needed a set of tool holders for a new lathe.  I checked E bay and several other online sources.  I found what I was looking for on E Bay at Discount Machine.  This is the E Bay arm of Shars.  In this case the tooling was less expensive, the delivery time was quicker,  and the shipping cost was lower when ordered directly from Shars


Yes, good point. Many times even if E-bay is a bit higher, I will still go through ebay and don't mind. I know e-bay has its fees. But you also get the ease of paying, and the buyers protections though e-bay.


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## RJSakowski (Aug 16, 2017)

I have never run into the Amazon drop ship on e-Bay purchases.  Something to watch out for. I wonder of some of the big players are doing the same thing?  Wal Mart, and Sears come to mind.

It seems that product flippers on eBay are the modern version of the third world landfill pickers.


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## Silverbullet (Aug 17, 2017)

Some are for sure most of the machinists tool dealers buy lots at auctions and yard sales estate sales of course. But at least there earning a wage not sponging off the rest of society. There are those who watch trash days dumpster dive behind big stores . They make YouTube videos of themselves and are proud of it. 
There's to much waste in our nation as it is and it's part of the problem. I've bought a few things on eBay that came from Amazon but they were cheaper then Amazon. I checked all areas at the time. Baby gates for stairs and steps.


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## rzbill (Aug 17, 2017)

Why go after him?  At the time a buyer decides to make a purchase, the value judgement in his mind says "this is a good deal".  Has that changed at the completion of the purchase?  
The complaint appears to be that the buyer finds he could have done better.  TOUGH.  It happens to all of us.  Try buying a piece of electronics from anywhere and not finding a better deal shortly afterwards.  Moores Law.


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## higgite (Aug 17, 2017)

rzbill said:


> Why go after him?  At the time a buyer decides to make a purchase, the value judgement in his mind says "this is a good deal".  Has that changed at the completion of the purchase?
> The complaint appears to be that the buyer finds he could have done better.  TOUGH.  It happens to all of us.  Try buying a piece of electronics from anywhere and not finding a better deal shortly afterwards.  Moores Law.


I tend to agree. What is criminal or immoral about buying something and selling it for a profit, as long as the seller isn’t preying on others’ misfortune?

And why is Mr. Snugglehead upset? Every time the ebay seller sells one of his products on ebay, he buys one from Snugglehead. Seems self defeating to “punish” the ebayer, as Mr. Snugglehead puts it.

Tom


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## Pat Matthews (Aug 17, 2017)

Oh, I wouldn't "go after" the guy, I'm annoyed at myself more than anything.

The article does point out a problem for Mr Snugglehead- returns. The end-buyer figures out what is going on, returns the item for a refund (presumably buying another at the original Amazon price), and the return leads to a several more on-costs.


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## Billh50 (Aug 17, 2017)

I have bought stuff off of ebay and had it shipped from various warehouses to me as well as from Amazon. But each time it was a better deal so it doesn't bother me. I not only look at the price but the time to ship. I hate the ones that start out shipping through UPS but then it gets 1 or 2 states away and goes to USPS and sits there for a 2 - 4 days.


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## 4ssss (Aug 17, 2017)

That's called capitalism.


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## 4GSR (Aug 17, 2017)

I bought something recently off of eBay.  I figured since the seller was up north, it would take about 4 to 5 days to arrive.  Low and behold, it shower up the next day from an Amazon warehouse up the road from me.  Even the label was Amazon with my address on it!  Still got it cheaper off of eBay instead of Amazon!


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## Eddyde (Aug 17, 2017)

rzbill said:


> Why go after him?  At the time a buyer decides to make a purchase, the value judgement in his mind says "this is a good deal".  Has that changed at the completion of the purchase?
> The complaint appears to be that the buyer finds he could have done better.  TOUGH.  It happens to all of us.  Try buying a piece of electronics from anywhere and not finding a better deal shortly afterwards.  Moores Law.


I totally agree, if the buyer thought it was a good price, received the item as advertised, in the time promised, then what is the problem?


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## rgray (Aug 17, 2017)

I miss the ebay of 15 or more years ago. when you could find a used item from a small seller for a deal. I used to list a few items also. Now days those items are hard to find as ebay controls the search and lists the top sellers stuff at the top and it can go on for pages and pages.
I haven't listed anything for about a year. Last I did it was hard to find it and it got very few views as I imagine it was hard for anyone to find it.


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## Alan H. (Aug 17, 2017)

Searching on ebay is an art.  One of our members here is the best I have seen.  He can ferret out stuff in a matter of minutes.  I am getting better at it.

I personally still buy on ebay but like you all, I have learned to be cautious.  I do not buy from anyone with a low number of reviews or less than a 99.5% positive rating.  Likely for this reason, sellers' ratings have evidently become more dear to them than in past years and they generally try to protect them.  Just this week I had a bait and switch happen to me by a seller sending me an arbor that was different than the photos.  I challenged him and he cut the price in half and sent me a refund immediately.  He had extremely high ratings and was not wanting a negative mark.  BTW, I also always pay using Paypal since it does offer protection as well.  

Regarding price - yes, you have to do your due diligence.  It is amazing how often I end up buying from Amazon for new items.  It is sometimes quite surprising what they have to offer.  I use the same principles with them and typically only buy items which include Prime shipping which is an indicator of a more trustworthy transaction.  Same principle of "due diligence' is required on Amazon now.  You cannot assume that it is the lowest or a good price because  they have it listed.


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## GA Gyro (Aug 17, 2017)

Good thread!  The 'old' E-bay was, IMO, more fun than the current E-bay... 

Are there alternates to E-bay... that are large enough to be reputable, yet small enough to not be full of the issues noted in this thread?


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## projectnut (Aug 17, 2017)

Pat Matthews said:


> Oh, I wouldn't "go after" the guy, I'm annoyed at myself more than anything.
> 
> The article does point out a problem for Mr Snugglehead- returns. The end-buyer figures out what is going on, returns the item for a refund (presumably buying another at the original Amazon price), and the return leads to a several more on-costs.



Some third party sellers even have that covered.  My wife bought a toy for one of our nephews a while back.  The seller shipped the wrong toy.  With it came the instructions to call Toys R Us. if there were any problems.  She did call Toys R Us and they were more than happy to take the return and ship out the correct toy.  I think some of the E bay and Amazon "sellers" have a company name and that's all.  They get a commissions from brick and mortar retailers for each item they sell.  If it works it's a great business model.  No store, no inventory, no shipping or receiving, no dealing with returns or defective merchandise.  The only capital investment is a computer and a spot on a server somewhere.


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## ddickey (Aug 17, 2017)

You guys need to get get Wikibuy. It works really well, saved me some coin.


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## Qdeathstar (Aug 19, 2017)

patmat2350 said:


> Here's the seller in my most recent purchase:
> http://stores.ebay.com/nbdeals79?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
> Over 10,000 items listed in the store, store has one category- "Other". Only 931 feedbacks... but this means he's a "Power Seller", which gives him some kind of protection- I can't leave neutral/negative feedback for 7 days.
> I'll wait...



I don't see why you would give him a negative review. Any business model involves buying low and selling high. He didn't trick or con you, it's your responsibility to comparison shop, in my opinion.


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## higgite (Aug 19, 2017)

GA Gyro said:


> Good thread!  The 'old' E-bay was, IMO, more fun than the current E-bay...
> 
> Are there alternates to E-bay... that are large enough to be reputable, yet small enough to not be full of the issues noted in this thread?



The only alternative that I've heard of is  dealdash.com. As I understand it, you pay 13 cents per bid, so you can get get $500 item for only $15..... plus maybe $50 in bidding fees. Or some such nonsense. That's great for the bid winner, not so much for the other bidders who paid to bid and got nothing.

Tom


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## darkzero (Aug 19, 2017)

GA Gyro said:


> Good thread!  The 'old' E-bay was, IMO, more fun than the current E-bay...



I agree, I miss the old ebay. Deals were so much easier to get. Now a days not nearly as much, still can be found but you have to know how to search & filter through all the crap.


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## higgite (Aug 19, 2017)

darkzero said:


> I agree, I miss the old ebay. Deals were so much easier to get. Now a days not nearly as much, still can be found but you have to know how to search & filter through all the crap.


Yeah, it seems like most of the searches I do on ebay nowadays returns pages of brand new items that are cheaper from Amazon or other web stores. Some raw materials being an exception.

Tom


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## Qdeathstar (Aug 19, 2017)

I find amazon to be a little cheaper than eBay, with the added bonus of two day shipping... it's getting to a point where for all things, if it's not on amazon, I won't buy it....

As far as alternatives outside of amazon, Craigslist, letgo, and there was another one I can't remember... at least in my area though not so much for machinists.. I was looking to get a used non-Chinese mill but all they have around here is rust-buckets in need of a major overhall...


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## Dave Paine (Aug 19, 2017)

ddickey said:


> You guys need to get get Wikibuy. It works really well, saved me some coin.



This may be good, but I just tried and it requires I have to set up an account.  I prefer to look before I create an account, so this is not for me at present.


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## Superburban (Aug 19, 2017)

higgite said:


> The only alternative that I've heard of is  dealdash.com. As I understand it, you pay 13 cents per bid, so you can get get $500 item for only $15..... plus maybe $50 in bidding fees. Or some such nonsense. That's great for the bid winner, not so much for the other bidders who paid to bid and got nothing.
> 
> Tom


Far from a fair site. You have no way to know if you are bidding against other humans, or computers programed to keep the auction going.  Surprised it has lasted as long as it has. I would love to see their books, and what actual winners have received.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/con...te-accused-running-perverse-lotteries-n771166


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## Cheeseking (Aug 20, 2017)

Eddyde said:


> I totally agree, if the buyer thought it was a good price, received the item as advertised, in the time promised, then what is the problem?



Same ones who want to earn $15 + bennys to make a widget by day then go to Wally world that night and buy it for $10 is who.


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## TRX (Aug 20, 2017)

darkzero said:


> you have to know how to search & filter through all the crap.



As far as I can tell,

A) vendors have some way to add hidden keywords, then load them up with tons of stuff unrelated to what you were searching for,

or B) eBay just randomly adds 25% or more random items to the search results.

Nothing else can explain how I can search for "5/32 carbide drill" and I get hundreds of hits on shoes, jewelry, purses, Game of Thrones DVD sets, antique toilet paper holders...


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## higgite (Aug 20, 2017)

Something is screwy. I haven't had that problem, so out of curiosity I just typed "5/32 carbide drill" into the ebay search window (without quotes) and got 8 pages of 5/32 carbide drills. 

Tom


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## grzdomagala (Aug 21, 2017)

Superburban said:


> Far from a fair site. You have no way to know if you are bidding against other humans, or computers programed to keep the auction going.  Surprised it has lasted as long as it has. I would



Even if they don't manipulate bids - it's a scam. Scientifically designed scam. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_auction -


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## Eddyde (Aug 21, 2017)

grzdomagala said:


> Even if they don't manipulate bids - it's a scam. Scientifically designed scam. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_auction -


I don't understand how anyone could see their commercial and not instantly know its a scam. Apple iPad for only $5 yeah right...


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## GA Gyro (Aug 23, 2017)

Seems Ebay has become like the supply house that dominates the business...
Customer service takes a back seat to subtle ways to make more and more $$$ on each transaction...

What I was looking for... was a place to sell a bunch of surplus heating and AC parts... a local supply house closed down a couple of years ago... have some stuff I would like to pass along to someone that can use them.  

THX in advance for any suggestions...
Most of it I can sell locally... a few items I need national attention (like downdraft furnaces... nobody uses them in the southeast part of the country).


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## woodchucker (Aug 23, 2017)

Qdeathstar said:


> I find amazon to be a little cheaper than eBay, with the added bonus of two day shipping... it's getting to a point where for all things, if it's not on amazon, I won't buy it....




I still prefer brick and mortar. I like keeping small mom and pop shops in business unless I am really getting raked.
If they all disappear then my taxes will go up, the area will be blighted where stores once were. And when I need it now, I'd have to wait 2 days or have it shipped next day. So the down side of AMAZON is very big.  Remember knowledgeable people in hardware stores or speed shops. Most are gone. And the knowledge went with it. They made a living until the big box stores came in with people who were just clerks. It's sad that most will chose AMAZON, especially people like my son, over a store.  It will eventually mean the end of the big box stores too. I noticed that AMAZON's pricing is higher sometimes than I can get it elsewhere.* I also notice that once I had my son share his Prime account with me that the Amazon prices went up. *BTW PRIME prices are higher.  While you pay for the service, it's not enough, so they raised the prices.  Look at some of the choices of OTHER SELLERS.. they are cheaper many times. But they don't offer FREE 2 day. many do offer free, but the 2 day shipping is where AMAZON trumps them.


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