Re: Used Estate Scopes

If you look on eBay at recent sales you may find these are a tad high.

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John Keiser spake thus:

I'd amend that a bit, since eBay has a price-deflation effect compared to selling something locally: take the average eBay price and add 10-20%.

(The tradeoff being it may be easier and faster to sell on eBay compared to locally.)

-- Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo. The German Wehrmacht won World War II. The United States won in Vietnam, and the Soviets in Afghanistan. The Zealots won against the Romans, and Ehud Olmert won the Second Lebanon War.

- Uri Avnery, Israeli peace activist

I dunno, in many cases I've observed the opposite. I can usually get significantly more money by listing something on ebay than trying to sell it locally.

James Sweet spake thus:

I wish that were true of the 3 Omega D2 enlarger chassis I'm trying to get rid of. Of course, the problem there is that the shipping cost would wipe out any cost savings to anyone.

Shipping is the killer, ebay is far better for small items that are either light or will fit in flat rate priority boxes.

I think that's an effect of the wider potential market when selling things that are interesting to only a limited segment of the population.

I personally will buy something locally for what I can get it--to my door--on eBay. 'To my door' of course includes shipping...usually at least $15 or $20 for most things. I'd much rather get it (whatever 'it' is) locally, but the reality is that many things I might want to purchase are not available locally.

The best of both worlds is when I find something on eBay which *is* local, as I have on occasion. In that case, I have an edge in the bidding because I don't have to factor in shipping.

OTOH, many (most?) things offered on eBay don't have a local market. Therefore, the final cost to the buyer includes a premium for shipping which most bidders factor into their offer.

jak

FedEx Ground is usually the best but pack as small as you can. I've heard Airborne Express Ground is even cheaper IF you have an account.

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You need high value per weight. It makes no sense to buy nails on eBay; but apparently Alien Martian Duck X-Rays are ideal for eBay.

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Yes it does, if you ship them using a USPS Priority Flat Rate box. $8.10 regardless of what it weighs, to any state/address.

I heard about a small town decades ago who needed bricks for a building. They found it cheaper to mail them, one at a time, than ship them any other way :)

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