Amazon vs. eBay

[ForrestT]

Is it just me or are the deals on eBay becoming fewer and far between? Generally, I’ll buy a used quality tool first and save some money on eBay. Seems lately that Amazon is now becoming a place to get a deal. Lately I’ve been buying the new quality tool cheaper than used. Just curious what you all are seeing. I’m hearing from folks that I deal with on eBay that seller fees and shipping continue increasing. Thoughts?


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[lardy1]

At one time, eBay was my first stop when online shopping. No more, though. Sometimes there's a deal still but generally not a reliable place to find the best deals.

As for Amazon, they greeded themselves out of my world long ago so I can't say.

 

[PelicanPines]

Love Amazon... watch out for three third party sellers lurking under Fulfilled by Amazon...

Watching several highest bidder sales on eBay right now... I'm a sniper so won't know until tomorrow ...

 

[David Jackson]

I don't know about ebay deals; but sometimes if you are looking for particular items its the only way to find them even though they may not be good deals pricewise.

 

[Strouty]

You can't rely on any one source, if you do, you will eventually get hosed. Amazon and eBay both have great deals, but they also have terrible prices on certain things and they count on you just thinking they are the best price so you pay what they ask. I have even had a few times where it trapped me, bought on eBay and ended up having a drop ship "gift" from Amazon, all it takes is a few minutes to find the best price.

 

[Dave455]

I’ve sold a few things on eBay over the years. Mostly junk I didn’t need. As an infrequent seller, it seems that the amount of the price you retain gets less and less. Not only eBay fees, but you have to offer PayPal, and get hit for that too. Selling junk I want rid of, it’s fine. If I was trying to sell stuff as business, and price competitively, I think eBay would be doing better than me!

Yes, some killer deals on Amazon from time to time, but you have to watch them. The prices get hitched up and down seemingly at random.

If you know what you want, know what it should sell for, and can probably wait too, you can do well. Increasingly I’d rather just buy from a reputable online seller, who keeps their prices fair but competitive, all the time. There are a good number of them. I tend to buy direct from the country of origin too. Always seems cheaper!

 

[MattT]

I've just got back into using ebay after a ~5 year break. Used tool side was already going downhill but it's really bad now.

On $10 to $20 new stuff I've found several items that were about 20% cheaper on ebay than 3rd party amazon. Some from what appeared to be from the exact same seller based on their names on each site. Ebays fees get all the "bad press" but it looks like amazons might be even higher for some categories/vendors??

 

[d.mcfarland]

Ebay has too many people who list items who just want to let them sit and wait for a buy it now type of transaction. Think of a pawn shop. The item can sit and wait one way or another.

 

[Fedwrench]

I think ebay and Amazon both **** these days as they collect sales tax now.

I think ebay is drying up a bit because of the way they treat their sellers.

Once in awhile, i can find a bargain on amazon but, that's becoming more rare these days.

 

[Skin]

Ebay is still pretty much the only game in town for truck tools. Other than that the recent implementation of sales tax and ebay bucks getting knocked down to 5% (doesn't even counter the increase Sales tax caused) has really turned me off.

 

[rijndael]

I don't like to use ebay because I'm tired of the games. I don't like the last second run-ups where the last bidder cancels their bid (using multiple accounts to find the reserve), and the amount of no-pay bidders is ridiculous. You're forced to use buy-it-now to get an immediate payment. When someone no-pays, it takes time to get a refund on the fees.

 

[3jakes]

Chevy!
No two ways about it...

 

[The Cobbler]

I buy way more on Ebay than Amazon. I find prices are creeping higher on both sites.
Ebay has less, Ma & Pa sellers, it's all about having a huge store now.
I find Ebay easier to navigate the listings, I prefer the layout better, it seems more transparent in who you're buying from etc.

 

[Skin]

Ebay has less, Ma & Pa sellers, it's all about having a huge store now.

This was very much forced by ebay with their fee and feedback structure. You are fairly heavily penalized for not selling enough, not shipping fast enough, or failing to ship a product or two due to reasons out of your control.

I helped a business liquidate some stock through ebay a couple years ago and when I had to cancel 5 transactions out of about 500 total they bumped the fees up to 15% and then the way its structured is that the sales number roll off so if you don't continue to sell high volume your transaction defect percent actually increases despite no additional strikes. This means your penalized for a longer period. To add insult to injury part of the penalization is a limit in how much you can sell so you're basically screwed. Its a BS system pretty much designed to milk smaller sellers for more money which inevitably forces them out. And that's just one way they screw you.

 

[kald]

Ebay is really loaded with resellers. Lots of fake, super inflated pricing to make regular inflated pricing look good.

I do sell on it but rarely buy.

 

[CoogarXR]

Amazon's search ***** so bad I can't stand it.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I see stuff on eBay that I actually need, for a decent price, then at the end these snipers come in and jack the price into the stratosphere... Really bad with old car and motorcycle parts and whatnot. It was a learning experience for me - I found a speedometer for an old bike that was in really good shape, it was reasonably priced, so I put in a overly high bid just in case someone put in a bid... Wouldn't you know it, a sniper came in, started bidding in increments of $50 and $100, same guy, until this thing was almost to the ceiling of what I bid... then backed off.

Another one was a license plate for the same bike, really rough, and I put in a bid... same thing, a sniper started punching bids in, he got stuck with it, then sent me a message telling me he had one that was in the same condition I bid on for $250 more than the winning bid. Since it was the only one I'd seen for years, well...

I told him I hope he didn't cut his fingers on the rusty holes it had.

 

[CJM8515]

i find it HILARIOUS: Ill check the price on ebay for whatever, then amazon and a few others. Then find its cheapest on ebay, buy it and it shows up in an amazon box with prime shipping. Even the prime price was still more than they were on ebay..I dont get how they make any money

 

[CJM8515]

I see stuff on eBay that I actually need, for a decent price, then at the end these snipers come in and jack the price into the stratosphere... Really bad with old car and motorcycle parts and whatnot. It was a learning experience for me - I found a speedometer for an old bike that was in really good shape, it was reasonably priced, so I put in a overly high bid just in case someone put in a bid... Wouldn't you know it, a sniper came in, started bidding in increments of $50 and $100, same guy, until this thing was almost to the ceiling of what I bid... then backed off.

Another one was a license plate for the same bike, really rough, and I put in a bid... same thing, a sniper started punching bids in, he got stuck with it, then sent me a message telling me he had one that was in the same condition I bid on for $250 more than the winning bid. Since it was the only one I'd seen for years, well...

I told him I hope he didn't cut his fingers on the rusty holes it had.

its the seller themself usually, using an alternate account to do this ****. Thats why I really dont bid till the last minute if possible.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Both of them **** but have their place. For used stuff, ebay is the place to go. Amazon is more straight forward for new stuff and shipping. Price wise, auctions are a waste of time on ebay and Amazon's pricing algorithm is a pain in the ***. There are a lot of tools I find at around the same price as Amazon or lower from local suppliers.

 

[PelicanPines]

i find it HILARIOUS: Ill check the price on ebay for whatever, then amazon and a few others. Then find its cheapest on ebay, buy it and it shows up in an amazon box with prime shipping. Even the prime price was still more than they were on ebay..I dont get how they make any money

Amazon Warehouse deal... I do it all the time...

 

[rijndael]

I had a couple of purchases that were obviously fraudulent on the backend.

I bought a pair of items on ebay, it was from an individual. The package came from a company that I normally purchase from. A few days later the company called me because they had my account details from my legit account. The ebay seller contested the credit card charge after I received it it item leaving the business high and dry. It was easy to piece together because I was a regular customer of the business.

I gave all of the evidence and contacted ebay, they did nothing.

 

[driz]

I buy way more on Ebay than Amazon. I find prices are creeping higher on both sites.
Ebay has less, Ma & Pa sellers, it's all about having a huge store now.
I find Ebay easier to navigate the listings, I prefer the layout better, it seems more transparent in who you're buying from etc.

So you noticed that too.......[emoji2959][emoji2959][emoji2959][emoji2959]


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[Jamie V]

The shipping times on EBay makes me use amazon more often. I can’t stand waiting 5-10 days to get things.

 

[Aileron]

I've been a seller on Ebay since around 2004 and sell a particular seal kit for a fuel pump. I was pretty much a lone seller of these at least on there. Last May, I had noticed business slowed down and then found my add was copied by a seller in China. Ebay even promoted their add and thats how i found it. My add was copied and pasted and my color pics were made into black and white and be damned if they didn't watermark them after coping.took me a few minutes looking at it to realize it was my pic that they flipped 180*. So far that add now has 9 different seller accounts although its slightly changed a bit but still mostly my words.
Kicker is since they used my title they also picked up my product reviews. I handpick and make my kits so they may have the main seal but its not the same kit. They undercut my price by a few dollars. How they cover there shipping I really don't know since most packages cost me $2.78 just for postage for a $16.00 kit and I include the postage in my 16.00 price.Never liked the idea Ebay takes the fee from postage also, although i understand why they do it.
Tried to talk to Ebay but it seems if they get there fees it falls on deaf ears. Its a real kick in the nuts. I never tried to get rich and and at least thought I kept my price fair. Its reason like this i believe you see the older sellers disappearing. I cannot lower my price to compete with someone I'm not really sure even has the product and with all the stories of scammers I would have thought Ebay would have done a bit more investigation and took it serious. It hurts their reputation also.

 

[finn]

I don’t do eBay anymore. Too much shill bidding, undisclosed defects, and now, with the virus, too many opportunists and profiteering.

It was fun while it lasted, but as things moved from individuals selling their surplus and unneeded items to business storefronts, I don’t see any bargains. It’s all about the money now.

 

[seber]

Ebay has been changing the rules to the point where if you aren't making a very large profit on each item you are going to get hosed. You must offer Paypal and with the silting fee and selling fee you are already down twelve to fifteen percent. Then if someone decides to screw you Ebay automatically backs the buyer no matter how stupid it might be. It has gotten to the point where you can absolutely count on being screwed on a regular basis. Result, high prices. Also, in my case, I have an upper limit on the value of products I'm willing to take a hit on.

 

[SGKent]

Ebay on older NOS parts. Amazon for other things if we can't get it local, although we hate Bezos political interference by using his Amazon profits to fund his WA Post political machine. No wonder his wife divorced him, not to mention his attachment to a woman half his age - and the WA Posts attacks on Melania as a trophy wife etc., when he has gone out of his way to find one. That said, we have had to stop using Amazon recently because they want a month's wait or more on things now even in Prime. Three days ago I bought an appliance for our KitchenAid mixer to grind some meat we had in the freezer to make hamburger for a taco salad. Best Buy had it to me in less than 10 hours from their warehouse, free shipping. Amazon wanted us to wait 3-4 weeks because of the SARS-COV2 issue. Apparently from what I have been reading, Amazon has labor issues right now due to how they treat their workers.

I rarely trust Ebay on regular items any more because of their unfriendly policies. CL and Facebook Market Place have some things. Lately Ring has had some neighbors trading high demand items in the Events area. Amazing how many neighbors offered to help one family who was running out of TP.

 

[Skin]

How they cover there shipping I really don't know

Couple reasons. Depending on your company Chinese postage could be subsidized by the government to promote international dealings and the destruction of Western businesses. To add to this the USPS and China entered into an agreement to essentially deliver each others mail for free basically as a form of exchange. The caveat to this is that Ebay was involved in brokering the deal and secured tracking included for Chinese e-packets without reciprocating for US sellers so in effect it was basically a one sided deal with US citizens and residents footing the bill through hiked domestic mailing rates. Last I checked Chinese sellers accounted for around 35,000 e-packet deliveries a day.

This isn't just an Ebay problem. Amazon, Alibaba, and Rakuten benefit from these no-cost Chinese postages as well. Even if the epacket postage got restructured Amazon and Ebay are both well on their way to supporting postage forwarding through their own fulfillment centers so a Chinese seller can mail something like a container load of fake SD cards, or knock-off power tool batteries to an Amazon warehouse and Amazon takes care of the rest.

 

[tulenutn2o]

Very little eBay for me except to unload my old garbage.

 

[Jazz1]

I'll check Amazon and Ebay, Amazon usually has what I need.
Only 2 items I purchased from eBay the last 2 years, they were direct from China at a fraction of the cost here in North America. I had purchased many auto parts on eBay including 2 vehicles but no more and few vehicles listed any longer..

 

[erty67]

Ebay is still good for the occasional good deal on used stuff.

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[CoogarXR]

I've been a seller on Ebay since around 2004 and sell a particular seal kit for a fuel pump. I was pretty much a lone seller of these at least on there. Last May, I had noticed business slowed down and then found my add was copied by a seller in China. Ebay even promoted their add and thats how i found it. My add was copied and pasted and my color pics were made into black and white and be damned if they didn't watermark them after coping.took me a few minutes looking at it to realize it was my pic that they flipped 180*. So far that add now has 9 different seller accounts although its slightly changed a bit but still mostly my words.
Kicker is since they used my title they also picked up my product reviews. I handpick and make my kits so they may have the main seal but its not the same kit. They undercut my price by a few dollars. How they cover there shipping I really don't know since most packages cost me $2.78 just for postage for a $16.00 kit and I include the postage in my 16.00 price.Never liked the idea Ebay takes the fee from postage also, although i understand why they do it.
Tried to talk to Ebay but it seems if they get there fees it falls on deaf ears. Its a real kick in the nuts. I never tried to get rich and and at least thought I kept my price fair. Its reason like this i believe you see the older sellers disappearing. I cannot lower my price to compete with someone I'm not really sure even has the product and with all the stories of scammers I would have thought Ebay would have done a bit more investigation and took it serious. It hurts their reputation also.

Ebay encourages this behavior. If you click on any item, you can click "sell one like this" and it copies the title and item specifics word-for-word.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Is it just me or are the deals on eBay becoming fewer and far between?

Concur ! A lot more people are charging shipping.

Twice in the past month or so, I have "won" the bid on an eBay item, and the seller NEVER SHIPPED IT ! Sure, I got my money back, but eBay gives them 3 day grace AFTER the last estimated delivery date. What a pain.

I know Amazon Prime has gotten expensive (especially since I don't use all of it features), but deliveries are "as scheduled" and I like the free returns (or "just keep it").

 

[theoldwizard1]

It still amazes me the small hardware items you can buy from China for a couple of bucks. I have spring hose clamps (for small engines) in like 5 different sizes !

 

[banjopete]

Sort of off topic but if anyone's shopping prices on Amazon camel camel camel is a good resource. I know it sounds stupid but google it. It'll give you historical pricing for any item to give you a sense of being hosed or not on price points (hint, they move a lot).

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[dnschmidt]

I'm not an auction kind of guy. I use EBay to buy Milwaukee batteries and that's about it and I always use Buy it Now. I simply don't have the patience to screw with auctions. Just my personality.

 

[honcho]

I started selling on Ebay in 1998 but haven't sold anything in several years after getting burned by a buyer who bought an item, stole parts off it and then returned the item. Decided it just wasn't worth the hassle. I do sell regularly on my local Craigslist but for some things, even though I live in a large metropolitan area, there aren't very many buyers.

As for Amazon, it's just a voracious business and I try, whenever possible, to NOT buy from them. For businesses that have their own storefronts and an amazon presence, I go out of my way to use their storefront instead of amazon. Most people seem to prefer going through Amazon. Amazon is not a friend of anyone except Amazon. While internet shopping has many benefits, it just continues the trend of most large retailers of destroying / downgrading local jobs and making it harder and harder for local businesses to compete. I like bargains too, but when the competition has been killed off, there will be no competition and no bargains for anyone.

 

[tym]

Couple reasons. Depending on your company Chinese postage could be subsidized by the government to promote international dealings and the destruction of Western businesses. To add to this the USPS and China entered into an agreement to essentially deliver each others mail for free basically as a form of exchange. The caveat to this is that Ebay was involved in brokering the deal and secured tracking included for Chinese e-packets without reciprocating for US sellers so in effect it was basically a one sided deal with US citizens and residents footing the bill through hiked domestic mailing rates. Last I checked Chinese sellers accounted for around 35,000 e-packet deliveries a day.

This isn't just an Ebay problem. Amazon, Alibaba, and Rakuten benefit from these no-cost Chinese postages as well. Even if the epacket postage got restructured Amazon and Ebay are both well on their way to supporting postage forwarding through their own fulfillment centers so a Chinese seller can mail something like a container load of fake SD cards, or knock-off power tool batteries to an Amazon warehouse and Amazon takes care of the rest.

I was wondering why epacket postage seemed impossibly cheap.

 

[B_Bimmer]

Recently ebay every time, the wait on amazon is ridiculous.