eBay has gotten ridiculous.

[Vulture]

Literally everything is "RARE!" with prices jacked up beyond what the item is worth.

For example, a PDA from the 90's which was (and still is) plentiful is suddenly "Rare" and worth 250 bucks.  Like no, I bought the same one two years ago for 40 bucks.  

Then some of the items are literally destroyed yet they're asking 199 dollars while a functioning one goes for about 100 dollars.  Like what has eBay sellers been smoking?

Anyone else notice eBay going full moronic?    I cringe when I see a listing rated as "rare" now.  Like no moron, it's literally not.  Just trying to reel in suckers who don't know any better, sad!

[argentus]

I have a friend who does fairly well on eBay.  He says to me, "whatever you are selling has to have a backstory.   It has to engage the person reading it. "  Okay.  

I don't care for the term "retard".   I know that which is references.  No trouble with you and me.  I don't like hearing it, and I hope everyone reading this decides to NOT use the term "retard".

[Vulture]

Yeah, I shouldn't be using that word honestly. I edited my OP.

Creating a back story etc. is fine, but selling a common garden gnome (just an example) from 1998 that was literally in every yard for 99 dollars when they typically go for 25 dollars and calling it "Rare" is highway robbery.

Or a vintage PDA that goes for 40-50 bucks.  I've seen working units in good shape max out at 60 bucks.  Then I've seen the same PDA going for 199 dollars and labled as "rare".

It's like me going and buying a 2005 Ford F-150 and selling it for 4x the KBB price just because I call it "Rare".  

I've been a seller on eBay myself, did quite well.  Know why? Because I was honest.  I sold the items for what I thought was fair, often checking other similar sold items.  And I always test the item where possible. Sometimes if it's electronic it may use a proprietary power cord which I don't have.  I'll sell it "as is" but offer refunds should they find out the item is defective.

I've seen so many electronics go for sky high prices listed as "As is, no refunds! Untested!" when they require two simple AA batteries.  They know it doesn't work but are selling the e-waste anyway. Or they're just extremely lazy. 

"RARE 2005 red F-150 regular cab $15000.  200,000 miles, some dings and dents. Untested, no refunds."

See how ridiculous that is?

[WallFlowerActive]

Take it with a grain of salt.  But this has came up from time to time.  Especially over ridiculously high prices for Corning ware.  

Below is a good generalization…

High amount sold for vintage items

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Hi...p/32083470


Lets say Bill has a customer who wants to buy something illegal such as drugs, stolen property or weapons but Bill needs a way to get the money cleanly into a bank. Bill simply sets up a fake listing on eBay for what looks like a real transaction but sets the price so high that a normal buyer is not even going to consider purchasing it. Bill sends a link to the item to his customer who purchases it, Bill ships a box of rocks or an empty box to the buyer  and the money flows through eBay and into Bills account. Bill will then meet up with the buyer and deliver the drugs, stolen property or weapons. 
     Everybody is happy, Bill has his money cleanly in the bank, the buyer has their item and eBay gets its fees and nobody knows the transaction took place as one of a million items that are sold on eBay every week. It's easy to be a grain of sand on a beach and pull off the illegal operation in such a large online marketplace. Constantly switching accounts and banks it makes Bill difficult to catch. 

[argentus]

Yeah, I shouldn't be using that word honestly. I edited my OP.

Creating a back story etc. is fine, but selling a common garden gnome (just an example) from 1998 that was literally in every yard for 99 dollars when they typically go for 25 dollars and calling it "Rare" is highway robbery.

Or a vintage PDA that goes for 40-50 bucks.  I've seen working units in good shape max out at 60 bucks.  Then I've seen the same PDA going for 199 dollars and labled as "rare".

It's like me going and buying a 2005 Ford F-150 and selling it for 4x the KBB price just because I call it "Rare".  

I've been a seller on eBay myself, did quite well.  Know why? Because I was honest.  I sold the items for what I thought was fair, often checking other similar sold items.  And I always test the item where possible. Sometimes if it's electronic it may use a proprietary power cord which I don't have.  I'll sell it "as is" but offer refunds should they find out the item is defective.

I've seen so many electronics go for sky high prices listed as "As is, no refunds! Untested!" when they require two simple AA batteries.  They know it doesn't work but are selling the e-waste anyway. Or they're just extremely lazy. 

"RARE 2005 red F-150 regular cab $15000.  200,000 miles, some dings and dents. Untested, no refunds."

See how ridiculous that is?

Yes, completely ridiculous.   BTW, I have a VINTAGE 1960's slide rule, used only by a minor Pontiff during the vernal equinox in Scotland, for only $1,675.   Still fully functional, albeit RARE. 

Yeah, I understand you.   I'm sure there are other EBay sellers with integrity, but sometimes they might seem a bit uncommon.   I was looking for a lens for my Honda rear taillight assembly.   Many of those on Ebay had decidedly false claims, as demonstrated by the answers to my questions.   Ended up getting it from a junkyard in Central America.   Perfect.  Looks better than the original.  I always use PayPal when dealing with such entities, so I have a contractual recourse if things aren't as they were billed.