Hi guys

I was on ebay earlier today for the first time. The kit prices were in some cases unbelievably low. I was wondering if anyone around here has ever bought anything from this site. If so how did it work out.

I know this is very similar to a post I made last week about Hometown Hobbies. I am rather new to the net. I have only been on line since last summer, and only recently started shopping on line. So I hope you guys will understand. This old dog is just trying to learn something new.
Thanks
Wolfsix

I've bought hundreds of items through eBay. Never really had a problem. Several Armorama members habitually sell on eBay as well. Remember, bid late and do not get caught up in a bidding war. I've seen folks keep bidding on a certain auction driving the price up. Even when the exact same item is selling in another auction at much less. They just "have" to win that auction at all cost.

Before you bid on anything there make sure you check out the seller and the shipping cost per models. I have seen some kits sell for $1.99 and have $23.00 shipping and handling charges. Also check where the seller is located. Some of the Hong Kong sellers have fantastic prices but most of the times if you are in the states the shipping cost negates a bargain. You will be paying regular retail for the item. Of course if the item is hard to come by it can be a good thing to pay for it on E-bay. One other thing check on the feedbacks of the seller. If they have some negative feedbacks you should be wary. Biggest thing I found is to make sure you know what the shipping will be before you bid.

i have got a few models from eaby.
allways buy from somebody in the usa,
and make sure he has + feed back

E-Bay is a great resource to buy anything, the points already made are the keys. Check shipping costs and location of seller and most definitely read the feedback.

Expect a few negatives to be in there but if a person has a rating of say 800 feedbacks with 4 negatives, check what the negatives say because the feedback is left by both buyer and seller. There could be a legit reason for the negative feedback or it could be caused by other reasons such as a buyer being mad they bid the auction higher than they wanted to go as Sabot pointed out.

Good luck with your hunting!

I buy and sell regularly on ebay and i can say that sometime it's worth and sometime not. Some item may be win at a good price but when you add shipping,and sometime taxes, you realise that you have paid the same price and even higher of what that same kit had cost from your local hobby shop...If you bid on something out of your country, get information on currency and custom cost...you can have a surprise...
My two cents,

Like the others here have said it can be a great experience. I've only had one bad time, and that was when I missed the fine print and didn't see it was coming from Malaysia. It's also often the only game in town if you're looking for an out of production kit, which I quite often am.

That said I've noticed that far too often the prices for new kits, especially when you factor in the shipping, are as high, or higher than from local stores. I also really feel it's needed to support our local stores, else they may not always be around. If I can save $10 on a $20 kit, fine. If the savings are only a few bucks, I'll go to my LHS to buy it. That's just how I feel, I'm not going to try to persuade anybody on that.

I agree with you roger on supporting local hobby shop. There you can take time to go through the piles of model kits and get back home with 2-3 kits without the one you were looking for

Haven't bought off Ebay in quite a while,
use to get some decent deals, but lately I have seen some
rather insane bidding, not to mention shipping charges.

When I was a regular Ebay buyer, I simply placed the top price I was willing to spend and forgot about it. If I won fine, if not someone else was happy. Only once or twice In the beginning did I ever get caught in a bidding match, and after I won, realized that I ever so willingly over paid for a kit I could have gotten else where for a lot less, through my own stupidity.

Today I prefer to check the buy. sell, trade sections on the modelling sites, where the members are concerned with their reputation amoung their peers.

For Ebay, if you are new...I suggest you learn "BUYER BEWARE" from the first bid.

The three things I look at before bidding are the feedback - check any neutral or negative. Their location, if it's not specific and I don't know for sure I'm cautious and ask. Sometime they will claim they are based in (for example) California, but the kit ships from Asia and it causes problems. And I look at the shipping Fees.

I typically wait till late to bid and do research on availability and alternate sources. I have a top end price in mind and DO NOT bid over that.

I believe the listing fees and paypal fees have increased recently so this has driven some prices up.

I have never had any problems buying modeling stuff on ebay.

As there is no local hobby shop, I do all my shopping online. Before I buy on Ebay I always check the shops online and compare prices - if it's the same or less buy from the shop, more comeback if things go t*ts up.

Hi all

Thanks guys for the replys. There are some things brought up that I would have never thought of. I'm thinking about giving this a shot. Thanks again for helping me out .

Wolsix

I have purchase about 20 armor kits over the past 9 months on Ebay and everything went quite well. I even purchased on from Hong Kong. It took 10 days to get here but it was exactly as advertised. I do check on the seller's feedback and typically only buy from someone who has a 100% rating. Bfore I bid I will determine what the retail selling price is for current available models and determine what the maximum price I am will ing to pay. When you figure in shipping costs sometimes the prices get to be equal to or greater than retail.

I also usually only pruchase from a seller who accepts Paypal. when you get into a money order or Western Union that adds to the net cost also.

I enjoy the last minute bidding and the eventual win!

Good Luck.