Ok, this obviously doesn't apply to things like collectibles or anything like that...

Here's the deal. I'm trying to get a copy of Guitar Hero II for my 360. Not because I love the game... I played it, had some fun, wanted to get it cheap. Now, you can pick it up for about $80 at Wal-Mart... so I was shooting for around $60.

Find this whole line of auctions from a seller. Shipping is $21.90 and all bids start at $0.01, no Buy It Now. Crazy thing? Nearly ALL of these end up, plus shipping (something you wouldn't pay at the store), costing more than it does at Wal-Mart!? Even IF I include my 9% Alabama sales tax!

My question? WTF!? Self explanatory.

 

That's b/c a lot of people don't consider shipping when they bid on things. Or at least forget about it in some sort of bidding war. It happens with a lot of items.

It's partly b/c people are stupid enough to bid it that high and also partly b/c most eBay sellers charge WAY too much for shipping. But it's most b/c people are stupid enough to bid on them.

 

Yeah, you gotta be very careful with those shipping costs. And that example you shared is very common.

ETA - I've never really have found a good deal with new or hot video games and accessories on eBay.

 

Sometimes the amount is costs to ship something will surprise you. In most cases Ebay sellers will have slightly higher rates to cover packaging, etc. Others use high shipping rates to ensure they don't lose money and it's also a way to pay less final value fees.

Just do the math and stay in your price range including shipping. If you get lucky and win the auction for 1 cent the seller listed at, you have what you want for $21.91 which is well below what you are hoping for. It's not likely you'll get it for that but high shipping turns a lot of bidders away so don't disregard it completely because you could end up with the best deal in the end.

When I think about trying to acquire something from Ebay I look around as much as possible to see where I can get the best deal and I always keep a close eye on shipping. Compare everything and make notes. Do the math and write down the numbers so you can see exactly what the differences are.

 

You're right about people not reading auction descriptions thoroughly... was bidding on an Xbox 360 wireless headset, JUST the headset no charger... bids now up to $45.00 for just the headset (and $30.00 for the charger in another auction) which is more combined (sans shipping) than buying the headset/charger brand new.

 

It kills me the way people bid on items on Ebay. Personally I don't bid, I just watch something with a reasonable price and make a valiant attempt at sniping it when there is about 12 seconds left in the auction.

 

cheapest I could find it was $69.95 + $3.99 shipping on Amazon.com.

I always check amazon, a lot of the time it's cheaper and the shipping is less.

 

That covers it right there.

 

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