Sigma 100-300 F4

Ebay is supposed to be a place where bargains can be found.
It's just not fair to post a link for a rare item that someone
might have spent years looking for. Because of the publicity
they receive on forums some items have already been pushed
out of the reach of most people such as Kenko TC's.

If an item is rare the buyer would probably import it as
long as it is bought at a reasonable price especially if
it's a rare lens.

As an example take the Pentax FA* 85mm f/1.4.... rare as hens
teeth and people do search for them.... see this thread link
One did actually slip though the radar recently and the bidder
would have had a bargain at £585 had the buyer not put on a high
reserve. link

There were 26 bidders... had that sale been posted on here and
the US forum the bidders would have shot up and the price would
have been over £1,000 which has the knock on effect of putting
ALL future sales over £1,000

The price of the Sigma 100-300mm has already been pushed sky high
because of it being mentioned on forums and it doesn't need
inflating anymore.

I think it is a service to forum members, if there is a rare item for sale it should be considered a service to us,if people buy to sell on bad luck.

if i wanted any rare item I would pay the price being asked,it will settle down to the true value of the item.

I thought forums were to help like minded people.

Jack.

You are making quite a few assumptions,Algi.

Is Ebay a place for Bargains. I thought it was just an auction site.

Why is it not fair to post a link to a rare item. Are we also banned from telling a friend by word of mouth.

Has the price of the Kenko TC not just gone up because they are rare.

Why does the mention of item on a forum affect what a person is prepared to bid for it.

It's known as good manners, gentlemanly conduct etc.
If you had a group of close friends and met regularly
at the pub... going on shoots etc. and you found that
one of them had come across a rare item after he had been
looking for it for years on ebay and in classifieds and
that he had placed a bid and was hoping to pick up a
bargain...... would you go home and try to out bid him!

You probably would... but I don't think you would have
many friends afterwards

Oh you mean he want's it on the cheap and does not wish the seller to get the going rate.

That's what BIN's are for.

Auctions are for seeking out bargains. The seller nowadays often opens the
auction with the lowest price that he is willing to let the item go for.
Too many bidders will push the price beyond what is reasonable. I once
saw an empty cardboard box go for £35.

The seller can also set a reserve for the lowest price he is willing
to accept.

Your idea and mine, of the purpose for an auction are two different things. So I think we shall have to agree to disagree Algi.

It is about time Ebay was treated like any other auction. Decide the maximum you would pay for an item and put the bid forward.I would favour 'sealed bids' with the item going to the highest bidder. This would do away with the corrupt practise of false bidding. The bottom line is to decide how much you would pay for an item and stick to your guns.Would you tell your mate that there was an A50 F1.2 on ebay for
£100 if you weren't looking for one yourself? or post it on the forum?
Regards
Chris

Chris why don't you post here all the items your bidding
on and what your maximum bid is

The members can then decide for themselves if they want
to outbid you or not

Algi, I agree with you to some extent. Forums are meant to be friendly places, and many have a policy of not broadcasting auctions in order not to push up prices by bringing items to wider notice.

But to describe Ebay as a "place where bargains can be found" is a bit restrictive. It's a place where things for sale can be found, and prices will generally reflect supply and demand and the manner in which the item is presented.

Just because one particular item goes for a high price one week does not mean that a similar item will go for a similar price next week. People can, and do, get carried away and sometimes pay more than the going rate. Your assertion that future prices will always be higher is simply not true.

G

Personally I would rather buy from a reputable shop
Regards
Chris

Items on eBay, and indeed in our own Classified Ads section, seem to go in phases and fashions. At one point it was the 100mm macro lens, then the 50mm f1.4, then the 35mm f2.4, and a variety of other relatively rare lenses such as the 18-250mm.

Then it all dies as the market becomes saturated and it moves on....very difficult to predict and very unfortunate if you actually need an item and it's the wrong time to buy.