posted on June 20, 2006 06:37:03 PM
Ralphie is pulling my hair out over this...
EXAMPLE:
I sell a balance in my store for approx = $1475 -- tain't the BEST price on the net, but it also ain't the worst...not by a longshot!
It's an "OK" price...
I stumbled over the same balance that a seller is selling for...$400 NR -- described as: UNUSED...NOT described as "NEW" nor is it called "NIB" -- only "UNUSED"
Now, I sure would like to be able to buy this sucker at WHOLESALE for $400 -- ain't gonna happen in this lifetime...
He provides little tech info -- only loads of very very FINE PRINT which has this rather startling ??DISCLAIMER??
"Warranties: No manufacturers warranties or support are offered on any item sold. See details below for sellers warranty.(Ralphie notes that is a 15 day warranty) All items sold contain identification and have been verified by a third party to prevent fraud and protect both buyer and seller...blah,blah,blah"
WTF kind of NEW item can be sold with NO manufacturer's warranty??
All ye bright retail experts out there in VD-LAND -- can you explain to me-&-Ralphie WTF is going on here??
posted on June 20, 2006 07:01:13 PM
Someone bought it new, took it home and out of the box. He had buyers remorse and returned it for a refund. It is no longer new. It is not used, but it is unused. The warranty extended only to the original buyer, and is now void. The store throws it in the back room, and sells it at their monthly auction. The seller gets it for a couple hundred bucks because the auctioneer is his brother in law. He sells it on Ebay to Ralphie for four hundred bucks, buys the auctioneer a bottle of bourbon, and pockets almost two hundred bucks profit. Lots and lots of this stuff shows up at swap meets. Be careful, because much of this stuff also consists of non-working items or freight damaged items that were also returned.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on June 20, 2006 09:12:28 PM
Ya get what ya pay fer.
**************
I married my wife for her looks...but not the
ones she's been giving me lately!
posted on June 21, 2006 05:39:18 AM
Could be what they call grey market. It is not meant to be sold in the US and contains no warranties and may be worthless to you if it ever breaks.
Tony.
In a world without walls or fences who needs Windows and Gates?
posted on June 21, 2006 05:51:10 AM
Tom, Your description screams HOT to me...
and Irked is ever so right "Ya get what ya pay fer." Don't people have bells go off.... if it sounds to good to be true?... Or is it just us, the jaded "schooled" veterans of descriptions, that have those bells?
It could also be "gray market" merchandise. I know that at least in the photography world... you can usually buy merchandise much less expensively from foreign sources than you can from the US. These foreign sources are indeed selling brand new items... but they don't have warranties that can be used within the United States. Just a thought...
posted on June 21, 2006 06:42:16 AM
Or ... husband was busted, wife selling off assets to pay for attorney..
[ edited by pixiamom on Jun 21, 2006 06:42 AM ]
posted on June 21, 2006 07:15:30 AM
Other than Pixie'sMom (hee!hee!), I think ye all be correct!
The problem is that this really whores down the value of many very excellent items!
WHY pay $1400 when you can get the "same" for $400 -- OTOH, with the MASSIVE FEES involved with selling on feeBay anymore, there's no way to sell that item for less than $1400...
Oh well...Maybe it's time to dig out Ralphie's collection of "Monkey Porn" and earn some real moola on feeBay???
posted on June 21, 2006 08:09:39 AM
Sparkz has got this one right. Happens here all the time; essentially new item that can't be returned to the store because someone kept forgetting to return it for a year, warranty is not transferable. Anything they get for it is found money, so, $9.95 No Reserve auction.
It must happen a half dozen times a month. We have no intent to squeeze legitimate sellers, and there is no malice in our undercutting, but the consignor just wants a quick return of whatever they can get for it.
posted on June 22, 2006 12:52:59 PM
Sounds like gray market stuff to me, though the difference in price seems too great. On your scale, are you an authorized dealer? Whether you are or not, do you know how much the authorized dealers pay for the scale from the distributor?
.
.I've lost almost all my Ebay business over the years to the gray market. There was one widget where I was the US distributor. I would pay 25% of retail to the manufacturer. I would sell for 50% of retail to my authorized dealers. But there were distributors in other countries that would sell out the back door for 30% of retail, and a lot of that stuff found it's way on to Ebay.
