Mike,
You would think I might be the guy to jump in and flame you, but that is not
the case at all. Many of your points are dead bang on. Ebay is not an ideal
setting at all. I actually buy very little off ebay, for exactly the
reasons that you state. When I really want something, of known quality, I
buy it locally or from a reputable online dealer.
The situations where I do buy from ebay are two: 1) I can get a price that
is low enough to gamble on the quality (snipe time) or 2) I know the seller
from another situation.
In the second situation, it is usually a list member or a reputable camera
store that is doing the selling. So far, I've been lucky. Very few problems
in 150 or so transactions.
Everyone knows my history, so I won't bore anyone with the details, but ebay
is wonderful, simply wonderful vehicle for selling. If I had OM equipment
to sell and no ebay, then my market would be tiny -- just locals. However,
with ebay, I have access to the world's largest flea market, which is about
what it is.
As for setting the market price, that's the one I don't understand why it is
bad. Without ebay, there isn't enough historical information to predict a
value for something as obscure as OM equipment (let's face it, it is
obscure). Without Skip William's incredible history, I'd be completely
lost.
Anyway, ebay is clearly in the eye of the beholder. It can be great, it can
be terrible -- sometimes in the same transaction.
Tom
From: <miaim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<Mike's thoughtful comments on ebay - snipped for digest purposes>
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