eBay (aka: ePay, eVay, oyVay, etc...)

From: Chuck McManis <cmcmanis_at_freegate.com>
Date: Mon Oct 26 00:27:48 1998

I'll admit that I am confused about the subtext in Jim's message where he
writes:

At 10:02 PM 10/25/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Starting Saturday (perhaps earlier, but the first that I noticed) eBay has
>been running radio spots on the national syndicate program feeds.
>
>As if there are not already enough (far too many) people out there with
>excessive $$ to throw around...

It sounds like this is a "bad" thing. Is it? If so why? It would seem that
eBay is making a market for older computers that before didn't exist. Now
is it that the 'old timers' who were used to picking up C64's at a garage
sale for $1 will now have to pay $25 are grumbling? Doesn't this
potentially increase the value of your own collection many fold? Isn't that
a good thing? Traditionally there is a rush of "collectible fever" (if
you've ever dealt with collectibles, and my Dad has for many more years
than I) where lots of people rush in an buy anything that may be
collectible hoping to get in at the bottom of the next "beanie" craze, then
there is a rush of junk dealers who prey on those bozos and come in and
sell them a bunch of "L_at__at_K! R_at_RE!" Commodore 64's or 486SL machines for
over market prices, and then there is a general "crash" of the market as
the bozo's leave and prices go back to more rational levels (but usually
higher than they were before the "collectible" craze hit) and then, if they
are truely collectable (and there are many properties of things that make
them so) then the price begins to reflect actual rarity, condition, and
that imponderable "desirability."

--Chuck
(Who is waiting for his Korg M1 synthesizer to become 'collectible' because
he gave away an Arp Odessey when he was still clueless...)
Received on Mon Oct 26 1998 - 00:27:48 GMT