Sniing was Re: Microdata "Microprogramming Handbook"

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Sat Jan 26 16:28:03 2002

On Sat, 26 Jan 2002, John Foust wrote:
> At 02:07 PM 1/26/2002 -0600, Tothwolf wrote:
>
> >What I am saying, is that I often see idiot wannabe dealers overpay for
> >*junk* at the local auctions, not even knowing what they are buying, all
> >the while thinking they can make a fast buck off of "suckers" on ebay.
>
> This behavior is self-limiting due to finite pocketbooks. We can't
> make the poor go away, and we can't prevent poor business sense.

True. I have seen this happen twice with UPS units, and each time is was a
different person. I just hate to think what they end up doing with all
those dead UPS once they realize they can't sell them on ebay. Before
these kinds of people started showing up at local auctions, I'd buy the
units, refurbish as many of them as possible, and sell them at *cost* to
local schools, friends, and so on. Due to these kinds of people, more and
more repairable equipment (and lead batteries) are going to end up in
landfills.

> >Again, what I am getting at is ebay itself has spawned a whole new
> >generation of get-rich-quick idiots who buy up stuff at local auctions for
> >inflated prices and try to sell it at an even higher price on ebay.
>
> And that's all because you *can* make money buying low and selling
> high, depending on exactly what it is that you can become expert
> enough to acquire and sell.

The problem I see is that many of the people trying to buy low and sell
high are self proclaimed experts who do not know what the low or high
price for their goods should actually be. They make it much more difficult
for informed buyers to get the same goods at a *fair* price.

> There's been plenty of times when I've bought something for $100 or
> less and sold it for $1000 or more. I may be getting old, but that's
> exciting.

That is exciting, but at the same time, you likely already had some idea
when you paid $100 for something that is was a very good deal. I don't
have a problem with someone making money with ebay. I do have a problem
with wannabe dealers messing up the local auctions by bidding things up
higher then they are worth, and then trying unsuccessfully to sell them at
extremely high prices on ebay.

-Toth
Received on Sat Jan 26 2002 - 16:28:03 GMT