Don't people ever shop around?

survival of the fittest.. commercialism etc etc. its the way of business. i myself, hunt search and even get obsessive in finding something as cheaply as possible before i buy whatever it is. if others dont bother to look.. its their own loss.

I'll do you one better: For my son's 3rd birthday party, we decided on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for our theme. I couldn't find MMC stuff ANYWHERE except the Dollar Tree. Everything from that particular store is $1, no matter if it's great quality or just crap. I love the place! Anyway, I found jump ropes, yo-yos, stickers, coloring books, pinwheels, you name it, it was all Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! And each item was only a buck! Pack of 100 die-cut stickers, Dollar Tree, $1. Ebay, $4.99 plus $2.50 shipping! A pack of 2 decks of MMC kids' cards, Dollar Tree, $1. Ebay, $4.99 plus $3.58 shipping! Favor-sized MMC frisbees, pack of 6, Dollar Tree, $1. Ebay, $11.99 plus $5.99 shipping. WTF?! And people are actually bidding and paying the Ebay prices! How do these people get away with doing crap like that, and why don't other people pay more attention?! I also don't understand how they get away with pricing an item $1.99 and have the shipping at $26.97. I've never actually ordered anything from ebay. Probably because so far, I haven't found anything I could get cheaper than retail, especially after the ridiculous shipping prices! P.S. I also got my son the 117 piece play food from Target for Christmas, must have been popular, lol!

I have seen that too. I buy rubber stamps on ebay and sometimes I get outbid they are paying more for the item then what is in the store or by the company then pay the shipping on top of it! I will only continue to bid if the price is lower. Some people must not care about what they pay. I think some just like to shop from home and since it's more convient they pay whatever they get it for...and they do save gas by not having to drive anywhere!

It really is funny how some people pay way more than the item is really worth. My hubby sold some cars from the Disney "Cars Movie" and some of the items sold for $12-$15. They were new pieces and since he was buying them for our son, he decided to buy 2 of everything. When the bidding went crazy, he went to the local WalMart, bought more and continued to sell them for more than double retail price. He said it was like shopping for someone and charging them double retail for it. It really was funny, he was getting requests and everytime I went shopping, I had to call him to let him know what was on the store's shelves (the money we made paid for several presents that holiday season!!) We did sell a few items last year for way more than retail, but we really only list items when we know we'll make a big profit. Great thread!!

I get really cross at it I do, I see it happen all the time. If I want to bid on something and I know it is at a low price but then ends up going over what you would pay for it anywhere else I do not bother with it. Some of the prices that people end up paying are ridiculous. Also just lately we have noticed that the majority of stuff on ebay is now DEARER than in actual shops, I thought ebay was supposed to be a place where you could bag a bargain, nowadays it seems it is all about greed and ripping people off.

It is more of the "Im going to win it" syndrome..lol.

I know what you mean. I go on eBay to find bargains and a lot of the time the stuff is more expensive there. I refuse to pay full price for anything on eBay, so I will be patient and wait through a lot of auctions before I get a deal. I mean, at least when I go through Target, I know who I'm dealing with. I usually don't when I shop through eBay. And, you gotta watch those shipping prices there, they're often very over-inflated.

I think a lot of people just pay more for the convenience of it coming to their door directly and not having to go out shopping for it. I personally don't have money to waste so I know I'm not one of those people. If I pay more than needed I get irate! LOL

I shop on ebay a lot. I will bid on things but I will give myself a limit and I won't go over it. I usually get my books through ebay as it is cheaper. Well, most of the time. The bidding can and does at times get out of hand. People are using ebay as a full time job. There are some people that don't care who they fleece. Sometimes the shipping puts the price over the high street. However, I will buy it from an online shop as I only get to town once a month. It really depends on what the item is and how bad I need it.

Items are only worth what the highest bidder is prepared to pay. I have seen items go way over my price or budget but that's the way it is. It is a question of supply and demand, you only have to look at the prices some people were prepared to pay for the new Nintendo console last year. You may feel bad for people but they are well aware of what they are doing and if you attempted to warn them, you would be guilty of "auction wrecking" and eBay would probably sanction your account. At the end of the day people are responsible for their own actions, and if they want to pay over the price, then it is their choice.

I'll always shop around to see if I can get something elsewhere online before going to Ebay..But no matter how careful you are,you can still be stiffed..I wanted tickets (I started a discussion on this but got no responses so far)but they were sold out fron the venue-now ,they're available on Ebay at triple face value!

I think when it comes to ebay people just keep caught up in the rush of it all. Money does not matter, and it seems to be more about winning the item as opposed to what they are actually paying. It is people like that who have allowed so many people to make a living just reselling things on ebay.

I always see people pay over retail on ebay. It is their own fault for not researching the item first to see if they can get it cheaper somewhere else. Sellers are there to make as much money as possible and if people want to pay what they are asking or over than more power to them.

I shop around. I don't feel bad for people that get conned out of more money than they should, because they don't look around, since it is there choice. However, I would rather pay an extra pound or two to get something from a store than an auction website, just so I know it will be in good condition and feel more save in my purchase.