e BAY

[muka 9]

whats everybodies view on ebay?? i think its ok if your looking for something you just have to have parts or what have you but you will pay top dollar for it and it is buyer beware thats for sure.I have met some really nice people thru ebay and some not so nice i really enjoy this board great place keep it up thank you kevin

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[Rideawaysenior 25]

It's hot or miss. I've found many parts I need there and paid a fair price. There have also been some things I just had to have that cleaned out a couple of weeks allowance LOL.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,299]

eBay has a lot of parts. The issue I have with it is.

1. Some folks get carried away with what I will call the gambling of eBay, where they continue to bid and it over inflates the cost of the item.

2. Unless you know the seller, you have to rely on feedback scores which may not apply to used parts.

3. There are crooks out there, and eBay has a lot too.

But I have used eBay to buy NEW parts from suppliers at a much better cost than I could otherwise. Last spring I bought a deck kit for my 42" RD, and it worked out great. I plan on getting the same kit for my 42" SD this year. And today, I bought 2 new bearings for my snowthrower. Haven't received them but I expect them to be fine.

I have had MUCH better luck with Craigs list and from here, got my snow thrower from Sparky.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,508]

I have used ebay before to buy stuff. But, it's buyer beware most of the time. There are good sellers there and some, not so good. I personally agree with Karl, I use Craig's list more and I would rather buy from someone I have become acquainted with from this site or from the other sites I frequent, like wfm.

Ebay is okay as long as you are careful and know what something's worth. I have seen too many auctions, especially for JD parts, where the opening bid is higher than what you can buy it from a dealer. Just because a tractor hasn't been made in 20 years doesn't mean you can't get parts for it. That's where a lot of shady sellers prey on.

[Jim_M 178]

It's hot or miss. I've found many parts I need there and paid a fair price. There have also been some things I just had to have that cleaned out a couple of weeks allowance LOL.

I agree with that 100%. You can find some bargains on eBay once in a while, but more often than not people get carried away and bid too high.

I've seen a lot of parts that are still available from the dealer sell on eBay for twice what you would pay at the dealer and then the seller is charging twice what it actually costs him to ship the stuff.

That's my one of my biggest complaints....sellers who make a killing on the shipping. I sell a lot of stuff on eBay, and if I overcharge for the shipping then it was purely by accident and I refund the difference. I refuse to make money on the shipping, it just seems completely wrong to me. I get the boxes and packing for free, I buy a roll of tape for 5 bucks that lasts me for months, UPS picks up at my house for free and the post office is on my way home from work, so there's no reason for me to charge any more than UPS or the post office is going to charge me.

I once bought something on ebay, and paid $10.00 shipping and it showed up in a 50 cent envelope with $1.26 in stamps on it. I left the seller the appropriate feedback and they left negative feedback which was nothing but a pack of lies, I paid immediately by Paypal, so should have gotten positive feedback.

That brings me to my secnd complaint about eBay sellers....the ones who won't leave feedback until you've left feedback for them. What a crock! I leave feedback as soon as someone pays me, I think that's the way it should be, but then again I'm honest with my description and the shipping cost so I have nothing to be afraid of and no reason to hold their feedback hostage and use it to blackmail them into leaving me good feedback.

Ok, I'm done. If anybody else wants to use the soapbox it's all yours!

[Buzz 502]

I have seen too many auctions, especially for JD parts, where the opening bid is higher than what you can buy it from a dealer. Just because a tractor hasn't been made in 20 years doesn't mean you can't get parts for it. That's where a lot of shady sellers prey on.

My favorite one is the Wheel Horse shifter boot. On ebay it's $9.00 + S&H. At the dealer it's around $3.00 and every good dealer will have them in stock. We try to warn any "newbies" to beware I agree about outrageous shipping charges. When I sell I charge actual shipping costs.

[Jim_M 178]

I start every auction at 99 cents. If you buy something from me and think you paid too much, it's your own fault. If I lose money on it then it's my own fault.

I sold my wife's Lincoln Town Car on eBay a couple years ago, yup, started it at 99 cents. She thought I was crazy, was mad at me for most of the week, but when the auction ended it brought a little more than we were actually hoping to get for it.

On the other hand there have been a couple of times when I thought things should have sold a little bit higher than they did, but it all works out in the end.

[kpinnc 12,302]

Simply due to my location, and the fact the local dealer closed up here a couple years back, I use Ebay quite a bit. BUT, I have found that using RCPW is very reasonable on the small stuff. They charge about what a dealer would for most things, and shipping is more reasonable. Of course, some parts for Wheel horses are just plain expensive. Many things you'd buy from a dealer are readily available at you local auto parts store. Partstree.com is OK, but they take a while to ship. But, they use the parts diagrams from each manufactuer, and you just click on what you want.

I only use Ebay when I find something you can't get from a parts dealer anymore, or if I'm fairly sure the part I'm getting is reasonable. I've been burned twice on Ebay- both times were with a set of tires. Otherwise, I have had a pretty fair deal there.

Most times when there is a poor seller on Ebay, you'll hear about who they are on this and maybe a few other forums. There are some good folks here, and they watch out for each other.

Good luck!

Kevin

[Rollerman 290]

I watch ebay, but generally don't bid to much...seems like I can pick stuff up cheaper anymore going to the dealer or at tractor shows.

Prices seem to reflect the show season too...No shows are swaps in the winter so prices are up then.

If it some one I know as a seller I don't hesitate to bid...but leary of some ebayers that have low feedback or weird requirments to a sale.

As far as selling on ebay...I have been burned a few times with some out of country shiping & think I will avoid it anymore....France

I tend to use the USPS for shipping...I live practically across the street & think their fixed rate shipping boxes work best for me.

Oh & the best time to buy Wheel Horse items on ebay always seems to be the 20/21 of June too? :P

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,508]

All interesting and good, valid points here. Some I have thought of and some I have not. An education, indeed.

Currently I have been following Dale's advice. I bid the most I'm willing to go right up front and then just wait until it's over to see if I won or not. I have been loosing a lot of auctions this way, but when I see what the item actually sold for, I realize I would have never went that high anyway. It's been ridiculous on what some of these things have been selling for. :D

[Nick 13]

Ive got some good deals and some bad ones like everyone else. No bad deals on Wheel Horse items yet but should have just drove off and took the negative feedback after seeing a truck I bought. Not only took the thing but had to drive him 15 miles to get the title because he hadnt got around to it.

I might get burnt next time but after selling a lot of stuff on ebay I have only had 2 or 3 non paying bidders.

I use to dislike last minute sniper bidders but its often the best way to get an item. Yea Ive missed a few small items because I forgot what time it was. But more often I had to pay more because of that one bidder that had to place 15 or more bids trying to find my limit. I don't bid more than the item is worth to me but do try to bid late when I can.

Anyone else ever send a complaint to ebay? Ive turned in fraud auctions and fake emails but the reply they send sounds like they could care less.

[Curmudgeon 28]

Ebay is an auction. Caveat Emptor.

I go with the theory of one bid, what the item is worth to ME. I can't get burned by last minute sniper bidders, and I'll never pay more than I want to. If I'm bidding, it's because I need it, not hoping for someone to get stuck selling for less than it's worth hoping I can resell later for a profit. If I get a deal, cool, if not, I got the item for what it's worth to ME!

That said, I will ONLY pay ONE WAY. PayPal, via credit card. This gives me two options of complaint if need be. Ebay will step up to the plate if a complaint is filed. I know, I have, and I won. I paid promptly, waiting a week, sent an email, sent another, etc. no return email. No item. I filed a complaint and left feedback saying he never shipped, as did several others. Shortly after, he left retaliatory feedback on all of us. Shortly later he disappeared. Funny thing is, he did eventually ship! LOL All the negative feedback he left disappeared too.

[Jim_M 178]

There's a prime example of excessive shipping charges on eBay right now. A parts manual for GT-14 for $7.95 with a shipping charge of $8.95.

It would ship in a 50 cent envelope with $1.50 worth of stamps. :D

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

Yeah.... and it's probably a copy too! I get tired of seeing copies of manuals on there, and I'm even more tired of seeing people buy them -- especially for big $!

And by the way..... they need to put a couple of new "smiley" guys on the list. One that's holding a sign that says "WTF?" and one holding a sign that says "here's your sign "

[kpinnc 12,302]

TT, we can't put the "here's your sign" one up.

It'll show up WAY to often beside my name!

Kevin

[combatmp29r 27]

I think Ebay is becoming more of a pain than a useful tool at this point. I still search for alot of parts on there, and sell quite a few things, but the idiots are definately taking over.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,508]

Yeah.... and it's probably a copy too! I get tired of seeing copies of manuals on there, and I'm even more tired of seeing people buy them -- especially for big $!

Amen to that. When I first got my C-141 I saw those manuals on ebay and was very tempted to buy one. But, I didn't. Then I saw I can download them, for free, from Toro, then I knew where most of those manuals being sold on ebay came from. And what I couldn't download for free from Toro, I could buy from them for a couple of bucks and no shipping. There are still some I can't get from Toro and some of the printed copies are hard to read, but they're virtually free to cheap. It's amazing that the ones I can't get from Toro, aren't being sold on ebay. Makes you wonder.

There is also digital manuals now being sold on ebay. I wonder where those came from?....... :D

[Nick 13]

Couple days ago I listed an item for my brother and had it sell fast with buy it now. But after they came for it this morning they didnt want to buy it. Guess asking a question before ending the auction early, wasting our listing fees and them driving 75 miles, made to much sense. :D

[CasualObserver 3,408]

Selling copies of manuals has always been one of my biggest pet peeves. That's why I have contributed and co-own the manuals groups on ebay. Buzz, Garry (from canada) and I have spent hours gathering and uploading anything we can that's not available from Toro for free. I would say we're closing in on a pretty complete set between the 8 groups of tractor stuff, and I have two more groups of snowmobile stuff. I know a lot of you already belong, and have also contributed, to which we all say , but for those who don't, see the links sticky at the top of the Wheel Horse Tractors topic. We're in the middle of a little bit of re-organization of files right now, but by all means, ask if you can't find what you're looking for. :D

[combatmp29r 27]

I know what you mean NIck. I've had a couple people bid on stuff with 30- 50 daollar shiipping because of size or weight. Wait all 5 days of the listing then after its over and they won ask can you do better on the shipping. I only charge what I get charged plus 1-2 dollars if its a large item and takes alot to wrap up for shipping. Why people can't ask that stuff before it ends is beyond me.

[Rollerman 290]

Nick thats a bum deal...I can say one time I went to pick an item up I had bought off ebay & it just wasn't what he made it out to be.

The seller wasn't happy, but told me I wasn't obligated to buy.

I purchased my mighty mac chipper off your brother via ebay & have been very happy with it.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,131]

Like the time I sold a 5hp fun-kart on there. I had a $400 B.I.N. and overnight it sold. The buyer was in Western IL! I contacted the buyer and asked them how they were going to get it and when. He told me that he thought that the shipping was included in the price!

I worked some truck-driver magic and got it as far as Chicago where it was picked up by the buyer. It cost him $50 to rent a truck, and another $30 in gas, but he still saved about $320 if it would have been LTL freighted to him from PA.

Where's that "HERE'S YOUR SIGN" sign?

[CasualObserver 3,408]

People just don't think about location sometimes I guess. I think a lot of folks don't realize you can put the location or "distance from you" on your ebay search screen. I keep that as one of my defaults. Sometimes I even sort by it just to make sure I'm not missing a good deal close by.

On a separate note... there's quite a few of us here in the midwest... just gonna throw out that I (and my wife) travel down to northern and central Illinois from SE Minnesota usually about once every 6 weeks. Prefer to take the car for mileage, but can take the pickup if anyone needs something moved (for a gas and/or meal donation). Kinda opens up your ebay "reach" if you can have a network of people to help you move it. Just something to keep in mind. :D

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,508]

Jason,

You might have hit on an idea that's being done on other sites. Make another section here called "Moved It" where members here can post if they need something moved, i.e. "Nome, Alaska to Bangor, Maine" to see if any member is making a trip near those locations. And members could also post if they're making a trip to some particular area, i.e. "Making Trip - Duluth, Mn to Houston, Tx - taking an empty trailer there", etc. I don't know if there would be a lot of entries in the section, but still it's something we can think about.

Karl,

Are you looking....... :D

[combatmp29r 27]

I agree Terry. I actually posted about needing help moving a tractor. Its in the wanted section. I'll go post the thought in the site suggestion section and see what others think of it.