eBay steals

[StrokeofLuck]

I was just wondering if anybody has any stories of great steals/deals they've gotten on eBay in the early years or even recently. It seems like now with the multi-million users that are on eBay everyday the chance of getting a "steal" on a rare cue are slim. I just thought some of the posters here might have been eBay buyers when it was just getting up and going and picked up some sweet cues for a song. It would be interesting to hear about what you were able to get and what you paid to get it.

 

[Cheez Dawg]

The best deal I ever got on E-Bay was a brand new, unchalked Schon STL 8 for $450 CDN, delivered to my door.

 

[desert1pocket]

A kid in Tx stole a nice bludworth cue from me on e-bay ($350). I got it for a steal from someone trying to raise bail money for their boyfriend, so I got my money out, but just barely. I think part of the reason it sold so low was that I was brand new to e-bay and had no feedback yet.

 

[Dhakala]

Best "steal" I ever heard of (perhaps here?) came from a pawn shop: a $1500 Richard Black for $75.

Upon removing the rubber bumper cap, the new owner found $500 cash. Stolen cue, apparently.

Edit: BTW, "steal" has negative connotations. (duh) In the rec.woodworking newsgroup, such a story is traditionally labeled a "gloat."

The group's customary and perfectly polite response to a gloat is, "You suck!"

 

[mszelis]

I haven't bought all that much stuff off of ebay- just a McDermott at about a third of its price but thats about it.

 

[Dhakala]

Somebody should be gloating over the price he paid for this Shannon cue.

 

[chrstc]

Hi,
I got my Bear B-04 secondhand from eBay UK. I Paid £99 inc delivery for it and the UK retail brand new (if you can find one these days) is £450. Possibly the best thing I've ever bought on eBay. I also got my J&J Jump/Break with phenolic ferrule/tip for £26 inc delivery on eBay UK. That was a brilliant deal as well! Most of my other major eBay purchases have been guitar-related!

Thanks,
Chris (Chrstc).

 

[BillPorter]

Yep!

Somebody should be gloating over the price he paid for this Shannon cue.

Tell me about it, I was the seller! Big mistake having an auction end mid-day on a weekday.

 

[BrooklynJay]

i once got a mike stacey off marcus from e-bay that i thought was a great deal.
i also recently picked up a fanelli, points and no butterflies, with a pred shaft and was just refinished with a leather wrap that was a great deal.

 

[Dhakala]

Tell me about it, I was the seller! Big mistake having an auction end mid-day on a weekday.

Ah, Bill! I knew that from RSB, but didn't know if you wished to be named as the victim.

But I don't think the time of day had as much to do with the ending price as you do. Here is the distilled wisdom of professors (many taxpayer-supported, I presume) from the London Business School; Northwestern U; Stanford; U of Arizona; U of Pennsylvania; UC Berkeley; the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Bentley College; UC Santa Cruz; and Ryerson University.

Lengthier explanation of each tip in TFA:

http://tinyurl.com/jocpb

1. Set the starting price low except for items you expect little interest in. (Memo to copy editor: should be, "items for which you expect little interest")

2. Use reserve prices with caution, especially for low-priced items.

3. Use photos in your listings.

4. Don't flood the market.

5. Spell-check. (Memo to copy editor: should be, "check spelling.")

6. Hype it up.

7. Hold longer auctions.

8. Don't end auctions during "eBay happy hour." (5 p.m. to 8:59 p.m., presumably PDT)

9. Charge for shipping-but not too much.

10. Avoid negative feedback.

Geniuses, aren't they?

 

[Tokyo-dave]

I bought a JW in great condition for $1,700 a few years ago which probably would be considered to be a 'fair' price, but I turned it around for $4,000 and made a $2,300 profit. The guy I sold it to was and is happy about his deal to this very day, as he had never seen a JW for under $5,000.
What can I say ...................................I live in Japan.
dave

 

[deep]

I'm not sure weather you'd call this a steal but i bought some Balabushka chalk for £2.50 (around $5) and i hear its going on ebay at the mo for $60 ish. I've had plenty of steals on ebay but non pool related (yet!!)

 

[ChrisOnline]

Best "steal" I ever heard of (perhaps here?) came from a pawn shop: a $1500 Richard Black for $75.

Upon removing the rubber bumper cap, the new owner found $500 cash. Stolen cue, apparently.

lol.. that b@st@rd thief that sold it to the pawn shop probably only got 25 to 50 bucks for it..lol.lol..

and imagine that.. the whole time.. 500 under the bumper.. not to mention what the cue was really worth...

pawn shops are all up to date on value these days.. most of them have ebay stores..lol..

chris

 

[srober40]

How do you fit $500 under the bumper?

Is the butt section hollow on a Richard Black?

 

[Dhakala]

How do you fit $500 under the bumper?

Send me five C-notes and I'll send you pictures of the entire operation.

Is the butt section hollow on a Richard Black?

I'm sure it can be made sufficiently hollow.

 

[5ballcharlie]

I knew a guy that bought a very nice schon from a pawn shop for 100 dollars. Maybe I should check the butt cap for him ha

 

[Dhakala]

I knew a guy that bought a very nice schon from a pawn shop for 100 dollars. Maybe I should check the butt cap for him ha

I would. Anyone who sold that Schon for less than $100 could easily have acquired it for free.

 

[BANKONIT]

Winning Onepocket--$80 --1st Ed.

 

[Jeff]

I saw a NICE Runde era Schon go for $450 this morning and a Whitten 2x4 (with a few blimishes but still nice) go for $150.00

So there are still deals, you just have to be ready to grab them when they appear.

 

[Dhakala]

I saw a NICE Runde era Schon go for $450 this morning and a Whitten 2x4 (with a few blimishes but still nice) go for $150.00

So there are still deals, you just have to be ready to grab them when they appear.

Some folks in the alt.marketing.online.ebay newsgroup have offered advice on finding "steals" over the years:

1. Look for misspellings of key words. I ran across a "Palmar" cue recently, for example.

2. Browse new listings early in the morning for inappropriately low Buy It Now prices.

3. Look for poorly photographed or described gems.

4. Find the seller who drives off shoppers with obnoxious terms of service.

Problem is, there are a lot more cue collectors on eBay than there are collectible cues. The gems are buried in dreck, too. Out of 350-400 new listings in "other cues" each day, I find 5-10 that aren't cheap production cues.