Why are so many things on Ebay even more expensive then what the item would be brand new from the store?

I was searching for a Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto which is $80 brand new in a store, but on Ebay they are anywhere from $100 to $200. Even if it is pre-owned. It seems impossible that anyone is ever going to buy this so what is the purpose of these listings?

  • QubaXR@lemmy.worldEnglish
    471·
    2 years ago

    eBay has become the place for scalpers to sell overpriced wares, after they emptied store shelves. From toilet paper to graphics cards, that’s where the buyout stock, sell for profit happened.

    Now even without shortages, this philosophy persists at eBay. Nothing to lose for them, free money to make on uninformed buyers.

    Worst case they end up not selling and can possibly return items for full refund.

    Scummery at it’s finest

    • dingus@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      2 years ago

      Lmao I used to “collect” listings like this a while back. When pricing bots go out of control, shit gets wild lol

  • wander1236@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    141·
    2 years ago

    There was a while when Motorola couldn’t keep up with demand, so they were out of stock in most retailers. These are probably leftover price-gouging listings from then.

    Unfortunately, it’s pretty well proven that people will still buy something at a ridiculous markup if it isn’t available otherwise.

    • Izzy@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      6·
      2 years ago

      I think you are right with old listings and then maybe new people looking at old listings to make new listings without verifying.

  • Wolf Link 🐺@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    2 years ago

    In addition to what others have said already, keep in mind that the items in this list are the ones that did NOT sell. If there were 100 cheaper offers and 30 that demand a batshit insane price, the 100 cheap ones will be sold eventually and disappear from the list, leaving only the batshit insane ones active.

    Just an example …

    The prices for that thing vary extremely but guess which ones get actually sold …

  • JohnEdwa@kbin.social
    9·
    2 years ago

    Because why not, maybe someone will buy it from you as they don’t know better, and you cash in the profit. It doesn’t cost anything to post something on eBay after all.
    Some of them don’t even have the thing in the first place, if someone buys the listing they go get one from Amazon or a local shop and send it.

    If you actually want to know what people are willing to pay for something though, look at the completed auctions.

    • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 years ago

      Even beyond the realm of automated retail arbitrage, I am continuously shocked at the literal junk people will pay money for on eBay. I work in the durable goods industry and I have random odds and ends… extra components, parts, boards, etc. that just accumulate here so sometimes and I don’t know what to do with. So I slap them on eBay and without exception some punter buys them. Probably under the expectation that they’ll be able to flip it for a profit. But I have to figure that most consumers have no idea what the random handles or control boards or what have you would even fit. But someone wants to pay me to take my trash out of here, so… I guess I’m not complaining.

      And then I see the retro nerd youtubers paying big bucks for hilariously out of date PC components. One of these days I should dredge that old milk crate full of ISA and AGP cards out of the basement and post them all.

  • jcit878@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    2 years ago

    ebay is where you go for aliexpress junk that you might find from a local seller instead if you need it sooner. that’s about it. once in a Bluemoon a sale coincides with prices not being jacked and you can get a slight bargain (in the last year I managed to get a Bass at a good price and some bike tyres) but other than that just cheap junk is all it’s good for

    • debounced@kbin.run
      6·
      2 years ago

      meh, it still has some use. my dog tore up the plastic housing on garage door sensors out of boredom and there was no way i was calling a local place to quote out parts for a 14 year old opener… found the same pair of sensors (albeit used) on ebay for $25. a little dog proofing later and bingo bango, back in business. but usually it’s my last resort for obscure stuff that i can’t find anywhere else and i have to be really desperate.

      • Nougat@kbin.social
        2·
        2 years ago

        Used and NOS motorcycle and car parts are good to find on ebay, too. There is no reason to ever buy anything new from ebay, really.

        • debounced@kbin.run
          1·
          2 years ago

          100% agree, it’s also how I keep my 98 Camry alive outside the occasional trip to the junkyard.

            • nexussapphire@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              2 years ago

              Exciting as in maybe maybe it’ll die on me next week or maybe it’ll die on me next year right!

              That was just too much excitement for me when I owned a cougar so I got a honda. I loved replacing a fuel pump two to four times a year though.

              • limelight79@lemm.eeEnglish
                0·
                2 years ago

                If it was a 1999-2002 Cougar, they actually did fix the issue with the fuel pump. Obviously any mechanical part can still wear out, or course, but the frequent failures of the variable speed pump that was in the returnless Cougars were addressed, and few problems with them have been reported since.

                • nexussapphire@lemm.eeEnglish
                  0·
                  2 years ago

                  It was a long time ago, I was a teen and I could barely afford the cost of towing the car let alone being stranded about an hour away from home. I’m glad they figured it out but you know what they say, buy once cry once.

                  I’ll only buy cars proven reliable and long lasting because I’d rather keep my car’s for a very long time and spend less on maintenance.

  • eek2121@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    2 years ago

    Because people do pay the money.

    If an item is hard to find they will pay it.

    People that only buy stuff on eBay will pay for it.

    If someone randomly sees the item they need they will buy it.

    Example: I paid $2,200 on eBay for an RTX 4090 FE because they were sold out everywhere. The extra few hundred bucks for me was worth it to get the FE card over 3rd party cards since it is the smallest and quietist of the bunch. None of the other 4090s fit in my case.

  • Bizarroland@kbin.social
    7·
    2 years ago

    Part of me wonders if eBay is doing some price fixing.

    They suggest prices, they offer AI generated descriptions for your products, they handle the shipping fees and process all of the money from buyer to seller and take their cut in the process.

    But if they are suggesting prices and causing the price of everything to increase so that they can increase their cut of the proceeds then it seems like that might be if not illegal then at least concerning and possibly legally actionable.

  • Album@lemmy.caEnglish
    6·
    2 years ago

    The MA1 specifically was out of stock for a while which lead to high prices on secondary markets. Like most secondary markets when the primary market supply goes up there’s a bit of a lag before the prices fall down again.

  • Transcriptionist@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    2 years ago

    Image Transcription:

    Four eBay listings for Motorola MA1 Wireless Auto Car Adapters.

    The first listing is for a pre-owned Motorola MA1 Wireless Car Adapter for Android Auto by seller garyinok11. The image shows the adapter partially resting atop its manual. The listing is priced at $95, +$12.25 shipping.

    The second listing is for a brand new Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto Car Adapter NEWSEALEDSHIPS TODAY by seller jotam-25. The image appears to be a stock photo of the adapter. The listing is priced at $189 or best offer, with free shipping.

    The third listing is for a brand new NEW Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto Car Adapter USB Bluetooth FAST SHIPPING by seller beautysupplyoutlet88. The image shows the box for the adapter. The listing is priced at $189.95, with free shipping.

    The last listing is for a brand new Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto Car Adapter Dongle - FREE Shipping ! NEW by seller ausgoods1. The image is the same stock image as the second listing. The listing is priced at $127 with free shipping from Australia.

    [I am a human, if I’ve made a mistake please let me know. Please consider providing alt-text for ease of use. Thank you. 💜]

  • FederatedSaint@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 years ago

    The MA1 is not worth the trouble. It is soooo finicky. I’ve had to factory reset and re-setup on multiple occasions from things as simple as walking out of range.

    After me and my daughter spent a full hour trying to get any of our phones to reconnect to the damn thing, I had had it and sent the thing back to Amazon and got my $100 back. Much happier just using a cable again.

    • Billy_Gnosis@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      2 years ago

      eBay is still the only game in town for a lot of items. Vintage record albums to name one.

      Aside from some of the other reason already talked about, a lot of people are delusional. They think their second hand trash is worth millions.

      Saw a person trying to sell a “Rare” Cinderella Black Diamond VHS tape for $400. Those things are a dime a dozen and you get one for $10.00

    • pizza-bagel@kbin.social
      2·
      2 years ago

      eBay is usually the cheapest IMO

      The same vintage “rare” McDonald’s T-shirt I wanted was $50+ on Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark, even some eBay sellers. But I got it for $2 from a dude on eBay 🤷‍♀️

      Etsy is way worse at what OP is talking about, but I’m using it for vintage stuff not really electronics. For electronic stuff I use Swappa mostly

      • _cerpin_taxt_@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        I really had no idea it was still around, or at least heavily in use.

        Swappa is pretty damn handy. I’ve bought and sold several phones on there. Etsy has some really cool stuff, but some of the sellers on there are absolutely delusional. I’ve never checked out Poshmark. I’ll have to check it out some time.

        I’m curious - what is the shirt? I’ve got a really cool vintage one with the big yellow ‘M’ and Japanese characters under it that I picked up second-hand almost twenty years ago now. It sadly no longer fits because uhh it totally shrank and I didn’t just gain a little weight.