posted on November 30, 2002 02:37:04 PM new
I just won an auction for a Palm Pilot. The price seemed reasonable, and the seller had about 10 of them up. All new, unopened.
My gut started bugging me, so I did some research on this particular Palm (I know, should have done this before bidding.. just made a spur of the moment decision). Seems the going retail is anywhere from 150-200 dollars. I won it for less then 100.
This is starting to feel kinda like a too good to be true deal... almost half the price of retail. I was under the impression electronics do not have that much of a markup on them.
Am I just being too paranoid?
tfs13
http://www.tfstudios.com
[ edited by tfs13 on Nov 30, 2002 02:38 PM ]
posted on November 30, 2002 02:59:44 PM new
That's not an unreasonable discount from my perspective. Just make sure you can pay with a credit card (paypal, or your own) and you should be fine. I won't bid (and I usually don't anyway very often) on an electronics auction WITHOUT that protection. If it is a cash or money order only auction, well, I always am a bit wary of those.
posted on November 30, 2002 03:20:27 PM new
Sounda okay to me, too. The seller probably was able to purchase them at wholesale. The retail markup can be a whole lot more!! I buy jewelry wholesale and I know that the retail markup on that is rather high. Paypal with a credit card is good advice. You are more protected that way. Once the seller has your check or money order and it's been cashed, it's tough to turn around and get that money back.
posted on December 1, 2002 06:15:43 AM new
one cannot sell refurbished item as new,you should get a slip included which said so.
now the seller should say that too,if it is indeed refurbished.
paypal does not cover content/quality issue,so if you get a lemon,paypal does not care as long as it is delivered (online trackable delivery confirmation).
if you purchase quality guarantee from paypal,it is extra money from you.
listed retail price is not firm,it sounds like your price is more in line given today 's cutthroat retail environment.
could be distressed merchandise,closeouts or model soon to be phased out.
posted on December 1, 2002 07:13:56 AM newSeller also hasn't contacted me yet.
I'd give a couple more days. This is a holiday weekend. I have a lot of buyers who haven't answered my emails yet, either. Could be he or she is out of town. I've found that when I panic, for the most part it is unfounded. Had a buyer not contact me for 7 days. She finally contacted me. Turns out she was out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday visiting family. If you haven't paid yet, why worry. It's only AFTER you've paid and the seller disappears that you have to worry. Good luck.
posted on December 1, 2002 07:20:26 AM new
As stopwhining said, Paypal doesn't care about refurbished or not, just the manufacturer.
If you are still worried, pull the seller's contact info and give them a call. But considering it has only been a day, give it til Tuesday, the seller may not do business on weekends (god only knows why they have auctions end then).
Actually if I had my prefrence between refurb or closeouts... I would take refurb, at least they have been checked over again.
posted on December 4, 2002 02:06:31 PM new
Well, guess what...
The seller finally replied. (I should mention this was a Yahoo Auction, but knew I'd not get alot of advice over there.).
I paid.
The feedback is starting to pile in with nuetrals from people not getting responses and bouncing e-mails. Most people were not getting contected or wanted some sort of status on shipping.
Now for the one that now has me worried... the sellers location listed on the auction has now changed from Bakersfield, CA to Eight, AT AF.
posted on December 4, 2002 02:59:18 PM new
How did you pay? If you used a credit card, no worries, you are covered for fraud. Just don't let it drag on too long before you start procedures, check with your credit card company to see how long you have to file a chargeback if things go wrong.
