Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay? It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't an
auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats listed
now.

Unless, I was able to buy a boat or car at substantial discount, I would
hesitate to buy any bit ticket item via eBay.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?


My brother bought a Jag on eBay and got a pretty good deal. It was
kept in south Florida for winter use and was in excellent shape with
low mileage and the price was right. Most of the time I agree with you
that they are overpriced and you seldom have the luxury of test
driving.

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 09:00:29 -0500, "Smithers" Yes, Smithers is not
my real name. wrote:



Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?



In '03 I bought a '99 Mustang Convertible GT on Ebay. I got it at
trade-in value which I thought was an exceptional deal. The car has
been great. I am willing to buy big ticket items on Ebay but only at
a price I would consider a great deal.

I also bought a boat over the summer on Ebay that didn't turn out to
be such a good deal. The seller was honest about there being some
soft spots in the boat which kept educated buyers from bidding and
thus the price was low. I didn't know better at that time. I was
able to look at the boat and take a trial ride on it before the deal
was closed. Unfortunately, due to my lack of knowledge about boats, I
bought it. Later sold it at a loss. Even though I owned that boat
for a short time, I was able to get some enjoyment out of it and
learned quite a few things. In the end, not such a bad experience. I
would not buy a boat on Ebay again unless I was able to inspect the
boat before the deal closed and also take it for a sea trial.

Smithers wrote:


Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?

I bought my '83 Chris Craft Scorpion 169 (18 ft mercruiser 140) off
Ebay w/BIN. for $1500.

The guy was 80 mi away. Took EXCELLENT pics of the boat and had an
excellent write up.

When I showed up with the cash in hand to pick the boat up, he gave me
a right to refusal, minus the ebay fee. I thought that was fair enough.

I did notice the boat wasn't runnng right the next spring and found it
had a burnt valve. It lopped when at idle, but would still pull 4000
RPM at the drop of a hat.

I had the head repaired w/ new valves , labor etc about another $380.00

I really don't think he knew the head was bad, because above idle it
seemed to run great.

I know, buying something online sight unseen is kid of risky, but I was
satisfied w/my purchase. and would buy from that seller again.

Tim

I don't know if I'd buy a big ticket item, but I did buy something for over
$800, so maybe I would.
I have a friend who bought a military ambulance (the old square design) to
use for a mobile communications center in his volunteer organization.
Another friend bought a Toyota motor home and a gas powered scooter. Both of
them have been satisfied with their purchases.
Shopping eBay is no different than anywhere else: you have to know what a
fair price is and you have to consider the cost of shipping.

"Smithers" Yes, Smithers is not my real name. wrote in message
...
Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay? It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't
an auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats
listed now.

Unless, I was able to buy a boat or car at substantial discount, I would
hesitate to buy any bit ticket item via eBay.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?

"Smithers" Yes, Smithers is not my real name. wrote
Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay?

Because they wanted it, and had the money? Why does anybody
buy anything?

.... It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't
an auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats
listed now.


That's true. For the last few years there has been a glut of
storm-damaged boats, most of which should be stripped &
chainsawed up for the landfill. And boats that are in
reasonable condition are usually given unreasonably high
reserves.



Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?



William Andersen wrote:
I don't know if I'd buy a big ticket item, but I did buy something for over
$800, so maybe I would.

I bought a windlass, but that was from a regular on-line
marketer who used EBay as an outlet. A good deal IMHO.

I have a friend who bought a military ambulance (the old square design) to
use for a mobile communications center in his volunteer organization.
Another friend bought a Toyota motor home and a gas powered scooter. Both of
them have been satisfied with their purchases.
Shopping eBay is no different than anywhere else: you have to know what a
fair price is and you have to consider the cost of shipping.


Agreed.

I have put down offers on a few boats, always after
carefully asking questions committing the seller to state
the boat's material condition. The last one was a very nice
37 foot racing sloop, the closing price was about 60% of
what similar boats are asking for on YachtWorld.com... in
other words, about what the seller could have gotten & the
buyer paid thur any other channel, minus a brokers commission.

My wife & I have a saying, 'The deal of a lifetime comes
along about once a week.' It would be dumb to buy anything,
from any source, without making an effort to find out what
the market value is.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

I suppose is that taking in count all risks,, shipping costs,
description and pics, and sellers feedback the higher the positives,
the better you are.

But I have a philosophy of not to bid what you can afford to spend, but
bid only what you can afford to lose....

OTOH, Boatangelministries, sellls a lot of "donated" boats on ebay, and
someone could see that they seem to go for :bargian basement" prices,
but you have to understand that these boats have been "donated" for a
reason.

They give you a healthy tax right off for yoyur junk, then sell it for
what ever it brings.

My cousin was looking at some cruisers with good hulls for rebuild. (28
ft. Chris Craft for $400 bucks!) the boat was junk but the hull was
good. it would take a total rebuild. But by the time he would pay
shipping from the east coast to St. Louis ,plus replacing and
remodeling the thing, he's have way more in it than what he could
possibly get out of it.

Canned that ideal.

It pays to study out all options before buying online...

Smithers wrote:
Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay? It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't an
auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats listed
now.

Unless, I was able to buy a boat or car at substantial discount, I would
hesitate to buy any bit ticket item via eBay.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?

In 2000 I bought a 1999 Seadoo XPL PWC on ebay for $4,500. The guy
bought it new and took it out twice with his girlfriend. They found out
it was hard to get back on after being tossed off while out in the
waves. So they wanted a motorcycle and couldn't get a good trade-in
deal so they wanted to sell the ski outright then buy the bike. My
"winning" bid was well below book but he hadn't put on a reserve (and
it was still above what the motorcycle dealer was willing to give him).
I had to drive to New Jersy from Pittsburgh to see it and pay for it
but I was and still am quite happy with the deal and the ski. Last fall
(2004) I bought a boat via ebay. (1995 Sea Pro Citation 1900 Classic
cuddy cabin with a 3.0 liter Mercruiser Alpha 1 for $4,000) The boat
didn't sell because the bids didn't reach the reserve (which was still
well below book), so I contacted the seller and negotiated a final
price below his reserve. This time I had to drive to Cleveland from
Pittsburgh to check out the boat and pay for it. It ran very well this
summer and I am very pleased with the boat and the deal. Only real
problem was the brakes on the trailer need refurbed or replaced.

I have no problem buying via ebay, but only if I can travel to see the
item before payment is due and can physically do the title transfer at
a local notary (especially important as in both of my deals we needed
to go to the bank to complete the transaction as the owners had
outstanding loan balances on them and I wrote payoff checks to the
banks and balances to the owners and the banks sent out the titles).

Dave Hall

Smithers wrote:
Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay? It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't an
auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats listed
now.

Unless, I was able to buy a boat or car at substantial discount, I would
hesitate to buy any bit ticket item via eBay.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?




I have purchased 2 boats on eBay -- both local, and I looked closely at
them fist -- had one surveyed.

Then there's the other side. 3 weeks ago, I got a brand new 9" AC/DC
color TV/VCR combo for $38.95 and 14.95 SH. Works perfect. For the boat,
you know...
JR
P Fritz wrote:

"Smithers" Yes, Smithers is not my real name. wrote in message
...

Why would someone buy a big ticket item on Ebay? It appears that the
sellers want to sell their product at market pricing and it really isn't

an

auction. It seems the Reserve Prices have not been meet on the boats

listed

now.

Unless, I was able to buy a boat or car at substantial discount, I would
hesitate to buy any bit ticket item via eBay.

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of people who have purchased cars
and/or boats via Ebay or similar auction service?




Ebay has changed substantially in the last 2-3 years, so much so that I
rarely use it. Stuff that I bought for $10-20 ea 3-4 years ago now sells
for 50-60. I see people bit up stuff higher than what you can buy it
directly on line. And as you pointed out, people seem to think they can
get market pricing AND pad the shipping and handling costs.








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