When's the last time you got a good deal on "Evilbay"?

I've heard enough stories of Ebay rip-offs, scams, and people just getting royally screwed. But what auctions have you won on Ebay that you felt pretty good about? I don't hear enough stories about stuff like that, but it would be an interesting topic (I think?), and it would give you the chance to brag about that original mono copy of Sgt. Peppers you won for 10 bucks in NM condition (yeah right).

I can't really say I've scored big on Ebay yet, but a couple of items come to mind as "passable". One is a UK original pressing of Fragile I just got. It's got the red/green label but still has the polydor number and "A1/B1" embossed in the dead wax. A plum/red copy recently sold on Ebay for about $100. I won mine for just over $25. Not a grand slam, but well worth it. I also just got a second issue (1970) Japanese copy of A Saucerful Of Secrets for $12.50, which is not bad. Another copy from this issue sold recently for several hundred dollars. The difference was that mine didn't have an Obi strip or red vinyl, but that copy was in EX condition, so I think I fared better. Both copies are the best I've heard these albums sound, and aside from a couple of spindle marks the vinyl is about as close to mint as a used LP can get: no marks, gleaming vinyl, "STUNNING" condition, to quote Mr.XXXRecords.

If there's any other good stuff I've got, you can assume I paid well for it, but what about you?

 

Your thread would be best suited for the "Everything eBay" forum.

 

I recently won quite a few auctions. One I would like to say really surprised me. there was one of those penny auctions and it was on a Yellow Dog Beatles Unsurpassed Masters Vol 2.
These are now being made in Russia and are not the original yellow dog Bootlegs. The Labels on the disc are not the same and the back artwork you can see the Russian Logo on it.

So I put in a high bid of 51 cents on what I thought was a Russian made copy of this disc.

I won the auction the shipping was $2.00 so the it cost me 2.51 for this disc. So it arrived and as I opened it I saw the back didn't have the Russain Logo I opened it up and it was a real Silver and Yellow colored Real Yellow Dog disc. So I thought that was not only a surprise but a real good deal and the disc and artwork were NM.

 

Most of what I buy on eBay is in my area of current collecting obsession: Christmas music. Already this year (2004) I've dug up two items that I paid a lot less for than if I'd seen them in a used CD store, or got them at the time they were current, for that matter.

One was the Sweet Tracks Best Buy sampler, in a round case with red and white stripes on it, with five previously unreleased Christmas songs by such artists as Sting, Coldplay and Michael Buble. It was given to members of the Best Buy Reward Zone right after Thanksgiving, and my goal was to get it for less than it would have cost to join the Reward Zone. Mission accomplished: I paid about a buck and a half (before P&H) for it.

The other was Be Merry, a CD compilation of jazz Christmas tunes done for the Eddie Bauer chain in 1997. What's neat about this one is that it came in a metal tin rather than the standard jewel case. (Eddie Bauer did something similar with another compilation called Christmas Cheer; it came in a miniature wooden crate that serves as the outer protection for the CD, which is housed in a cardboard sleeve within.) Again I paid about a buck and a half, not including P&H.

Before Thanksgiving, I scarfed up some Christmas vinyl, pretty much all of it for less than $5 a record. Among the goodies I found were a Checker label compilation of gospel artists doing Christmas songs, plus a Harmony reissue of the Everly Brothers' Christmas album (I didn't have this in any form whatsoever on any label -- it's been elusive at prices I want to pay). I saw other records I could have grabbed at a bargain, but I already owned the records.

It's all a question of what you seek, and how much competition there is for whatever you seek.

 

Hmmm, a tough one....

DCC 24KT Sampler for $64.00
Toshiba/EMI Pink Floyd: DSOTM €17.50
MFSL Aluminum (IIRC) Joe Turner: Sings The Blues €13.53
MFSL Aluminum Al Stewart: TYOTC $50.00
Mastersound Stevie Ray Vaughan: CSTW $7.01

and a few others I can't think of right now.

 

Last decent deal I got was a NM copy of the MFSL Abbey Road LP for $9.99. It went so low because I doubt the seller even knew it was anything different, and failed to mention MFSL in the title or description. However by the picture it was obviously so. That pleased me

Beatle Terr...that is a great deal! I only have one original YD, and I received it in a trade. Nice score!

 

Jethro Tull's AQUALUNG DCC gold promo for $45 in Sept. last year. Not a "bargain", but the seller was local so I picked it up w/out having to pay shipping.

Jim W.

 

Not to upset anyone, but why would you ever NOT get a good deal on Ebay, other than a scam situation?

My Ebay rating is 144, and probably 120 of them are from buying rather than selling. I never bid higher than what I think is a good deal, so I get one every time.

 

I think it was meant that if we look and look forever and don't find anything worth getting at a good price, then that's considered "no good deals". Not "bad" technically, but not good either.

 

Steve Miller DCC Greatest Hits from half.com for ~$24
near mint Velvet Underground Peel Slowly box for ~$24 (not a great deal but sure beats paying the MSRP for it.)

 

I got a Ringo DCC for $60.00 which is not cheap but for that disc I figured I'd never find it that low even used. Low and behold when it came the thing was SEALED!!! it wasn't even mentioned it was new.

 

You did GOOD!

 

I guess it doesn't really matter how you interpret the subject, if you think everything on Ebay is a good deal. I just thought Ebayers could discuss here what they thought they got away with that would've probably cost them more anywhere else (If that makes sense).

I think it all depends on the particular item you're bidding on, how rare you think it is, how rare it really is, how accurate the seller's description is, and how badly you want it.

I've been buying music on Ebay lately, and mostly LPs. If a seller describes an item as "NM" and you receive it in what you perceive to be VG+ condition, then chances are that you probably didn't get your money's worth if you were bidding aggressively for what you assumed would be a NM item. This may fall into your "scam situation" category, but my point is that this is not a rare occurence on Ebay. I'm not blaming anyone for that, since there's always a risk factor on Ebay, especially when buying used items, but sometimes you don't get what you were bidding on. Perhaps you've just had better luck than I have.

I also just got a sealed copy of the Genesis Archives 1967-1975 boxed set for just over $40. Not bad, considering that I usually see this in stores like Tower and FYE for $70.

 

Got a DCC "Band on the Run" for under 15 bucks. Is it mint? No. Does it play and sound great? YES.

 

I haven't had the time to hunt things down on e-bay for a while, but my best score was a sealed MFSL Tull, Living in the Past, for $50.

I know there are forum members that have great luck finding good stuff but I doubt they are willing to give away their secrets.
My guess, the secret is to have a lot of time to sift through more listings and to have the knowledge of the true value of things.

 

It was much easier to find deals 5 years ago. eBay was big then but now it's so amazingly huge, you have 1000 experts on anything from Barbies to Records to anything sifting through at any given time. Oh well, steals are still out there, they're just tougher to track down!

 

I've gotten some good deals on CDs. My last one was a West German RCA first pressing of Lou Reed Transformer. I got the disc for $5. The disc arrived a couple of days ago, and it's great!

 

I picked up a Beatles UK BC-13 Box for $175 in recent months...I've been holding off on books, but have always been pleased with many of the book dealers on eBay as well.

 

A lot of what I buy are bargains. Thing is, if I'm searching for an item, I'll use AuctionSniper. I can find maybe five or ten of the same item, put them in a bid group, and A/S will bid on them until I win one...then cancel my other bids. So I can set a low price, let A/S bid on them if needed, and when I hit pay dirt, I'm happy.

This past summer I nailed a complete Minolta Maxxum 4 system--camera body, 28-80 and 75-300 lens, all on separate auctions, and paid less for what local stores sell a body/28-80 kit for. Also got a 35mm film scanner for a great price.

I got my M-Audio Audiophile USB for $139 a month ago. $30 cheaper than the next cheapest price on Ebay. Two years ago, I got a steal on a Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum card...way cheaper than any store or mail-order company. My Pioneer DV45A also was an Ebay win at $345.

A few days ago, won a brand new t-shirt from a concert tour 20 years ago for $6.99.

A year ago, I won the first four Peter Gabriel CDs, remastered, UK versions in mini-LP packaging for $12.99 each...which were cheaper than the domestic versions.

OTOH, I've won other auctions for items I haven't been able to find anywhere else. May have paid a bit more, but I'm happy. George McCurn's A&M album Country Boy Goes To Town I won for $32...this thing looks and sounds unplayed! A Moondog 10" LP from 1953 or 1954 set me back a few bucks, but that one took me a good two decades to find. (And I didn't have to pay the $150 price I'd seen it sell for in other auctions!) Just won two Mexican Esquivel LPs that don't exist in the US, along with three 45RPM singles of his from Mexico as well. The one Lp was a bit pricey, but the second was a deal, and the singles were a couple bucks each.

I NEVER bid on anything I can't afford though. If I feel it's too high, I won't touch it. And if I want to snipe, I'll use AuctionSniper to set my target price and then usually won't touch it. Takes the last-minute bidding panic out of the process, and it's worked well for me.

 

My two most recent purchases:

Four NRBQ LPs (one autographed by Tom Staley and a member of The Whole Wheat Horns)....$16.99

Peter Green "Hot Foot Powder" promo poster $3.99

Not bad!

 

I've extended my moritorium on new purchases (had to buy a new furnace and hot water heater for the house-$4000!) but I will occasionally make a reasonable bid and hope for the best. In December, I won a beautiful white label promo of Workingman's Dead for 14 bucks, after months of seeing them go by for much more moolah.

Also, if something seems the least bit fishy, just bail out, no matter how much you long for the item.

I don't really have any horror stories, but I got a friend who keeps having weird stuff happen. He wanted a Velvet Underground mono banana album real bad, and was following them on e-bay for a few years. One popped up, vinyl VG+, cover M- with no ringwear. He bid $250 and won it. When it arrived, the vinyl was nice, but the cover, on the back, where the sticker is (the one that covers up the eric emerson lawsuit pic) magic marker was used to make it all black, and all the white parts of the cover have been "whitened" up with something.

He complained to the buyer, who said he was lucky to get one at that price, they go up to 7 or 8 hundred bucks, and he wasn't going to give a refund, that he did not misrepresent the item, and that he should have emailed for more info on the cover is it was so important to him. My friend is calling up ebay and claiming fraud, but
what a mess.

Now me, I don't even care about the cover! But I guess it is an Andy Warhol collectible, I don't know. Where the white is glossy, its sort of rubbed away and flat looking.

Let the buyer beware! Heh heh (I can laugh because it's not me )

 

Thought this was a good buy Maria Muldaur with a $1.25 shipping.

 

Sometimes, with Cd's on Ebay, MINT means Sealed. That's happened to me also, a couple of times.

 

Here are two of, in my opinion, Ebay deals. Both SS.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...7683&ed=1063301990&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOT:US:3

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1573&item=2580163925

I have an opened Wall to listen to, but what do I do with the Eagles CD? I want to listen to it badly.

 

Forgot that I hit a BIN on a Lexicon NT512 about $400 less than the going price. Reason I forgot was I haven't recieved it yet. Figured if there is something wrong I can get it fixed and still be at the normal used price.