Crazy Auction

**RKKS08** · 08-03-2015, 06:30 AM

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One should really not try to bid if you feel too well (alcohol or else?).

Yesterday evening an auction on German eBay ended with just 2 people bidding for a plain CZJ Flektogon 2.4/35 with sticky aperture and a minor damage of the coatings, climbing in a short time from € 97 up to € 1.128 !
Since several years, nearly all auctions for this lens end at € 120 - € 150. And often less if aperture or focussing are not smooth and working.

Maybe the seller is not as lucky as it seems, and the winner has not got the money anyway.

Flektogon Carl Zeiss Jena 2.4 35mm MC | eBay

**RKKS08** · 08-03-2015, 07:32 AM

That's a good explanation. I did not know these details about eBay policy.

This may be the reason why German eBay (since about 4 weeks) includes a question whether the item arrived later than the day announced in the offer. We had a nationwide strike of the German Post, and only now they finished getting rid of the millions of delayed letters and parcels. A letter and a parcel sent to me over a distance of <40km both needed more than 5 weeks (usually it's 12-36 hours, depending on which time of the day it is posted)!

With this additional question (asked when you try to rate a transaction), eBay can run their own statistic to see whether there is a general problem, or one with the seller.

pathdoc · 08-19-2015, 06:06 AM

Say what you like about Ken Rockwell, one of the things he's done that I like is his user's guide to e-bay and how to work it. That (mostly) makes good sense. One of the things he specifically warns about is getting caught up in insane bidding wars for not-very-valuable merchandise (a trap I nearly fell into once, though it wasn't due to camera gear).

Originally posted by dcshooter

In case you can't tell, I'm a bit bitter after recently being kicked off despite a 99.9% positive feedback rating because the USPS managed to delay three items due to a sorting error, and the buyers opened "item not received" cases.

How delayed were the items? A few days late I'd be fine with - even a week if I bought the item on a Friday afternoon and a couple of weekends got in the way. After that, for sure I'd be onto the seller pretty damn quick to find out what was going on, but no way would I open a case without trying to sort it out with them first.

Unfortunately it seems that among its wider audience, camera gear is attractive to a certain type of personality, quick to anger and to legal recourse, with unrealistic expectations and with markedly defective communication and dispute resolution skills when these aren't met.

**monochrome** · 08-19-2015, 01:08 PM

EBay is a business now, sort of like Best Buy, running the little guys out by imposing costly barriers to entry. No longer a digital Garage Sale. I remember when it was possible to just graze - without Searches - and find cool stuff. IIRC I was using Netscape as my browser at the time, which kind of radical.

08-03-2015, 06:30 AM	#1
RKKS08 Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Frankfurt am Main Posts: 1,241	Crazy Auction Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. One should really not try to bid if you feel too well (alcohol or else?). Yesterday evening an auction on German eBay ended with just 2 people bidding for a plain CZJ Flektogon 2.4/35 with sticky aperture and a minor damage of the coatings, climbing in a short time from € 97 up to € 1.128 ! Since several years, nearly all auctions for this lens end at € 120 - € 150. And often less if aperture or focussing are not smooth and working. Maybe the seller is not as lucky as it seems, and the winner has not got the money anyway. Flektogon Carl Zeiss Jena 2.4 35mm MC \| eBay

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08-03-2015, 07:32 AM	#2
RKKS08 Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Frankfurt am Main Posts: 1,241 Original Poster	That's a good explanation. I did not know these details about eBay policy. This may be the reason why German eBay (since about 4 weeks) includes a question whether the item arrived later than the day announced in the offer. We had a nationwide strike of the German Post, and only now they finished getting rid of the millions of delayed letters and parcels. A letter and a parcel sent to me over a distance of <40km both needed more than 5 weeks (usually it's 12-36 hours, depending on which time of the day it is posted)! With this additional question (asked when you try to rate a transaction), eBay can run their own statistic to see whether there is a general problem, or one with the seller.

08-19-2015, 06:06 AM	#3
pathdoc Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,381	Say what you like about Ken Rockwell, one of the things he's done that I like is his user's guide to e-bay and how to work it. That (mostly) makes good sense. One of the things he specifically warns about is getting caught up in insane bidding wars for not-very-valuable merchandise (a trap I nearly fell into once, though it wasn't due to camera gear). Originally posted by dcshooter In case you can't tell, I'm a bit bitter after recently being kicked off despite a 99.9% positive feedback rating because the USPS managed to delay three items due to a sorting error, and the buyers opened "item not received" cases. How delayed were the items? A few days late I'd be fine with - even a week if I bought the item on a Friday afternoon and a couple of weekends got in the way. After that, for sure I'd be onto the seller pretty damn quick to find out what was going on, but no way would I open a case without trying to sort it out with them first. Unfortunately it seems that among its wider audience, camera gear is attractive to a certain type of personality, quick to anger and to legal recourse, with unrealistic expectations and with markedly defective communication and dispute resolution skills when these aren't met.

08-19-2015, 01:08 PM	#4
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	EBay is a business now, sort of like Best Buy, running the little guys out by imposing costly barriers to entry. No longer a digital Garage Sale. I remember when it was possible to just graze - without Searches - and find cool stuff. IIRC I was using Netscape as my browser at the time, which kind of radical.