Originally posted by Fenwoodian I have over 2000 transactions on ebay. With such a HUGE international audience, virtually everything sells on ebay for what it is worth. I have never seen a "super deal" on ebay (good prices yes, super deals no).
The 50mm f/1.2 lens that was linked to in the original posting has extremely rusted/dirty mount screws! This makes me suspect this lens was used extensively in a corrosive environment (like the beach). I wonder the extent of its' internal corrosion. No way I'm bidding on this lens.
I beg to differ. Most things sell for the going average but you can get lucky based on when an auction ends or even from the wording of the listing or a typo. It just takes patience and frequent searches.
I won a Metz 50 AF-1 for $50, they routinely go for $90-150.
I just won an AF-200 with an official Pentax p-ttl extension cable for $6. That's 1/3 the price of the cheaper aftermarket cables I've seen, and I basically got the flash free!
I also won a bundle with a Super Program, battery winder, A 35-105 f/3.5, A 50 f/1.7, and a dozen filters, all in virtually new condition, for less than the 35-105 was going for in its own.
People tend to not bid when items are bundled since they expect the total price to go higher than the price of the one piece they want.
Time of day is also important. Auctions that end while people are sleeping or at work usually end lower than those that finish in the evening or on weekends.
And for the biggest deals you have to check often to try to catch then. Some of the best deals I've seen were buy it now listings that sold within minutes because they were so far below the going price. Either the seller didn't know what they had and didn't take the time to look up past prices or they just wanted to get rid of it. One of the best I've seen was a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 sold for $125 last year, like new, with box. He could have easily gotten close to $200, but someone else got lucky that day. (A minute earlier and it would have been mine!)
If I want something I bookmark the search after I've put in my filters. In Firefox I can open a whole folder with dozen bookmarked searches instantly so I can check for new listings of different items in less than a minute without any typing.
Good deals are out there, it just takes time and luck. It might take weeks or months to find a deal on something specific, but if you have patience you can make out in the end.