Re: Shill Bidding of Test Equipment on Eprey

In article <69apj3dkklm98iq4v8r03omfuaf3e1qu41@xxxxxxx>,
D from BC <myrealaddress@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

What I find suspicious is test equipment resellers bidding on test
equipment off of other test equipment resellers???

Not every reseller has a direct line to the motherlode of "surplus test
equipment from people that don't want fair market value for it", so they
are going to be on the lookout for things to fill their own stock, if
the price is right. They may also profit buy buying from the "untested,
as is" people and offer the same equipment tested, repaired if need be,
perhaps even calibrated, for a higher price. Perfectly acceptable.

Based on recent experience, I'm more leery of *B*y sellers who don't buy
than I am of *B*y sellers who also buy on *B*y, having had much better
transactions with the former than the latter, who presumably just sell
until they get a bad rating, and then change accounts...and avoid any
that are vague about shipping charges like the plague. Excessively high
shipping charges, even if disclosed, are also a mark of dubiousness.

Start bid: $100.00
Reseller 1: $200
Reseller 2: $300
Reseller 3: $800.00
Reseller 4: $1400.00
Reseller 2: $1600.00
Joe Smuck: $2000.00..winning bid

Well, Joe would only be paying the minimum bid increase over 1600, not
$2000. (what is it - 5% - so $1680?) And that's assuming that Joe didn't
drop out of the bidding at $799, $1399, or $1599. This would leave the
shill-ring at least liable for fees, which are not small on large-priced
items like this. It also requires that Mr. Schmuck has not researched
actual fair market value at $1000 or so and dropped out at that price,
leaving reseller 4 stuck with it at $1050 or so. "Auction fever" is a
stupid thing...don't get it. *B*y actively encourages you to suffer from
this mental illness. Set a price, stick to it, and bid late - or else
bid the opening price (or your maximum) and let the sucker go if anyone
else bids higher on it. It's not a "competition", and with test
equipment there will almost always be another several to choose from
within a month - if it's a rare enough item that that is not true, then
it is perhaps worth a higher price, if you actually need it. A serious
bargain without any strings (such as that whole untested, as is line) is
not going to be seen often, because regular dealers are going to see it
as below their price floor for being able to turn it around and sell it,
unless they already have lots of stock on hand.

--
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.