[rescue] Marketplaces and risk and junk shops Re: Wisdom of the Collective: QFE

[Robert Novak]

Tweaking subject to save the QFE fans a bit :)


On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 9:19 AM, Peter Stokes <peter at ashlyn.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi All
>
> Just thought I would put my 2 cents (tuppence in real money of course)
> worth
> into the conversation.
>
> I have both sold and bought a lot on Ebay UK for many years now (getting on
> for 14 I think) and as far as buying is concerned, you just have to decide
> where you stand in terms of risk.
>

Yup, exactly my stand on it as well. I think I just passed 17 years myself,
and I provide the level of information I'd want from a seller when I'm the
seller.

Sometimes your best deals are from people who don't know what they're
selling, but when you go that way, you take a risk. My last purchase was
definitely one of those.


>
> The simplest and safest way of buying is to stick with the reputable
> traders
> with the good feedback and who offer the warranties (I put myself in this
> category, ie always offer warranty), there are usually at least a few to
> choose from and you normally can find what you want at a sensible price,
> but
> do not expect any rock bottom bargains, these guys need to make a living
> out
> of it.
>
> If you want to buy bargain basement, then this is where the minefields are
> and
> caveat emptor comes knocking. I mainly buy Sun Microsystems gear and most
> sellers in this bracket usually know very little about it and you can
> forget
> warranties etc, it is all down to your gut feeling, but the prices will
> normally be cheap as a consequence, with a result some you win, and some
> you
> do not. My hit rate is very high on winning, but it is a numbers game,
> buying
> the odd item every now and again can be painful, buying 30 items in a month
> and finding 1 duff one is not such a bad deal for me and is more than made
> up
> with the good ones.
>
> Hope that helps
>
> Peter
> ---------------------------
> Peter Stokes
> Tel: 01636 627990
> Mbl: 07977 532320
> ---------------------------
>
>
>
>
> On 10 Feb 2014, at 17:01, Robert Novak <rnovak at indyramp.com> wrote:
>
> > Yeah. On the other hand, I bought three dual-10GBE cards over the weekend
> > for about $50 each. PCI-e, on current VMware ESXi support list, from a
> > fairly reputable seller. I'd do well to find even an SFP+ module at
> retail
> > for what I spent on the whole batch. My first two 10gbe cards were $26
> each
> > I think, and they still work 2-3 years later.
> >
> > There's a junk shop (as I've called them for years) here in Sunnyvale
> that
> > I've shopped at on and off for at least 10 years. They've always had a
> very
> > clear "NO RETURNS EVERYTHING AS-IS" policy posted throughout the store
> and
> > on their receipts. And it used to be a regular occasion that I'd go in to
> > look for cables or something and there'd be a customer screaming at the
> > tech that they weren't honoring their NO RETURNS EVERYTHING AS-IS policy
> by
> > giving her money back.
> >
> > In the last year or two they've gone a bit more "kinder and gentler" and
> > offer 30 day exchange, and warranties on some PCs, but based on the
> clearly
> > posted policy I knew that anything I bought there was a gamble at my own
> > risk. Just like most swap meet/flea market booths, and on some level, any
> > online marketplace (whether eBay, Craigslist, Amazon Marketplace, etc).
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 8:46 AM, Phil Stracchino
> <phils at caerllewys.net>wrote:
> >
> >> On 02/10/14 11:33, Robert Novak wrote:
> >>> And think about the poor sods bidding on
> >>>
> >>
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhone-5-16GB-White-Sprint-Smartphone-With-Flap
> py-Bird-Installed-/271397942408?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item3f3093f488.
> >> ..
> >>> (url gives you the gist except for the six figure price it's
> >>> approaching) ... is it a scam? No. Is it stupid? Yes. But that's not
> the
> >>> seller's fault. :)
> >>
> >> The amazing thing is that people are still bidding on it.  The crazy
> >> bidding frenzies on eBay are one reason I avoid it.  Most of the time,
> >> if the item is available *at all* through some regular retail channel
> >> retail, it's cheaper to just go buy it retail.
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>  Phil Stracchino
> >>  Babylon Communications
> >>  phils at caerllewys.net
> >>  phil at co.ordinate.org
> >>  Landline: 603.293.8485
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
> > _______________________________________________
> > rescue list - http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue
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