Castlevania Dungeon Forums
Off Topic => Off Topic => Topic started by: Mooning Freddy on September 28, 2011, 02:21:24 AM
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I'm dead serious.
I've just recently overcome my phobia of online shopping and registered for a pay-pal account.
Then I have proceeded to e-bay and was instantly addicted.
The access to endless choice of merchandise is worse than crack.
Never before, since I discovered about google and Wikipedia, my horizons were so widened.
.... The only thing that sucks is the shipment time. 3-4 weeks for a bloody shirt to be shipped? Damn it.
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Don't go overboard with it, Freddy my friend. ;_;
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Do you use regular eBay or ebay international? International showcases items all over the world FYI.....
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Ebay is also one of the worst places to shop for classic games, this is where the price gouging begins on some games, and those that you have to return because they don't work make your Paypal account sit in limbo for a refund. I have managed to get some expensive games for much cheaper than normal, but I don't get lucky every time.
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Do you use regular eBay or ebay international? International showcases items all over the world FYI.....
I don't know what you refer to as "regular ebay". I guess my e-bay is international since I see items from all around the globe. Do Americans have an "America-only" ebay site?
Which brings me to this thing I dislike about ebay: What's that with sellers unwilling to ship their shit outside USA & Canada? Why so racist? It's not like you pay for the shipment anyway; After all, you set the price, I pay it.
And another thing. What's with people overpricing shipments? 10$ for a small item shipped to the other side of the globe is reasonable, but 30$? What the hell?
In response for bloodreign:
Refunds are cool, but you still lose your shipment money, so either way, you're screwed.
Buying stuff from a seller with no reputation is, after all, a risk.
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Yeah the original game had free shipping, I could've gotten my shipping money back for returning it, but meh, no big deal.
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I got Champions of Norrath Return to Arms off ebay today for 23$ with free shipping. With the case and manual. I was quite happy =D
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Ebay is also one of the worst places to shop for classic games, this is where the price gouging begins on some games, and those that you have to return because they don't work make your Paypal account sit in limbo for a refund. I have managed to get some expensive games for much cheaper than normal, but I don't get lucky every time.
I disagree with this. I got my Castlevania I, II, and III games from Ebay fresh in the box with the sleeves and all included manuals in really good condition!
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I've bought close to 250 different items off of ebay in the past 5 years and I've only ever had a bad experience 3 or 4 times. I've been pretty lucky I guess but it really comes down to making sure you find auctions that accurately describe the item's well and the seller has good feedback ratings. Also, really observe the item images (if they're not just stock photos) and ask certain questions in advance if you really want to make sure about something specific. Common sense, really ;)
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I get my costume parts from eBay. :D
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I disagree with this. I got my Castlevania I, II, and III games from Ebay fresh in the box with the sleeves and all included manuals in really good condition!
Try buying a copy of Sexy Parodius for PSX, or Panic Restaurant or Bubble Bobble Part 2 NES. Good copies of those will kill your wallet flat dead. Also right now the SNES collecting market is starting to hit it's stride, games are rising in value, while Genesis games have flatlined. You have to look at ebay from a collectors standpoint sometime (I didn't have to rely on ebay for CV 1-3, I found those in the wild or acquired from a friend many years ago), some things can be found on Game Gavel for fairer prices than what ebay sellers offer. Sure Game Gavel is still a small place, but there's some good deals to be had there. Another inflated game on ebay is Bonks Adventure NES along with Duck Tales 2 and Chip N Dale 2 NES. I managed to find all in the wild, Bonk for $20 loose, the last two $30 a pop loose.
I've once gotten a game, Arkanoid NES, off ebay, the thing was so dirty inside that I had to clean it with multiple Q-tips and rubbing alcohol. The MK Armageddon Premium Edition I got was shot, despite it being listed as very good condition, a lot of this stuff is not tested when it's sold. Not to mention a lot of other games I've gotten for my NES off ebay had to be thoroughly cleaned as they didn't work, yet were listed as tested, cleaned, and working. After some tender loving care, and good cleaning I have gotten the games working again.
I've had better luck buying off forums like Atari Age and Digital Press, these people tend to sell games for cheaper, and you can even get stuff still either sealed, or in very nice condition. Not to mention they are gamers themselves and are very honest when you buy something off them, no dirty games, and the Sparkster SNES I bought, the guy told me it had a rental sticker on it. Sure enough when I got it. it had a rental sticker on it, and was very very clean.
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I have bought mostly games from ebay, but I think I've overpaid for some of it because of shipping costs. Sure, 20 € for Double Dragon 2 CIB is great compared to the prices back home (you might probably get one for 40 €), but my aim is to buy lots and lots of games and systems. The systems' shipping costs are a lot and create a frustrating balance where it's not mostly worth it. I think many of the sellers don't actually check how much the expenses are. They just play it safe by overcharging.
What I need is a "swag agent" to "smuggle" stuff and/or a retro store where you can buy all that stuff in one package & people who know what they're selling and don't ask silly prices for it.
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I've gotten pretty damn lucky lately with ebay and especially amazon marketplace, but I agree. The prices are just getting more and more ridiculous. I got a Famicom cartridge copy of Akumajo Dracula a year or so back for about $80 (which was probably too much, but I don't really know). Box, manual, inserts, everything. I just recently saw some jackass trying to sell the exact same thing, in the exact same condition, for $250. There have been some prices on ebay lately that have made my jaw drop. But then again, if people are buying them at that price, I can't totally blame the sellers.
...those bastards. >:(
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I can't quite understand you classicgaming collectors.
I guess that like all collectors, you are a bit crazy, willing to pay a lot for a certain rare item I would never even bother to give attention to.
Well, e-bay salespeople are not stupid. They realize that if their merchandise becomes a "collector's item" its value goes skyrockets. So they overprice it, 'cus obviously collectors would pay the price.
So... Let's make a list. Clothing on e-bay is expensive. Really. 15-20$ for a shirt is like, twice than I'd pay for it in my country. According to what I heard here, video games are expensive too.
Electronics, on the other hand, is quite cheaper than in the markets, but not always safe to buy.
And you know what else is cheap? Books!!
That's right. Look what I just got:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220863712295 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220863712295)
7 Asimov books, Foundation Trilogy included, plus a "District 9" DVD for only 43$, shipment included.
The books themselves cost only 10.25$.
The shipment is expensive, but still it's like 10 times cheaper than buying from a book store, and the guy was generous enough to include a DVD with it! How awesome is that?
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I guess that like all collectors, you are a bit crazy, willing to pay a lot for a certain rare item I would never even bother to give attention to.
Meh, not necessarily. I collect Castlevania stuff, but virtually none of it comes out of my pocket. I use the Paypal money I accumulate with surveys and since I haven't (and won't) link my Paypal account to my bank account, I'd rather use it to collect CV stuff than to turn it into money.
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I can't quite understand you classicgaming collectors.
I guess that like all collectors, you are a bit crazy, willing to pay a lot for a certain rare item I would never even bother to give attention to.
Well, e-bay salespeople are not stupid. They realize that if their merchandise becomes a "collector's item" its value goes skyrockets. So they overprice it, 'cus obviously collectors would pay the price.
So... Let's make a list. Clothing on e-bay is expensive. Really. 15-20$ for a shirt is like, twice than I'd pay for it in my country. According to what I heard here, video games are expensive too.
No not crazy, I am very frugal in my purchases, I will hunt and hunt and hunt till I can find either something cheap as dirt with free shipping, or low shipping. With over 900 games in my collection, some I have gotten in the wild, some I have had help getting, the only game that is truly rare that I own is a copy of Saturn Mizubaku Daibouken (aka Liquid Kids). If you notice a lot of these high priced items rarely if ever get bid on, put one on watch and see how many times it can get relisted. In the end it's all about what I want to own in my collection, I'm not the one to go hogwild and own every NES release and variant.
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With over 900 games in my collection
In the end it's all about what I want to own in my collection, I'm not the one to go hogwild and own every NES release and variant.
*Goes to cry in the corner*
900 games? Hell, if I go over all the games I've ever played, chances I won't remember more than a few dozens. Most of the chances that if you ever posted a list of all your games, 90% of them would be ones I never heard of.
Well, I don't consider myself a gamer, anyway.
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Does your beard grow longer as you own more games?
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Evil Bay is great. I think I've only bought one game there (Wing Commander IV), but I've spent thousands of dollars on that site. I usually use it to buy music equipment.
The red guitar in the center is a Gibson SG Special Faded that I paid $400 for. New, they're about $700. The guitar to the right of it is a Fender American Standard Telecaster. I paid $700 for that, and it's in great condition. They go for 1000 new. It's a bit more of a banana cream color in person. The stuff in front of it are effects pedals on a pedal board. I'm not sure how much I spent on all of that, since I bought it all individually, but it's considerable.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg16.imageshack.us%2Fimg16%2F4897%2Fifphoto4.jpg&hash=926f1b842151eaa8853c2810eba3f65b)
The guitar I'm holding in the picture is a Fender Jaguar. I got it used for about $650. New... they're probably around 11 or 1200. The blue guitar is my Fender American Standard Stratocaster. It used to be my dad's but he gave it to me, so now it's like the ancestral weapon (and also my favorite guitar). The amplifier that my body is partially covering up is a 100 watt 1971 Fender Twin Reverb. I paid about $800 for that, but I had about $200 worth of work done on it.
(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg689.imageshack.us%2Fimg689%2F3180%2Froomok.jpg&hash=b27ce76ba912d7ba68d7625839760b68)
So yeah, most of the stuff in these images was purchased from eBay. I know some people have had bad experiences there, but I've mostly found it to be a great place, and I've made some relatively huge purchases there.
EDIT:
Oh, I also bought a car there for around 2000. I haven't had any trouble with it at all, and the guy I bought it from is a huge Final Fantasy VI fan, and a casual Castlevania one o__ob
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*Goes to cry in the corner*
900 games? Hell, if I go over all the games I've ever played, chances I won't remember more than a few dozens. Most of the chances that if you ever posted a list of all your games, 90% of them would be ones I never heard of.
Well, I don't consider myself a gamer, anyway.
I do have a list, it's on the Games Collection thread, pages 1 and 4 as I broke character limit with the original list.
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Also, what I never understood is many sellers' refusal to ship abroad. What logical reason is there for that?
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Also, what I never understood is many sellers' refusal to ship abroad. What logical reason is there for that?
They still think the world is flat, so if they ship abroad the plane/package will just fall off into space.
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Also, what I never understood is many sellers' refusal to ship abroad. What logical reason is there for that?
THEY'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FILTHY RACISTS
;D Nah, it's probably because people are paranoid about selling stuff outside their country. It's kinda stupid though, 'cus the buyer pays in advance anyway, so he's the one who's supposed to be concerned.
Anyway, if you see that a certain item is marked "USA only" don't give up! Contact the seller. I found a certain item that has been marked for shipment only in America, messaged the seller about shipping it to my country, and he said "sure, dude, as long as you pay for the shipment" And added the weight & the best shipment price accordingly.
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I've done that several times and most of the time the sellers do agree to international shipping. But that only makes it more puzzling. Why make the buyer go through the hassle in the first place?
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Also, what I never understood is many sellers' refusal to ship abroad. What logical reason is there for that?
I know the reason why I never have allowed international shipping is because I was very confused about it at first. Although, now that I've read up on it again, it doesn't seem confusing anymore. So, I guess I have no idea why people don't ship outside the USA. I highly doubt they were all confused like me. :P
But geez. Ebay puts such a huge hole in my pocket. I use it for almost everything I can't find locally. I use Amazon typically only for buying books, lol. I usually buy my games and game systems off of Ebay. Just recently I got a famicom converter cart for the NES and some pirate mulicart games for under $50. I also got a Sega CD and a Genesis that was modded to play Mega Drive games. This came with a thing called CD-X Pro that allows me to play any region Sega/Mega CD games on my Sega CD. It came with one Sega CD game and 5 mega cd games. That one was $86, which was a bit pricy, but worth it to someone who never had a sega cd and was looking for a new, not junky Genesis. ;D
Also, hint of advice. Never look at Ebay when you are bored. You will more than likely buy something that you really shouldn't buy cause your trying to save money. This has happened to me MANY times. I won't do it again, cause my empty wallet is tired of complaining. :-[
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On ebay you are lucky that you can sell/buy anything out of the US, Yahoo Japan Auctions, you either need a middleman or live in Japan to be able to make purchases off of there.
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Recieved this note with a shirt I bought. Just thought you'd be interested in reading it.
http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e140/Michael_Davidov/?action=view¤t=scan0004.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e140/Michael_Davidov/?action=view¤t=scan0004.jpg)
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That guy is really devoted to customer care..
Anyway, I was just browsing some Famicoms and there were huge differences between the shipping costs even though they were from the same country. I can only guess that the other one checked them and gave the option of choosing delivery class while the other didn't. It narrows the scope of potential buyers greatly.