Home Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

no help, but just chatting (long)

On half.com, I've encountered a lot of overgrading on "like new" items, and there aren't a lot of great deals anymore. Part of the latter might be due to the 15% seller's fees, so sellers have to price accordingly. And the good deals get grabbed up fast; many times an item is gone by the time I get half's wish list notice and check in on the site. Still, I like that you can check feedback to get a sense of how good the seller is on grading and the like, and I think that it's still a good site for out-of-print books and the like. I don't understand, though, why people continue to buy from sellers on half.com who have like 5-10% neutral/negative feedback.

The damndest feedback I ever got on ebay was for a used CD that I thought was worthless. Sold it for under ten bucks. The buyer posted something like "I can't believe I got this impossible-to-find CD! This guy's the best!" Oh man, I should have asked for more money!

I've sold some DVDs on ebay for at or above what they would cost at a local discount store, though rarely at or above what, say, Amazon would charge. I suspect that many people don't like buying from a Internet store outside Amazon and the biggies.

I've found that some people just like being able to buy and pay without leaving the computer. I've also encountered people in areas who would have to go out of their way to find the item.

One memorable transaction was an army private in South Korea. Shipping to an international army outpost is the same as domestic postage, and he mentioned that they often apply customs charges on his purchases from merchants.

Another memorable transaction was a buyer who wanted me to do two-day shipping and get the item out immediately. He tacked on more money than the cost of the postage upgrade for my trouble, so I agreed. I thought he was a tool but hey, whatever. After the transaction was completed, he wrote me to explain that his teenage son had brain damage, was unable to get around much and spent most of his time watching old movies, which the parents encouraged because it helped build the son's vocabulary. The son asked for a certain DVD for his birthday and the guy totally forgot until the birthday creeped up. Being in farm country, he wasn't able make it out to the store far away, so he was really appreciative that I got the DVD in his hands for the birthday. Well, I felt bad afterwards for thinking that guy was an idiot.

The odd thing is, these details about why they buy off ebay often come out when the buyer mention that they're hoping to get something in time for a birthday or holiday. I still often think, though, wouldn't you want to make the effort to go to the store or use overnight delivery with an Internet store to guarantee that you get the thing in hand for that special event?


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  • no help, but just chatting (long) - TA 23:24:32 08/08/02 (0)


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