I screwed up: The BIDDER, not the seller (rober morris) was suspended from ebay. SO SORRY!! |
I was so curious about this auction and nervous as now I have a pair of B&W 805's on ebay, I emailed the seller and told them about this thread on audiogon. They were nice enough to respond. Here's what they said:
Hey,
Thanks for sending the link ... I see our good customer bbroussard
was sticking up for us. Frankly we were astonished at that auction
ourselves, and nervous because we knew the speakers weren't worth
even close to that. We were answering emails the night before the
auction ended and telling people, "you don't want these speakers,
they are already too high".
I reported the high bidder to eBay and he now enjoys non-registered
status...of course he was bogus. B&W's (804s and 805s) have
generated some "interesting" auctions for us with frenzied, crazy
bidding.
We are gonna put some 804s on soon, can't wait.
Regards,
Janie
Music Room
Seems like reasonable sellers to me! |
the guy has been suspended from ebay. it's a damn shame, too. a damn shame. you can email him to express your sorrow and give your support. his name's robert morris and you need to go to the link below to send emails via ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1226445468 |
I was watching that bid as well and i could not believe that the Nautious 802's went for more than list.
I emailed the person selling them as I had some dialog with the guy and asked him if he was actually going to take the guys money. TO date no answer. |
It gets better! i emailed the high bidder for the speakers and guess what? that's right, the email came back as not deliverable. SHOCKER! |
Check out the auction today and you'll see the high bidder now listed as "not a registered user". Maybe it was a recreational bidder (the type that like to jake up auction bids) and finally trapped himself as high bidder. No history (within 6 months) suggesting a pattern of shield bidding. Ebay really needs to tighten up their registration process. Maybe credit card with verification of email and P.O. mailing address would catch more of this BS. Still got to wonder about the 2nd highest bidder at over full retail plus freight costs. |
Sugarbrie, I saw that exact same auction and wondered the same thing. The first auction wound up ending at $4250 and did not reach the seller's reserve. So he then RELISTED the item! I can't understand why he didn't pocket the $4250 as some dealers will discount the B&W's a slight bit and you could walk away with a new pair for that much. The moron (seller) wound up listing them again and this time the auction only closed at $3825. I guess you shouldn't get greedy. ;)
As a side note, I just saw another auction where the guy is listing newer N802's with NO RESERVE! That has to take some balls. Especially since they're only $4400 as of 6pm PST. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1228231481
BTW, the bid history did look suspicious but even the second highest bidder bid $8,001!!
I think I need to start selling more stuff on Ebay. ;) |
I'm sure you all are familiar with the psychology of gambling. The competitive bidding frenzy on ebay causes an adrenalin rush, and a true addict will keep bidding up the price, even beyond the list price, in order to "win" and beat the competition. It work in Vegas, why not on ebay?
I love it when 2 buyers get into a bidding war over one of my auctions. Check out how many auctions are now on Audiogon vs Dealer Demos. I'm not the only one hoping to incite a little bidding frenzy. |
Their was a seller with (zero) and sunglass's on Ebay, just a few weeks ago that was listing the $850.00 (retail) Gallo two speaker, passive sub and two speaker stands setup for $1500.00. This week it's back again, on sale for less, (what an A-hole). |
you guys just dont get it: used speakers, like used jeans have a certain history about them and to some buyers that look or 'feeling' is more valuable. apparently jean companies whip jeans with belts and straps to get them looking 'used' in the right way. i plan to beat the living shit out of my new Oracle Delphi to get that 'once-owned-by-a-rock-star look) and expect to really clean up on ebay when i post it there later this week. i'll let you guys know! |
I check out E-Bay sometimes as well as some other auction sites in regard to this insane hobby of ours. I think this site is the best hands down! However, I would like to add the following. Even on this site, there are those who simply want too much for there gear. I don't want to get into trouble with anyone, so I won't be specific. But right now on this site in nearly every category, there are asking prices that are actually offensive in my opinion. The best advice I can give to you all is this: Don't even respond to the seller. Just ignore there auction or classified ad, and they'll get the point soon enough. I realize that it is the right of the "seller" to ask for any price they want, but it is also your right as the "buyer" to beware and ignore a ridiculous if not laughable ad/auction when your experienced eyes see one. |
Some guy was just recently selling a pair of Nautilus 803s on eBay that he claims he paid something like $6600 for new. His "buy it now" price was the $5000 new list price. It was not a dealer, just a dishonest person. |
It seems to me thatthe "Buy it Now" feature on eBay is agreat addittion. If something has a fair (or even cheap) Buy it Now price, and it is what you want, just get it, don't screw with the auction. Of course, you may not be able to get a real "steal" but it seems thise things are pretty rare anyway. |
Look a little deeper. There is another auction on eBay for a pair if 802'2, a pair of 805's, and a HTM1 all NIB for $8k no reserve. It is hard to understand how one would pay so high for damaged speakers when so much more is available in another auction. I agree with Macm - it looks like shill bidding to me.
I watch eBay quite frequently, looking for a "steal", and often notice items going for well above market for new. I even saw an email from a retailer who sells on eBay to a bidder that bid above what the retailer sells the item for new (smart marketing). I have found that, for midfi consumer electronics, you can go to www.pricescan.com and find what the item is selling for new on the net.
Cheers. |
I have to agree with Macm that something doesn't smell right. However, I really don't believe the seller's were trying to cheat since they included and honest and very detailed discription of the speakers. I thought it might be shield bidding. That's when one person bids a low amount and his "buddy" bids a ridiculously high amount to ward off other bidders. At the last minute the high bidder cancels his bid and the low-ball bidder wins. But if you look at the history it didn't work that way. Who knows... |
I watched this auction also. Macm, bid history is suspicious, but I can vouch for the sellers. They are first class and would not try to manipulate the process; check their eBay feedback. I bought a pair of B&W CDM-NTs from them last August and later bid on a pair of N804s that got too expensive for me. I traded multiple e-mails and a couple of phone calls with them and found them to be professional and sincere. I suspect that we are simply dealing with an uninformed or trouble-making bidder (ZERO feedback). This guy will probably run away from this deal. I expect to see item re-listed shortly because the deal fell apart. I do find the second place bid a little curious though. This bidder has some auction experience and still tried to overpay. |
Some things have gone for more here. Back when HCM Audio first started auctioning those Krell-Soundstream DAC-1 converters they would consistantly go for $250 here and $150 on eBay.
I also decided for fun to demo some of those new Zu Cables being auctioned on AudiogoN . At first Zu Cable was using Audiogon and eBay. I got a pair of the Oxy-Fuel interconnects on eBay for $45 (List is $90). They've been going for around $65 here. I also got a 10 meter pair of the Julian speaker cables on eBay for $90. Two pairs went here for around $155 (List is $240). Consequently Zu Cable has not been back on eBay since then. I must have gotten them for less than their cost. I've tried the Oxy-fuel interconnects. They are very good even for the $90 list. The high's are very clear. A little light in the bass, but still good detail. But what do you want for the price? I would put them in the class with the $200 Nordost Blue Heaven. I have not demo's the Julian Speaker cables yet.
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The other day on eBay a used single CD of Overtures with the NBC Symphony conducted by Toscanini went for $35. I think it sells for $13.99 at your favorite record shop. |
Take a look at the bid history on that item. It looks very suspicious to me. This is obviously an instance of shill bidding which is where the owner (or his amigo) bids up the item in an attempt to jack up the price. You'll note the winner had zero feedback. |
Mcoker, I kept watch of the same auction. I about fell out of my chair! I thought was a dumb $&%! I was even talking about it at work today. I almosted emailed the guy to ask why he would spend more than list on a set of speakers that has MAJOR damage. If you look at the bid history you'll see people bidding $6K. I've seen several B&W 802N in excellent to mint cond go for $5-5.5K on audiogon. I have to say the B&W speakers on ebay go for higher than on this site. All I can say is a fool and his money... |
I believe you, I have seen other items on Ebay sell for more than list. I think Ebay is a sellers market, I know when I sell I'm going there. It's incredible to me that people obviously don't research their purchases. I guess to some money comes too easily. |
