For fun…Do you eBay? What’s the best deal or most fun…

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I used to buy and sell stuff on ebay a lot. Made a good sum of money. Then their fees went through the roof, and shipping was crazy too…

That said, I still buy some items regularly (IE eye drop vials at 1/2 what they sell for in stores)

What’s the best deal you’ve gotten? Most fun item you’ve bought? Anything unique?

Best deal - today I bought 30 brand new tubes of professional watercolor paint that averages $13 a tube at my favorite discount art store. I paid $68 including shipping! They aren’t counterfeit (there is a way to tell). I assume they’re an unwanted holiday gift.

Most fun item - I bought some vintage Hawaiian fabric and made placemats.

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I buy things on eBay from time to time. I rarely sell. One exception was several years ago, I bought 5 Universal MX-980 remotes + chargers for $202. I only wanted 3, so I sold 2 of them for $82 and $90. One sale had fees, and the other was by messaging, so my net cost per remote I kept a little over $10. Several years ago, the remotes used to sell new for ~$400 and have listed for over $500 at times, so this is probably my best deal. I really enjoy these remotes. They can be programmed to do things like press one button to turn on all theater equipment with time delays while waiting to power up, and set lighting to desired levels. They also have a set of buttons at the top that can be set to whatever functions are useful/frequent for you. I have 4 – one for each of the 3 TV viewing locations and a 4th as a backup. The design isn’t ideal today with streaming not using 0-9 buttons, but all remotes are still working, and I enjoy using them every day.

While I really enjoy the remotes, the most fun deals for me are my home automation purchases. I’ve purchased a lot of used home automation equipment for >90% below original retail price on eBay. There is one particular component for which I’ve bought the majority that were sold on eBay in within the past 5 years. It sells for a low price because I am updating an older and largely obsolete Lutron RadioRA system that wasn’t designed to work with LEDs, smartphones, Amazon Alexa, motion sensors, etc. However, I’ve found ways to do all of these things with the old system, if I have the right components. Updating, rewiring, and reprogramming my system and seeing the rewards makes it the most fun purchases for me.

Another fun type purchase was a SNES Mini video gaming system, which I’ve gotten to work with games from most well known video game systems prior to the year ~2000 including Atari, NES, SNES/SFAM, N64, GBA, NDS, PS1, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, TGF, and NGO. However, I’ve only especially enjoyed playing a minuscule fraction of the available games. I think I enjoy getting it to work with games from different gaming systems more than actually playing the games.

Seconds before opening this thread I bought a sealed Embark DNA test for my dog for $69, including cost of shipping. The retail price is $109. I previously purchased and did a Wisdom test during Black Friday. I am also doing Embark since it tests for some different breeds (particularly interested in Mountain Cur), has a different algorithm that is generally considered more reliable than Wisdom, has a different relatives database, provides better genetic detail, and provides some additional information, such as coefficient of inbreeding. I find this type of genetic analysis fun as well.

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I have gotten some nice running clothes, with sizes based on other similar clothing of same brand (my own or tried on at store).

Most recent jacket was $10 plus $11 shipping/ouch… more than thrift stores, but I love it. The combo of hood and high zip helps mitigate windy weather. Also it has zip pockets and arms that are tieable around the waste if temps heat up.

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I’m fascinated by electronics -before everything went digital I used to play with amateur radio gear. I’m a licensed amateur radio operator - I miss the days of analog when I could take stuff apart and actually put it back together. Sold all my gear…on eBay!

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My “retired” husband actually has an eBay store/page (not sure of the correct terminology). Let me tell you, people will buy ANYTHING. He’s pretty dedicated to his eBay - actually more consumed by it than is probably normal because I think he is working more than when he was employed! Not going to lie, it’s very profitable. He loves the process, I HATE the mess/clutter it brings (that’s another thread, another story).

That said, occasionally all our immediate family has found a few good buys or just a good nitch of a thing hard to find. Son has a certain model of running shoe no longer produced and he has bought several pairs new/nearly new on eBay. I’m currently eyeing a couple of Patagonia lightweight pieces to add to my outerwear collection.

In addition to best deals, there are best “sells” - H just listed an anime type tshirt that he got at a garage sale for 50 cents that is currently up for auction with a starting bid of $74.99 (apparently rare and worth more than that!)

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I shop E-bay for needlepoint supplies. I am 2 hours from any store. I have found some great canvases at a fraction of their original price. I have also bought thread online. I have a fairly good stash. I also buy books – especially those for the Book Club. Our library system is pretty limited. Peyton Place was the only book that I was able to check out. I don’t do Kindle, so I buy.

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This was a long time back, but I bought camcorders on ebay. We had several tapes and our camcorder died. I bought a couple similar ones on ebay and transferred all tapes to digital using those. Best investment ever for me.

Haven’t really been on ebay since then I think.

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I’m currently selling an item on eBay and have sold quite a few other items in the past, primarily intact Lego kits and the like. I have occasionally bought things from eBay. It’s pretty time consuming actually to get a listing ready, so I don’t do it unless I really want to sell something on. Otherwise I give things away, which I find much more fun.

I do enjoy seeing what things of mine sell and which don’t. For a while, Playmobil was hot! Then no one seemed to want it. I’ve had my D’s Playmobil grocery store boxed up for years. I won’t sell it for under a certain price, so I will give it another try soon probably.

The best thing I sold was a bolt of beautiful cloth from the 50’s. I had it for almost 30 years and never did anything with it. It was cream colored and had a very cool grey, pink and black “modernized” Trojan design. I was delighted that someone in Miami bought it, which is probably the perfect vibe for the fabric.

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My husband bought a few pieces of almost brand new scientific equipment for his lab for a fraction of the price of new instruments. Even with $1k shipping and handling, that stuff was a great bargain. The biggest joy (maybe disappointment, because he enjoys tinkering with stuff :laughing:?). He did not have to hunt for parts and fix anything. It all worked right off the delivery pallet.

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I got scammed by a seller on e-Bay (bought an item that was never sent to me).
The seller kept telling me that he had sent the item. Finally, I got a registered package with nothing in it and a note that said my item was on the way. I had to sign for the package. The seller then used this signed form to prove he sent the package.

I did take a photo of the package I received (with nothing in it) and the note, which I emailed to e-Bay. The company did nothing–it was my problem. I paid using PayPal and PP did not help. I eventually got my money back because I used an American Express card to pay for the item. I called customer service and the person there stopped payment. I noticed a few weeks later that the seller from whom I purchased the fake item was no longer on e-Bay. As a result, I will never buy anything on e-Bay.

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Definitely a good idea to check out both the reviews of seller and buyers on Ebay before a transaction. Not only the rating but the # of ratings.

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I rarely use eBay unless I’m looking for discontinued items. My best buy was a 1975 women’s Michigan sweatshirt that was only gently worn. I think I paid around $20 for it, but it’s exactly my size and fits the way sweatshirts used to fit back then, perfect in every measurement, not a unisex one-size fits all. Best of all, the Michigan seal on the front is true maize and not the current Nike neon yellow atrocity.

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I made a purse and a mask to go with it.

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That sucks! I saw a Judge Judy once where someone sued a seller for selling a photo of an iPhone, rather than the actual phone. Their defense “I showed a photo and that’s what I sold” You can use your imagination as to her response…yes, the plaintiff prevailed.

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We have a friend that started selling on ebay when he could no longer do his window washing business because of injuries. He is doing very well selling old stereo equipment from the 70’s and 80’s.

Years ago I used to find riding clothes for my daughter when she was competing and jumping horses. Kids grew out of clothes so fast and I got many good bargains.

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I used to buy xerox wax ink cubes on ebay sometimes. I did return ones that weren’t genuine and the color was off. I once got a counterfeit electronic game on ebay. i reported it and was refunded my money and i believe the seller was banned.

I tend to prefer Amazon over ebay—too many scammers on ebay and paypal is less helpful with refunds than my credit card company.

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Used to BUY Playmobil when the kids were little HAHA! I still have so many sets - will hold out too! I was obsessed with Oilily when my daughter was a toddler - she had some really cool clothes thanks to Ebay!

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I used to buy a lot of Christmas stocking kits (cross stitch mostly). I still have most of them, unmade.

My best buy was probably a full set of sterling flatware that matches my mother’s set from the 1950s in a pattern that is no longer made. I remember I paid $400 for an 8 full (5 piece) place settings. I see them on there now for $2500. I just found them in my storeage stuff and I also bought a set of 4 butter knives for $30, also a good deal.

My brother bought a car off ebay. He paid for it to be shipped, from Canada and still thinks he got a good deal. I think it was his Pontiac from 1968? (he has a lot of cars)

I don’t search much anymore. Shipping is too high.

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My house is over 50 years old and has the same white speckled tiled bathroom tub and shower.

An end piece for detail that is less than half the size broke. I actually found it on eBay. I couldn’t believe it. I think I bought a few just in case.

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