? for Ebay experts

[Mike999]

I have a strong suspicion that the price is just a typo...

No, he does that fairly often. Generally to prove some kind of point, I guess, when he's throwing a temper tantrum about "stupid eBay buyers." For some reason, he seems to think insulting potential customers is a good business plan.  But to be fair, he also insults "stupid eBay sellers" - that means anybody who sells cheaper than he does.

A few months ago, he listed a set of four 1/25 scale tires for $10,000.  Not a typo, that's Ten Thousand Dollars.  Search these boards for "eBay" or his user name and you'll see other examples of him doing this, posted by various people.
 

[MrObsessive]

I have a strong suspicion that the price is just a typo. I've seen similar typos in other eBay listings.  Most likely a $20.00 item. Check his eBay store and you will see that his other items have "normal" prices.  Bit inflated for my taste, but still more reasonable than two grand!

The item I posted I've been following for WEEKS now with of course, no takers. I have a hard time believing it's a typo and it gets relisted over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over...................

[Tom Geiger]

You guys just don't get PJ Toys. I've explained it to this board several times.   But people just respond that they want him to work for free!

Humor me here..  take your hourly wage and divide it by two.  Now pick a model car part.  Just for S&G let's say you paid 40 cents for that part. Add those two numbers together.  Then figure out what eBay and Paypal will cost for the transaction.  Add that to the number.  That's what you will need to charge for that part on eBay   IF you want to earn a living.

That's actually way too simple.  Figure the sell through rate on eBay is fairly low today, you would be lucky to sell 50% of your stuff over time. So double the above number.  Anyone see the light?

[FordRodnKustom]

You guys just don't get PJ Toys. I've explained it to this board several times.   But people just respond that they want him to work for free!

Humor me here..  take your hourly wage and divide it by two.  Now pick a model car part.  Just for S&G let's say you paid 40 cents for that part. Add those two numbers together.  Then figure out what eBay and Paypal will cost for the transaction.  Add that to the number.  That's what you will need to charge for that part on eBay   IF you want to earn a living.

That's actually way too simple.  Figure the sell through rate on eBay is fairly low today, you would be lucky to sell 50% of your stuff over time. So double the above number.  Anyone see the light?

Thanks Tom for that perspective. I get it, I just have a little trouble getting my head around  making a "career" out of selling model parts on ebay. It's not for me to judge right or wrong on that but I still don't want to wade through 5 or 6 pages of those auctions to get to some I might be interested in...and from what I've learned here....I won't.

[MrObsessive]

You guys just don't get PJ Toys. I've explained it to this board several times.   But people just respond that they want him to work for free!

Humor me here..  take your hourly wage and divide it by two.  Now pick a model car part.  Just for S&G let's say you paid 40 cents for that part. Add those two numbers together.  Then figure out what eBay and Paypal will cost for the transaction.  Add that to the number.  That's what you will need to charge for that part on eBay   IF you want to earn a living.

That's actually way too simple.  Figure the sell through rate on eBay is fairly low today, you would be lucky to sell 50% of your stuff over time. So double the above number.  Anyone see the light?

Tom, I get what you're saying, but this fella adds fuel to the fire by coming off as downright NASTY! Go back and check the auction I posted, and get a load of his "threats" because some are talking about him.

Last time I checked, once you post something on eBay, that auction becomes fair game for someone to talk about it, link to it, or simply criticize it because well, it's a free country and that's what free speech is all about. He doesn't have to like it, but he comes off as somewhat of a real jerk by "shouting" at those that might, just might be interested in what he has.

As the old saying goes........."If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen!"

 

[Mark]

eBay could (if they wanted to) cut out a lot of the nonsense by charging a minimum amount for re-listings.  Even at ten cents per re-listing, you wouldn't see the dreamer-priced single parts listed over and over into infinity.  But what they're doing now is working for them, so I wouldn't count on seeing any sort of change anytime soon.

[FordRodnKustom]

eBay could (if they wanted to) cut out a lot of the nonsense by charging a minimum amount for re-listings.  Even at ten cents per re-listing, you wouldn't see the dreamer-priced single parts listed over and over into infinity.  But what they're doing now is working for them, so I wouldn't count on seeing any sort of change anytime soon.

Agreed.

[Tom Geiger]

Tom, I get what you're saying, but this fella adds fuel to the fire by coming off as downright NASTY! Go back and check the auction I posted, and get a load of his "threats" because some are talking about him.

Can't argue with you there Bill.  I can only imagine the hate mail and attacks he receives!  I also see how many times in a listing he posts that the part is NOT for a real car. I can only imagine the numpties he has to fend off.  One time when I used to participate on eBay boards, there was a guy who came there screaming bloody murder that he won an auction for 1969 Camaro Pace Car decals and he was scammed!  The seller sent him this little sheet of decals for a toy car.  People laid into this guy because he seriously thought he had outsmarted an eBay seller to sell him the real thing for $10.  I hear the same stories from resin casters.

Thanks Tom for that perspective. I get it, I just have a little trouble getting my head around  making a "career" out of selling model parts on ebay. It's not for me to judge right or wrong on that but I still don't want to wade through 5 or 6 pages of those auctions to get to some I might be interested in...and from what I've learned here....I won't.

Hey the guy found himself a niche and is working it. He puts in the time and it seems to be working for him.  I'd rather see him doing that than having all of us support his family on welfare!  

eBay could (if they wanted to) cut out a lot of the nonsense by charging a minimum amount for re-listings.  Even at ten cents per re-listing, you wouldn't see the dreamer-priced single parts listed over and over into infinity.  But what they're doing now is working for them, so I wouldn't count on seeing any sort of change anytime soon.

Agreed. In the old days a listing cost a quarter.  Relisting cost another quarter, but they'd refund that quarter if the item sold the second time around. Once in a while they'd have a free listing day.  I had all my unsold expired listings in a third party auction management program, so I'd hit a button and resend 300 of them out to eBay that day!  And the funny thing was that a lot of them sold that time... and some with bidding wars.  And all of them had been through the system twice already!

I stay away from selling on eBay now.  It's gotten too complicated, eBay has too many rules and buyers get away with murder.  And there is so much competition from people who are selling stuff for nothing,  it's just not worth my time.

 

[niteowl7710]

The thing about PJ is (and I'm in no way defending him, just stating a fact) is he has over 8k feedback with a 100% Positive Feedback. That's almost unheard of for someone with a decent amount of sales. Go look at most hobby shops who have an eBay "storefront", and almost all of then are like 99.8% because someone, somewhere left a negative feedback.

I can only presume some of the people I see complain about eBay prices haven't been to (or may not have) their local model shows. Cause anyone who attends regularly (even if it's just the same event every year) can quickly point out the "Traveling Kit Museum". The guy who schleps the same over priced "vintage" kits in EVERY SINGLE SHOW and never sells any of them. You kinda wonder if he even WANTS to sell any of them,  or if he's just showing off.

[Mark]

The thing about PJ is (and I'm in no way defending him, just stating a fact) is he has over 8k feedback with a 100% Positive Feedback. That's almost unheard of for someone with a decent amount of sales. Go look at most hobby shops who have an eBay "storefront", and almost all of then are like 99.8% because someone, somewhere left a negative feedback.

I can only presume some of the people I see complain about eBay prices haven't been to (or may not have) their local model shows. Cause anyone who attends regularly (even if it's just the same event every year) can quickly point out the "Traveling Kit Museum". The guy who schleps the same over priced "vintage" kits in EVERY SINGLE SHOW and never sells any of them. You kinda wonder if he even WANTS to sell any of them,  or if he's just showing off.

At least the traveling museum proprietors pay for tables at the shows, and crack their wallet open for gas and eats for the trip.  eBay enables their cast of characters by giving away free listings ad infinitum.  In the last couple of weeks, I've been to the Three Rivers show as well as Fall Carlisle.  Each had a couple of vendors who were extremely proud of their stuff judging by the prices, and there are things I have seen at Three Rivers for most of the twenty or so years that have elapsed since I first went there.

[Dave Van]

I have a lot of stuff I'd like to move.....but it's low priced stuff that once you count my time, Paypal fees, ebay fees, shipping.......you end up with almost nothing. So they sit in the basement. 

[niteowl7710]

At least the traveling museum proprietors pay for tables at the shows, and crack their wallet open for gas and eats for the trip.  eBay enables their cast of characters by giving away free listings ad infinitum.  In the last couple of weeks, I've been to the Three Rivers show as well as Fall Carlisle.  Each had a couple of vendors who were extremely proud of their stuff judging by the prices, and there are things I have seen at Three Rivers for most of the twenty or so years that have elapsed since I first went there.

Yeah but as you mention those guys have been going to 3RAM for decades now with the same stuff. So they kick $20 for a table and 3 bucks for a couple of hot dogs...

I gotta pay MY gas and admission to get in to see the same stuff AGAIN as well. eBay doesn't cost me anything to sit in my basement and scroll listings so everyone is being enabled by free. 

Edited October 7, 2016 by niteowl7710

[Tom Geiger]

The thing about PJ is (and I'm in no way defending him, just stating a fact) is he has over 8k feedback with a 100% Positive Feedback. That's almost unheard of for someone with a decent amount of sales. Go look at most hobby shops who have an eBay "storefront", and almost all of then are like 99.8% because someone, somewhere left a negative feedback.

So somebody is buying those parts!  And is happy with the transaction!

Has anyone here stopped to think --  any publicity is good publicity.  Every time this same ole whine is brought up on the board, curious people go take a look at his eBay listings.  Some of them see something they need, and buy it!    

Same with the $20,000 kit part auction.  It's put out there just to get attention and start conversations on message boards!  Same result as last paragraph!

[Psychographic]

For the life of me, I can't understand the people who buy from PJ Toys. I recently was looking for a set of zoomies for a current build, PJ showed up in my search and wanted as much for them as a complete kit. Why not just buy a whole kit and have all those extra parts for other builds?

[Dave Van]

For the life of me, I can't understand the people who buy from PJ Toys. I recently was looking for a set of zoomies for a current build, PJ showed up in my search and wanted as much for them as a complete kit. Why not just buy a whole kit and have all those extra parts for other builds?

Didn't P.T. Barnum figure that out years ago???

[Ace-Garageguy]

Ol' PJ is a real hoot, slightly unhinged. The full page rants are entertaining in a creepy sort of way, but I wouldn't buy a part from him if it was one cent and somebody had a gun to my head.

How there can be enough fools to keep the guy going is another one of those things that is entirely beyond my comprehension.

Stultus est sicut stultus facit.  

For the life of me, I can't understand the people who buy from PJ Toys. I recently was looking for a set of zoomies for a current build, PJ showed up in my search and wanted as much for them as a complete kit. Why not just buy a whole kit and have all those extra parts for other builds?

Exactly.   

Edited October 7, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Mark]

Yeah but as you mention those guys have been going to 3RAM for decades now with the same stuff. So they kick $20 for a table and 3 bucks for a couple of hot dogs...

I gotta pay MY gas and admission to get in to see the same stuff AGAIN as well. eBay doesn't cost me anything to sit in my basement and scroll listings so everyone is being enabled by free. 

I can't remember the last time a table anywhere was $20. 

It's easier to walk past the traveling museum(s) at a show than it is to plow through page after page of eBay dreamers.  I guess that's why I mainly do searches there now.  When I do go into the general listings, once I run into the page after page of single parts, twenty-year-old NASCAR stuff, or amateur decal printers (many of whom are selling poor copies of other people's work) then it's time to go elsewhere.

[Greg Myers]

What's hard to believe, is this thread has been going on with all the bellyaching for three pages.

[Ben]

You mean like this one???

Outrageous!!

PJ-Toys............imagine that! :-/

[Mike999]

Slander only applies to false spoken, not written, statements.  Just saying...

[iamsuperdan]

lolz. I think he actually belongs to this board. He's using quotes from this thread in his ads.

He says he expects offers, so throw a realistic offer at him and see what happens. What's the worst that could happen? He says no? He counteroffers with something? 

I still don't understand the anger over EBay listings for parts; that this is the kind of strife that throws people into tantrum mode. There's a need and a demand, this guy, and others like him are supplying that demand. Seeing his feedback rating tells me he's doing something right.

At the end of the day, is it really that difficult to scroll past?

 

[gtx6970]

lolz. I think he actually belongs to this board. He's using quotes from this thread in his ads.

He says he expects offers, so throw a realistic offer at him and see what happens. What's the worst that could happen? He says no? He counteroffers with something? 

I still don't understand the anger over EBay listings for parts; that this is the kind of strife that throws people into tantrum mode. There's a need and a demand, this guy, and others like him are supplying that demand. Seeing his feedback rating tells me he's doing something right.

At the end of the day, is it really that difficult to scroll past?

 

VERY well said. And I couldn't agree more.

The old saying  applies,  ' don't like it,,,don't look at it '

or ' Don't like the price,,,don't buy it '

[Jordan White]

At the end of the day, is it really that difficult to scroll past?

 

Well when his posts are a majority of the listings, yes!

[Harry P.]

You can always do an ebay search using keywords to filter him out of your searches.

[FordRodnKustom]

You can always do an ebay search using keywords to filter him out of your searches.

That's all I was asking in my OP as I didn't quite know how to do it. I do now as I was answered early on in the thread. Feel free to lock this thread if you feel it should be. Thanks.