Not-so-smart consumers

No Takebacks: 5 Most Screwed-Up Tech Buys

Really, they should have known better. Haven't eBay capitalised so well on their acquisition of Skype in 2005? Oh, you didn't know? Maybe that's because they've done bugger all with it.

Don’t Be Pound Wise but Penny Foolish

An article from December 07, probably written after an honest review of the Christmas blitz.

Three mobile broadband

Number one result for "awful purchase", or at least it should be. I've heard more complaints about Three Ireland than any other broadband provider and many even appear to be legitimate. There's a huge forum thread on it as well as a "company x sucks" site [actually this seems to have vanished, legal pressure?] and no shortage of cranky Irish bloggers.

Komplett Weekly Offers 21/07/2008

Komplett-Oh!

D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N WirelessGigabit Router, 802.11n (draft 2.0)

€ 108.00

-10%

My €0.02
Ignoring the fact that the Americans can get this for $96, expansys of all people can beat this price. Just as shockingly, dabs are more expensive. Has the world ended?

MSI K9A2 Platinum, AMD 790FX, DDR2, ATX,Socket-AM2+, GBLAN, 4xPCI-Ex(2.0)x16

€ 112.00
-9%

My €0.02
Looks like a very good price. Beats dabs and ebay at any rate.

LG 22" Wide L227WT-PF, Black,1680x1050, 2ms, 10000:1, Color Gamut

€ 269.00
-7%

My €0.02
Another good price. Pixmania can't compete, and dabs only sell the cheaper W2252TQ.

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3,PCI-Express 2.0, 2xDVI/HDMI/HDCP, Lite-R

€ 156.01
-8%

My €0.02
Usually sells for around €170. Dabs and Misco are both at about €160. So, not too bad. But any other week I would go to dabs.

A life in Oz

Not a practical update but I was more than amused by this guys effort to sell his life. Whatever about his reasons for doing it, he has some pretty neat stuff in there. The Jetski is a bit over the top but, hey, why not? The Spa looks great but just wouldn't work here. The home entertainment system being visible from the back garden is a nice touch. And at the current price of AU$315,100 it's a complete steal. Shipping might be a problem though...

eBay 103: Making your first bid

Part three already? How time flies... Let's see what you've learned.

You have:

• An ebay account
• A paypal account
• Money (hopefully)
  

You know how to:

• Find items you want
• Avoid scammers

You're all set to start bidding! The first step is to find the item you want to buy. Take your time. Read the description. Check out the seller. Is their score near or at 100%? How do they treat other customers? Look at their shipping rates. Check out what policies they have regarding insurance, returns and payments. Got any questions? Send them a friendly, polite message. Make sure you agree to all their terms.

And then you can click on one of the following, as available:

• Place Bid
• Buy it Now
• Make Offer

Which should be fairly self-explanatory. Just don't forget to factor in the shipping if you are making a bid!

eBay 102: The good, the bad and the damn fugly

Following on from eBay 101, we're going to look at some of the things you might see on your travels to find that widget/gizmo/electric thingymajig of your dreams. Beautiful things. Things that can trip you up. Things that make you go "hmmm". Use the following lists to know what to look for and what to look out for.

The good

• Low price
• Well written product description
• Clearly stated shipping to Ireland policy
• Clearly stated returns policy
• Clearly stated insurance cost
• High feedback score
• High percentage of positive feedback (99%+)
• Selling in Euro
• Offer Credit Card sales (safer than PayPal but about to be blocked by eBay)
  
• Offer PayPal
  

The bad

• Description copy/pasted from manufacturers website
• Omits important details
• Poor English
• Does not respond to "Ask seller a question"
• Uses name like "honest123" or "safetrader89" (not real names... I think)
• Located in Hong Kong

The OMG STAY AWAY!!!

• Suspiciously low price for new item
• Low price but high shipping
• Says will ship to anywhere but no quote given
• Located in any African nation, Russia or China (unless reputable, but not many)
• Wants to use escrow service
• Wants to use bank transfer/Western Union/unfamiliar service
  

So when you find the right product, at the right price, from the right seller, you're set! If you are not sure, DO NOT BID. Always ask first, and even if you think a bargain is going to get away, let it. Better safe than sorry and there'll always be another one.

eBay 101: Getting started

This is a guide for the absolute eBay beginner. You have heard of eBay, maybe you even know someone who uses it but you have never dared to use it yourself or have the first idea about how to go about doing it. Well, read on and all that will change.

What is eBay?

eBay could be described as the worlds largest flea market, a global auction house, a bargain hunters paradise or a refuge for scammers. It is the largest online marketplace in terms of users and therefore it has the widest selection of goods on offer. Sellers offer everything from the brand new to the old and worn. If it's for sale, it's probably here.

What does it have on offer for me?

Ok, let's say you wanted to buy a shiny new HTC Diamond smartphone. First, open http://www.ebay.ie/ in a new tab or window. Next locate this bar:


...and type htc diamond as shown. Hit enter. I got 50 matches, how about you?

Notice the .ie at the end of the address. This means that it is eBay Ireland. What that means is that the site is optimised (in eBays opinion, not mine) for Irish sellers. Prices appear in euro, shipping defaults to "to Ireland", Irish eBay Shops are given priority and so on. This is useful but actually there is a problem: it cuts out a lot of people who are quite happy to sell to you at low prices! Try the other varients such as ebay.com and ebay.co.uk to find more deals. For example, ebay UK was showing 62 hits for me on the same search as above.

I see something I want. How do I buy things?

You need to sign up for an eBay account, have an email address, have a credit card and 99% of the time, a PayPal account.

That should keep you busy for now. If you want me to cover something in particular in the next installment, leave a comment and I'll do my best.

Are you local?

While the internet is great at yielding bargains from around the world, it can also be used to sniff them out closer to home. If you don't fancy taking a walk down to your local supermarket to check the notice board, you may want to check out buy and sell or adverts.ie. These can be used as a simplified type of ebay shop: you pick what you want, ring the seller to arrange payment and delivery and boom! you're in business. Great for people who are still wary of dealing with a faceless online seller.

Pros:

• If the seller is nearby you can arrange a pickup, therefore no shipping
• Items can be picked up quite cheaply
• No auction, no suspense, just ring to see if it is available

Cons:

• If you can't arrange a pickup, shipping inside Ireland is quite expensive
• Not sold by professionals, so quality can be hit and miss
• Sometimes the seller can make the sale and forget to take down the ad