Buying gear on ebay can get crazy sometimes.

[John]

I just saw an old Roland AX-1 keytar go for $405 USD. There was nothing special about it. Just the board (no case, not even a MIDI cable). There was like 27 bids. Why would someone pay $405 for an old used Roland AX-1 when you can buy a brand new AX-7 for $395?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3733797456&ssPageName= STRK:MEWA:IT[/url]

[ImaX]

lol... strange. Perhaps it's because of the beautiful red... ähm, no :wink:

[Liquid Shadow]

Plus, people have no idea how to bid on there. They see an item that ends in 10 days and go "OMG TAHT IZ JUST WUT I WANTZ OMGOMG BID NOW AND DRIEV PRICE UP TO 3 TRILLEEON DOLLERZ LOLLERSKATES!!!11" Do these idiots not know that the price stays lower if you just wait until the last few minutes of the bid, or do they like driving it up an extra $100+ a week ahead of time?

[John]

Personally, I like to use esnipe.

[John]

By the way this one is not a fluke; almost all of the ax-1s go for over $300.

I'm in the market for a Mackie SRM450 speaker and later a Keytar. I'm fairly certain that I'll end up buying both of them new from a music store.

[Rexx]

I've been burnt a couple of times on eBay but never over paid.
You have to know your limits by doing some research on what you're bidding on.

[Over The Edge]

It's because of the red color. It's really flashy looking.



FL
www.franklucas.net

[ImaX]

Do these idiots not know that the price stays lower if you just wait until the last few minutes of the bid, or do they like driving it up an extra $100+ a week ahead of time?

That's what I was thinking a long time, too. But I have found out that it's a bit different: if I bid I tell ebay what maximum amount of money I want to pay. Now the actual bid isn't my maximum, it's just that amount of money that's above the highest bid from someone else... it's a bit difficult to explain, here's an example:

starting price: 100
my maximum bid: 200
displayed: 101 (because it's more than the actual starting price)

next bid from someone else: 150 (his maximum he want's to pay)
My bid (200) was higher, so the actual price goes up to: 151

the other one now bids: 250
it's more than I had, so it goes up to: 201 (for the other one)

So if I wait until the offer ends and then enter a price short above the actual price, I have to fear that another one get's it, because his real offer (that I don't see) is much higher. So I have to enter my real maximum bid and hope that it's above his one.

It's a bit weird - got it? :wink:

[Tusker]

It's interesting that there is a lot of demand for these. I don't see them in action very often. That's a steep price. The new AX has more features too.

Jerry

[John]

I think it's the novelty of having one. I want one, but I don't know how often I'll end up using it as usually I play with Jazz groups. Even for horn lines it's nice to have all 88 keys. It just looks like it would be kind of fun to play (especially with a wireless MIDI setup).

[John]

[quote=Liquid Shadow]
So if I wait until the offer ends and then enter a price short above the actual price, I have to fear that another one get's it, because his real offer (that I don't see) is much higher. So I have to enter my real maximum bid and hope that it's above his one.

It's a bit weird - got it? :wink:

That's why you got to figure out what it's worth to you and just enter in the maximum amount. If you win, great you paid what it was worth to you. If you loose, there will be another one. But you shouldn't do it until the end of the auction because you don't want to show your hand before the game is over.

Apparently an old used AX-1 was worth $405 ($10 more than a brand new AX-7) to someone.

I usually look at completed items and if I see that sometimes used ZIP drives go for $15 and sometimes they go for $30, I'll esnipe it for $20 and if I don't get it I'll keep trying until I get one. Unfortunate for me used Roland AX-7s always go for more than what they're worth to me, so I'll probably not do any bidding on those. I'm just going to end up buying a new one. I'd buy a used AX-1 if It was like $150.

If you ebay alot, you should probably check out www.esnipe.com.

[Tusker]

I personally think these things would be great in a jazz context. The whole remote controller thing got co-opted by a guitar sensibility. Even calling a keytar plays into that. The manufacturers (possibly with the exception of the Moog liberation) really emphasized spacey/nuevo/plastic design, and these would be really out of place in a blues or classic rock arena. Which is why people snicker at them.

As long as someone has good control of tone and pitch (vibrato and bends), I think it's possible to show these off in a good light. Jazz seems like a nice place to do it, particularly if the music is slightly avante-garde. Youl really want to explore all the things the guitar cannot do (and there is a ton of possibilities), if these things are to be musically relevant.

Jerry

[ChrisMcCoy]

This same thing has happened to me a couple of times as a seller.
The buyers get into a bidding war. It's almost as if the desire to beat the other bidder outweighs the value of the actual item. I once sold an item used that ended up with a higher price than I paid for it brand new. Once shipping was factored in, it was even more expensive. :shock:

[John]

I'm fairly certain the guys in the Jazz Band (it's a big band) would like it. When ever they solo they go to the front of the stage. Maybe someday I'll be able to join them up there.

It's easy to get caught up in one of those biding wars/competitions; that's one of the reasons I like the esnipe deal. Plus I can normally get the last bid.

[Liquid Shadow]

Do these idiots not know that the price stays lower if you just wait until the last few minutes of the bid, or do they like driving it up an extra $100+ a week ahead of time?

That's what I was thinking a long time, too. But I have found out that it's a bit different: if I bid I tell ebay what maximum amount of money I want to pay. Now the actual bid isn't my maximum, it's just that amount of money that's above the highest bid from someone else... it's a bit difficult to explain, here's an example:

starting price: 100
my maximum bid: 200
displayed: 101 (because it's more than the actual starting price)

next bid from someone else: 150 (his maximum he want's to pay)
My bid (200) was higher, so the actual price goes up to: 151

the other one now bids: 250
it's more than I had, so it goes up to: 201 (for the other one)

So if I wait until the offer ends and then enter a price short above the actual price, I have to fear that another one get's it, because his real offer (that I don't see) is much higher. So I have to enter my real maximum bid and hope that it's above his one.

It's a bit weird - got it? :wink:

Ah, never knew about that. Thanks for the info, I'll remember that next time I'm looking for something there

[ImaX]

Yeah - but John was also right, you could try to bid short before the end... but then you either get it or don't get it, no chance to set your price higher after that...

[Rexx]

For me it's not a problem because I only bid what I'm willing to pay knowing in advance what my highest price is.

I also buy more locally now in Canada (and preferably in Toronto so I can pick it up instead of shipping)

[Tusker]

There's the stuff that shows up pretty often, and the stuff that is so rare you have to win. For the former, I just set my walk away price and forget about it. For the latter, I wait till the end, and hope that the other person was not too extravagant in their "set it and forget it" price.

Jerry

[Omega Monkey]

It is never better to bid early. When you do that, everyone can see that the "demand" for the item is higher, and will therefore go to greater lengths to get. Often if the current price is still pretty low, people will bid lower.

In short: DONT BID UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT!