Anyone use online auctions?

[Dan Kaplan]

*Warning* - I expect this will turn into a mult-part message...

I know online auctions have become incredibly popular, so I assume at least a few of you have bought stuff in this manner?[nbsp][nbsp]If so, what are your impressions and experiences?

The reason I ask is because I have made two purchases from Egghead auctions in the past 6 months or so, and either I have terrible luck or these auctions are a clearinghouse for defective products...[nbsp][nbsp]Keep in mind that both items I bought were supposedly new, no refurbs.

Case I:[nbsp][nbsp]I first bought a Visioneer scanner.[nbsp][nbsp]After hours of trying in vain to set it up, I found a vague reference to making sure that the hardware serial number matches the installation serial number.[nbsp][nbsp]Sure enough, it didn't.[nbsp][nbsp]Unfortunately, the software didn't give the option to specify the S/N. :([nbsp][nbsp]Egghead couldn't find a tech support number for Visioneer, so they returned it without any difficulties.[nbsp][nbsp]A few months later I decided to buy the exact same scanner from a local store and had no such problems.

Case II:[nbsp][nbsp]My second auction purchase was definitely a bigger gamble.[nbsp][nbsp]Hey, I couldn't get a lemon twice in a row, right?[nbsp][nbsp];)[nbsp][nbsp][nbsp][nbsp]This time was a Sony Celeron 466mhz PC.[nbsp][nbsp]I hadn't heard too much about Sony computers, but how far wrong can you go with the name brand...[nbsp][nbsp]It was quite troublesome out of the box, with the main problems being:[nbsp][nbsp]1) at least once per hour the keyboard (USB) lights go off, the keyboard locks up, prints out a few rows of whatever I had just typed, the mouse pointer jumps somewhere else on the screen and opens or closes a few applications, and 2) if the computer was allowed to go into power saving mode, when it awoke it would crash and say I had to reinstall Windows.[nbsp][nbsp]Fortunately, it didn't hold me to that.

Well, Sony's techs had no clue what was going on.[nbsp][nbsp]They sent me a new keyboard, but that didn't do it.[nbsp][nbsp]Neither did using the other USB port.[nbsp][nbsp]The next suggestion helped a bit -- reformatting the hard drive.[nbsp][nbsp]That took care of item #2 (power saving freezes), and seemed to diminish #1, but was far from a solution.[nbsp][nbsp]I was never able to single out a troublesome application.[nbsp][nbsp]My guess is some finicky aspect of Win 98, based on some of the things I've picked up.

Has anyone else encountered similar problems?[nbsp][nbsp]I'm debating whether to cut my losses and just buy a new computer (I only paid $600 after the Sony rebate (just had to specify it wasn't a compuserve or msn rebate! :) ), so I figure the RAM and hard drive -- 64mb and 10 gig -- are probably worth half of what I paid for it.), put up with the annoyance, or maybe try Windows 2000 when it comes out.[nbsp][nbsp]Suggestions?

Being a self-admitted bargain hunting addict (I saved nearly 25% on a new car without any dealer negotiating, and not online ;)[nbsp][nbsp] ), I now have to refrain from the temptation of the online auctions due to an increasingly deep distrust.

Deal

[This message has been edited by Dan Kaplan (edited 01-14-00@9:26 pm)]

[Jason]

Hi Dan,

About 2 years ago I bought 2 color printers (both identical) from Onsale.com (which was absorbed by Egghead Auctions about 4 months ago). Well, they both had 90 day warranties on them. The first one died after 104 days. The second one lasted about 300 days before calling it quits.

At the same time I bought the printers, I also bought a scrolling mouse (one of the early ones) from Onsale.com. The mouse died after only about 45 days.

After that experience, I stopped shopping at Onsale and switched to UBid.com.

At UBid, thus far, I have bought the following items:

1 Panasonic fax machine, MSRP (at that time) about $200, I paid $89. This fax machine is working *perfectly* and I have had it for over a year.

1 Canon photocopier, MSRP (at that time) about $300, I paid $129. This copier has worked *perfectly* for over 15 months.

1 OkiData laser printer, MSRP (at that time) about $300, I paid $75. I was smart enough to buy the 1-year extended warranty (for $15 extra), as this printer died after 11 months. I called UBid, and they sent a new replacement printer about a week later. The replacement printer was a newer model that retails for about $350, and it had an additional 1 year warranty. No problems with that one so far.

1 VisionSonic digital camera. I couldn't find the MSRP for this one, but I paid $180 for it. The camera died about 2 weeks after I bought it, but I called UBid and had a replacement about a week later. The replacement camera has worked fine for the 6 months I've owned it.

I've never bought a computer through an online auction, but thus far my experience with Onsale (now Egghead) lead me to never even visit the site again. My experience with UBid, however, has been fantastic. I always get the one year extended warranty (for $15 extra, it's well worth doing), and the two items I had to return under warranty were replaced promptly with no hassle at all either time. In fact, the only complaint that I have was that when I returned the digital camera, and they sent back the new one, they didn't send back the $7 worth of batteries I'd foolishly left in the original. But, hey - that was my fault, I should have removed the batteries before sending it to them.

So, I've had bad experiences from Onsale/Egghead, too - but I have absolutely no complaints about UBid.com auctions. They've been great the whole time.

Good luck,

Jason

[Justin]

Never bought anything through an online auction... but I would suggest finding a non-USB keyboard and see if that helps - this may or may not help, but considering the price of a cheap keyboard you can't go wrong... I paid $9 and $13 for my two keyboards (though I am not very picky...)

I know 98 supports USB quite well in my experience so far - I've been using the Intellimouse Explorer USB mouse (the one with no - um, moving parts) for a few months now, along with a cheap Logitech QuickCam USB camera thingy... no problems to report so far. The hot swap actually works, too, amazingly enough...

You might want to look under the hood and be sure it really is a Celeron 466 and not a 300A overclocked... if so that's not such a bad thing, as you can add better cooling to the case and possibly bump the core voltage a tad, and make sure the RAM (which you will definately need more than 64...) can handle the bus speed (overclocking a Celeron or PII/PIII requires the bus speed be cranked up)...

Hope this helps...

------------------
Justin Nelson
FutureQuest Support

[Dan Kaplan]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Justin, I'm pretty sure I tried a non-USB keyboard a while back, but my recollection's foggy.[nbsp][nbsp]Assuming I'm not dreaming this up, it didn't fix the problem.[nbsp][nbsp]But I'll give it a shot and see.

I don't really understand the overclocking and that stuff.[nbsp][nbsp]Could you possibly put it in layman's terms?[nbsp][nbsp]I'm fairly comfortable playing inside the case, but I don't know all the terminology.[nbsp][nbsp]What is a 300A?[nbsp][nbsp]Is that referring to a Celeron 300?[nbsp][nbsp]System Properties identifies it as a Pentium II, but I was told this is just because Win 98 (first edition) came out before the Celeron, so it doesn't recognize it by name.

I agree that 64 mb is on the low side, although the computer I upgraded from had a snail-like 32 (upgraded that from the original 16)...[nbsp][nbsp]I nearly bought a new 64 mb card for $70 after buying the computer, but I decided to wait till I had the thing working right and the next week the price of RAM doubled.[nbsp][nbsp]:([nbsp][nbsp]Timing is everything.[nbsp][nbsp]Then again, sometimes it's nothing...

Dan
[This message has been edited by Dan Kaplan (edited 01-14-00@10:37 pm)]

[Charles Capps]

I've bought a few small items online through an auction - an IDE Zip drive and a webcam.[nbsp][nbsp]No problems with either.

I do all my MAJOR purchases (read: over $200) in a real store, where I know their return and servicing policies, and know exactly the right words to say to get REALLY fast service, if it's needed...[nbsp][nbsp]The wording just doesn't quite seem... RIGHT over email.[nbsp][nbsp]:)

Of course, any purchase is VERY researched...[nbsp][nbsp]I take after my father.[nbsp][nbsp] Heheh...


[This message has been edited by Charles Capps (edited 01-14-00@10:40 pm)]

[ubu]

We have used auctions to buy stuff from time to time..[nbsp][nbsp]Haven't run into any problems yet..[nbsp][nbsp]One good bit of advice though..[nbsp][nbsp]Anytime you are buying something from someone/somewhere you are not real sure about, use a credit card.[nbsp][nbsp]Most CC's companies give you more leverage when something goes wrong.[nbsp][nbsp]You can always dispute a charge if the company won't answer you back if you're having a problem.[nbsp][nbsp]

We did this with some stuff we had ordered from x10.com.[nbsp][nbsp]We ordered the items, never receieved them and wanted to know where our items were.[nbsp][nbsp]The company wouldn't listen to us until they didn't get their money, then low and behold..[nbsp][nbsp]They found our order and shipped it out..
So now we shop by CC's from anyone we don't really know.

Jamie

[Melprophet]

Don't know if this is really relevant at all since it has nothing to do with computer goods but...I buy/sell/trade rock posters and handbills from the 60's and have been using Ebay frequently to buy and sell since Ebays inception...But these are the only items I've ever sold or bid on thru online auctions.

I had several bad experiences early on ranging from a seller not shipping the product at all to getting damaged items and items not as described in the listing. But after a while I learned who was good to deal with, and who wasn't and have found online auctions to be an amazing resource. For what I collect at least, it really makes the world small.

The Times had an article about Ebay on Thursday which said that 70% of all Ebay purchases are for under $100, and I think that says a lot about the trust factor. Also, another article about Ebay back in October, 99 said that unoffical estimates are that at least 20% of all Ebay auctions go bad at the transaction stage. I can't say whether that's true or not for sure, but it's probably in the ball park.

My own personal rule with online auctions, and I think it applies well whether dealing with an individual seller or a large company is a one strike rule. Whether it's Joe Schmo or Egghead, one problem and dealings with them are done.

Trust is everything.

Mel

[Dan Kaplan]

Quick update:[nbsp][nbsp]non-USB keyboard makes no difference.[nbsp][nbsp]:(

I should also mention that I've bought software on a couple of occasions from Egghead -- their regular sales, not the auction -- with no problems.[nbsp][nbsp]My experience with the auction goods just seems a bit fishy.

Which makes me wonder, anyone know where the new auction goods come from?[nbsp][nbsp]I can understand the old products are being cleared out, but it often seems that there is a large shipment of new products being auctioned that matches the specs of the regular products for sale.[nbsp][nbsp]Is it just a marketing ploy to get people into the auction, or is that an indication of unmentioned differences in the product?

Dan

[Carol-H]

Another post about eBay:
I've bought quite a few things on eBay.[nbsp][nbsp]My only disappointments have been (1) items where I didn't check around enough first and later found them offered at a lower price from a non-auction site or store (totally my fault), and (2) one item misrepresented by someone who didn't understand the technical details himself (he offered to refund money or pay for difference), (3) one item posted without full information where I didn't contact seller and it turned out not to be the version I wanted (seller also offered return & refund).

The important step in bidding is to check the feedback and judge their commitment to their reputation.[nbsp][nbsp]I won't buy from anyone with recently changed or added info, or with less than 10 feedbacks and I won't buy from anyone with any negative feedbacks unless they've got several hundred positives (anyone could get stuck with a bad review if they've had that many transactions).

I wouldn't buy from an auction site without feedback ratings unless the site or seller has a clear return&refund policy.[nbsp][nbsp]I'm not much of a gambler, I guess! ;)

- Carol Hanson
[nbsp][nbsp]www.dragonbear.com (http://www.dragonbear.com)

[Melprophet]

Good points Carol...

Regarding Ebay specifically because it's the only place I've heard of this being a problem...It's also very wise to look into the ratings of the people bidding against you if they seem overly aggressive, or are bidding on many similar items from the same seller at the same time and yet have no history at all. There have been quite a few problems on Ebay with "plants" who are in cohoots with the seller and help drive the bidding up. New bidders are their favorite targets because they tend to be most likely to get carried away in the whole bidding process.

And, the sellers who say things like money orders are required for the first 2,3 or 5 purchases should also be avoided....like the plague.

Mel