Buying and Selling forum vs Ebay

I think I'm the same way. When I shop on ebay, I expect to be getting a fantastic deal, and if I can't, I won't buy. When I shop here, I expect to get a fair deal.

I too will pay a premium, though it's hard to put a specific figure on it. Partly because it's not all that often I see the exact same item in both locations.

B&S is a screwed system. Of course you're going to pay more.

The funny part about this thread is that as a part-time seller, I would sell for less on the B&S than I think an item will bring on eBay. Fees aside, I would much rather deal with someone from the B&S than a random person from eBay. Inevitably, some items just don't generate any interest here, and I am forced to deal with the con-artist known as eBay.

agreed with this. the quality of the buyer is so much higher here that i would take less money to complete the transaction here. yes, there are still time wasters and flakers, but there is not the outright stupidity or fraud that i've come to expect on ebay (at least not yet)

+1 to both of these. This is my approach as well. I would rather buy here for a bit more, but I couldn't say exactly how much more.

? The system of a seller buying goods at low prices and selling for a higher price on B&S for profit? The market dictates the price. The proof is in how many "price drops" you see for items a seller can't move.

I'm curious as to what makes the B&S system screwed.

Screwed because prices start high as sellers know that the only way to stay on the top page is to drop the price (or have a pal post "wish it was my size, I'd buy it!"). You can only last on the top page for an hour some days. Many buyers don't go deeper into the pages. So it is an artificially high price to begin with, then people lose interest, or can't find what they saw earlier, too much text, etc. Too complicated for sellers and buyers.

Cheaper for sellers than ebay, and none of the ebay paypal bullshit, but a different kind of a market.
And I like it, but it is screwed.

I'll pay more here than I'd pay on eBay (with a few exceptions of certain sellers on eBay I know and trust), because I trust SFers to know more of the quality of what they're selling and I know they'll most likely have taken much better care of anything used than anything used on eBay.

+1
I have sold here almost 100 times and I have had no problem with buyers.

I see what you're saying about prices starting high but so what? I think having the standard rule of bumping due to price drops is a phenomenal concept, since it favors the buyer in the long run. A smart buyer WILL look deep into those pages or just run a search in B&S. I've gotten pms for stuff that I sold 8 weeks ago!

I see nothing screwed about it.

Also, I suspect people start high not just for bumps but because there's no reason not to. Someone might pull the trigger. If not, hey, free bump.