With eBay's increasing emphasis in attracting manufacturers and distributors to its site, with less emphasis on collectibles, we decided to see whether eBay is, in fact, the "practical" choice to buy "practicals" on the Internet. AuctionBytes will be periodically publishing our own "API", or AuctionBytes Price Index, that will compare the average selling price of items on eBay with other Internet retailers.
We believe that pricing is only one factor to consider when shopping, but it is an important one! Before we initiated this study, we believed pricing would be the number one reason for shopping on eBay, since auction items may be used; may not come with warranties; and since buyers must wait until the end of the auction to know if they have won the item. However, we found that many people offer new items on eBay, and often the prices of practicals are in the same range on eBay as those on retail sites. The lessons we learned: yes, you can find bargains on auction sites and retail sites, but it pays to shop around!
Here are several items, chosen at random, which were compared on 6/14/01 and again on 10/11/01. We compared identical items so the comparison would be fair. The eBay prices are for completed auctions.
Item: Sandisk 128meg CompactFlash Card
Avg Price on eBay 6/14/01: $109.88
Lowest-priced Retail Site 6/14/01: $102.95 on Buy.com
Avg Price on eBay 10/11/01:$69.91 (no mention of $20 rebate in auctions)*
Lowest-priced Retail Site 10/11/01: $58.99 (including $20 rebate) Computers4sure.com
Item: Linksys 4-Port Cable Router
Avg Price on eBay 6/14/01: $105.46
Lowest-priced Retail Site 6/14/01: $99.95 Computers4Sure
Avg Price on eBay 10/11/01:$90.99
Lowest-priced Retail Site 10/11/01: $79.00 Comp-U-Plus Direct
Item: SonicBlue Rio Volt MPS/CD Player
Avg Price on eBay 6/14/01: $143.28
Lowest-priced Retail Site 6/14/01: $139.98 eCost.com
Avg Price on eBay 10/11/01: $119
Lowest-priced Retail Site 10/11/01: $128 Comp-U-Plus Direct
Item: Samsung SyncMaster 770 TFT Monitor
Avg Price on eBay 6/14/01: $705.75
Lowest-priced Retail Site 6/14/01: $866.88 1st eWeb inc.
Avg Price on eBay 10/11/01: $635.75
Lowest-priced Retail Site 10/11/01: $733 Compu America
Item: INFINITY 4652CF Speakers
Avg Price on eBay 6/14/01: $61.99
Lowest-priced Retail Site 6/14/01: $54.95 mmxpress.com
Avg Price on eBay 10/11/01: $55.00
Lowest-priced Retail Site 10/11/01: $54.95 mmxpress.com
In addition to pricing, there are other factors to consider when shopping online.
REBATES:
Manufacturers often offer rebates on electronic items that MAY or MAY NOT be included with an item that is purchased on eBay. Often, as in the case of the SanDisk CompactFlash card, the seller retains the original receipt and submits the rebate.
TIMING:
Consumers should check delivery schedules and shipping methods. With online auctions, unless the auction has a "Buy It Now" feature enabled, the buyer must wait for an auction to end, with no guarantee that they will win the auction.
WARRANTIES:
Consumers should compare warranties. When buying from an auction seller, there must be an ORIGINAL sales receipt to ensure the integrity of the warranty.
RETURNS:
Consumers should check the seller's return policy.
SECURITY:
Consumers should research the seller and make sure that their credit card and personal information will be kept private and secure, whether it a retailer or an auction seller.
FRAUD:
Consumers should research the seller and, in the case of auctions, will want to check the "feedback" ratings of the seller.
MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES
Consumers usually pay sales tax if they are purchasing the item from a seller in their own state. This can add an additional cost to an item. Consumers should also carefully research shipping & handling charges and insurance fees and understand the total cost before making the purchase.
FEATURES:
Make sure you are comparing the EXACT same item and features. For example, one seller may sell a PDA with 4MB of RAM, while another may sell one with 8MB of RAM.
Finally, Altavista Shopping is an online shopping service to help you "shop around" http://shopping.altavista.com/home. It searches Web retailers AND eBay auctions!
