Hello friends,
Last month, my six year old laptop, developed a LCD problem. I decided to opt for another
laptop instead of trying to repair the LCD, not because I am bored with the old one, but
simply because I could not find a suitable replacement LCD screen at an affordable price.
I start searching online for a replacement laptop. After my extensive search through eBay,
something caught my eye: its a Lenovo ThinkPad T60.
I found that the average price for a used T60 on eBay is $180. And if you add
the shipping cost, which is about $60 (from US to India), the total price equates to $240
Add to that, customs duty which will be added when the product reaches India.
I could have purchased a used/refurbished laptop with "Buy It Now" option which would have
saved me some time, but I told myself, why not try my hand at auctions? Who knows, I could
find my desired laptop at a cheaper price!
I soon find out that winning an auction is not that easy, as I initially thought . It is in fact somewhat tricky.
After my 7th try, I managed to buy a T60 at $209 (Price $126 + Shipping $83)
I saved about $31 ($240-$209). Not bad! considering the fact that I had to pay $83 for shipping whereas the standard shipping cost is about $60
The seller shipped the item on 3rd September, 2011 and it arrived at my home address on 20th September, 2011. I had to pay Rs.2307 towards custom duty
What I have learned from this exercise ? Here it is :
1 Before you bid on any item, do your research about the product you want to purchase. Find the price range at which a similar product sold previously. You can find this info from "Completed Listings"
In the upper part of eBay's home page there is a search bar and a "Search" button. Next to the "Search" button is a link that says "Advanced". Click this link.
To view "Completed listings" type the name of the item and click the check-box next to
"Completed listings". Then click "Search". A list of all completed auctions will appear. From there, find the lowest and highest price.
2 Double check and make sure that the seller ships Internationally. Not all US sellers will ship Internationally.
3 Never place a bid in advance. Wait for the last few minutes of the auction. If you place a
bid in advance, say about two hours before the auction ends, then other users, who are also
looking for the same product will get a chance to increase their bid, effectively increasing
the price of the product.
If you wait for the last few minutes and place a bid, other users will not get a chance to
outbid you. The chances of you winning the auction is much higher if you wait for the last
few minutes.
I hope you will find this information helpful. In case you have questions, feel free to ask via comments...
Last month, my six year old laptop, developed a LCD problem. I decided to opt for another
laptop instead of trying to repair the LCD, not because I am bored with the old one, but
simply because I could not find a suitable replacement LCD screen at an affordable price.
I start searching online for a replacement laptop. After my extensive search through eBay,
something caught my eye: its a Lenovo ThinkPad T60.
I found that the average price for a used T60 on eBay is $180. And if you add
the shipping cost, which is about $60 (from US to India), the total price equates to $240
Add to that, customs duty which will be added when the product reaches India.
I could have purchased a used/refurbished laptop with "Buy It Now" option which would have
saved me some time, but I told myself, why not try my hand at auctions? Who knows, I could
find my desired laptop at a cheaper price!
I soon find out that winning an auction is not that easy, as I initially thought . It is in fact somewhat tricky.
After my 7th try, I managed to buy a T60 at $209 (Price $126 + Shipping $83)
I saved about $31 ($240-$209). Not bad! considering the fact that I had to pay $83 for shipping whereas the standard shipping cost is about $60
The seller shipped the item on 3rd September, 2011 and it arrived at my home address on 20th September, 2011. I had to pay Rs.2307 towards custom duty
What I have learned from this exercise ? Here it is :
1 Before you bid on any item, do your research about the product you want to purchase. Find the price range at which a similar product sold previously. You can find this info from "Completed Listings"
In the upper part of eBay's home page there is a search bar and a "Search" button. Next to the "Search" button is a link that says "Advanced". Click this link.
To view "Completed listings" type the name of the item and click the check-box next to
"Completed listings". Then click "Search". A list of all completed auctions will appear. From there, find the lowest and highest price.
2 Double check and make sure that the seller ships Internationally. Not all US sellers will ship Internationally.
3 Never place a bid in advance. Wait for the last few minutes of the auction. If you place a
bid in advance, say about two hours before the auction ends, then other users, who are also
looking for the same product will get a chance to increase their bid, effectively increasing
the price of the product.
If you wait for the last few minutes and place a bid, other users will not get a chance to
outbid you. The chances of you winning the auction is much higher if you wait for the last
few minutes.
I hope you will find this information helpful. In case you have questions, feel free to ask via comments...