Why do people buy off eBay ???

[Legacy]

I occasionally buy things off eBay - mostly hard to find items or stuff I only intend to use for a short time etc.
However I usually keep pretty quite about it as I sort of feel a bit embarrassed somehow (as if everyone thinks I'm a poor old bag lady )

But... I mentioned eBay to a colleague at work today and she began to tell me that she always bought LOADS of stuff there .... baby/ kids clothes/ books/ DVDs/ computer stuff etc

I was stunned.. this woman probably earns about £100k a year, lives in one of the poshest houses in the area, and could certainly buy anything she wanted new.

She also said she often sold stuff on there too.

I guess I was just surprised - I sort of stupidly assumed most people on eBay couldn't afford brand new stuff, or were real 'bargain hunters'??

She said she uses it mostly because she 'doesn't have time to go shopping in real life!'
She also said that she regarded it as a sort of 'recycling community' - "why pay for new, when you can get hardly used for less??"

For those of you who shop there lots, what's your real reason??

[Legacy]

Whoops - have just reread my post and realised people might think I'm being rude/ derogatory (sp?) about people who buy/ sell on eBay - I didn't mean to, honest - I'm just intriqued, really....

[noddyholder]

I love a bargain I furnished most of our new house inc appliances from ebay

[Spacecadet]

I have had alot of good baby baragins from ebay, but havent bought anything else

[marthamoo]

Rich people love a bargain and hate parting with money!

How's that for a sweeping generalisation ?

Next time you pass an Aldi, Lidl or Netto take a look in the car park - it will be full of Jags, BMWs etc., I've even seen a Rolls Royce in Aldi's car park.

Anecdotally, I used to work for Manchester Public Libraries. Sometimes I would work at Wythenshawe Library which is on a very deprived Manchester estate - people would come in, books overdue and fines owing. Invariably - though many of them didn't look like they had two pennies to rub together - they would apologise and pay up. Sometimes I would work in Didsbury Library (very affluent Manchester suburb, high proportion of graduate professionals) - the times I would see someone park their Jag on the double yellow lines in front of the library, dash in, have incurred a 7 pence fine and then spend half an hour arguing the toss about why they shouldn't pay it...

I reckon people who have money hate to part with it, whereas people who have very little have a more easy come, easy go attitude.

[vicdubya]

I go along with the "why pay for new" thing.

Sometimes people appear to be selling quite expensive items that they seem to have bought and used for a day (eg pushchairs) - assuming they are telling the truth, well they've obviously got more money than sense, but I haven't!

[Legacy]

Perhaps that WHY they have money - they never spend it, or make it all on Ebay!!

[vicdubya]

Ooh am I rich then

[Niddlynono]

I love Ebay - I've bought a DVD player, a hoover, CDs, DVDs, cushions, jigsaws, blankets etc. Most of them were brand new from Ebay shops but some (particularly jigsaws and videos for DS) were used. I like a good bargain, my local shopping centre doesn't have much choice and I don't get the opportunity to go shopping elsewhere without DS in tow, plus I find the whole bidding war thing quite exciting.

[Aero]

I love Ebay - things I buy are 'new to me', and I do love a bargain. Do tend to go there to look for specific things though. Things like games for my son's games console etc which I consider to be outrageously priced in the first place etc.

[snafu]

I'm not rich by anyone's standards but I do love a bit of ebay. In fact I'm wearing an ebay jumper right now

It's just fun - I'm a crap, impatient, irritable shopper IRL so I'm very happy to browse and pick up bits and pieces sitting on my fat bum with a cup of tea beside me. Plus, I don't know, it's a little glimpse into other people's lives, really - what are they selling and why etc? I like it when people put their little life stories along with their item descriptions!

[ionesmum]

I buy stuff you can't get in the shops, or that if you could it's cost a fortune. For example, for Christmas I bought vintage jewellery for my mum at a fraction of what it'd cost in the shops - assuming you could find it. And I've bought retro studio pottery lamps for a fiver each, hand-made wall hangings, even a b&w painting of a mum bfeeding! I feel I've really been able to get things that make our house a home, things that you won't see anywhere else and at a fraction the cost of mass produced things - and I get lots of comments from people who can't believe it comes from eBay!

Also buy dd1's Thomas stuff as it is really cheap, even for new things.

[juicychops]

I buy loads of stuff on ebay. i bought most of my maternity clothes on there. no way was i gunna spend hundreds of £££ for clothes that would last me a few months!
also sell loads. i sold all my maternity clothes back and made money from it! i also sold a chinese calendar that i got free with a take away. i sold it for £5. people buy anything!

[SeaShells]

I buy off ebay cos it's cheaper and easier, definately easier than dragging 2 kids round town while I buy new clothes etc. plus I'm lazy

I buy everything off ebay, I just restocked my makeup bag for a fraction of what it would have cost in the shops!

[charleepeters]

ummm cheaper and i often find nice stuff that i have never seen in shops plus its convenient to sit down in the evening and buy form home though i must admit it can be adictive once you start!

[evansmummy]

Yep, I agree, it's easier, cheaper, quicker to find stuff, easy to find stuff that you'd have to hunt around for usually. And you can get literally anything!

[Nemo1977]

I buy a lot on ebay as I can get designer clothes etc at a fraction of hte cost. I bought DS a bnwt armani top for £20 instead of the usual £70. I tend to buy mainly new stuff but have also bought him toys on ebay as he changes his mind so often about what he likes this week that I find it cheaper to do it that way. As for selling its a way to pay for my ebay habit..lol Although i do get shocked when people buy stuff such as used pjs and duvet covers which personally i could never do

[tiddlypom]

I think the recycling argument is actually quite a good one.

[charleepeters]

nemo i know what you mean i have seen people trying to sell secon hand babys bottles, underware! yuck some people really do take the p**s!

[charleepeters]

my dh buys cheap stuff to 'do up' his car boy racer at heart belss him!

[bethski]

It's a bit of a thrill, don't you think? Especially battling it out against someone else (I did this for my buggy and it was really exciting getting that winning bid in at the last second and knowing that it was still a bargain!). I also sold my first buggy for £70 more than I paid for it (which was how I could afford battling it out for my second buggy). Also sold my car on there night before last - looks like I'm turning into a bit of a wheeler-dealer!!

[Evesmama]

my SIL buys most of her little ones toys, teddies, books and clothes(for her too) from ebay, yet they are buying 1/2 million house?????!!!!

oh and christmas presents for dd!!!

[LeahE]

I have bought maternity clothes (only going to wear them for a few months so why buy new?), baby clothes (ditto, although actually many of the outfits were new and unworn), regular clothes for me (that were labels I wouldn't pay for new or that were particular styles I couldn't find in the shops), some books and videos that weren't available new, a pair of shoes that were perfect for an outfit I already had, a cheap silver wedding band for when my fingers swelled up during pregnancy, some fabric because it was good value, some curtain linings...

It's an easy place to buy stuff -- especially when you are wondering to yourself "where can I find such-and-such" there's a very good chance you can find it either new or second-hand on eBay. So I tend to check there first now.

[bethski]

It's also good after the sales in the shops as people seem to make a living out of buying up sales items then selling them on ebay (brand new with tags). This is good for me as I live quite far from the nearest town, and even when I get there, the shops are quite naff, so I tend to look for bargains that I would only find if I went to Cardiff (nearest "proper" city). After Christmas, I bought an O'Neill sheepskin-look coat for £25 (the tag on it said £129). Unfortunately, dh says I look like Del Boy in it, but then I did say I was a wheeler-dealer!

[Smurfgirl]

I buy books there because they are bloody expensive brand new and I don't need new books so why pay £6.99 when I can pay £2.50. Although charity shops are better.