only suckers pay retail

As the title of my blog states; I am into eBay. In fact, I would say in the past I was obsessed with eBay. Selling and buying. I don't discriminate. Before I buy any new item (other than clothes or groceries) I see what it sells for on eBay. This obsession works well with my rule about never buying anything for full price. Full price is for suckers. A sale is not 10% off. That doesn't even cover the tax. A good sale is 40% off or more. I think the term for it is 'clearance'. With this purchasing strategy I often don't buy the newest items as soon as they roll off the truck. I wait it out a bit. Let the other consumers test the item. Let the cost go down and the odds of an employee at some store buying/stealing the item and passing their discount (5 fingered or not) on to me increase. I hate garage sales. But eBay...eBay is the world's largest garage sale and I am in. So in.

To even out for the purchasing I have done my share of selling. Some of this selling brought me fame and others brought me mild fortune. The key is to strike while interest is high. Particularly in memorabilia or technology. The iphone for instance. Some geeky kid working at Best Buy in the states has made a fortune off of them. Same with those damn Wii things. Just line up and buy them. Especially around Christmas. Some desperate parent will pay well over the retail price to insure there are no tears on Christmas morning. You just have to capitalize on the low-supply of the item in a market with high-demand.

Over the last two weeks I have purchased a number of items on eBay. All at significantly reduced prices compared to retail.

Highlights include:

- Salon strength hairdryer (x 3 - one for home, one for the gym and one for my sister with the same crazy hair that take 25 minutes to dry with a regular hairdryer) Retail price was $150 and I got them for $50 each. This is where my weakness shows. I bought 3 and paid what I would have paid for one. Did I need 3? No. But I got so psyched about how great these hairdryers are that I went a little nuts. The government helped out with purchasing #2 and #3. Carbon tax rebate. In my own way I am helping the environment with these hairdryers as I have reduced drying time from 25 minutes to 8. Just go along with it. It is how I sleep at night.

- Polar Heart rate Monitor. Retail $99.99. Purchased on eBay for $49.99 Now that doesn't seem like that great of a deal but having done my research I know that Polar heart rate monitors don't go on sale for more than 15 to 20% off. Research is key here.

- Electric Bialleti Espresso Maker. Retail $109.99. Purchased on eBay for $21.99.

EBay is not for everyone. Even the savvy shopper can get burned if they don't know the street rules. Always read the fine print. Always look at the feedback. If a deal is too good to be true then it is true good to be true. How did I get a $150 hairdryer for $50? It is the older model. There is a newer one that is lighter. Do I care? No. Same with the heart rate monitor. And the espresso maker is no name brand. Again, I don't have to have to newest version or the name brand. I just want it to work and to have the satisfaction of knowing I saved 53% off the retail price.