[UK-CONTEST] EBay Scams

[G3SJJ]

Not exactly a scam but a worrying trend using Ebay for ham radio gear,
although I am sure there are plenty of other scams on Ebay.

I noted a well known UK retailer had put a 100m reel of RG213 up for auction
starting at £28. This was ideal as we had identified we needed this
additional amount for our GU8D effort in the IOTA Contest and could collect
en-route to the ferry, saving delivery charge. It went up to £32 quickly but
then stayed there until the last 2 minutes when in innocence I started
bidding. "Out-bidded" reports kept being returned until time ran out and the
item went for £46. Then, of course, "See our other items" comes up and there
is another 9 reels at £55.

My conclusion is that :

1 - They and other major retailers see this as a useful marketing ploy,
almost advertising on the cheap. I guess the others are doing the same
trick. Cheaper than several column-inches or indeed 2 pages in Radcom.

2 - They put up a batch of ten reels with one as a "loss-leader" if in fact
it is sold at all.

3 - The rest are sold at say 10 quid under normal price. £90 to £100 for the
outing, good VFM.

4 - I don't like being manipulated by big business, but I guess that is real
life these days.

Chris G3SJJ
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