eBay opens Instant Sale for lazy gadget sellers
Gets jiggy with used traders
eBay is rolling out a secondhand buying service called Instant Sale for people who can't be bothered to list their unwanted gadgets for auction or through the classifieds.
The online tat bazaar has teamed up with some unnamed dealers in the US for the service and is accepting laptops, phones, tablets, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, camcorders and GPS Systems: nothing too big, in other words.
eBay is touting the green credentials of Instant Sale: it is also offering a free recycling service for gadgets deemed worthless for resale. But surely, making it easier for people to trade-in gadgets, mostly to buy new gadgets, is not very green. It would be more environmentally friendly if people kept their gadgets a little longer and ensure that unsellable, unusable items are sent to local recycling firms.
The Instant Sale process seems painless enough. Load in gadget name and include its condition - poor / fair / good / excellent.
Bonk the "Calculate" button and the estimator's bot comes back with an instant offer.
We entered the iPad Wi-Fi 32GB and were offered $390 for our excellent model. Bonk "Accept" and the buyer supplies you with a shipping label to mail the item.
On receipt, the buyer's Inspector Gadget has two days to check out the item and, if it is in worse condition than declared, to issue a revised offer. The buyer has five days to reject the offer, in which case it ships the product back to you free of charge. If you accept - or say nothing - the money is deposited in your PayPal account at the end of the five days.
COMMENTS
Do not trust eBay
I was conned by a seller who sold me a 'brand new' Ps3. It turned out to be used and broke 2 days later. eBay has done NOTHING to resolve it. Despite claims of buy protection and a resolution within 72 hrs, 5 weeks have past and it is IMPOSSIBLE to contact eBay. You are just left in maze which leads you back to the start. All emails bounce after 3 or 4 days in their system. Save your money and sanity and do not deal with eBay. Scam artists. It is cheaper in the long run just to go to a real shop and buy what you need.
Hmmmm 2...
Garmin Vista HCx, factory refurb/as-new sells on fleaBay proper for about $200-$250. Instant Sale offer price for as-new? $35. So assuming they then turn it around and sell it on, that's what, a 600% markup? I think not!
What Colour is Greed?
Hmm... $56 offered for a brand new HTC Desire. I think not.
Steve.
wut?
So you place your item for sale, they then send a shipping label, you send them the item and they then pay you.
So at one point of the operation, the buyer has your item AND their money. Then they can say "it's not as perfect as described, accept less for it" and if you say no, they still have your item. And if the complaints procedure hasn't been overhauled, you have very little chance of resolving anything.
I might pass.
Not too lazy to provide a title.
eBay Instant Sale offer prices.
