OT: E Bay is crazy

[waltmail]

Searched on "Buick Reatta" and it resulted in 9,862 hits. Can't refine search to eliminate key word items. WTH?

[Guest jcc3inc]

Sir,

I just did "Buick Reatta".

Then in the bottom of the LEFT column, it lists "Cars & Trucks (7)"

Click on that and get cars ONLY.

Regards,

JCC

[Barney Eaton]

You can also do an "advanced" search and check the auction only box and that eleminates the fixed price headlights etc that are flooding the site.

[Guest gotitright]

You can also hit used on the advanced that gets rid of a lot of the crap.

[Guest Recian]

just type in "reatta" since only one manufacturer made the reatta and you get 10,195 hits instead

[KDirk]

Yeah,

The water was great but too many people jumped in the lake. I'd say easily 50% of the listings are straight up garbage (not really applicable to the Reatta) but the seller puts BUICK or REATTA in as keywords somewhere in the listing to increase the exposure of their item.

In addition to cheap composite headlamp kits, there are the endless listings for side view mirror LED arrows, and chrome door/fender edging kits. It takes a small amount of effort to setup an advanced search criteria, something I have done for items I search on frequently, but it is worth it to cull the herd.

KDirk

[padgett]

I stopped using e-bay about the time they started requiring PayPal. Has moderated since (can use as "guest") but prefer to buy direct & have CU send a check. Do have one controlled credit card used only for online purchases.

[Guest Recian]

I try to avoid sites that dont accept paypal honestly. Ive learned 90% of any parts site that doesnt use paypal ends up being scams or bs. Even buying parts from the reatta guys here or my other source in AZ i use paypal. I havent had issues with paypal

[bhclark]

add -fits to your search and it narrows to 891 items.

All my automatic searches are set up that way.

[NCReatta]

add -fits to your search and it narrows to 891 items.

All my automatic searches are set up that way.

Ditto that. That's how I have mine set up.

[KDirk]

I still use ebay, but not nearly with the frequency I once did. It has largely lost it's luster having been overrun with professional junk peddlers. It still serves a purpose, but I would say it's usefulness to me peaked sometime around 2003/04. Like so many other things, once it hit critical mass, it began to slide.

This is slightly OT, but tangentially related. On the subject of paypal, I am a bit wary of it. I will use it to buy, but only with one card so that if an ID theft scenario develops, I can lock down that card, and can also trace the origin of the problem.

From a sellers standpoint, I have never used it. I actually have never sold anything on Ebay, been a buying only member since 1996. I know someone has to cover the cost of the transaction processing, but the fees the seller gets nicked for can get substantial on a large purchase with paypal.

I know it is the 21st century, and instant gratification is everything, but I prefer to deal in cash, money orders or checks as a seller, whether it is car parts or old stereo equipment (my other major hobby). I suppose my thinking is outmoded, and has and probably will continue to cost me some business, but that is my choice to make.

In all honesty, any transaction where the actual payment is conducted online (paypal or otherwise) makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I know people who have gone through hell and back to clear up ID theft issues, I do not care to be the victim of such protracted inconvenience.

Really, I am an oddity. Being mid-late 30's, I am young enough to be in the generation that embraces all new technology (I grew up with it after all) and I did up until I was a teenager. Yet, the older I get I have increasingly shunned all the new stuff in favor of a simpler life with fewer intrusions [and associated costs!]. And truthfully, I don't feel I am missing anything by not being tethered to the virtual/online world 24/7 like many now are.

KDirk

[Ronnie]

whether it is car parts or old stereo equipment (my other major hobby).

Are you a Polkie?

[KDirk]

Ronnie,

if you are referring to Polk Audio, not really except for an occasional pair of car speakers I have installed. I collect/restore mostly Sansui components from the 1968-1980 era. Primarily solid state gear, but have ventured into their better tube gear of the mid-60's in the past couple of years. Their engineering was exceptional, and the build quality was generally on par with the best high-end audio, short of McIntosh I suppose. I also have a few Pioneer units: SX-1010, and Pioneer built re-badged Allied Radio Corp. model 490 and 498 Receivers.

Since McIntosh stuff is not in my budget, I found Sansui to be a very good substitute for well made high performance components. It also has some sentimental value, since my dad gave me an old Sansui 5000 receiver as my first good stereo setup back when I was a teenager. I have amassed quite a collection (too much really) and could set off seismographs in Hong Kong from my living room with the amount of aggregate output power I have on hand.

But, I suppose I am far off topic now, so I will leave my explanation at that.

KDirk

[wws944]

Kevin, I bought a Sansui TU-5500 tuner back in the mid-'70s. One of their lower end ones. It was a nice tuner for the price. I replaced it with a MR-77 sometime in the early '80s, and frankly, in some ways, wish I had kept the Sansui around. (Sansui had AM for one thing. I really should have bought a MR-74.)