Ebay Discount Trick, it works!

[Santy]

Now this is interesting; for those who are cost conscious, who wish to save a few hundred bucks whenever possible, read on...

I have purchased many items from ebay so far. I used to get discount vouchers (flat discount or % discount) as mails from ebay when I do not need them.. Very rarely I used them, coz just for sake of getting a discount, you don't buy something unless you are shop-alcoholic.

Now I had to order WD TV Live (discussions here) and ebay was offering the lowest rate on the net. I thought it would be nice if I had a valid discount voucher with me now as the order amount is fairly high.

Then I searched for all offer mails from ebay in the last two years. I looked for any pattern / logic used by ebay. Now this is what I found: It sends offer vouchers on three logics: (1) Newly registered account (2) Inactive for a long time (3) After a recent purchase. Again analysing further, I found that I always used to get a discount voucher within 1-2 days of making a purchase.

So I decided to try it out! I ordered for HDMI and Optical cable, which anyways I am going to need them. Then I waited for the voucher mail. Surprisingly, I got it next day. It was a 5% voucher (max. Rs. 500). I used it and saved Rs. 419! Not a big amount. Hardly my 3 days' petrol expense. But you get that satisfaction of buying a product at possibly the lowest rate (online).:clapping:

Here is the summary:

Order Total Rs. 8,389.00
Gift Voucher Discount (UQKWWWOZ81) Rs. 419.45
Amount Paid (credit card) Rs. 7,969.55

Now thats cool. Its like getting a HDMI cable FOC. :yahoo: It will work for you too.. Just buy a inexpensive but useful product before placing order for the big one. You will save. Even on Global Buy. I am almost certain.

 

[bansal98]

Wondering if you could have purchased stuff worth 10k, you could have got 160GB hard disk free which costs like 2300/- or so.

 

[santhosh]

Thanks Santy, you seem to have figured out the pattern/algorithm that Ebay India uses. I have often wondered about this. Thanks for cracking it, hope this works for me too.

 

[esanthosh]

Not really sure about getting discount coupons on purchase. I regularly buy, but don't get any coupons at all

 

[haraakiri]

^So, stop buying regularly. hyeah:

 

[hemantwaghe]

Have you checked lamington road..I found E bay orices are higher..esp in case of Thumb drive ,hard drives Etc.. Adjesting after 10% Coupoun.
The LCD screen I bought (AOC V22T) I realised this badly ( Price I Got 11450) I remember me or my fried had 750Rs 10% coupon that time still it was not cost effective.


Also someone bought WDTV Live in Kolkata for 7700
I think mumbai prices are lower than kol.

 

[Santy]

Not really sure about getting discount coupons on purchase. I regularly buy, but don't get any coupons at all

Are you sure, does it get lost in spam? Even if not, the subject looks like spam. Could be easily overlooked. The subject is always something like this:

upto 25% off on Blackberry, Micro Max & Samsung Smartphones, 5% off voucher. Apple iPad 3G 64GB @ Rs.46,490.

Have you checked lamington road..I found E bay orices are higher..esp in case of Thumb drive ,hard drives Etc.. Adjesting after 10% Coupoun.

I dont think so. Ebay sellers have no overheads like showroom rent / electricity/ maintenance/ salary etc. They usually sell at a cheaper rate. Not sure about Lamington road, do you get bills there? I think its a grey market, if I am not wrong?

Also someone bought WDTV Live in Kolkata for 7700
I think mumbai prices are lower than kol

It may be possible that vendor reduced his margin after bargaining. But I did not bargain with Ebay vendor (which is possible). It may be cool to bargain in person not online. Just see how embarassing this is:

"
I found your product for sale in ebay. I know its the cheapest on the net, but still I think you have a good margin which can be reduced so that poor people like me can watch HD videos. So if possible pls reduce by Rs. 200 I would be grateful to you."

just kidding hyeah:

 

[esanthosh]

Are you sure, does it get lost in spam? Even if not, the subject looks like spam. Could be easily overlooked. The subject is always something like this:

upto 25% off on Blackberry, Micro Max & Samsung Smartphones, 5% off voucher. Apple iPad 3G 64GB @ Rs.46,490.

It's not that I don't get coupons at all. I don't find them arriving within 2 days of buying something at all times.

Let me re-cap --

23/6 - No voucher
27/6 - Bought
01/7 - 5% off voucher
08/7 - 5% off voucher
14/7 - No voucher
16/7 - Bought
21/7 - No voucher
28/7 - 5% off
28/7, 31/7, 2/8 - bought
04/8 - No voucher
11/8 - 5% off
19/8 - No voucher
23/8 - Bought
25/8 - No voucher
01/9 - No voucher

The pattern was same week or next week from buying something, I got a coupon. But not this time. So, do you find any pattern indicating when I'll get my next coupon? May be next week?

@harrakiri,



PS: If somebody working in eBay is reading this, send me 15% off, max Rs. 1000 coupons every week

 

[hemantwaghe]

I dont think so. Ebay sellers have no overheads like showroom rent / electricity/ maintenance/ salary etc. They usually sell at a cheaper rate. Not sure about Lamington road, do you get bills there? I think its a grey market, if I am not wrong?

WHO SAYS LAM ROAD IS GREY MARKET? Are you new in Mumbai??hyeah:
BTW last 15 yeas buying from it with bill and full warentee support.

Again member of ebay when in was bazee.com ...Lam road prices I got were ALWAYS cheaper .esp in last 4 years me ,my bro and 2 friends bought 10+ laptops( 3 myself,1 my bro , rest my friend for him,wife ,extended family etc) ,barring once for netbook Lam road was ALWAYS cheaper,in fact in case of my Netbook Asus 900Ha the difference was as high as Rs 3000! ( and I am not counting the free Ram upgrade -1 gb to 2 gb I got!)

Same case about hard drives ...1TB was available lesser than "SUPER SPECIAL" deal of the week ebay!!!


"no overheads like showroom rent / electricity/ maintenance/ salary" Man many dealers are too big volume players!!! ( I was in the industry in Ingram Micro) so these guys get very good discount. It takes care of OH's. In fact many times Lam Road dealers do not give you attension ,as they feel that in same time you can attend 5 custor and derive sale from 2-3!You need to do your "product homework" before going there!


BTW have you checked prices of Yamaha Home theaters on Ebay and in open market?? Just compare when scheme is announced and let us know the results...

I think this is from Savoy - official distri of yamaha...
eBay India: Yamaha RX-V465 5.1 Ch Receiver | 1 Yr Yamaha Warranty (item 120609794416 end time 15-Sep-2010 14:56:43 IST)
RX-V465 for 21 K!!
In chennai it was 17 K ( from old threads) In Alfa it was 18K -WITH BILL AND WARENTEE!!( Read old threads)

Now you do the math!I have first hand experience of buyin LCD TV Monitor where I was scanning prices for a month...

Now eve some Lam Road dealers on ebay( I think anythinginit is one of them1)

Our arambirs price is 7380.i realy do not know it includes shipping or not,or it is same WD TV!

Media Players ? Lynx - The Audio , Electronics & Computer Online Superstore In India

 

[Santy]

OK even I dont delete ebay mails as some offers are juicy enough to keep an eye on.

Not noted the year in this list:

13-9 bought
17-9 5%
29-9 bought
1-10 5%
11-10 bought
13-10 5%
18-10 bought
21-10 5%
22-10 10%
26-10 bought
29-10 10%
19-11 Rs. 250 flat
26-11 10%
3-12 10%
4-12 20%
1-1 20%
7-1 10%
22-1 Flat Rs. 250
22-4 bought
23-4 15%
29-4 15%
30-4 bought with %
3-5 5%
27-5 bought
2-6 5%
4-5 bought
5-6 5%
8-8 bought
11-8 5%
14-8 bought
18-8 5%
15-10 bought
18-10 5%
26-10 bought
28-10 5%
This year mails deleted I think.

Another observation:Sellers seem to get more discounts. If you sold something, ebay has earned their margin, so they give better discount to you as a buyer. Often got 20% discount from ebay in seller account.

 

[Santy]

^^ bro, You have spent a lot of time in that road. I agree with you.

But this thread is not about cheapest places to buy, but about discounts from ebay! In my original post, I just said ebay was cheapest online not in the entire market..

Some products may be cheap in Lamington road and some in ebay. But again there are other factors:

People from Delhi cant come to Lamington road. Even from Navi Mumbai I cannot find time to go. If I decide to go, I have to put Rs. 500 worth petrol and come back with cramped ankles (traffic). I prefer ebay in such cases. Twice I went to Lamington road, looking for HID lamp and Graphic Card. Could not get a reliable details about the product they sell. Whereas you can do plenty of research before you add to cart during online purchases.

Ebay purchase is protected. Insured. It has money back guarantee. Ebay sellers are damn scared of negative feedbacks. They do everything to satisfy you, not like the ones who don't even welcome you in shops.

That seller selling AVR has not sold even 35 items in total, so don't expect discount from him! Heck, he may be a dumb seller who knows less than you or me about market value.

And reg. the same product in Lynx, I sent a mail asking for model no. there was no response. I wanted to reconfirm as the rate was cheap. But later I found that the taxes and shipping were not included. All inclusive it was $196. Math anyone?

Peace

 

[rahuljonline]

Ebay is costlier sometimes. I got WD TV Live for Rs.7700, from Chandni Market, Kolkata. Lynx India store has it for some 7400 bucks too.

 

[Santy]

Ebay is costlier sometimes. I got WD TV Live for Rs.7700, from Chandni Market, Kolkata. Lynx India store has it for some 7400 bucks too.

Rahul but you heavily negotiated with the vendor in Chandi Market. Whereas I didnt!

And Lynx sale price of WD TV live is more than Rs.8500 including tax!

Edit; that Lynx site is crazy: you select payment by Paypal, it shows $196, select non-card payment, it turns to indian rupee Rs. 8553 including shipping and tax.

 

[rahuljonline]

Rahul but you heavily negotiated with the vendor in Chandi Market. Whereas I didnt!

And Lynx sale price of WD TV live is more than Rs.8400 including tax!

Edit; that Lynx site is crazy: you select payment by Paypal, it shows $196, select non-card payment, it turns to indian rupee Rs. 8553 including shipping and tax.

Oh, I didn't know that, about lynx india. I was almost contemplating purchasing from there. But I don't like the fact that I have to wait for the shipment to arrive, so just went ahead with it from Chandni Market.

 

[hemantwaghe]

Rahul but you heavily negotiated with the vendor in Chandi Market. Whereas I didnt!

And Lynx sale price of WD TV live is more than Rs.8500 including tax!

Edit; that Lynx site is crazy: you select payment by Paypal, it shows $196, select non-card payment, it turns to indian rupee Rs. 8553 including shipping and tax.

Thanks - me too was not knowing that! planning to buy someting from him!

 

[captrajesh]

Ebay purchase is protected. Insured. It has money back guarantee.

Are you sure. I had one bad experience and E-bay just doesn't bother.

Ebay sellers are damn scared of negative feedbacks.

Bro, have you ever tried to give negative feedback. Trust me, E-Bay servers are programmed to block how many ever times you try.

 

[Santy]

Fortunately, I did not have a need to give negative feedback to my sellers. But i have seen many negative feedbacks given by other users, even for this seller from whom I bought.


Now everyone knows ebay is not a store like Croma, it is a platform where many sellers are there. Too many of them. One must do proper research/comparison, see their history and ratings, communicate with them'to see their attitude and read the fine lines in their description before purchasing. You have plenty of vendors for most of the products. Generally calling ebay as good or bad actually makes little sense to me.

 

[captrajesh]

Generally calling ebay as good or bad actually makes little sense to me.

I cant figure out what you have meant by above and why but all I can say is for each, his own.

Since you have never faced a bad experience, courtesy your good luck, you have never attempted to give negative feed back. That doesn't make E-bay a goody goody place.

For example, If you land up in Mumbai Airport, drive down to Taj Lands End in a chauffeur driven Limo finish your work there and fly back, no wonder you will miss Asia's reportedly biggest slum, Dharavi or for that matter even dingy, dark and murky corners of the megapolis. So does that make Mumbai or for that matter even NY a goody goody place?

 

[keith_correa]

For example, If you land up in Mumbai Airport, drive down to Taj Lands End in a chauffeur driven Limo finish your work there and fly back, no wonder you will miss Asia's reportedly biggest slum, Dharavi or for that matter even dingy, dark and murky corners of the megapolis.

Actually if you travel from Mumbai airport to the Taj Lands End you WILL miss Dharavi. It's NOT on the route. Just saying. :lol:

Of course, if you meant from Mumbai's proposed new airport location in that god forsaken place to the Taj Lands End you WILL pass Dharavi. And there's no missing Dharavi - limo or no limo. Unless the limo does not have windows at all.

 

[hemantwaghe]

I cant figure out what you have meant by above and why but all I can say is for each, his own.

Since you have never faced a bad experience, courtesy your good luck, you have never attempted to give negative feed back. That doesn't make E-bay a goody goody place.

For example, If you land up in Mumbai Airport, drive down to Taj Lands End in a chauffeur driven Limo finish your work there and fly back, no wonder you will miss Asia's reportedly biggest slum, Dharavi or for that matter even dingy, dark and murky corners of the megapolis. So does that make Mumbai or for that matter even NY a goody goody place?

Well said captain..

BTW I had 15% -1000 Rs Coupon of GEB- Global Easy Buy

I tried to buy Oakley Monster Dog Sunglasses with it.I say tried as for a 15 days I was seeing my purchase happened and my consignment no was showing goods are in New York.So I started following up ,first I was told goods are in customs for a week,I was irritated ,

All of sudden I received mail that the item was broken in US .BTW MY MONEY WAS REFUNDED.

Also one should be cautious buying premium watches ( and pens and other acessories ) from Ebay. Premium means like Omeaga,Tag Haver or Mont Blanc etc.Many times FAKES are sold. Once I contacted such seller and he mailed me "It is REPLICA and replicas are as valuable and collectable as orignal!!"
hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:hyeah: