More coburlin on ebay



#20

I just put up my 42s for auction and coburlin sent a message with in 5 min wanting to know how much I would put it up for buy it now. What should I tell him ;)

Chris W


#21

This one is listed for $288.80, so you can be sure he's looking for less.



He seems to try and buy for about 10% of what he sells. Why not reverse the ratio and ask for $2,888.00? :)

#22

Tell Cobuba that you will sell it for him for $500. It's TIME YOU MAKE SOME MONEY!!!

#23

Check out these recent unsuccessful one-price BIN "auctions" for HP-11C's that exhibit even more chutzpah...

$375 11C

$279 11C

#24

Oh Chris, what a marvelous opportunity to tweak one of eBay's lowest! I'd say a minimum of $400 plus some outrageous shipping charge... have fun!


#25

That's right!! How about a really outrageous shipping charge ... say half a mil ... why stop there?


#26

Well we all know he wouldn't pay a fair price anyway. I never did respond to him and he placed a bid of only $85. Does he really win auctions biding that low? I think we should all keep an eye on all the HP stuff we are familiar with and if by some fluke he is the high bider we should out bid him. Even if you win doing that it will still be a good deal because he never seems to bid very much.

Chris W


#27

Agree. Cobuba has the habbit of contacting the seller to try to arrange an early end-of-auction. So when you outbid him, it encourages the seller to keep the auction going. Another point is: just about every eBay member has a limited budget to spend, so even by making cobuba spend more money to buy stuff, his moeny-making experience will be limited and less rewarding.


#28

Interestingly enough when you look into his sales history on Ebay in 2 pages of feedback only one HP11 was sodl for his well knownm high price, I bet this guy can make quit a pile of all unsold HP stuff.

Ronald

#29

While it's mildy amusing to watch this, nothing new is happening, and he's not doing anything wrong. Buy low, sell high, is what we'd all like to do. He just seems to be more successful and less respectful to the aura of HP.

If he, or another, is committing outright fraud, please do point it out. But I don't think we've heard that.

Suggesting inflated shipping prices, though probably in jest, is tantamount to recommending fraud. As honest people, we don't do that. eBay's policy, though un-enforced, is that shipping prices are "reasonable" and should be known in advance. One supposes that offering "$1000 shipping for gold-plated delivery" might be marginally acceptable, but surprise shipping costs beyond the actual cost-of-postage are certainly not reasonable.

A real service here would be hearing about

  • Good sellers who deliver better than promised
  • Fraudulent sellers, who fail to deliver as promised
  • eBay sellers with particular knowledge or access to parts that might be useful to this community.

#30

What about the fact that he is accused of switching his exhorbitantly priced Buy It Now items 12 hours before closing to el cheapo "HP USB Optical Scroll Mouse Brand New" (with ridiculous shipping cost) in order to avoid paying eBay insertion fees?

That is cheating eBay. That may be eBay's problem, and eBay seems to consider him to be too small a fry to worry about. We needn't mourn about eBay's lost revenue.

Nonetheless, the community needs to be aware that he does this, and especially new members. He is not someone that you want to deal with.

"Buy cheap and sell dear" is not the issue. Being a cheat is the issue.


#31

I couldn't believe that was really happening until I watched one of his auctions turn into a pumpkin (er.. mouse) at midnight.

I agree that his character should be known. Someone who resorts to fraud in one case is likely not to be trusted in another.

However I do think obsessing over his actions is over the top. Making fun of him is more amusing. 8)


#32

I don't think that anyone is obsessing over his actions; and most people are making fun of them. Nevertheless, it's a good warning for newbies that there are periodic reminders out there.

The sad part of all of this is that if he didn't play that little switcheroo to avoid eBay insertion fees (or openly express his contempt for his market), he would have a much different reputation. We all can think of a dealer that we grumble about every time we pay their prices...but every so often we go to that dealer because it has what we want when we need it.

But, because he's the way he is, he's cut himself off from much of his market. Ultimately, that will be his punishment. He will go to a lot of work to accomplish each individual ripoff, yet in the end will sell much less than he would have if he had been less of a jerk.


#33

Your post may be the best short assessment of Coburlin written here, I completely agree. As long as Coburlin and his ilk are active, they do need to be highlighted occasionally. This is a service to those that may be unaware that fraudsters are out there, ready to prey on them.

#34

I'm just curious how he makes any money. He lists thousands of items for every one he sells. It costs him a few bucks for every listing. Insertion fees for $200-$500 is $3.60. If he lists 1000 items, he's nearly $4000 in the hole before he starts.

Even if he sells at these ridiculous prices, it's not enough to make up for the $4000 in listing fees. He must be doing a lot of outside ebay sells from these auctions to make that worthwhile.


#35

Mike,

He switches the auction in the last 12 hours into another completely different item that is priced very low. eBay knows that and they say it's fine because the rules allow him to do that!


#36

Interesting...

Probably explains why it is "Immediate Payment". That way he either sells it or gets a free listing. I'm surprised that ebay doesn't close that loophole. That is, in fact, precisely why they have an "insertion fee". It is to make sure they get a fee for overpriced auctions, for using their services.

#37

No doubt I am taking another couple of whacks at a dead horse that has been thoroughly flogged here, but that "eBay says it's alright" caught my eye. Are you sure about that? Because if that's so, then it isn't fraud. (eBay is the entity that would be defrauded if it were..)

And if it isn't fraud, then coburlin is just annoying as hell, but not someone who should be painted with a scarlet letter here.


#38

Whether or not eBay sees it as fraud is beside the point. None of us need shed a tear about eBay losing revenue.

Similarly, too many people have focused on the excessively low prices that he paid, and the exhorbitantly high prices that he asks. There is a legitimate place in the market for bottom-feeders.

The point is that he is dishonest. It's a petty sort of dishonesty that shows that it's not about profit; it's about ripping off. It poisons the well for everybody.

It doesn't really benefit him, either. He has an inventory that isn't moving. It isn't as if HP calculators are an investment; today's collector prices reflect substantial depreciation from the original market price.


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