eBayers continue to confuse me

[Han]

Check out this non-operating HP48G from eBay. It sold for about $40.00. The description is:

Quote:

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HP-48G Calculator, I can't get it to do anything being sold as is. 5.00 shipping in the US

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No manuals, no case... just a supposedly non-working HP48G. Now, mint units often go for $50, with case and manuals included. Sometimes people go wild and bid up to the $90 range, but these oftentimes include extras like a screen guard, or the complete package (box, accessories guide, nameplate, etc). Why spend $40 for a unit that is not guaranteed to work when you can spend about that much for one that does, and comes with a case and manuals?

I made a bid of $15.00. But this was under the assumption that no one would bid anywhere near that much for a non-operating unit -- even for parts.

Edited: 3 Mar 2006, 2:52 p.m.

[Vassilis Prevelakis]

Excuse me, why do you assume that everybody dealing on eBay is sane?

In developed countries, the growth of the internet allows everybody and I mean *everybody* access to eBay.
So its not surprising that you get crazy or stupid or naive people spending their cash on useless items [1].

This is Coburlin's business model, pick a crazy price out of a hat and wait for the sucker to come to you.

**vp

[1] speaking about buying useless items, I am not sure whether my behavior is sane either :-)