What is the European EBay? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: jjoonathan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 03:17:51 pm
content: I can't go 5 minutes without hearing about the EUR:USD 1:1 situation, so I can't go 5 minutes without thinking that maybe I shouldtake advantagesinglehandedly save the European economy by buying a nice soldering iron or something.Unfortunately I don't know squat about the used test equipment market in Europe, except for what happens on EBay itself. Where should I be looking?

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 03:28:15 pm
content: As far as I know most of the international market is on eBay. But compare the search results from eBay.com to for example those on eBay.de or eBay.fr. You can tell the Chrome browser to automatically translate. I've noticed that some auctions only show up on eBay sites from a specific country.In general, unless you are looking for brands that are more common in the EU like for example Prema or Philips, prices will be higher than in the US even before shipping.

author: jjoonathan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 03:39:25 pm
content: Yeah, I'll try to keep my expectations in check. In particular, I'm a fan of R&S and JBC kit -- but especially in the case of R&S I've seen a fair number of "I got X for Y" posts that suggest deal-making outside of ebay, although as always it is hard to control for "special circumstances" beyond geography.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 06:01:48 pm
content: Quote from: jjoonathan on July 19, 2022, 03:17:51 pmWhat you are searching doesn't exist - a "European eBay".Like @alm said, what you have is some specific offerings that are only available/searchable in specific eBay domains (ebay.de, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, etc.) and usually only sold for those respective countries. But, you can always ask the seller if he's willing to ship it to the US. Nonetheless, you'll have to search in those specific domains. Once found, you can use the offering #ID and insert into the ebay.com domain.Many guys I've asked before will send to other countries beyond their initial limitation.About the prices, I think you'll have to wait for EUR:USD 2:1...

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 07:48:29 pm
content: Germany has this which is not eBay. That’s where a lot of the nice TE comes from:https://ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/Rest of us it’s mostly eBay. And hamfests. We have them too over here

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 07:49:10 pm
content: Trust me when I say: there is no alternative. And I looked. Hard.There are a few really local alternatives (per example 2dehands.be for Belgium, leboncoin.fr for France etc.) but as they are local the folks on there put their gear up there and not eBay because they don't want the hassle of dealing with foreigners I guess so..As other said: try to browse German or other eBay versions if you want to know what's going on there. But to the best of my knowledge, if the seller set that he's willing to ship to the US in his options, his items should show up in your eBay searches from the ebay.com site as well...

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 08:07:10 pm
content: There are some European equipment dealers that may have good deals but you'll need to check their offerings with great care to spot items with a good price.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 19, 2022, 08:07:18 pm
content: Quote from: Ice-Tea on July 19, 2022, 07:49:10 pmNo, seller must pay additional fee for item to appear on other ebay site other than EU ebay versions if listed on one of them. It's not related to shipping options at all, you can restrict shipping to US and make it appear on ebay.com or vice versa.

author: jjoonathan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 12:40:07 am
content: Quote from: tv84Yeah, TE prices do seem systematically higher across the pond.Quote from: bd139 on July 19, 2022, 07:48:29 pmHah, that's some interesting branding!Quote from: Ice-TeaIt's looking that way :/Quote from: wraperOh, interesting, good to know! I'll try poking around search settings.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 01:07:19 am
content: Quote from: jjoonathan on July 19, 2022, 03:17:51 pmUnfortunately not only is the market for used equipment here vastly smaller, it's also much more expensive.

author: Wrenches of Death
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 02:01:49 am
content: Quote from: tv84 on July 19, 2022, 06:01:48 pmI dropped PayPal after twenty plus years and several thousand transactions. This was a couple of years ago, so I'm not up on their current practices. At the time, the extra fees they charged my bank for non USD purchases were really annoying and a real deal breaker for parts, etc. So much so that I quit buying anything not priced in USD, regardless of how good of a deal it was.Greed has a way of biting you in the ass. Now, they get nothing from me.WoD

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 06:26:53 am
content: Quote from: wraper on July 19, 2022, 08:07:18 pmThat is simply not true.Search for Marconi 6200B on ebay.dehttps://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380680.m570.l1313&_nkw=Marconi+6200B&_sacat=0On ebay.comhttps://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=Marconi+6200B&_sacat=0The one shipping from Belgium is mine. And I sure didn't pay to have it listed on multiple sites.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 07:28:04 am
content: Quote from: Ice-Tea on July 20, 2022, 06:26:53 amMaybe I remembered it a bit wrong or something has changed but it's certainly the case when you list on ebay.co.uk or ebay.com and need listing to be seen on other, you need to pay a fee for listing to appear on other version.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 08:16:17 am
content: Quote from: wraper on July 20, 2022, 07:28:04 amOr maybe eBay does what it does best: make a complete and utter mess that makes no sense at all and is incomprehensible for all involved

author: Zenith
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 08:23:31 am
content: Largely, the online used TE market is Ebay. There are some used equipment dealers who might be worth contacting and will ship to the USA. They have websites, but they often don't give prices or list all their items. It's best to phone and ask. They do give a short guarantee, usually 30 days. Mostly what they sell is fully functioning, unless they say otherwise.There are swapmeets and auctions, but you really need to attend them. Things are sold on forums occasionally.I haven't looked closely, but I don't believe prices are that much different between the US and the UK at least, not enough to outbalance the cost of shipping and maybe import taxes, which are likely to be a deal breaker. Then there's finding a seller happy to send things to the USA. If anything goes wrong with an international sale, say your purchase has been damaged, it's more hassle to sort out.I don't say you should exclude looking for things from this side of the pond, but I doubt you'll be scooping up endless bargains.

author: Traceless
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 08:38:29 am
content: Quote from: jjoonathan on July 19, 2022, 03:17:51 pmHey jjoonathan, I also thought about buying stuff from the US in the past. Some items are considerably cheaper in the US than in Europe. Unfortunately you pay a big surcharge for taxes/duty and shipping (see examples from german ebay below, taxes and shipping are in the light grey fine-print below the item price). I guess the problem exists the other way around as well, so it is probably not worth it

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 04:54:26 pm
content: Quote from: Traceless on July 20, 2022, 08:38:29 amTaxes and duty you pay either way, and you also pay for new goods. I don't think the same problem applies to the US, because as far as I know the thresholds for having to pay taxes and fees on imported goods are much higher than in the EU. Shipping depends a lot on the shipper. From the US to EU FedEx and UPS are insanely expensive unless the seller has a bulk contract, while they are very competitive domestically. So sellers may just ship FedEx/UPS out of convenience. That's probably where €200 shipping for a 34401A comes from. I'm not sure if the same applies shipping from the EU to the US, although obviously international shipping is more expensive than domestic shipping.If you buy somewhat regularly, a freight forwarder can save a lot of money, especially if you combine multiple items. From the US to the EU I have good experiences, even for heavy test equipment, withPlanetExpress, but for Europe their only warehouse is in the UK, which is a bad choice post-Brexit. There are other freight forwarders that have warehouses in the EU.Forward2Mehas attractive rates but I haven't tried them.

author: inaxeon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 08:47:52 pm
content: Quote from: tv84 on July 19, 2022, 06:01:48 pmKnowing my luck that'll probably about the same time GBP:USD is also 2:1. In the meantime I've been plenty busy buyinge-wastefine vintage equipment from eBay.de/eBay.frDoes eBay's GSP work in reverse? I normally find it's a very safe and economical way of getting stuff from the US eBay site to the UK...

author: LinuxHata
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 09:46:24 pm
content: Well, as an ebay seller since 2013, I can say that they went really nuts after COVID.Before the covid, everything was simple.Say, I was selling something for $100.This meant that I would get $96.5 on hands (- paypal fees)and ebay will take 10% of my sale, so this means $86.5, and $5 withdrawal fee, this is $81.5After they switched to payoneer from paypal, things got really weird.Say I've sold something for $100.I will get $100-15% on my payoneer account, $85, but there's $12+2% withdrawal fee on payoneer, + $35 yearly "service" fee.So, instead of $81.5 as in case with paypal, I will get about $70+ yearly fee. Very bad.So why I'm writing this? many sellers, especially not so experienced ones, are not aware of these increased fees, so keep prices low. So hurry, while they get familiar with these new fees

author: rf-messkopf
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2022, 10:48:11 pm
content: Quote from: jjoonathan on July 20, 2022, 12:40:07 amI'm buying test equipment in the US every now and then. Despite the shipping cost and import duties this turns out to be worthwhile sometimes. I guess that says it all about the EU test equipment prices.Quote from: jjoonathan on July 20, 2022, 12:40:07 amYou can check the used equipment dealers when you are looking for something specific or rare. Two outlets in Germany that offer modern equipment with warranty and additional services like calibration arehttps://www.instrumex.dehttps://www.rosenkranz-elektronik.comThey are not cheap. But every once in a while you may be able to find a bargain. It's also worth inquiring and saying that the listed price is beyond your budget and ask if they can offer anything cheaper. They also carry a lot of R&S equipment if you are looking for that specifically.This dealer is a bit more of a flea market:http://www.rainer-foertig.de/. Also, I've bought from this dealer in the UK in the past:http://www.stewart-of-reading.co.uk.http://www.htb-elektronik.com/currently has nothing listed on his website, but had good deals in the past.Regular test equipment dealerships offer demo devices and do stock clearances:https://www.sky-messtechnik.de/produkte/gebrauchte-messgeraetehttps://www.datatec.eu/sonderposten-messtechnik?p=1https://www.batronix.com/versand/sales/index.htmlBut I doubt that it pays off buying from them across the pond.