High quality plastic spoon for general uses

[jtfrogger]

Anyone in need of a plastic spoon? Free shipping!

This is one the of the more interesting eBay listings I have seen. The listing is quite entertaining, and I don't think it was meant to be.

Then check out the sellers other items. This is all that he sells.

Look at his completed items. Some people have even paid $0.71 for a plastic spoon. Then, to top it off, check out the feedback of this seller. "PERFECT AND HONEST EBAYER, COMMUNICATION OK, BEAUTIFUL ITEM, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" Wow, that must be a really fine plastic spoon.

This last weekend, I discovered super cheap listings with free shipping. It started off with my wife wanting some screen protectors for her iPhone, so I bought a few of those. I splurged on Saturday and spent about $1.40 (including shipping) on about a dozen items. $0.99 of that was for an extra iPhone USB cable. The rest was for screen protectors, a couple of silicone iPhone skins, some earphones, an SD memory card reader, etc.

My theory, is that these sellers are just buying feedback. They pump up their feedback, then sell the expensive stuff. This is an easy way to get really good feedback in a very short period of time.

[Bagor]

Meh, that's nothing!

Some ####oo here in Ottawa advertised on freecycle yesterday to deliver free rain to your door.

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ott...e/message/2107

OFFER RAIN ORLEANS/CAN DELIVER
Wet, refreshing, life giving, great to store for watering the plants in rain barrels etc...to save on water,..(dont forget the mosquito netting though)
Gotta shoot load of it this year and my plants may drown if there's too much.
Preference goes to someone who lives outa town and can perform an really good rain dance.
(Just joking..its free,..no strings attached)..Thunder included.
Val : )
Ask me for pictures...

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by jtfrogger

My theory, is that these sellers are just buying feedback. They pump up their feedback, then sell the expensive stuff. This is an easy way to get really good feedback in a very short period of time.

Bingo. eBay cracked down on what used to be called PDAs or Penny Dutch Auctions. Basically I would sell 1000 copies of a recipie for 1¢ each. Dozens of people would bid, and after exchanging feedback the seller would have a lot of feedback in a short period of time. eBay put a lot of rules into place; including tightening requirements on items to be shipped.

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Bingo. eBay cracked down on what used to be called PDAs or Penny Dutch Auctions. Basically I would sell 1000 copies of a recipie for 1¢ each. Dozens of people would bid, and after exchanging feedback the seller would have a lot of feedback in a short period of time. eBay put a lot of rules into place; including tightening requirements on items to be shipped.

Without thinking too much about it, I have often been surprised at how high some sellers feedback got after only being on eBay for a short period of time. Now I know how they did it. And because of this last week, I will be help a few of them beef up their feedback. But it is for stuff I want. Today, I just picked up a USB car adapter for less than $0.70 shipped. A side benefit, is that my feedback rating will go up too. I even found a Calgary seller that is artificially inflating his feedback rating.

The best part of the plastic spoon listing is the ridiculous English throughout the posting. I have a few emails this week that have similar style. They are trying so hard in the emails, encouraging me to give them good feedback.

I have been careful in the past about buying larger items from reputable sellers. I will be even more careful now, since feedback percentages can be so easily faked. I usually use this tool, which quickly highlights all of the bad & neutral stuff.

[Dion]

I wonder who will bid on this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Limited-Edition-...76638756QQrdZ1

[ken0042]

Frogger, is there a particular way you are searching that you find these deals? Like a sepecific keyword?

[Ro]

Originally Posted by Dion

I wonder who will bid on this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Limited-Edition-...76638756QQrdZ1

Hilarious. I liked the free gift.

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Frogger, is there a particular way you are searching that you find these deals? Like a sepecific keyword?

I have this search saved:

• free shipping
• Available to Canada
• Priced under $0.25
• then search for the word "free" in the title & description.

I then sort it by items with the least amount of time left.

It won't let you leave the keyword blank, but I figure the word "free" is in most listings that have free shipping.

[jtfrogger]

It looks like spoon boy is branching out. He has another eBay ID that is selling paper cups. I am tempted to bid on it, just to see how he ships it without damaging it.

[NSFL]

Why would anyone pay 6 cents for a paper cup?

[jtfrogger]

Originally Posted by NSFL

Why would anyone pay 6 cents for a paper cup?

Someone looking to increase their eBay feedback.