Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog

I’ve recently purchased several items on Ebay. It is neat to see all of the old games there that I wanted so badly when I was younger… but there are some pitfalls here that can ensnare the simple and the unwary.

1) Many sellers will pad their pockets by charging too much for shipping. I don’t purchase from anybody that has $5 marked for their shipping costs– these guys are cheating the “system.”

2) Watch out for sellers that do not specify shipping costs. (I like media mail. They like priority mail. Yuck.) These guys are worse than they guys in #1 because the guys in #1 are at least honest about their dishonesty!

3) You will be tempted greatly to buy things you don’t really want in order to “combine shipping.” (This is the coolest way to “save money” through ebay– but you won’t save money if you spend more than your budget allows for games you won’t really play!!)

4) Many sellers are complete amatuers. They’ll pack things sloppily and your precious collector’s item will arrive mangled. Let the buyer beware… and remember to ask your buyer to put the stuff IN A BOX!!!

5) Pay attention to the seller’s location. That good deal you just landed can be blown away when you add in the shipping charges from Australia!

6) When buying an old Steve Jackson pocket box game, make sure you get the newer style of box that doesn’t have the clicky latches on the sides. The old boxes are smaller, more brittle, and are usually broken.

7) Many sellers do not come clean on the state of the game components. They will gladly sell you rulebooks and counters that are marked up– and maps that are mangled. If the seller does not specifically say the item is brand new or uncut, then assume the worst. A lot of sellers call their items “mint” when they really aren’t. Watch out.

If you’re buying something like GURPS Autoduel 1st edition, then assume the counters, map and inserts are gone unless the seller specifically says they’re there.

9) Use “My Ebay” to track lots of items at once. Try to get a feel for the value of things before you jump in and start buying. This is a really cool feature.

10) Wait as long as possible to put in your bid.

Jeffro’s conclusion: Use Ebay mainly to buy shinkwrapped out of print games that you can’t find anywhere else. Use Ebay to sell all of those old games you never really played… and use the money you get to buy cool stuff from Warehouse 23!!