bubblegoose's Journal: Work got me a gift and I want to Ebay it to buy more toys

I got a Magellan Roadmate 700. Nice, but I don't want it. I know, strange, a gadget that I have no desire for.

I want to convert it into other cool toys for myself. We're talking $1,000 bucks here. Maybe a Creative Labs Nomad Zen MP3 player, maybe the new Kodak 5 MP camera. What would you buy yourself for new gadgets in about the $300 price range? I already have a Tivo and Roomba.

I have never bought or sold anything on Ebay and I want to do this without getting screwed. Any advice? I have a friend who does a lot of selling on Ebay, I'm going to seek out his help too.

general eBay advice

[turg]

First, the use of eBay is based on the faith that people are generally good and honest and trustworthy. If you can't operate on that basis (and it is harder the more money is involved), then sell it localy instead.

OTOH, the buyer is risking far more than the seller -- you're asking someone to send a grand to a total stranger based on a promise to send them a product after you've got the money. Too many sellers act like they're doing the buyer a favour and the buyer should bend over backwards to reduce the

Re:general eBay advice

[turg]

Oh, and use photos (or scans) of the actual item. Don't lift stock photos from a web site. That way people at least know that you actually possess the item.

ebay

[Patik]

Get someone with good feedback to sell it for you. You're going to do well with 0 feedback, and it takes time (and money) to build up a good rep, so it's not practical for this one item. You don't want to lose bids or get shortchanged because no one knows if they can trust you.

That said, get an iPod and a Pentax Optio S4 [dpreview.com]. It's only 4MP, but it's tiny (fits snuggly in an Altoids tin [google.com]) and has a lot of nice features. It's ~$250. And the only reason to get a Nomad over an iPod is cost, and since that's not an i

d00d

[M.C. Hampster]

I'll give you $14.75 for it.

Re:d00d

[(H)elix1]

I'll give you $14.75 for it.

In the spirit of e-bay...

I'll give you $15.00 for it