Did you ever notice who's bidding up the auctions for meal vouchers on ebay?

[Kellydelly]

I think the people selling them have many fake or unused ebay accounts that they use to bid up their own auctions. There are lots of bids from people that have zero feedback but have been members for a year or more . Very suspicious ! I was bidding on some last nite but within 12 hours they went from $30 up to $86 for 6 of them. I'm going to just join hotwire and get some there for the actual cost and save myself the trouble of bargain hunting on ebay. Obviously not enough people are aware of the actual value of the vouchers!

 

[kashkdz]

That's the right decision. Too many people don't seem to know (how they don't know--I'm not really sure) the actual value of the vouchers. I've yet to see anyone get a bargain for the vouchers on ebay; most cases the Q+C vouchers (around $11/piece and incl free shipping), have sold for $15.00 or more and that doesn't include the sellers shipping. Hey--I'm not against someone making a buck or two...but the ebay prices for the vouchers are ridiculous.

My advice is to check out www.dealpass.com (formerly www.connections123.com), or go thru www.hotwire.com.

 

[got2travel]

I've wondered about that too. Just when you think you're actually going to win an auction that's within a good price range, someone comes in with a ridiculous bid that makes the price jump sometimes to twice what the vouchers are worth. I finally gave up and joined hotwire savings. Got my vouchers in just a few days.

 

[NHLFAN]

Kelly,

It's the norm for Ebay auctions for most of the bidding to happen within the last few hours of the auctions end...

I paid $15 for my vouchers on Ebay last year.

Just make sure the shipping and "handling" charges aren't too out of line...that's how some of the auctions end up closing for less.

send me a PM...as I don't want to post here on how I received a few last year.

Doug

 

[ellyn2000]

If you join Hotwire Savings Club you can immediately call the 800 # and get your membership # and place an order right away. You'll have your vouchers in 4-5 days, at cost and free shipping. I can't believe people are constantly paying outrageous amounts PLUS sometimes greatly inflated shipping. I check out the voucher auctions sometimes just to allow myself to feel superior for a moment or two.

 

[2Disneybuggs]

I just sold a leftover one on ebay and made a vey good profit. I did not shill bid. You can't assume that because an item does well that shill bidding is involved.

 

[hezreck]

I got a good deal on Ebay buying vouchers. You just have to do your research and know what they are worth.

I got 4 Q&C vouchers for $42.00 that included shipping.
Also got 2 adult VKL and 2 child VKL for $75.00 total.
I spent many hours checking and rechecking for good prices, and just lucked out with winning them.

I'm using them on our upcoming trip at RFC and Le Cellier.

 

[Tiggerlover48]

I thought that too, that someone is upping the price on the vouchers. I wouldn't make such a jump in my bid either. That's why I haven't bothered. I'm glad to hear others, have gotten a bargain.

 

[bettyann29]

I agree that you just have to know what things are worth and know up front what you are willing to pay for it.. I dont think its the sellers fault that items get bidded up higher than their worth.. its the bidders.... I could see how someone could do this to their own stuff to get the bids higher but if everyone knew what they were worth than that last person wouldnt bid on it when they saw that price..

The one thing that irritates me is the ones that have shipping so outrageous.. I figure the shipping price in the price that Im willing to pay for that item and if its too high I just pass and find another one.. But the other side to it is that the shipping price is listed and if someone is willing to pay it, then that is their fault for not reading it.. which I be happens all the time..

 

[hellooothere]

Hi,
For those of us up in Canada our only option is to bid on Ebay as we can not order through Hotwire or dealpass. I know that if I had access to either of these clubs I would never bid on Ebay items. But alas - us poor Canucks - if we want to pre pay our meals ebay is the only way.

 

[ceecee]

I sold my leftovers on Ebay. 4 Q & C for $48.00 and $5.00 insured shipping. They actually went to Canada. I paid $11.50 for them and the membership fee to Connections which I belonged to for one year. I made no profit with the Ebay and Paypal fee but I was able to sell them. I bought some on Ebay a few years ago to avoid the hassle of cancelling Connections and being billed several times as had happened before. You just have to know the price on these as well as everything else that is sold on Ebay.

 

[Kellydelly]

My point was that I do know how much I can buy them for from connections or hotwire. Apparently there are plenty of people bidding on them on ebay who don't. And there are an awful lot of old ebay registered bidders with zero feedback jacking up the bids . It looks like a racket. Those that got the vouchers at cost or below were darn lucky because I've only seen one auction for a couple of premium lunch vouchers that went for just a couple dollars more than their value. Besides that the ending prices have been ridiculous. But it's good to know that Canadians are benefitting from buying them on ebay even with inflated prices . I'm not saying that I wouldn't list any leftover vouchers I have, either. I would start the prices at just what I paid for them ! And not charge a million dollars to ship, either .

 

[DMRick]

Apparently there are plenty of people bidding on them on ebay who don't.

Not everyone has a credit card, and so some people bid on ebay and pay via Paypal or check.
I don't think it's fair to assume any high price on shipping or ending price means the seller is doing something wrong. It's up to the buyer to look at the total price before bidding. I know my leftover vouchers went for a lot more than I would have bid, and the shipping was higher because I offered Priority if wanted, or for my protection certified mail. Most all of my vouchers were bid on over and over by zero's, and I can assure you I didn't bid on my own items. I actually sold most of mine to zero's, and 50% to Canada. If you think they are going for too much, then obviously you shouldn't bid on them. But for some, it's still worth it, obviously, or they wouldn't be selling so many on eBay.
I've got another order going in, and I'm buying some for Canadian's from this board (at my cost, plus shipping for them). But when I come back from my second trip, if I have leftover's, you can bet I'll put them on eBay..with it in mind, to make some extra money. It's great some people put them up for just what they paid (and since they would be satisfied for that, they can offer them as buy it now's). But I put stuff up on eBay with the idea to make money. The only way a bidder can be taken advantage of, is if they allow it. They can do their homework just like I do, before I bid.

It looks like a racket

I think that is a very unfair assumption...unless you know for sure (and then you can report it to eBay), you are most likely wrong..just based on my knowledge of how my cert's were bid on.

 

[hellooothere]

Hi
I am one of those 0's (well not in that way) but I have no feedback yet! The only reason I went on ebay was to buy these vouchers which I found out about them from you lovely people! I won my first item (4 quick casual) the other day and I paid right away but my seller hasn't posted feedback yet! I hope he does then I will be a #1 and feel somewhat validated. I did know what their value was and I did pay a bit more for them but we plan on going to Beaches and Cream with them so will make sure we get our moneys worth.
I am going to bid on some Premium Lunch Vouchers as we have a special lunch planned at Rain Forest Cafe and at CRT (my twin daughters are turning 4 while we are at Disneyworld). I hope hope hope the bidding doesn't get to high on these for me. At least our $ is doing quite well right now.

I am willing to bet that a lot of the 0's are just average Canadian schmucks like me who just want to prepay their meals so they can preplan spending.

 

[imsayin]

If you suspect schill bidding on ebay, you can always report it. It does happen, and it isn't allowed.

 

[DMRick]

If you suspect schill bidding on ebay, you can always report it.

I'll be one of those she'd be reporting, since what she thinks is shill bidding, is just how my voucher auctions sell. Zero feedback, long term ebay member, high end bid..and higher shipping (although it's actual shipping costs..Priority and certified). I've never bid on my own auctions..and yet people bid the prices up..and all on their own. You can report shil bidding..but you also have to give eBay some proof. I've seen none.

 

[Trixiezzz]

Originally posted by hellooothere
Hi
....I am one of those 0's (well not in that way) but I have no feedback yet! The only reason I went on ebay was to buy these vouchers which I found out about them from you lovely people! I won my first item (4 quick casual) the other day and I paid right away but my seller hasn't posted feedback yet! .....

A lot of sellers wait until you've posted feedback before they give you feedback. It's a way to protect themselves from unwarranted negatives.

 

[figment27]

I think some people who do not sell on eBay are unaware of the associated fees of auctioning an item. I believe that some of the sellers open their auctions with a minimum bid of whatever it costs to cover these fees, and, a modest amount for the time spent putting the auction up, answering any emails regarding the item, the cost of packing material, the time spent driving to the post office, standing in line to mail the item, etc.
I believe most people are trying to make a small profit on their items, not GIVE them away! At least I know I am, and I do not resort to shilling to make that profit!

We just returned from our trip to WDW, and I had four Q&C vouchers leftover. I had purchased from hotwiresavingsclub.com for $11.50 each.
(I also had several "0" feedback bidders on my auction.)

Here is the breakdown on the 4 Q&C I did sell:
Opening bid =$48.00 ($12.00 each)
Ending bid = $62.80 (plus additional $2.00 S&H charge, $2.20 for actual cost of $100.00 worth of insurance, which was optional to the buyer)

When all the fees were deducted, each voucher ended up to be $15.57 each. So I made an outlandish profit of $16.28 for about two hours worth of my time!
Oh yeah, I also included a printout of where to go to MAXIMIZE the value of the vouchers.
It as been my personal experience that the majority of eBay sellers are professional, trustworthy, helpful individuals who sell quality items. It seems unfair when a potential buyer accuses another of dishonesty because they didn't win the item for the bargain price they expected!
I do apologize for the length, and tone, of this reply but I feel "oh, so much better now.
Figment

 

[imsayin]

If you suspect schill bidding on ebay, you can always report it.

I wasn't agreeing that this was what was happening on these auctions, simply stating that there is a process in place on Ebay to take care of these things, if in fact, that is what is going on. I do agree that these vouchers sell high and at the last minute, probably with a bidding war between a few people and that doesn't mean anything dishonest is happening.

 

[hellooothere]

The one thing I have noticed is that people do not point out in the description how many vouchers it is for in some cases. Right now there is a bidder who is bidding 80.00 + CDN for 1 Premium Adult Voucher. I don't think the bidder realises it is a Dutch Auction. I actually emailed the person to advise them and hope they notice and can somehow withdraw their bid. The seller has clearly stated it is a dutch auction on the actual description if you read through.

Oh and thanks for the info about the feedback. I am a 1 one. YEAH!!