Official eBay Bidding and Buying Thread

jamerslong · **Posted:** Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:37 pm

i found these and am looking for profesional opinions on fixability

Ebay Item # 280140912351 -T40 for 230$, Might be bad fan, system freezes
# 200138531383, -T22 for 100$ shipped, inconsistantly reboots

(paste to search line)

dsigma6 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:53 am

The T22 is probably only worth $80-ish in parts, but the seller doesn't mention the screen to any degree. If you could get it working, for $100 I think it's too much. At $61, you shouldn't lose a dime.

The T40...Eh...It's a tough call. If it really was just a bad fan, you'd think the seller would get it fixed, or charge relative to what a new fan/labor would cost. I personally wouldn't go for it.

Harryc · **Posted:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 8:22 pm

Sometime in the not too distant past, I had a prized T21 stolen from me. I always meant to find a suitable replacement, but could never quite find the right deal at the right time. I think I found it tonight. $180 shipped including a dock, battery that lasts an hour, decent looking LCD and plastics, Linksys Wireless-B (802.11b) Notebook PCMIA card, 192MB Ram, DVD drive, and a tested 20GB hard drive. All the rest is complete ... wish me luck (the 2nd time around)

.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0166242783

Diehard · **Posted:** Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:43 am

Item has not been shipped! God!

marcooks · **Posted:** Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:06 pm

Is this going to work in my t43? (i heard that all the Txx works)...

I'm not sure about this, and I don't know where to check...

and do you think it's a good deal?

http://cgi.cafr.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... 0157121882

thx
Felix

Moderator edit: Shortened URL to prevent horizontal scrolling

Johan · **Posted:** Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:59 am

I need a little "help" (explanation!) from more experienced eBay bidders, if anybody would care to...

Background: I just sat and watched the end-of-auction for a T42, and I was surprised about the high bids (as I believe they were way too high towards the end!). When the auction had ended, I then checked the bidding history, and saw that the same bidder had repeatedly over-bid (is this the correct word?) himself or herself. Now, why on Earth would anybody be doing that?? Is this perhaps some camouflaged sellers-best-friend who is trying to initiate and escalate a bidding war, in order to push someone (poor person!) into bidding far too much?? I just don't get it, and I would highly appreciate if anybody could teach me in this game... as I am a total new-comer to eBay!

The auction in question was this and the bidder acting very peculiar - in my eyes! - was dj736357.

Thanks in advance for education me; I really need it!! :-)

Best regards,

Johan

rkawakami · **Posted:** Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:32 pm

Looking at the bidding history I'd have to say that dj736357 was merely trying to find the highest bidder's maximum in order to win the auction. He/she is a newcomer to eBay as well (joined today) and displays a common practice for such bidders. They will increase their bids by the minimum bid increment (or close to it) and become the high bidder (for a time). Or course, he/she could also have been a "shill" and was trying to do exactly what you asked (bid for a friend and push the price higher). Although in this case, that probably was not true since: a) he/she won and b) the last bid indicates that it was an "insurance" bid. It helps to sort the bidding history by TIME and see exactly what happened:

Code:

v***d      $ 50.00   Oct-18-07 09:58:10 <- opened at $50
i***i      $  2.00   Oct-18-07 10:05:36
i***i      $  6.00   Oct-18-07 10:06:08
i***i      $  8.00   Oct-18-07 16:52:26
i***i      $ 11.00   Oct-18-07 16:52:50
i***i      $ 13.00   Oct-18-07 16:53:20
l***b      $250.00   Oct-19-07 04:18:37 <- and was high bid until here
s***e      $105.55   Oct-19-07 08:20:25
r***r      $160.00   Oct-21-07 12:57:36
r***r      $195.00   Oct-21-07 12:57:53
r***r      $200.00   Oct-21-07 12:58:07
r***r      $220.00   Oct-21-07 12:58:24
c***0      $226.00   Oct-21-07 13:58:49
i***k      $360.00   Oct-22-07 18:15:23 <- new high bidder
n***d      $275.00   Oct-23-07 11:51:27
n***d      $285.00   Oct-23-07 12:10:53
e***2      $295.00   Oct-23-07 20:40:01
e***2      $305.00   Oct-23-07 20:40:23
e***2      $315.00   Oct-23-07 20:55:25
e***s      $333.33   Oct-25-07 01:55:21
k***e      $376.06   Oct-25-07 06:07:58 <- next highest bidder
a***f      $370.00   Oct-25-07 06:50:03
a***f      $380.00   Oct-25-07 06:54:11 <- high bidder
a***f      $385.00   Oct-25-07 07:01:40 <- "insurance" bid
dj736357   $385.00   Oct-25-07 07:36:54 <- dj not high bid since earlier one wins
dj736357   $390.00   Oct-25-07 07:38:39 <- 1st time he/she is high bidder
c***k      $395.00   Oct-25-07 08:42:44 <- beaten by c*k
dj736357   $400.00   Oct-25-07 08:46:19 <- increases by minimum bid
m***a      $450.00   Oct-25-07 09:12:41 <- new high bid
l***e      $450.90   Oct-25-07 09:21:24 <- and was beaten by $0.90
m***a      $475.00   Oct-25-07 09:22:10 <- now high bidder
dj736357   $461.00   Oct-25-07 09:23:38 <- dj starts bidding to find
dj736357   $471.00   Oct-25-07 09:24:24 <-  where m*a's limit is
dj736357   $480.00   Oct-25-07 09:24:49 <- until here
dj736357   $500.00   Oct-25-07 09:29:12 <- "insurance" bid
m***s      $529.00   Oct-25-07 09:41:45 <- new high bidder
dj736357   $520.00   Oct-25-07 09:43:30
dj736357   $550.00   Oct-25-07 09:44:06 <- until here
0***m      $550.00   Oct-25-07 09:47:35 <- dj is still high bidder
0***m      $560.00   Oct-25-07 09:48:41 <- but now is replaced
dj736357   $570.00   Oct-25-07 09:49:16 <- winning again
dj736357   $570.00   Oct-25-07 09:50:02 <- "insurance" bid

I use the term "insurance" bid when the person is already the high bidder and then submits another bid, thereby increasing their maximum bid. As you can see, there were a couple of other bidders doing the same thing; increasing their bids by a small amount until either they were winning or they reached a point where they thought it was too much. Those bidders may be shills

. This is a good example on how a bidding war can develop. In the last three hours of the auction, there were four people who submitted multiple bids (dj, a*f, m*a, 0*m) which pushed the price higher.

Johan · **Posted:** Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:32 pm

Wow, Ray - thanks a lot! When reading what you wrote, what immediately comes to my mind is this: By answering so rapidly, thoroughly and in all respects so excellent and kind; by doing this you (once again!) continue to define and maintain the very high and very mature standards of this forum. Owing to people such as you (!), I am pleased having found this forum, and I am pleased to follow it, not the least because of the by far majority of very serious and helpful members (and, not the least: The ditto moderators and admins!), all those gathering here. I truly appreciate all your time and knowledge shared here. Thank you, thank you and thank you.

Well, I had not figured out that people would act in this "nervous" way, only (or at least: Mainly!) costing themselves quite a few $$$ - but, well, now I know! This is certainly a valuable education, you here gave - you're probably going to save me lots of money in the future...! :-)

And, phew, how am I happy that I had not seen this before; on Sunday evening a friend (also a forum member) bid on two 15" Flexview T42's, and was fortunately to win one (after loosing this one first). The second - the "won one" - actually turned up to be a 2379-R9U even with almost a-year-and-a-half remaining warranty! Right now, it's in the mail... we are very excited to see it! :-)

Again: Thank you, Ray.

Kind regards,

Johan

PS: Subsequent update to the above, a few hours later, this very same evening: Strange how auctions differ; now another T42 was just sold at eBay (this one going for only $350 compared to $570 for the aforementioned), and almost zero bidding activity during the last, full day?! It was even a better T42 at certain points, compared to the above (this second one being SXGA+). The HDD/RAM of the latter was only 40 GB/512 MB compared to 80 GB/1 GB of the former, but really - none of that makes up for $ 200! Warranty info for the latter however missing. Anyway, both peculiar and interesting!

Johan · **Posted:** Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:35 pm

Can anybody possibly explain the last few bids on this ThinkPad R52 1847 512 MB RAM, 40 GB HDD which was just sold at eBay for $ 7600,- (!!??!!). Completely crazy bidding history, like above, with the same person continue to increase his or her own bid. Worst, however, see the last two bids: One bidding $7500 and then finally the sale-bid: $7600 (!!??!!)

According to the feedback, the winner (paying $7600 ??) has perfect feedback. Now, what is this all about? A R52 for $7600 - no way!

Thanks for anybody who can educate me further; I'm totally confused here...

Best regards,

Johan

Harryc · **Posted:** Fri Oct 26, 2007 5:58 pm

Hijacked accounts were used to throw the real auction off ... believe me, nobody is paying $7600 for a Thinkpad.

CRAZYBUBBA · **Posted:** Tue Jan 01, 2008 11:18 am

I'm bidding on this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0193296653

does everything check out? How much is this computer worth?

Moderator edit: Shortened URL to prevent horizontal scrolling

Johan · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:59 am

I believe that I maybe need a bit of advice here from some more experienced eBay buyers/sellers; the story is this:

A couple of days ago, I won an auction on a 15" FlexView/IPS panel for e.g. T42's --> this one. After winning the auction, I paid immediately, and received an e-mail from the seller thanking me for the payment. Then, the next day, I received another mail from the seller, this second mail going like this:

The eBay seller wrote:

Dear customer,

Thank you for your payment. However, we are very sorry to let you know the item has no longer existed, because we put a wrong auction on the ebay. We are going to refund you the whole amount. thank you!

Wow, truly wonderful; I had stayed up for half of the night in order to be able to bid just before end-of-auction (as I have no sniping tools), and I bid, and I won and I paid - and these fools (!) had put out something that doesn't exist? Clever, clever! I should add that they refunded the payment.

The next funny thing that happened was that the next day (after they had refunded my payment, and when this "transaction" therefore was completed/closed), I recevied yet an e-mail from the seller, going like this:

The eBay seller wrote:

I left the postive feedback for you. If you have any comments, please let me know at ebay feedback.

However, they had NOT left any feedback... they only SAID that they had done so(?!). Spooky, spooky...

Well, I then left negative feedback for this seller, this reason for this feedback explained by this:

My feedback for the eBay seller, where I wrote:

1.Won, 2.Seller: "Sorry but item no longer exist, we put a wrong auction on eBay"

... since I really thought that this kind of eBay auction was certainly not a positive experience, and also not just "neutral" - so if the eBay feedback system shall have any practical meaning, I should of course leave negative feedback - which I did (by the way, first time I unfortunately felt it necessary to do so).

OK, then today I received feedback from the seller - and guess what? It was negative! It went like this:

The - negative! - feedback I received from the eBay seller, where they wrote:

tough buyer!!!

So, now I kindly ask the more experienced eBay sellers/buyers if I made a mistake by leaving negative feedback in this case?? I have a sense of having received some kind of negative "retaliation-feedback" - what did I do wrong?? My eBay feedback was +4 before (= 100 % positive!), and now it is down +3/-1 ... (only 80 % which sounds like some complete crook!), oh well...

Thanks for feedback - positive as negative! :wink:

Best regards,

Johan

ellipse · **Posted:** Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:40 am

@Johan:

Well, errors happen and, after all, they did refund you... I would have left a neutral evaluation.

NorrisCell · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:12 am

T23 SXGA

Good machine, but all the conditions are disheartening. I'm not bidding on it, so any of you are welcome.

rkawakami · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:47 am

NorrisCell wrote:

T23 SXGA

Sshhh!!!!

.

I've seen lots of auctions by Mr. Bogutsky over the years. All of the "legalese" in his boilerplate is in no doubt responses to past dealings gone awry. That said, I still would not totally discount bidding on one of his items.

NorrisCell · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:25 pm

Aw man, now you have me all interested in it. Are you bidding on it?

rkawakami · **Posted:** Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:30 pm

Suffice it to say that I have had it on my watch list since the day it went online. I am planning to bid on it but it will be fairly low because of the high shipping costs and it's not a wireless system. You'll know if I'm still interested about six seconds from the end

.

KristianJ · **Posted:** Mon Nov 17, 2008 7:34 am

Let me give this thread a bit of a kickstart.

I successfully bid on this 240x on eBay last Thursday, and was happy to see a box arrive, well packed and padded, at my workplace today.

However I discovered not the 240x that I was expecting, but a low spec, reasonable but not spectacular condition, X20:

Quote:

Product: ThinkPad X20 2662-11M [change]
Operating system: All [change]

Original description: Celeron 500MHz (128KB) 64MB RAM 10.0 GB 12.1 SVGA TFT 800x600, Modem, Win98

Naturally this is pretty...well, rubbish IMO compared to the 240x that should have come. I've fired off a message cordially asking that the right laptop be shipped to me (of course, I'll ship the X20 back), and when it arrives and all is tested to work, I'll leave positive feedback.

But really, it's quite a silly error on the part of the seller, whose recent feedback looks very sound with plenty of comments in the context of "item as described". Hopefully it'll be sorted out, because I was quite looking forward to having a bit of a play around with the 240x this evening.

Jozef · **Posted:** Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:19 pm

I posted this question in another thread, but since this is the "official" eBay thread, maybe I should post it here too

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190272944271

Anyone can tell me if they would feel comfortable getting one of these? Power Seller with >1200 rating and perfect, 100%, feedback is selling more than 10 of these and claiming they are all in "great" physical condition.

background: I have a T41p with a GPU problem and am thinking about buying another one and keeping mine for parts (good screen, 2Gb RAM etc).

Zender · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:32 pm

I'd say this is nice price for a without-contract and unlocked Sierra Wireless MC8780, which you can extract from the modem and use in a ThinkPad: eBay auction of 880U USB modem (seller's other items - if the previous link gets outdated).

European/Australian version - optimized for 850/2100MHz UMTS/HSPDA (antenna diversity), but supports also 1900MHz. For USA it's better to buy 881U. 7.2/2.0Mbps download/upload (if available in your carrier's network).

Can be used with some T60/T61 (if second miniPCIe slot not available, then out of luck, if only not WWAN-equipped, then antenna and SIM card holder installation will do), some X60/X61 (if you have SIM card slot accessible somewhere from the bottom), any X300/X301, X200 (not X200s), T400/T500, not sure about R6x/R400/R500. All machines require patched BIOS (send me a PM).

With latest firmware very probably supports GPS. Someone with X60 reported acceptable reception (MC8781).

I'm not affiliated with the seller. Actually waiting for mine from them

t140568 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:07 am

What about:

Long eBay Link
..and piecing it together? Would it be cost effective or am I better off trying to find something with a warranty? Are there questions I should ask the seller?

I'm interested in going this route because it would allow me to do either an SSD or IDE-CF HD right away instead of replacing the drive that might come in another TP auction. Also, the lack of battery would allow me to buy a brand new 8-cell right off the bat.

Long battery life in a very slim tablet are my main concerns.

Would need:
- Stylus
- HD Caddy&Cover
- HD
- AC Adapter?
- Battery
- Anything else?

I have a USB-DVDROM to install software and a dock isn't too terribly important to me (though if it can dock with my mini-dock, that'd be great!). Also, it should be able to use the same AC adapter as my R50, right?

Thanks for the help. Sorry about the unorganized post.. it's late.

virge · **Posted:** Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:43 pm

@ t140568: Just a note, I took a look at the ended listings and it looks like the seller is accepting offers of $150.

SkiBunny · **Posted:** Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:24 pm

This seller has repeatedly been auctioning batches of the same model for the past month, with more to come. They're off warranty, although they're personally guaranteed, offer square trade warranty(?), and have a 30-day return policy if you're dissatisfied.

They get bid into the $345-395 range with free shipping. For example, two yesterday:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... SS:US:1123
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... SS:US:1123

Any opinions or previous experiences with this high-volume reseller?
(I'd expect pressure marks on the screen, but at about $350 one could still afford to replace the screen).

virge · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:22 pm

Have you guys/gals seen the T60p machines listed just recently? The seller also has X60 machines.

Supposedly used, good condition. I was looking for a dock and LCD anyway, so this was a good deal for me.

These aren't stripped carcasses! 80GB/100GB HDD and 2GB memory. I don't know anything about the seller. He/she has good feedback though, and the X60 machines are under warranty.

You pays yous moneys and you takes yous chances... FYI, I took a chance on a $250 T60p.

Link: http://shop.ebay.com/guill/m.html?_nkw= ... ksid=p4340

Harryc · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:59 pm

Thanks Virge, I snagged a T60 also. Looking at the parts list at Lenovo it says "SHELL TOP 15.0 SXGA+ IPS TFT, WWAN CAPAB". Since he lists it as a 14" LCD I don't think he knows what he has there. So I am happy. If it works out I just bought a nicely equiped T60 for $226. shipped. My EBay bucks kicked in today

.

virge · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:12 pm

Harryc wrote:

If it works out I just bought a nicely equiped T60 for $226.

You must spend more on Ebay than I do. :lol:

Mine was $233 after Ebay bucks. Even if I end up with a regular T60, its still a decent price. It was hard to not be greedy and buy them all. :twisted:

I hope the other machines get picked up by forum members.

Hmm... just noticed that in the picture of the keyboard it says T60 on the bezel, not T60p. This will be interesting.

Harryc · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:44 pm

Make sure you check the warranty/parts list Virge. You may not have bought a 14" LCD T60. My auction said 14", but it is a 15".

Here's what was advertised;

Model Type: 2008-CTO
Serial Number: XX-XXXXX
Security Chip: Fingerprint Scanner
Processor: Intel Centrino Duo T2400 @ 1.83GHz
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 60g SATA
Video: ATI Radeon/FireGL
Monitor: 14.1"
Native Resolution: 1400x1050
Wired Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless Networking: 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth: Yes
Battery: Holds a charge
Power Cord: Yes

Here's what I think I bought;

Model Type: 2008-CTO
Serial Number: XX-XXXXX
Security Chip: Fingerprint Scanner
Processor: Intel Centrino Duo T2400 @ 1.83GHz
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 60g SATA
Video: ATI Radeon X1400
Monitor: 15.0" IPS Flexview
Native Resolution: 1400x1050
Wired Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless Networking: 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth:No
Battery: Holds a charge (6 cell)
Power Cord: Yes

I agree, it'll be interesting to see what shows up at the door. :lol:

virge · **Posted:** Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:26 pm

Doh! I checked the parts list for mine. 15" IPS LCD and the X1400 for me too. I thought these were 14" T60P machines! 2008-CTO comes up as a T60P. I guess I was a little trigger happy. :oops:

You're clearly a more careful buyer than I am. The pictures also don't show BT as described in the auction, and the keyboard bezel appears to be wider than on the 14" models (from pictures). This all makes makes sense based on the parts list. No 14" LCD for me I'm guessing.

I've never had my hands on a T60 before... here's my chance. :roll:

Harryc · **Posted:** Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:46 pm

Got the T60 today. It is equipped exactly as I expected and looks new. The battery has very few cycles, and the plastics are mint. The seller even went as far as setting up XP Pro SP3 with all the latest MS and Lenovo/Thinkvantage drivers and apps. It has the 15" SXGA+ IPS Flexview LCD in new condition ... I'm impressed.
Nice deal Virge, thanks again for the tip.

virge · **Posted:** Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:56 pm

Harryc wrote:

Got the T60 today. It is equipped exactly as I expected and looks new. The battery has very few cycles, and the plastics are mint. The seller even went as far as setting up XP Pro SP3 with all the latest MS and Lenovo/Thinkvantage drivers and apps. It has the 15" SXGA+ IPS Flexview LCD in new condition ... I'm impressed.
Nice deal Virge, thanks again for the tip.

No thanks necessary--- it was just your good karma from helping with my LCD problem. :lol:

Sounds like you got a sweet machine! UPS delivery will be delivering mine on Monday. Since it doesn't look like I'll be getting the 14" SXGA panel I thought I was ordering, I really hope that I'll get the dock that's supposed to be included. That would turn a good deal into a great deal!

Update: Got the same machine as harryc. Minor flaws, but overall a nice machine at a very good price.

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