eBay - when the buyer bids more than the item is worth

[CakeBeret]

That Judge Judy clip was awesome.

OP, I think as long as your description was 100% clear and not misleading in any way, the check you sent was unnecessary but very generous.

[dragonflies]

I sold a maternity dress for $15 more than what I had paid for it.  You just simply couldn't find the dress in any stores.  I also sent a little shawl with it but the buyer ended up loving the dress.

[Zilla]

While in the subject of Ebay and paying over or super close to value, how about gift cards?  I have seen walmart or home depot gift cards sell like crazy within a penny of its worth.  And it isn't a $50 card it is usually like, $49.12 etc.

Plus with the cost of shipping it puts it over the card value.  And a card that you can get anywhere, not even a specialty store etc.

So why?

[elephantschild]

I've kind of wondered things like that myself.    I have recently become a major fan of buying a certain type of ... hmmm ... crafty-electronic item ... on eBay because I can reliably get them for less than 50 percent of the price I can buy them for in stores. Actually, the three items I've bought I've actually acquired for less than a third the store price! (Free shipping, too!)

These are brand-new items, still sealed in the package. I know they occasionally go on sale for 40 percent to 50 percent off in the stores, but, really, how do the people on eBay make money at this? These are auctions, so I imagine the price sometimes does climb to something more, but nowhere near the regular price.

I can honestly say I didn't feel guilty, though ... just pleased at a good deal.

I bought another kind of craft item once, and when I received the package, there were a good half-dozen other small items in with what I'd purchased. I contacted the seller to make sure it wasn't a mistake; she thanked me for the honesty and said she just put some extras in to thank me for my business.

I added her to my favorite sellers list. 

[Queenie]

If they overbid, that's on them.  Perhaps they decided that was what the items was worth to them and wanted to be sure they got it.  It must make sense to them in some way or else they would not choose to do it.

[artk2002]

Auctions are very funny things.  The excitement of the auction itself can overtake any real interest in the item for sale.  Successful bidders know their limits and won't exceed them, no matter how thrilling the bidding war can get.  Caveat emptor and all that.  P. T. Barnum had a phrase for people who forget that advice.   Something about one being born every minute...

[Brentwood]

I've kind of wondered things like that myself.    I have recently become a major fan of buying a certain type of ... hmmm ... crafty-electronic item ... on eBay because I can reliably get them for less than 50 percent of the price I can buy them for in stores. Actually, the three items I've bought I've actually acquired for less than a third the store price! (Free shipping, too!)

These are brand-new items, still sealed in the package. I know they occasionally go on sale for 40 percent to 50 percent off in the stores, but, really, how do the people on eBay make money at this? These are auctions, so I imagine the price sometimes does climb to something more, but nowhere near the regular price.

Some sellers have suppliers who get them the items for wholesale or they buy overstocks for much less than retail.