Has Buying on eBay with a Discount Code Become Too Complex?

singingwolf on 10/08/2019 - 19:11
Last edited 10/08/2019 - 19:13

So today I went to but an item on eBay (Logitech Web Cam) and first place I go is https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/ebay.com.au to see what deals eBay have.

Low and behold, 9 discount codes all with different eligibility and conditions. My item was over $100 so I thought at least one of the codes should work.

Do my search, 25 similarly priced models of the cam I want. So I open each one in a new tab to see if any come up with " Pay only $xxx.xx [Show me how] ".

Only 1. Then I thought with so many codes, maybe they don't always show if the item is eligible for a code, so I thought I need to try all the codes one by one. 24 items added to cart individually trying out 9 codes so 216 attempts at a discount - but no dice. These are new items in Australia from sellers with huge feedback scores.

It's become a joke eBay offering any % off with the newish "eligible items only" restriction which has just ruins the joy of the deal.

Then there is eBay Plus / free / paid postage. I miss the old days where they had say 10% off and you would grab the item you wanted and bang, 10% off you go.

And no eBay Plus, just free postage as eBay had made it a condition of that item getting the the Power Seller logo. Is it just me or am I doing it wrong?

[TL;DR] Have eBay made getting a discount on the item you want too painful with so many codes, discount criteria and "eligible items only" conditions.

General Discussion

Related Stores

eBay Australia
eBay Australia
Marketplace

Comments

  • Hybroid on 10/08/2019 - 19:17

    eBay's using the codes and offers to increase market share and gain new members and signups. Things will stabilise eventually esp with increasing competition from Amazon.

    • singingwolf on 10/08/2019 - 19:22
      +1

      As an Ozbargainer, you know where to look, where to go and what to do to get a discount.

      For the average Joe Blow, unless they see a code on the home page or see the "Pay only AU $109.00 [ Show me how ]" and use the code, I don't see how eBay would gain much from them. Maybe I'm wrong - it's not straight forward. And then you have the codes where say 20 stores get 20% off. Trying to find if the item you want is listed by one of those stores is a nightmare (and when you find one, the price for the item is usually jacked)…

      I'm not complaining, just having a whinge ;-)

  • thebadmachine on 10/08/2019 - 19:33
    +6

    These days I just go straight to another website which has equal or lower price and buy there.
    I visit eBay less and less as searches turn up nothing worthy, and the other codes refuse to work on the items I view.
    Only decent code is the regular 20% off selected sellers one, and the results of seller filtered searches are disappointing.

    • singingwolf on 10/08/2019 - 19:41
      +2

      agree. They have done something to the search results - can't trust them anymore.

      • thebadmachine on 10/08/2019 - 19:44

        Just to confirm, I mean the linked ‘seller name filtered’ search links in the ozb deal posts (usually divided into 3 links like A-G / H-T / U-Z etc)
        So you can search all the discount code participating sellers for the item you are looking for.

        • singingwolf on 10/08/2019 - 19:49

          Oh I was referring to the eBay results. So how do you search for sellers for an item you are after??

          EDIT: OK looked at POSTIE post - see what you mean. Geez.

    • [Deactivated] on 10/08/2019 - 21:38
      +1

      which site? amazon isnt as cheap as ebay from china. aliexpress is in usd and is expensive

      • thebadmachine on 11/08/2019 - 17:37

        I guess you do a lot more shopping on eBay than I do.
        For the products I look at, the results usually consist of either the product is listed over-priced (and the codes refuse to work), or the alternatives are all sub-par and have very little information about them on the internet.
        So it’s an easy choice, eBay just lacks the ‘value’ and appeal of other options.

        • [Deactivated] on 11/08/2019 - 19:03

          yea, still have 5 items pending from ebay, most under $10

          • thebadmachine on 11/08/2019 - 19:59

            @[Deactivated]: To be fair, once in awhile I find an item that’s only on eBay. But usually over-priced. If it’s acceptable price (like a CD priced fairly with cheap international shipping) I will purchase it on eBay.

  • bobbified on 10/08/2019 - 20:52

    I'm happy to enter 10 codes if one of them ends up saving me a decent amount (off the lowest price I can find something for). I'd probably say that anything over $20 or $50 is worth it.

    Where else am I going to get those amounts or more) for 10 minutes work?

  • fishball on 10/08/2019 - 22:31

    I only buy eBay stuff posted on ozb now :P

  • outlander on 10/08/2019 - 22:39

    I've more or less given up on the codes. Every time I try to make it work, I spend a lot of time, and then find out there was another way to do it that was a lot cheaper anyway.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join