$13.99 vs $52.38

Browsing around eBay today and ran across an add for a set of 6 plastic tool-drawer socked organizers for "only" $52.38. Funny thing though; this is the exact same set I bought at Harbor Freight for $13.99. I emailed the vendor and asked him how it is that he is selling the exact same Harbor Freight item for nearly 4 times the HF price. I suspect this vendor is buying cheap HF stuff then trying to resell for a huge gain. Caveat Emptor !

Caveat emptor indeed!

Frustrating, but isn't that the way our market system works? Buy low - sell high?

NutmegCT said:

Caveat emptor indeed!

Frustrating, but isn't that the way our market system works? Buy low - sell high?

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I have no issue with profit - but this is just a good lesson in doing research and looking around at other vendors before you buy. I suspect he's not going to sell many at that price, so in the end the market will work.

Geez! I have gone with these Snap-On rails for decades, never gave a thought to how inexpensive they actually were (and still are!).

In Large Scale Trains, several years ago, Toys-R-Us had old fashioned gasoline pumps for cheap, like six bucks. Some yay-who on evilbait advertised them for exactly three times that plus shipping.

Easy....no stock, no cash outlay...you buy one, he drives over to TRU, picks one up, drops it in a box and mails it on the way home.

TOC said:

In Large Scale Trains, several years ago, Toys-R-Us had old fashioned gasoline pumps for cheap, like six bucks. Some yay-who on evilbait advertised them for exactly three times that plus shipping.

Easy....no stock, no cash outlay...you buy one, he drives over to TRU, picks one up, drops it in a box and mails it on the way home.

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I have no issue with normal retail markups and maximizing profit - let the free market determine what the people wil pay for a product. I do have a big problem with the few dishonest players who pull that kind of crap.

About 5 weeks ago I ordered an emergency flashlight (lights up when there's a power outage). Listing said "4-pak" and "quantity 4". I placed the order on Amazon and the seller had the item shipped from Home Depot. When I got the box from Home Depot there was only ONE FLASHLIGHT. The seller refused to ship the three additional flashlights so I returned the one I received and left negative feedback. The seller then proceeded to email and call my cell in an effort to get me to modify my feedback. They offered me a $10 Amazon card to change my feedback. I wrote them and told them if they corrected their listing to state "one flashlight" I would change my feedback. Of course they never did that.
The one thing I learned out of the whole episode is that you cannot edit the feedback you leave for a seller on Amazon... the only thing you can do is delete it.
So it doesn't only happen on Ebay... there are plenty of re-sellers on Amazon.

I see stuff all the time, not just eBay, advertised for several times what others sell it for. Amazon is particularly amusing, since they will often have both.

I don't know if they still do, but HF used to cater to such resellers: they would drop ship directly to any address.

That's one thing, as long as it is what it says it is. But false advertising is something else.

I have to say, though, not all sellers on Amazon are dishonest. When I bought something that clearly said "set of 10" and they only shipped one, they returned my money and let me keep the one. They also deleted the ad not long after that.

Like Randall, I have seen items from Costco, HF, and Walmart routinely on eBay and Amazon. However, I wasn't aware places like HF would drop ship to the final customer. I always assumed the retailer had purchased the HF items and was personally reselling them.

Got a unique gift at Christmas, a set of paper towel holders that magnetically stick to the side of a tool box, very strong magnets. On the box it said, General Tool, same as Harbor Freight sells. Opening the box, out came two holders, painted red and stamped Craftsman! , never know anymore.

PAUL161 said:

... On the box it said, General Tool, same as Harbor Freight sells.

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General Tools is its own brand/company. You'll see some of their stuff in Ace, Lowes, and Homedepot (among other places). Perhaps you meant "Central Tools" which is a name HF uses for many products.

Now that Lowes has bought the right to use the Craftsman name I imagine we'll see a lot of brand confusion at the home centers.

dklawson said:

General Tools is its own brand/company. You'll see some of their stuff in Ace, Lowes, and Homedepot (among other places). Perhaps you meant "Central Tools" which is a name HF uses for many products.

Now that Lowes has bought the right to use the Craftsman name I imagine we'll see a lot of brand confusion at the home centers.

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The tool cart I got for Christmas was from Harbor Freight - named "US General".

Gliderman8 said:

So it doesn't only happen on Ebay... there are plenty of re-sellers on Amazon.

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Yea, Amazon is kind of like the anchor store in its own mall. Pretty much anyone can sell through them. I've had books, hobby supplies and gifts that sometimes show as Amazon and others that come up with a store someplace. I think the good thing for those that sell their stuff through Amazon is it gives them access to a much wider customer base who in prior days would never have heard of some local business perhaps on the other side of the country.

Basil said:

The tool cart I got for Christmas was from Harbor Freight - named "US General".

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Ahh... and there is the difference.

General Tools is a stand alone company not affiliated with HF. They make tools sold in the DIY and hardware stores while US General is an internal "brand name" created by HF apparently to sound like a name brand (i.e. HF's "Pittsburgh" and "Chicago Electric" vs Milwaukee, "Central Pneumatic" vs Chicago Pneumatic, etc). I found it interesting that during the past year HF has introduced new brand names and discontinued some of its older product names in what must be an attempt to distance themselves from the past (i.e. HF names like Hercules and Bauer are replacing Central Tools and Drillmaster).