Ah, capitalism. This is just pure economics. You can't really get a deal on something unless you rely on imperfect information, economically speaking. And as more people go to ebay to buy things, there are more and more people out there who recognize the value of an item and will bid closer to that value. And you also get the kind of imperfect information that benefits the seller, where a buyer over-values a product. And in an auction, all you need is one person to overvalue the product. There are still deals out there, but you really have to know where to look.

andy

I love ebay, you can find alot of great deals on ebay, and then alot of them aren't. You just have to know how to ebay is all. I've never really used it for biking, but i saved a ton on my amp for my car from ebay. (bout 500 bucks) and it seems to force alot of the online retailers to lower their prices to some what match the ebay price which i think is good, but on that note, usually see how cheap you can find something online before you bid. Good chance you can find it close too with out the head ache of bidding. Or i find it a head ache anyways, i hate sitting there for days waiting to see if i win or not.

Ha, ha, ha! Just strikes me as funny, I got the same rack on the same auction as you. (What's really funny is that I bid $15 on the same rack a week ago on another Dutch auction by the same retailer, and was outbid.) I also got a Vistalight rear flasher for 3.99 and a Blackburn frame pump for 4.99, and since they are all from the same guy (e-Discount Bike) I only have to pay the $8 shipping for the rack. That's another good way to get a bargain, buy a few items from the same person and they will almost always let you combine shipping.

I agree, the ridiculous prices usually come about by a combination of overstatement from the seller and ignorance from the buyer. I, too, have paid too much on occasion (the guy selling the Willow soundtrack said it was out of print, and I bid about $30 as a newbie....later found it on Amazon.com for $12! Now I check prices first.)

I also agree with Cycletourist that it's a wonderful place to get books. I found three books I've been looking for for years, and bid unopposed for them. (Hardcovers of Mistress Masham's Repose by TH White, Once On A Time by AA Milne, and The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks and Mrs. Aleshine by Frank Stockton. I also got Animation in 12 Hard Lessons for $41--I was bid against--and the lowest I saw that on the used-book search sites was about $90.)

My little brother once told he how exciting and cool it was that he had got a Panasonic DVD player on eBay. The look on his face when it arrived and it was an oldish twin speed computer drive was priceless .