eBay "Shockers" discussion (formerly Shocker Log)

[fredblue]

Hi, interested to read your post. I've bought 2 or 3 items off him ( most recently, Seal ( Best Of ) new & sealed. He wanted £70 & i got him down to £60. I did wonder where he was getting his items from. ( i assumed it was as you state )
Even though the items were as described, i think i shall be more wary in future. I guess there's many ebay sellers doing the same.

I've bought a fair few items from pigletspice on ebay and they were all..
a.) as described,
b.) reasonably priced,
c.) well packed
and d.) quickly dispatched.

Avoid him and you miss out on some great stuff, imo.

He is a businessman, so if he sees something for £20, snaps it up and then sells it the next week for £40, where's the harm in that? If you don't like the prices/practice, you are at liberty to buy elsewhere.. but as we all know these discs are getting harder and harder to find and sellers are wiser to the situation now.

I'd do the same as pigletspice if surround music were my business, rather than my hobby and work to turn a healthy profit on things I find cheap that are sought after and fetch higher prices than I paid for them - that's business. What I wouldn't do is sell items as new when they're not, of course.

I'll add that SACDs I've bought from him described as "new and sealed" have most definitely been that, complete with slipcase/stickers/shrinkwrap intact.

For example, I bought Marvin Gaye's "Midnight Love" from him only last year, for £24.99.
Not the best price ever but when you factor in that it often sells for more now, that it's a UK seller and that i'm in the UK and that these things seldom come up on eBay from UK sellers, it's easy and a no-brainer.

The "Midnight Love" SACD arrived 2 days later, by Recorded Delivery, nicely packed in a padded mailer and was just as he stated in his listing. It was the European version, with card slipcase, shrinkwrap & sticker, all new. At no point did I suspect it was anything but "New", just as he described.

On occasion, items I've bought from him described as "new but not sealed" may well have been used (but very gently! so gently they're good as new) and not new after all and most likely better served by "mint" or "like new" descriptions, which is a bit naughty of him..

..but they may well be new after all. to give him (and others) the benefit of the doubt, there are many instances where new UK stock is unsealed on store shelves.

Over the years most small/independent music retailers here in the UK (for security reasons) have taken to opening their stock to remove the disc and retain it behind the counter, displaying the empty case.

other stores open the case to insert their own security system before resealing with their own sticker, the discs are sold new but not shrinkwrapped (HMV do the latter to this day). so the idea that stock can be "new but unsealed" is not a totally alien concept in this country, it's been common practice for years.

particularly if you are in the UK, thus avoiding long wait times/import duties hassle, etc, I recommend pigletspice.
he is not a shyster by any stretch of the imagination (I'll reserve that for the likes of Simon/dvd4music.com, who should be reported for fraud and put in jail.). there's far worse out there than him, believe me!

 

[carrolls]

I've bought a fair few items from pigletspice on ebay and they were all..
a.) as described,
b.) reasonably priced,
c.) well packed
and d.) quickly dispatched.

Avoid him and you miss out on some great stuff, imo.

He is a businessman, so if he sees something for £20, snaps it up and then sells it the next week for £40, where's the harm in that? If you don't like the prices/practice, you are at liberty to buy elsewhere.. but as we all know these discs are getting harder and harder to find and sellers are wiser to the situation now.

I'd do the same as pigletspice if surround music were my business, rather than my hobby and work to turn a healthy profit on things I find cheap that are sought after and fetch higher prices than I paid for them - that's business. What I wouldn't do is sell items as new when they're not, of course.

I'll add that SACDs I've bought from him described as "new and sealed" have most definitely been that, complete with slipcase/stickers/shrinkwrap intact.

For example, I bought Marvin Gaye's "Midnight Love" from him only last year, for £24.99.
Not the best price ever but when you factor in that it often sells for more now, that it's a UK seller and that i'm in the UK and that these things seldom come up on eBay from UK sellers, it's easy and a no-brainer.

The "Midnight Love" SACD arrived 2 days later, by Recorded Delivery, nicely packed in a padded mailer and was just as he stated in his listing. It was the European version, with card slipcase, shrinkwrap & sticker, all new. At no point did I suspect it was anything but "New", just as he described.

On occasion, items I've bought from him described as "new but not sealed" may well have been used (but very gently! so gently they're good as new) and not new after all and most likely better served by "mint" or "like new" descriptions, which is a bit naughty of him..

..but they may well be new after all. to give him (and others) the benefit of the doubt, there are many instances where new UK stock is unsealed on store shelves.

Over the years most small/independent music retailers here in the UK (for security reasons) have taken to opening their stock to remove the disc and retain it behind the counter, displaying the empty case.

other stores open the case to insert their own security system before resealing with their own sticker, the discs are sold new but not shrinkwrapped (HMV do the latter to this day). so the idea that stock can be "new but unsealed" is not a totally alien concept in this country, it's been common practice for years.

particularly if you are in the UK, thus avoiding long wait times/import duties hassle, etc, I recommend pigletspice.
he is not a shyster by any stretch of the imagination (I'll reserve that for the likes of Simon/dvd4music.com, who should be reported for fraud and put in jail.). there's far worse out there than him, believe me!

Its not the scalping I am concerned about, each to his own, but its buying something "used" and selling it for double the price labeled "New but unsealed by the supplier". I was suspicious about a Thriller SACD he was selling "new but unsealed by supplier" some time back and traced it back to a USED sacd transaction he carried out a week earlier for half the price. It was the same sacd because it had the same imperfections on the case.
On the left is Piglets, and on the right is the original sellers pic.
I suppose Piglet could argue that the "Supplier" is the USED SACD seller, but anyway....

 

[Dixie4]

I've bought a fair few items from pigletspice on ebay and they were all..
a.) as described,
b.) reasonably priced,
c.) well packed
and d.) quickly dispatched.

Avoid him and you miss out on some great stuff, imo.

He is a businessman, so if he sees something for £20, snaps it up and then sells it the next week for £40, where's the harm in that? If you don't like the prices/practice, you are at liberty to buy elsewhere.. but as we all know these discs are getting harder and harder to find and sellers are wiser to the situation now.

I'd do the same as pigletspice if surround music were my business, rather than my hobby and work to turn a healthy profit on things I find cheap that are sought after and fetch higher prices than I paid for them - that's business. What I wouldn't do is sell items as new when they're not, of course.

I'll add that SACDs I've bought from him described as "new and sealed" have most definitely been that, complete with slipcase/stickers/shrinkwrap intact.



On occasion, items I've bought from him described as "new but not sealed" may well have been used (but very gently! so gently they're good as new) and not new after all and most likely better served by "mint" or "like new" descriptions, which is a bit naughty of him..

I tend to agree with you, Adam. When i have purchased a " new " item from pigletspice, it has been exactly that. Not so sure about " like new " descriptions.
I appreciate that he ( like other sellers ) are on ebay to make a profit. ( there's no point otherwise ! ) What i'd like to know is, if some of his items have been bought from other ebayers, then why do i never see those items ! ?? If i did, then i could be in a bidding war with him, and if successful, would certainly prove to be cheaper. ( he must be an expert buyer )

 

[fredblue]

Its not the scalping I am concerned about, each to his own, but its buying something "used" and selling it for double the price labeled "New but unsealed by the supplier". I was suspicious about a Thriller SACD he was selling "new but unsealed by supplier" some time back and traced it back to a USED sacd transaction he carried out a week earlier for half the price. It was the same sacd because it had the same imperfections on the case.
On the left is Piglets, and on the right is the original sellers pic.
I suppose Piglet could argue that the "Supplier" is the USED SACD seller, but anyway....
View attachment 6666

your pix, together with his own buying history, make for undeniable, categorical proof of unscrupulous activity.

a shame he should resort to that. I guess his sources for genuinely "new" SACDs are drying up, as they are in general

 

[fredblue]

I tend to agree with you, Adam. When i have purchased a " new " item from pigletspice, it has been exactly that. Not so sure about " like new " descriptions.
I appreciate that he ( like other sellers ) are on ebay to make a profit. ( there's no point otherwise ! ) What i'd like to know is, if some of his items have been bought from other ebayers, then why do i never see those items ! ?? If i did, then i could be in a bidding war with him, and if successful, would certainly prove to be cheaper. ( he must be an expert buyer )

I'm happy with "Like New", "Unsealed but new" etc if that's what it is.. but carrolls has uncovered some pretty dodgy dealing here, which I'm disappointed to hear but grateful for the info.

as for why you never found that Thriller SACD listing, i can't say for certain but a couple of possible explanations..

1.) if you're searching via eBay.co.uk your choice of items from International sellers is massively curtailed, even if the seller ships to the UK. i tend to visit eBay.com first and then pop to the UK site.

2.) searching eBay from a mobile device is very hit and miss, the PC is the only way to properly search and find everything.

 

[Dixie4]

I'm happy with "Like New", "Unsealed but new" etc if that's what it is.. but carrolls has uncovered some pretty dodgy dealing here, which I'm disappointed to hear but grateful for the info.

as for why you never found that Thriller SACD listing, i can't say for certain but a couple of possible explanations..

1.) if you're searching via eBay.co.uk your choice of items from International sellers is massively curtailed, even if the seller ships to the UK. i tend to visit eBay.com first and then pop to the UK site.

2.) searching eBay from a mobile device is very hit and miss, the PC is the only way to properly search and find everything.

Regards ebay, there's probably an awful lot of dodgy dealings. I tend to look on ebay.com too. ( Being a lifelong MJ fan, i purchased the Thriller SACD some years ago. ( just listened to it earlier this evening actually )
I was reading earlier this week, that Sony bought in a producer to mix Michael's albums in 5.1 but MJ rejected them. Now, i would pay a crazy price for those !!

 

[par4ken]

Toto stereo SACD for $200?? You gotta be kidding me! I wouldn't pay $2 for a Toto anything

I totally agree

 

[carrolls]

your pix, together with his own buying history, make for undeniable, categorical proof of unscrupulous activity.

a shame he should resort to that. I guess his sources for genuinely "new" SACDs are drying up, as they are in general

That Thriller transaction happened over six months ago, so the records are not viewable on eBay any more.
Recently Piglet has started describing his product more correctly with the odd exception. Sadly, he still uses the "New but unsealed by supplier" routine occasionally. Even now there are a couple of SACDs bearing this description.

 

[fredblue]

That Thriller transaction happened over six months ago, so the records are not viewable on eBay any more.
Recently Piglet has started describing his product more correctly with the odd exception. Alas, he still uses the "New but unsealed by supplier" routine occasionally.

curious thing that he should sit on that copy for 6 months before re-selling it.. it's not as if he has a massive inventory of thousands of discs at any one time.

interesting observation.. maybe buyers have complained about his descriptions!?

 

[Dixie4]

Toto stereo SACD for $200?? You gotta be kidding me! I wouldn't pay $2 for a Toto anything

Toto (imo) are the best band in the world. Their music ( especially ) in the States & U.K. has never had the recognition it deserves.

 

[carrolls]

curious thing that he should sit on that copy for 6 months before re-selling it.. it's not as if he has a massive inventory of thousands of discs at any one time.

interesting observation.. maybe buyers have complained about his descriptions!?

No, both the original purchase and subsequent sale happened over 6 months ago. I am just saying it now because the topic was brought up again by Dixie4.

 

[fredblue]

Regards ebay, there's probably an awful lot of dodgy dealings. I tend to look on ebay.com too. ( Being a lifelong MJ fan, i purchased the Thriller SACD some years ago. ( just listened to it earlier this evening actually )
I was reading earlier this week, that Sony bought in a producer to mix Michael's albums in 5.1 but MJ rejected them. Now, i would pay a crazy price for those !!

meant to say, it's always worth checking eBay.fr and eBay.de, together with Amazon.fr and Amazon.de. good things come up on them all every now and again that don't make it to the UK/USA sites.

the MJ History Video Greatest Hits DVD has a good selection of nice 5.1 discrete mixes if you don't already have it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Jackson-History-Video-Greatest/dp/B00005RSCH/ref=pd_cp_d_h__1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Greatest_Hits_–_HIStory

 

[Dixie4]

curious thing that he should sit on that copy for 6 months before re-selling it.. it's not as if he has a massive inventory of thousands of discs at any one time.

interesting observation.. maybe buyers have complained about his descriptions!?

Many of his items have been listed for a long time. Some of them will never sell, because he is asking too much money for them.

 

[fredblue]

No, both the original purchase and subsequent sale happened over 6 months ago. I am just saying it now because the topic was brought up again by Dixie4.

ah right, not so curious after all then..! only kidding

I'm grateful for the info about pigletspice, I'll be mindful of it should I get anything else from him down the line.

 

[Dixie4]

the MJ History Video Greatest Hits DVD has a good selection of nice 5.1 discrete mixes if you don't already have it.

I have eveything possible, i think ! ?

 

[fredblue]

Many of his items have been listed for a long time. Some of them will never sell, because he is asking too much money for them.

never say never..

his pricing is certainly inconsistent.

i noticed he actually put up his price on the John Legend SACD the other day after it (or rather they) failed to sell (again)..

you can't give that crap away and neither can he by the looks of it, so raising the buy it now price just doesn't add up.

I wouldn't discount him altogether though, he might just come up with a gem in future.. although the reverse is true for most eBay UK sellers, they had healthy stock of rock & pop SACD stuff up until about 3 or 4 years ago, now not so much!

 

[fredblue]

I have eveything possible, i think ! ?

have you played the MJ History DVD in 5.1 now you've got your new universal player? the surround mixes are pretty good, even if they are in Dullby Dirge-it-all..

 

[Dixie4]

never say never..

his pricing is certainly inconsistent.

i noticed he actually put up his price on the John Legend SACD the other day after it (or rather they) failed to sell (again)..

you can't give that crap away and neither can he by the looks of it, so raising the buy it now price just doesn't add up.

Yes, i noticed that ( i think it was £9.99 ) his done the same with others, Elvis Costello North, Ronan Keating & Norah Jones. I know you could / can still get those titles on Amazon, in most cases cheaper.
Like you say, he may have a title that you want and can't get, so in those cases he's worth considering.

 

[Dixie4]

have you played the MJ History DVD in 5.1 now you've got your new universal player? the surround mixes are pretty good, even if they are in Dullby Dirge-it-all..

Not yet Adam, ( which is a surprise ! ) I briefly tried out " This Is It ", but don't think that's in 5.1 ? I did try out my Toto Blu Ray's briefly, and they sounded great ! ( i suffer from severe M.E. which has worsened, so it's frustrating trying to watch, when my eyes get so heavy. It's easier to just put on music, than watch something, although in the very first few years, i couldn't even get through a cd ! )

 

[fredblue]

Yes, i noticed that ( i think it was £9.99 ) his done the same with others, Elvis Costello North, Ronan Keating & Norah Jones. I know you could / can still get those titles on Amazon, in most cases cheaper.
Like you say, he may have a title that you want and can't get, so in those cases he's worth considering.

The Ronan, Snorah and Elvis North are all easy to get. It wasn't the case for Ronan's SACD, about 3-4 years ago it became very scarce but out of nowhere it appeared cheaply everywhere all over again! (I'm wondering if there's a very slim chance it got repressed? more likely though that old stock was found in a few places!?)