Cheap stuff at auction from a responsible seller, but watch those shipping charges (Updated 9/03)
Written: Nov 05 '01 (Updated Sep 29 '03)
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The Bottom Line
Ubid is great for finding super cheap prices on new and refurbished electronics and computers. Buying direct from Ubid avoids a lot of the hassles associated with services like Ebay.
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| Full Review |
NOTE: See Sept. 29, 2003 update at the end of the review.
I've bought several thousand dollars worth of electronics, housewares and computer equipment from Ubid over the last four years and have been mostly satisfied. Only one piece of equipment ever arrived broken and I had no trouble getting an RMA and getting my money refunded.
On average I pay between 25% - 75% less than the prevalent street price for most items. But in order to do this well you need to do some research and know how much you're willing to pay.
Like most auction sites, Ubid tries to suck you in with the low starting prices. But what good is a $9 starting bid if the ending bid is within $10 of a price you can get elsewhere on line without the hassle of bidding?
Luckily most items that Ubid sells are not one-of-a-kind. What this means is that if they have 5 of an item in an auction that ends today, they'll likely have 5 more tomorrow. This gives you an opportunity to watch an auction for something you'd like to buy and see around where the price ends up going. If it ends up close to the price you can get elsewhere, then it's probably not worth the hassle of going through the whole bidding process.
The other thing to be aware of is that a lot of the stuff Ubid sells is refurbished. All this merchandise is returned stuff that has been looked over and possibly fixed to "like new" condition. This stuff is always more of a chance, since someone thought it wasn't right in the first place. In some cases there is a model that was a lemon right from the start -- you'll see hundreds of this model being sold as "refurbished." That's a good indication that you want to avoid that one -- it may be that the manufacturer never got it right in the first place. But a refurbed item may be just fine -- most of the refurbs I've bought have worked fine for years.
In short, caveat emptor is the name of the game.
Ubid is not for someone who wants to click buy today and see the item tomorrow. It's for someone looking for a great deal on new or refurbed equipment that may be as old as 1 or 2 model years out of date (but not everything is this old). Bidding works like Ebay, so any Ebay buyer should be familiar, and it's nice that with Ubid you just register your credit card and you don't have worry about using different payment services like Billpoint or Paypal.
Although Ubid now also offers person-to-person auctions like Ebay, most of what they sell is right from their own warehouses, and these auctions are always identified. As a merchant Ubid is about as responsible as your average on-line dealer. Not one of the best, but not a bunch of charlatans either. Again, if you're smart and do your research, the low, low prices can make up for some of the inconvenience.
Update to original review:
Now it's two years since I wrote this original review of Ubid, and some things have changed in the on-line universe.
First, it seems like most of Ubid's competitors have gone away. Only onsale.com remains, but it seems to have shut down and reopened several times in the interim. Indeed, the bubble has burst.
I've also noticed changes at Ubid. Where two years ago there would be a list of tens or hundreds of stereo components or digital cameras for auction at any one time, now you're lucky if there's more than ten of any one kind of item.
Another big change is the inflation of shipping charges. Now, it's been clear to me that Ubid has always inflated its shipping and handling charges a bit -- probably to compensate for the low prices. But, compared to most on-line and catalog retailers, I never thought the prices were too outrageous.
Well, things have changed in the shipping department. The other day I was shopping around Ubid for speakers. I saw several pairs of nice bookshelf and tower speakers selling for about $75 at the end of the auction. A pretty good deal... until I looked at the shipping: $69 a speaker! That's almost as much as they cost -- and when you combine the item price and shipping together the price starts to match what you pay for the item elsewhere, but without the hassle of an auction.
To be fair, Ubid tells you the shipping cost up-front, before you bid. So there are no surprises once you've won an auction. I've also noticed that in many cases the standard ground cost is not much less than the 2-day or next-day air. I wonder if they're trying to push people into quicker and more expensive shipping options.
Of course, speakers are big items, so the shipping can't be too cheap -- but shipping for a pair of bookshelf speakers I bought from Ubid last year ran more like $10 for ground.
But I haven't given up on Ubid yet. I did just buy a minidisc recorder from them for a good price. The shipping was more than I would like (at $17 for 2-day -- only $3 more than ground), but I knew the amount in advance and figured it into the total price. It was still a good deal.
One area where it seems Ubid has greatly improved is shipping time. I won this last auction on a Wednesday and the item arrived Friday morning. I do live in Illinois, and apparently Ubid operates several warehouses here, so that has something to do with it. However, I can clearly recall a period a couple of years ago when it seemed like Ubid took forever to move items out of their warehouse and into the shipper's hands.
A final note is that depending on where you live, you may also be required to pay sales tax on your order. For example, here in Illinois I had to cough up another 7.5%, which I didn't quite realize. But, hey, I'd have to cough it up at my local brick and mortar electronics store, too.
I still recommend Ubid to anyone willing to go through the auction process. My only advice is to stay aware, know what you're buying, don't let the sometimes poor selection push you into a compromise, and keep an eye on those shipping charges.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? All types of electronics and computer equipment.
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About the Author
Member: Paul Riismandel
Location: Chicago, IL
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me: I'm a true mediageek--into all sorts of electronics and gadgets for making media.
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