I listed an item you can get online for 115.00 brand new shipping included and at the moment its bid up to, with shipping, 101.00 for used and not complete, missing a couple parts, and will probably surpass the brand new price by the time its over. I don't get it and am embarrased by it. It's happened before.
We live in a society with an obsession with "winning" at any cost. Lawyers and prosecutors want to "win" justice be damned Sports stars/teams want to win even if they have to cheat or break drug rules Politicians want to win re-election the future of our country be damned. And so on and so forth.
I saw that when I was selling silver on ebay. People bid it up higher than what you could buy it at apmex for. Occasionally though, you do get a good deal, but it is almost always an item that is something that others are not looking for, like a not so popular video game might go for 50% what it goes for in the store. Whereas a BROKEN itouch will sometimes sell for $120 or so(when they are $225 brand new and working in the store) I dont know how much this factor plays into it, but 10 years I had a business selling electronics on ebay and about 5% of my business was from people using stolen credit cards (basically 1 out of every 20 orders) I dont think ebay notifies sellers anymore if their buyer used a stolen credit card or not, but I know back before they bought paypal, I would get the notices. I dont sell much on ebay now, but I have not gotten one of those notices since I stopped selling large quantities of items.
Yeah, it's routine for people to bid up prices. Cannot count the number of times I've seen used stuff sell for a bit more than brand spankin' new from a merchant. People are idiots. You can still get deals on eBay, but you have to be patient. It is a LOT like trading, you have to bide your time, waiting for just the right opportunity and you have to be well prepared before hand.