Use eBay for Pricing Information

About to start comparison shopping for a new digital camera? How about a new memory card for an old digital camera? Well, whatever you’re looking for, the best way to find the average price something is going for is to check the completed sales lists on eBay. eBay is a better gauge of prices than comparison shopping engines like PriceGrabber because you can typically find better prices on eBay for the exact same products because those sellers have less overhead and are typically extreme bargain hunters, able to get low prices though creative use of coupons and promotions. Remember though, only look at the Completed Listings (and filter out on price to filter out accessories) and be sure to account for any accessories the seller is throwing in.

Let’s take an example, if you look at the completed listings for the CASIO EXILIM EX-Z70 that have an end price over $50 (to cut out accessories), you’ll see that the CASIO EXILIM EX-Z70 plus a 1GB memory card will cost you around $200 (including shipping); no memory card and the price drops about $10-$20 less. If you try PriceGrabber, the CASIO EXILIM EX-Z70 isn’t even listed! If you check Amazon, the CASIO EXILIM EX-Z70 goes for about $250… so, the moral is that eBay is a good price benchmark if you want some quick and dirty information.