Missing something

[girlyswot]

I have been planning to get a mobile broadband Pay as You Go package to use when I'm at the Old Shed (inside complete, hard landscaping happening outside, should be ready in plenty of time for Christmas). At 3 Mobile, you can buy a dongle for £39.99 (more expensive versions available at £49.99 and £59.99) for which you then purchase top up cards at various prices depending how much you want to use it.

Ah, I thought, this is the kind of thing that Ebay is good for. Even if it only works out a few pounds cheaper, it'll be worth it. So earlier this week I bid on a 3-mobile dongle, complete with sim card. I didn't win. The final price was £38.80 + £2.50 postage. Which is MORE THAN YOU WOULD PAY IN THE SHOP for a new one. I notice that there are also quite a lot of Buy It Now ones priced (including postage) at between £45 and £55.

So, um, what am I missing? Is there a global shortage of mobile broadband dongles so that the second hand market has risen sharply? Or are these people just bonkers?

Comments

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I see this every more frequently on Ebay. I suspect that for some things people just don't look up the price beforehand and assume ebay will be cheaper.

(I walked past the shop yesterday, and they were doing a dongle plus 12GB (to be used over max a year) for £99 as a Christmas package, though if you're not at the shed much, it may not be worth it. I am definitely looking forward to having more internet access this Christmas than that snatched on the family computer next to the telephone.)

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. The other top ups only last for a month, so I'd have to get a new one every time I was at home. Need to do some sums, I think.

Though I have just bid on another one at Ebay, so I'll see how that turns out first.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

This is very true. I have disciplined not to bid on a book on eBay without checking both Abebooks and Amazon first.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

I suppose it really does prove the point that something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.