It’s been a while since I talked about my eBay escapades. The hike in postage in the UK put a damper on things, and I kind of had to reconsider the £3 a disc limit I used to set for myself. Despite that the general technique of using searches, setting yourself limits and bidding on lots of auctions still mean you can pick up bargains. Here’s nine examples from 2012 that give you an idea of what I look for and what I am willing to spend.
1) Lupin III Volume 4 & Volume 5 99p each
These may have been the bargain of the year, two out of print Lupin manga for less than a pound each. I have had no luck in repeating this feat since then.
2) Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On CD 99p, Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full CD 99p
You can get really good albums on CD for very little money. I should do this more often.
3) Hong Kong Legends – Heroic Trio £2.99
This was one of those Hong Kong Legends releases that only came out on DVD as part of the part-work magazine. Love this film from the VHS release back in the 90s, haven’t been able to get the sort of sequel, Executioners, cheap yet. Despite the cheap looking covers, the picture quality is to HKL’s high standard. Where there is a special edition you can often get these cheaper. Likewise the covers and lack of extras seem to stop the rarer titles from getting as high as some of the the special editions.
4) Black Lagoon Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 50p each
The re-release of Black Lagoon meant I was finally able to fill the gaps in my collection of the original release. For a pound.
5) Alexei Sayle’s Stuff Series 1 £9.50, Series 2 £10 and Series 3 £7.50
Here’s were I actually got into spending some real money. These 2entertain releases are long out of print, and some people ask silly money for them on Buy It Now or Amazon marketplace. While it’s more than I like to spend, it’s still cheaper than the original RRP.
6) Project A £1.30, Project A Part 2 £3.00, Police Story £1.99, Once A Thief 99p, A Chinese Ghost Story 2 £2.99
As you can see I was on a Hong Kong Legends kick this year. These were their special editions. The Jackie Chan films you can usually find at a good price, it’s the less popular releases that command the higher prices.
7) Blood Bowl Second Edition £34.99
The biggest purchase I made last year, and a total nostalgia purchase of this classic Games Workshop game. Really good condition, and not too crazily over the original price.
If you have patience you can get some really cheap Blu Rays of films that are actually worth watching on eBay too.
9) Nintendo DS Game Scrabble £3.75
Probably the most value for money item I got this year. Played this a lot on various train journeys and have become a better scrabble player as a result.