Web Toastie

If you’ve been following my Twitter stream for the past couple of weeks you will know I’ve been in the market for a MacBook. After spending so many years using a Windows machine I decided it was time for change, and I also wanted to get a laptop that was proven to be reliable and high performing.

Wanting to save on money I decided to explore the eBay route in a pursuit for my first Mac. I was looking to pick up the black MacBook (core 2 duo) for roughly £500, but they are all roughly £600 (or more). In the hunt for a deal, and to keep within my budget, Gumtree seemed like a good alternative. Here’s how (and why) Gumtree can be better than eBay.

Seller Options – eBay vs Gumtree

So why do sellers chose one over another? Well it can come down to how much money you will ultimately return from the sale – and both have their advantages and disadvantages. I’ve never personally sold any electronics on eBay, but I was recently told that 10% is taken off the final sale price as a fee to eBay, which could be a large sum of money. Although eBay obviously has a larger user base, the bigger (final) sale price may be found on Gumtree.

Advantage of Selling on Gumtree

The benefits of selling on eBay are there for all to see; maximum exposure, targeted promotion and secure payments, but here are some reasons why Gumtree can be better:

• No seller fees
• Less hassle – simple listings seem to work best, and you don’t need to post the items
• Familiarity – Gumtree is like placing a text ad as you would in a newspaper (or similar)
• Peace of mind – there is no need for PayPal accounts or online transferring of money

Buying on Gumtree – The How and Why

As somebody looking to purchase an item online (a MacBook in my case), it’s important to get the right quality at the right price. Searching for the MacBook on eBay resulted in many different options, but I was put off by price, waiting for auctions to end and the insecurity knowing you’re buying something without physically checking it first.

Although the process of searching for information on Gumtree is similar to eBay, they differ quite significantly in terms of the relevance of results returned. When searching on Gumtree, the results are organised with the most recent results first (as with eBay), but they are sorted by specific days as opposed to auction end time. Once an item is sold on eBay it will no longer appear in search results, which is one of the main disadvantages of Gumtree. However, this also has a flip side as it means the listings remain listed indefinitely – meaning the seller doesn’t have to keep going to the trouble of re-listing. The issue with both of these websites is filtering out the noise as a buyer, which is where it’s good to have an understanding of the different ways to find information.

Traditional Search

As mentioned above, the traditional Gumtree search returns results that are sorted by date added. The main advantage of the search is the localised results, as Gumtree has specific sections/sub-sites for different regions within a country (it’s not just the UK anymore either). The disadvantage of this technique is that searches can often exclude older results, even though they are listed and live on the website still.

Category Search

Very similar to the standard site search, you are able to delve deeper into specific categories throughout the website to find more specific results. Again, the disadvantage with this technique is that the latest results are favoured – which is rightly so in most cases, but not always.

The External Search (Google)

I work in SEO, so when I didn’t find the results I knew were there via the standard website methods, the next step was naturally to check Google. Now the localised search results in Gumtree can be good, but in truth I was open to the possibility of purchasing the MacBook from a variety of locations (within reason). Google allows you to search the entire listings on Gumtree that have been indexed, and you can also drill down specifically if needed.

As with the other search methods, there are flaws with the Google method. One of the main problems is that results from Australia and New Zealand are predominately placed. To counter this, a simple search query can be constructed – similar to the following:

“macbook black” inurl:gumtree.com -.au

The above query uses the exact match operators for the search string, the inurl command to ensure gumtree.com results are displayed, and the exclusion operator to block Australian results.

eBay vs Gumtree – Which is Best?

There is no outright answer to this question as they are both good in their own right. The extensive listings on eBay are heaven for most people, especially for rare and unusual items. eBay also provides the opportunity to save some serious money due to the nature of the auctions. However, Gumtree has the advantage of localised search (if needed), instant potential to purchase and contains listings that are often cheaper in price than the set-price eBay ones.

If you’re searching within a budget, you should be looking to explore every possible option. eBay is the natural start point but don’t forget Gumtree. Sellers may list on Gumtree for quick sales or to avoid seller fees – either way it’s great for a deal. One final point is that you shouldn’t be put off by old listings on Gumtree. The MacBook I finally purchased had been originally listed in December 2009 with a higher price, but after contacting him he still had it, and was willing to accept less.

What are your experiences of eBay and Gumtree? Where do you look to get a good deal?

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