Ordered my first Metal DDR pad off ebay

[daveg2000]

I just 'won' one of the cheaper metal DDR pads
off ebay.. cant wait to get it and try it  ($15+55 shipping)
I guess it weighs like 70lbs or something close to that.

If this is seems to hold up fine, I wonder why others are selling
pads for 110+ (before shipping)   

I guess thats why you don't see any bids on the more expensive pads.

Now.. I have to tell my wife what I bought.

Her Reaction:   

[grueinthebox]

It doesn't weigh 70 pounds, they just screw you on shipping in order to screw eBay on auction fees while getting more for the item.  It costs them ~$25 to ship (when I got mine, I plugged in the shipping weight, dimensions and shipping type listed on the actual shipping label into a shipping calculator).

That said, the pads are decent for the price, and I'm fairly happy with mine.  Better than any soft pad, and a good compromise on price/performance for those of us who aren't "hardcore" enough to spend the big bucks for the ultra-super-deluxe pads (can't remember the brand - supposed to be better than RedOctane) or with the room for a DDR arcade machine.

When I first got mine, I followed the instructions from the DDRFreak forums and took all the panels off to make sure that the little plastic connectors were tucked down where they were supposed to be, and not out where they can hit the acrylic panel.  Apparently this is the most common cause of cracked panels on these pads...  Mine's gotten a fair amount of use, and still seems to be holding up fine.

FWIW, it also seems to be the same pad you can get at Fry's for like $150 or so from what I can tell, not just for $110 from other sellers on eBay.  I guess it pays to shop around. 

[daveg2000]

When I first got mine, I followed the instructions from the DDRFreak forums and took all the panels off to make sure that the little plastic connectors were tucked down where they were supposed to be, and not out where they can hit the acrylic panel.

[grueinthebox]

That was awhile back, don't have a link...  It's pretty straightforward, though - if you remove the panels (you just have to take off the four, screwed-down washers to do so), you'll see some paired wires with little white connectors that run from each panel down through some foam and into the bottom of the pad.  You just need to make sure the little white connectors are stuffed down through the foam into the holes and aren't just out in the open where the pad is going to be hitting against them.  It'll make sense when you get the thing - you'll need to take the panels off anyway to remove the protective plastic covering and they'll be visible with the panels off.

[daveg2000]

Cool.. thanks.. I'll look at that.


Maybe I'll contact the guy and ask for a shipping receipt to be emailed or faxed over to me... just to see what shipping really is... think he'd go for it?

[grueinthebox]

Unlikely...  While I doubt eBay would actually do anything to the seller, AFAIK it's still against the terms of service to charge jacked up shipping to screw eBay out of fees, and that would give you proof you could send to them.

[thetered]

It's not a perfect system, but it doesn't make sense to hear people whining about it.  You are supposed to be 18 or older to have an account on ebay, that is old enough to be an adult about it and know that when you bid you have to calculate in shipping as part of your cost.  I don't care if they charge 20 bucks to send an envelope, I just know to calculate that into my cost.


That being said, the real reason I posted is because I'd like to see a link to the auction to see what kind of pads you guys are talking about.

[daveg2000]

It's not a perfect system, but it doesn't make sense to hear people whining about it.

[SirPeale]

I'm very ticked at the personal attacks you made in your statement.  There are nicer ways to say things.  If you are over 18 and have an account on ebay, you should be smart enough to know when people are mis-using shipping to make more money. 

You call *that* a personal attack?

[paigeoliver]

Ebay doesn't actually care. It is all free money to them. Basically every single auction run through ebay costs them the same amount of money to host. $1 item, $10,000 item, it doesn't matter.


Plus it it is very difficult to define unreasonable shipping overcharge. Each item is unique. I wouldn't crate another arcade game even IF I was given $100 to do so, it is a NIGHTMARE.

Also, I personally on my auctions use a fixed shipping price for first item, add $X for each item after that. I have come out $30 ahead on that before in a single auction. I likewise have come out BEHIND with that method in a single auction (sold a dead track & field board for $1 + $10 shipping, they used paypal, it cost me like $10 to ship it, and there was a listing fee and a final value fee. I could have thrown it away and saved a few pennies).

Also, it takes me 10 times as long to ship an order internationally than it does domestically. Especially to Canada with their new draconian addressing policy and requirement for MIDDLE NAMES on packages. (I always just use "Bob" as the middle name, since no one ever tells me).

So basically, no reason to whine when the shipping cost is clearly listed. I know I do $10 first board, $6 each additional board on my PCB auctions. That pretty much assures me I can cover the heaviest boardsets to Alaska, if they are lighter then I come out ahead.

[daveg2000]

So, anyone else have these metal pads? 

[thetered]

Seriously I didn't mean that to sound like a personal attack, its just that I hear that everywhere I go and its not going to change anything.  But I still say if the shipping is clearly posted then its not taking advantage of you, if you don't want to do it that way, you are only taking advantage of yourself by bidding, I bought a pair of joysticks on there, then found out ponyboy sells them cheaper on here but I didn't fell like the seller cheated me because I knew how much I bid and what shipping was....