Ummmm ... hey guy, uh, I think you're doing it wrong - ebay edition

Now, I don't claim to be a microphone expert, but I've been a round the block a couple times.
So while trying to find a good deal on an AKG c414 EB, I've been scouting more on craigslist and ebay.

What a virtual wasteland ebay has become.

First off, I'm really tired of people posting new stuff to sell. An AKG search pulled up more "stores" than anything else. MINT NIB NR WOOT!!! The number of "buy it now"s is kind of REALLY obnoxious. Why would I want to pay full retail, inflated shipping, and CA sales tax, when I can just go to Amazon?

Secondly, I'm tired of all the yahoos there that jack prices up WAY too high for used gear. Really?!?! $70 for a used MXL 990, PLUS $15 to ship?!?! I'll buy it new for $60 (including shipping) ANYWHERE else, thanks. Hell I got mine for FREE with a $200 soundcard!

Sometimes though, you stumble on an auction that just takes the cake, like this guy.

Retail on the AKG Perception 200 WAS $200 when it was new, and you can routinely find the updated Perception 220 for around $180.

He wants $900.

Plus $50 to ship.

And if that weren't bad enough, he also included a picture:


Here's a place to start if you're looking for an AKG Perception 220.

***Update June 8th***

Funnily enough, this didn't get a single bid...

700MHz Auction Starts Today!

Say "goodbye" to TV over the air, and hopefully "hello" to a faster, more competitive, easier to use data environment.
It all depends on who wins this auction, and the FCC will be posting info on their site.
With the USA falling farther and farther behind every other industrialized country in terms of broadband reach AND speed of our network (coupled with the fact that with no true competition in the ISP arena thanks to a collusive market, we pay more for less), it's getting more and more depressing to think that we invented the damn thing (the internet that is ... I know I know CERN and all that other mess... but come on).
This auction could be a watershed moment in the history of telecommunications. It could radically change how we consume data, how we pay for it. It could help spread fast cheap access to even the most disadvantaged or rural.

Or it could get gobbled up by some mega-corp and we'll continue to pay more for less, subsidizing these industries with tax dollars, paying for horrible service, and languishing behind the rest of the world.

I'll push it even farther. This could seal our irrelevance to the rest of the world. There, I said it.

Anywho, check out the auction at the FCC site, and if you really want to learn more about the players involved, and what impact this could have on us Amuricans, Gizmodo had a great write up that you should check out.