For starters ...
I keep my eyes peeled daily for the cheapest (yet still fully functional and in decent shape) devices on ebay ...either a "buy-it-now" or "best-offer" option is naturally static..whereas an auction I initially state may start off cheap as dirt and yet climb to comparable current prices...
Naturally I make no claim as to the seller's veracity.
I'm going on the info which the seller admits to as much as the next guy.
But if it seems that there is something fishy, a deliberate omission of detail(s) ...ask the seller...
ie: no mention of "usb-port-state" in the auction details for a n900...I'd ask.
sooo there you go ...caveat emptor.
ALSO NOTE: it is still saner to purchase your device from fellow members here in the "Buy and Sell" subforum ...even if the price may be a little higher than gambling on a purchase from an ebay seller for the simple fact that your fellow buds here are not likely to throw away their good names selling garbage, broken, or flawed devices without informing you the buyer of their state 1st. No one here wants to throw away their good name or their standing with their peers.
So ..onward and upward...

Buying / Bidding TIPS:

Basics:

1-Some sellers know what they are selling but need the money...some sellers have NO idea the value of what they are selling ...take advantage of that.
(Sounds brutal...but remember kindness, understanding, love and charity, starts at home...with friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, coworkers, pets, the local community and of course your maemo brethren ...after that ...such kindness to the rest of humanity and the world should logically radiate outwards afterwards. Ebay is purely a business marketplace. Leave your feelings that you are possibly taking advantage of someone's ill luck or N.I.T.-lack-of-understanding / value...at the door. They bluntly need the money you can provide...keep perspective...just make sure you are the 1st or only one getting that deal..you get the device you need ...affordably...they get the money they need ...it's a win-win.)

2-Some sellers know exactly what they are selling and price the unit inside the average ballpark.

3-Some sellers either don't have a clue or know fully well what they have but try pure profiteering on the unwary buyer with insane prices totally unwarranted for the product.
Beware these fellows

Now sometimes a seller offers "buy-it-now" and "best offer" ...you get 3 chances with best offer..after the 3rd strike (assuming that the seller doesn't like your best-offer)..you have no recourse but to buy it. Hence try to anticipate what he would be willing to pay "at least _ _ " sum and aim at the best offer strategy.
In some cases it is an auction with the option to "buy-it-now" ..which is always higher than the initial starting bid. By putting a bid in ..in this example it closes the buy-it-now option and relegates the sale to an auction..this can work in your favour..it can also go higher in bidding than the original buy-it-now offer was...tricky-wicket eh?

My best suggestion in the case of an ordinary auction is bidding to within $10-$20 (that is including shipping) of the lowest priced of the current comparable average....no higher.
An immediately current example some units (n8x0-wise) are trending between $60 to $125.
Personally with the market currently and with eagle-eyes trained devices can be gotten for under $20 and up to $50.
The "deal" is really mercurial ..the devices when 1st released were quite expensive (4-5 times more expensive than the most ridiculously priced n8x0 on ebay to date...meaning ...when put in it's perspective ...it is still worth it and a great deal at $125 ..it just isn't savvy purchase smart-wise when exactly the same device is available for the keen-eyed hunter at a 1/5th of that $125.00 price tag) and their value I do not believe diminished over time...merely enhanced and refined ..unlike other device lines.

ie: If the current comparable n800's in the "market" are selling for $69 to $125 ...yet a seller "just" posts a new device for sale, best offer, or auction at less than the lowest current comparable ...it is worth putting an offer in, purchasing or bidding upon.

-If nothing comes up in 3 to 6 months that is cheaper...I'd go for the $69 unit...under the premise that now...supply is diminishing compared to demand and there are now more individuals that have units they have no intention of letting go of ..now are beginning to outnumber the individuals who just want to get rid of the device. After the extreme of a 6 month "dry-spell" of affordable available devices expect prices to jump significantly. It is purely a cyclic occurrence and hopefully (for you the buyer's sake) it will pass. It has before..but that is no set-in-stone law of nature. There are only so many manufactured devices..as they wear out, break, are lost forgotten or stolen annually ..their numbers diminish. Break-point will come. As it does with all things made where they become rarer and rarer and availability diminishes and price will simply increase. Keep that in the back of your mind at all times.
Hence my duplicate extra devices...just in case... y'know.

Back to topic.

I personally wouldn't get too excited ((unless it was a "2fer" (2 units in one auction), proto, rare or included additional perks and extras that made the temptation to bid above the current comparable desirable)) and go toe-to-toe or exceed what may be gotten for the low end of current comparable.

Hopefully that explains the current market environment in relation to our devices and shows in small part to people unacquainted with auctions what to look for and what is a deal and what isn't.
Current comparables have been somewhat static for the last year with consistent intermittent deals popping up ...but I think regardless whether prices rise or fall... the template of examples here can be be extrapolated to that future state.

Enough talk-talk.

n800 buy-it-now 1-day 12-hours (missing stylus)
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/400877249403?...84.m1436.l2649

n810 3-bid 4-days 10-hours
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/261832849019?...84.m1436.l2649

n900 0-bids ended-unsold-
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/281647227519?...84.m1436.l2649

I can't imagine any of them will last long...

Do we really need a new thread each time one appears on eBay?

2015-03-24: Nokia n810 auction ...stupid cheap ...for the moment.
2015-03-23: N800 on ebay ...excellent buy it now price.
2015-03-11: For the consummate collector .. Nokia N810 N00 Prototype for sale.

If anyone wants one, I am pretty sure they can do a simple search.

hehe
pin it to over-enthusiasm.
I don't post every one that comes along ..mind..just the ones that look to be a deal and aren't there for long...and posting them has brought some new blood to the devices ...which otherwise may not have occurred....
but ... yeah suppose you are right though pichlo.
Hm ...I'll just rename this thread and keep it as the consistent thread on the topic...

I appreciate your posts. I'm planning to buy one, ship to friend in US and he'll will bring it to Europe later this year. IMO N810 is cheaper in US compared to EU, also more devices on ebay.com than on ebay.de/co.uk

Oh don't get me wrong, I also think that notification is good. I just think that one thread would be enough Just look at Dave's all-purpose "count-down" thread

A spot-on overview of N.I.T. vs ebay--many thanks.

Because sellers often don't understand what they have, and are more middle-men than "previous owners," I always communicate with them before a sale. If they respond quickly, with an actual answer, that counts a great deal.

Even so, their idea of an unscratched screen is usually different than mine And wear-n-tear is in the eye of the beholder.

A missing stylus would make me look elsewhere, regardless of the seller's prompt enthusiasm about the machine's condition. If you cared about the machine, you wouldn't lose the stylus and you sure as heck would replace it if you did.

Unless it's NIB, I won't buy from a recycler or wholesaler--on ebay recently, there's been a nice enough fellow who's selling 10 or so N810s for $49usd BIN. Lord knows the condition of those machines. How can anybody vouch for so many devices?

I see myself good for one more N810 and that would be NIB--whether I can remain married after such a purchase is another matter entirely

Jake

I once purchased an "as new" phone on eBay (not Nokia). It arrived without a box or charger, scratched like it was run through the washing macnhine with a bucketful of gravel and reeking of cigarette smoke.

Our solution to that problem is:
- have our salaries paid to the joint account
- both of us also have private accounts
- a small fixed allowance is paid monthly from joint to private accounts
- the other one has no say to how you spend your allowance

I spend mine on charity (about 25%), beer money (about 10%), hobbies (10-15%) and gifts for my other half (most of the rest).

NOKIA 770
opening bid $9.00 U.S. or buy it now for $15.00 U.S.
4 days 5 hours left.
I have to admit... for the classic 770...looks to be in excellent condition..and the price is pretty darn cheap.
Excellent for fiddling and puttering around with without worrying about bricking it and losing tons of money in the doing
Great device for the veteran expert who knows what's what.... and a great device for the novice to get frustrated over

n810 under $20.00 U.S. starting bid.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/201331570232?...MakeTrack=true

ordinarily I wouldn't mention a n8x0 with a price tag this high...
but it is a proto...
n810 proto...
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/181717540445?...84.m1436.l2649

excellent bundled n800 at an excellent opening bid....
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Nokia-N-Serie...E:B:SS:CA:3160