I have done over a couple of hundred deals on Ebay and I have been screwed twice.
The total involved is only about £40 but I do find the complaints process inaedequate and when they find in your favour they don't take any responsibility for the compensation. I have found the best way is to check the feedback for any comments indicating past problems before one makes a bid. There can be negative feedback which simply indicates sour grapes but anything which indicates actual problems such as "does not respond to emails", then give them a wide berth.
I guess this can make things hard on genuine new ebayers and trust has to start somewhere but it is worthwhile doing the feeback checks.
I've been using eBay to buy and sell almost since its inception. I loved it in the beginning because it was like a big flea market or yard sale. It was fun because you had to personally email people to make your transactions, etc. But there was also less security and you had to rely more on people's good graces if there was a problem.
Now, eBay is so large and so commercial... I like the speed of some transactions, but I do miss the personal contact side of things. And as a seller, I'm glad most of my old stuff is gone, because items that once seemed "rare" and could bring a decent profit are now "a dime a dozen".
I agree with Trefor... check their record for anything suspicious. If you see the same complaints in several feedbacks, etc. Stay away.
I love ebay...use it both for buying and selling. I did have a problem with one psycho...but ebay worked with me on it and shut that person's account down.
If I buy something that I don't quite like...I simply turn around and sell it on ebay. Usually if you pay close attention to the item description and ask questions of the seller...it will usually turn out quite well.
I buy Dansko shoes on ebay regulary. A gu named Shoeprofessor is who I use. My son buys and sells his toys...PSP, now paintball sstuff on ebay and hubby does the same, we just got and iSight for our Mac, so we can video chat...my sister-n-law has a sharp eye for valuabl art and picks up quite a bit on ebay at 10% its worth.
I had a money order never make it to the seller. I lost my receipt. I tried to have a friend purchase the item with her pay pal account and the item had been sold to someone else.
The other transactions were all right. I bought skin care and make-up.
I agree that questions should be asked and feedback should be looked at.
I have an occasional problem, but Paypal and Ebay protections have been adequate. I buy insurance whenever it's offered. It's paid for itself.
I'm currently dealing with a possible fraudulent seller. At most I'll lose $25, which ain't too bad. If it had been a more expensive purchase I'd be in worse shape, but I weigh cost & risk against the individual's feedback.
One thing I've noticed more lately: seller accounts which have 100% feedback based on 20 or 30 purchases of items each less than $1.00. - No buyer feedback. Just cheapo-crappo seller feedback. There's a red flag fer ya. The item for sale is generally well over $100.
eBay gets paid by the sellers, so there's no financial incentive for them to go to bat for buyers.
In order for them to go afte all of the sellers that are accused of fraud, they'd have to spend a LOOOT of money. It's cheaper for them to just refer buyers to their insurers, Lloyds of London.
Generally speaking, any time a seller is determined to be fraudulent, all that eBay will end up doing is cancelling that seller's ID. eBay will NOT attempt to block that seller from creating a different eBay ID with a different email address - it's just not possible.
The best advice to follow when dealing with eBay - or any internet purchasing, for that matter - is caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.
I've had mostly good luck. Bought a vinyl record one time which arrived to me warped, in which case, it couldn't be proven whether it was sent out that way, or it occurred along the way. In any event, a $7 loss. So it goes.
The sellers I also tend to avoid are the ones who charge an arm and a leg for shipping, who obviously have gotten greedy in their calculations.
I'm with you, Dan... generally speaking, I resent exorbitant "handling" fees that get included with the shipping costs, and I try to avoid those sellers.
One thing I've noticed more lately: seller accounts which have 100% feedback based on 20 or 30 purchases of items each less than $1.00. - No buyer feedback. Just cheapo-crappo seller feedback. There's a red flag fer ya. The item for sale is generally well over $100.
Thanks for the tip. That's a new scam I wasn't aware of.
Yes something I should have mentioned - check the items and looks especially for buyer feedback.
And I try to avoid those who are really greedy on postage! I see shipping charges for dvds here as high as £3.00 when it only costs £0.75 to post. Even allowing for packaging that's plain ridiculous!
I've never sold anything on Ebay, but thought about selling all my TWI stuff, just never done it.
I have bought quite a few things and only had problems twice. Both times I complained to my credit card company and they put the funds back on my account. I keep track of all correspondence with the sellers "just in case" and I will never buy from someone with a negative feedback unless it appears to be one particular unique situation in a long history of transactions.
BUT, I only go on when I'm looking for something in particular and know about what I want to spend. Sometimes it's just not a deal once they tack on all the shipping and whatnot. I did get a killer wi fi laptop for a darn good price recently and now I'm totally spoiled. :D-->
I bought my wedding dress on ebay from Hong Kong. I was very satisfied with the transaction. I received the dress in 4 days (I lived in San Diego at the time), and I was amazed I received it that quickly. There were some extra charges (about $30 for importing or something like that--and the seller was upfront with this) when I picked it up from the post office. I didn't mind since I was paying so much less for an item that would have cost me hundreds more in the states.
A lady in my small group bought a Game Cube(or something like that) on ebay from a college guy. She never received the item. She called the guy up, and his visiting mother answered the phone. When the mother found out about her son's dishonesty, she told my friend that the game would be shipped the next day, and it was. I guess it took Mom to get that one done.
I have bought electronic components one Ebay. Out of 26 transactions, the worse thing that happened was that one guy took 2 weeks to ship some relays. I nagged him until he finally shipped them.
Recently I have begun to sell some surplus hairpeices/toupees on Ebay. The response has been great. All have sold for quite a bit more than I expected and most have been paid for instantly via PayPal.
As a buyer you must be very careful and consider the risk of purchasing on Ebay. Use a credit card if possible. Then if something goes wrong you can have the CC company dispute the charges and get your money back. Paypal will usually buckle under pressure. The CC complany has the final say - not Paypal or Ebay. You have little recourse if you use a money order.
Also, if you have a bank issued check card that has the VISA symbol on it (ie., acts as either a charge card or debit card, even if it still comes straight from your bank account), it has the same CC protection in disputing the charges. But make sure that it has the VISA symbol and markings on it, and not just a bank issued debit card alone.
I have made about 150 transactions on eBay, and have a 100% rating on 108 unique users. I have sold books, beanies, and Scrabble stuff mostly.
I've had a bunch of repeat customers. I've had maybe 3 transactions that went less than perfectly, once because I messed up an address (it got to the buyer eventually in spite of me!), once because I dropped the book I was selling and had to tell the buyer it was less than described, and once because the guy didn't read the description carefully, so I sent him something extra to make him happy.
I have had 3 transactions where the item I bought was a little less than described, but kept it anyway. Only once did I have to negative feedback someone, usually I just don't post any if I think it was just one deal gone bad. Stuff happens, people get sick, etc.
Here's some of what I do to ensure a good outcome:
I read the feedback, and click on the ones that still have the link to the item. You can get a sense of who the peron is: a pro, a conscientious small-timer (like me), a collector, scatterbrain, etc.
Read the description of an item carefully. Read between the lines: what is the seller NOT telling you? If the shipping charge is too high (it doesn't have to be exact, but it should be reasonable) I don't bid. If the seller has a LOOONG discourse on what he doesn't like in a buyer, I don't bid.
I use personal emails whenever possible. I ask questions before bidding, and I include a personal note in the email invoice. (I used to not use their email invoice, but it has become harder to bypass that.) I also include my own invoice in the package, not the eBay-generated one.
eBay definitely favors the seller, so buyer beware.
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Trefor Heywood
I have done over a couple of hundred deals on Ebay and I have been screwed twice.
The total involved is only about £40 but I do find the complaints process inaedequate and when they find in your favour they don't take any responsibility for the compensation. I have found the best way is to check the feedback for any comments indicating past problems before one makes a bid. There can be negative feedback which simply indicates sour grapes but anything which indicates actual problems such as "does not respond to emails", then give them a wide berth.
I guess this can make things hard on genuine new ebayers and trust has to start somewhere but it is worthwhile doing the feeback checks.
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Wacky Funster
I have made 2 purchases on ebay, and both were crap. I returned them with no problem, and no hassles getting the cash back.
I've never used ebay again, and probably never will.
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TheHighWay
I've been using eBay to buy and sell almost since its inception. I loved it in the beginning because it was like a big flea market or yard sale. It was fun because you had to personally email people to make your transactions, etc. But there was also less security and you had to rely more on people's good graces if there was a problem.
Now, eBay is so large and so commercial... I like the speed of some transactions, but I do miss the personal contact side of things. And as a seller, I'm glad most of my old stuff is gone, because items that once seemed "rare" and could bring a decent profit are now "a dime a dozen".
I agree with Trefor... check their record for anything suspicious. If you see the same complaints in several feedbacks, etc. Stay away.
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Cindy!
I love ebay...use it both for buying and selling. I did have a problem with one psycho...but ebay worked with me on it and shut that person's account down.
If I buy something that I don't quite like...I simply turn around and sell it on ebay. Usually if you pay close attention to the item description and ask questions of the seller...it will usually turn out quite well.
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DaddyHoundog
I buy Dansko shoes on ebay regulary. A gu named Shoeprofessor is who I use. My son buys and sells his toys...PSP, now paintball sstuff on ebay and hubby does the same, we just got and iSight for our Mac, so we can video chat...my sister-n-law has a sharp eye for valuabl art and picks up quite a bit on ebay at 10% its worth.
Lianne
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reikilady
I had a money order never make it to the seller. I lost my receipt. I tried to have a friend purchase the item with her pay pal account and the item had been sold to someone else.
The other transactions were all right. I bought skin care and make-up.
I agree that questions should be asked and feedback should be looked at.
I would buy on e-bay again.
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satori001
I have an occasional problem, but Paypal and Ebay protections have been adequate. I buy insurance whenever it's offered. It's paid for itself.
I'm currently dealing with a possible fraudulent seller. At most I'll lose $25, which ain't too bad. If it had been a more expensive purchase I'd be in worse shape, but I weigh cost & risk against the individual's feedback.
One thing I've noticed more lately: seller accounts which have 100% feedback based on 20 or 30 purchases of items each less than $1.00. - No buyer feedback. Just cheapo-crappo seller feedback. There's a red flag fer ya. The item for sale is generally well over $100.
Caveat emptor.
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Steve!
eBay gets paid by the sellers, so there's no financial incentive for them to go to bat for buyers.
In order for them to go afte all of the sellers that are accused of fraud, they'd have to spend a LOOOT of money. It's cheaper for them to just refer buyers to their insurers, Lloyds of London.
Generally speaking, any time a seller is determined to be fraudulent, all that eBay will end up doing is cancelling that seller's ID. eBay will NOT attempt to block that seller from creating a different eBay ID with a different email address - it's just not possible.
The best advice to follow when dealing with eBay - or any internet purchasing, for that matter - is caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.
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TheInvisibleDan
I've had mostly good luck. Bought a vinyl record one time which arrived to me warped, in which case, it couldn't be proven whether it was sent out that way, or it occurred along the way. In any event, a $7 loss. So it goes.
The sellers I also tend to avoid are the ones who charge an arm and a leg for shipping, who obviously have gotten greedy in their calculations.
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TheHighWay
I'm with you, Dan... generally speaking, I resent exorbitant "handling" fees that get included with the shipping costs, and I try to avoid those sellers.
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Jim
Thanks for the tip. That's a new scam I wasn't aware of.
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Trefor Heywood
Yes something I should have mentioned - check the items and looks especially for buyer feedback.
And I try to avoid those who are really greedy on postage! I see shipping charges for dvds here as high as £3.00 when it only costs £0.75 to post. Even allowing for packaging that's plain ridiculous!
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Belle
I've never sold anything on Ebay, but thought about selling all my TWI stuff, just never done it.
I have bought quite a few things and only had problems twice. Both times I complained to my credit card company and they put the funds back on my account. I keep track of all correspondence with the sellers "just in case" and I will never buy from someone with a negative feedback unless it appears to be one particular unique situation in a long history of transactions.
BUT, I only go on when I'm looking for something in particular and know about what I want to spend. Sometimes it's just not a deal once they tack on all the shipping and whatnot. I did get a killer wi fi laptop for a darn good price recently and now I'm totally spoiled.
:D-->
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Nottawayfer
I bought my wedding dress on ebay from Hong Kong. I was very satisfied with the transaction. I received the dress in 4 days (I lived in San Diego at the time), and I was amazed I received it that quickly. There were some extra charges (about $30 for importing or something like that--and the seller was upfront with this) when I picked it up from the post office. I didn't mind since I was paying so much less for an item that would have cost me hundreds more in the states.
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Nottawayfer
A lady in my small group bought a Game Cube(or something like that) on ebay from a college guy. She never received the item. She called the guy up, and his visiting mother answered the phone. When the mother found out about her son's dishonesty, she told my friend that the game would be shipped the next day, and it was. I guess it took Mom to get that one done.
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Goey
I have bought electronic components one Ebay. Out of 26 transactions, the worse thing that happened was that one guy took 2 weeks to ship some relays. I nagged him until he finally shipped them.
Recently I have begun to sell some surplus hairpeices/toupees on Ebay. The response has been great. All have sold for quite a bit more than I expected and most have been paid for instantly via PayPal.
As a buyer you must be very careful and consider the risk of purchasing on Ebay. Use a credit card if possible. Then if something goes wrong you can have the CC company dispute the charges and get your money back. Paypal will usually buckle under pressure. The CC complany has the final say - not Paypal or Ebay. You have little recourse if you use a money order.
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GarthP2000
Also, if you have a bank issued check card that has the VISA symbol on it (ie., acts as either a charge card or debit card, even if it still comes straight from your bank account), it has the same CC protection in disputing the charges. But make sure that it has the VISA symbol and markings on it, and not just a bank issued debit card alone.
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shazdancer
I have made about 150 transactions on eBay, and have a 100% rating on 108 unique users. I have sold books, beanies, and Scrabble stuff mostly.
I've had a bunch of repeat customers. I've had maybe 3 transactions that went less than perfectly, once because I messed up an address (it got to the buyer eventually in spite of me!), once because I dropped the book I was selling and had to tell the buyer it was less than described, and once because the guy didn't read the description carefully, so I sent him something extra to make him happy.
I have had 3 transactions where the item I bought was a little less than described, but kept it anyway. Only once did I have to negative feedback someone, usually I just don't post any if I think it was just one deal gone bad. Stuff happens, people get sick, etc.
Here's some of what I do to ensure a good outcome:
I read the feedback, and click on the ones that still have the link to the item. You can get a sense of who the peron is: a pro, a conscientious small-timer (like me), a collector, scatterbrain, etc.
Read the description of an item carefully. Read between the lines: what is the seller NOT telling you? If the shipping charge is too high (it doesn't have to be exact, but it should be reasonable) I don't bid. If the seller has a LOOONG discourse on what he doesn't like in a buyer, I don't bid.
I use personal emails whenever possible. I ask questions before bidding, and I include a personal note in the email invoice. (I used to not use their email invoice, but it has become harder to bypass that.) I also include my own invoice in the package, not the eBay-generated one.
eBay definitely favors the seller, so buyer beware.
Regards,
Shaz
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