Ebay (nb)

[AIDY]

Has anyone had any good or bad experiences of buying and selling on ebay. Are there any catches ?

TIA

<hr width=100% size=1>/forums/images/icons/wink.gif <font color=blue> Regards Andy </font color=blue>

 

[bedouin]

I've bought a number of items from ebay and always been very happy but there are a few points to note:

(a) It has become very commercial - with a significant proportion of the people being trade sellers

(b) You don't always get a bargain - it is not uncommon to see items selling for more than you can buy them new

(c) There is great scope for fraud - including the hijacking of ids. Make sure you use a secure method of payment or face the risk of losing out.

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[kilkerr1]

I've bought/sold a lot on Ebay over the past two or three years. Never had a problem. When I've bought things have always arrived quickly and well-packed. When I've sold I've always received payment promptly. But of course there's always an element of risk/luck. If anything I am in danger of becoming an Ebay junkie, and it's only serious lack of funds that stops me from bidding like a lunatic on all sorts of stuff...

You need to make sure you read the T&Cs, that you understand how things work, communicate well and clearly with whoever you're dealing with, etc. There are no 'catches', but I'm sure someone here will have a story to chill the blood..!

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://kilkerr.members.easyspace.com/santateresa_pics.htm>Santa Teresa and other t'ings</A>

 

[Nickel]

Always check the feedback score and comments on any seller you are considering purchasing from [click on the number and star symbol by their user name]. That tells you a lot about your seller. I generally would avoid anyone with either nil feedback, or with less than 97% positive feedback.

I've bought and sold on ebay, and generally think it's a great way of recycling things. There are a lot more commercial sellers on there now - and this isn't a bad thing - but as Bedouin says watch what you bid - it's not uncommon at all for the price to reach up to and beyond what you might pay at a decent discount mail order site.

Good luck!

<hr width=100% size=1>Nickel

Being paranoid simply means - having all the facts.

 

[PaulJ]

I have bought quite a bit of boaty stuff off ebay and would agree with bedouin.
Make sure you know the price of what you are bidding for..... Some sellers are adding far too much for postage so don't forget to add the price of postage to what you are prepared to bid because it ceases to be a bargain if the postage means that you end up paying more than you would have had to pay at your local chandlery.

Also of course, don't forget to check the seller's feedback.

Generally though, there are a few "bargains" to be had but not that many and as always..... "buyer beware".

<hr width=100% size=1>I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.....

 

[milltech]

Turn your speakers on >
Click the link >
Mouse over "play" and click
http://www.geoffellis.com/ebay.html
I thought it was funny anyway, though not new.

<hr width=100% size=1>John
http://www.on-line-marine.com

 

[oldharry]

Its a good system, and I have saved hundreds on refitting my latest boat. I have yet to be ripped off - but there is of course a first time for everything!

You absolutely must know what is the new cost of anything you bid for. Also decide the most you will pay - and stick to it! If you dont get this one there will be another next week!

There are regularly items where the bidding has gone above the discounted retail price - specially in marine electronics. VHF radios for example seem to go regularly above their discounted retail price. Check through the major chandlery adverts in the Yachting Mags. I recently saw a watch, identical to mine (£24.99 from Argos) reach £65.00. Mine goes in next week!

Selling is pretty simple too, though the only item I have sold so far the deal went bad and I ended up having to report a Non paying buyer. But that happens so often everywhere else too anyway, and we got a substantially higher bid the second time round anyway.

The only snag here is that unless you set a high reserve which may put buyers off, you may have to sell at a lower price than you really wanted.



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[ColinW]

The most useful thing is the feedback. You can usually build up a picture of a seller from their feedback and the other items they have for sale. Be suspicious if there are strange very low cost items in there. It's like everything else, 99.9% of the people on there are genuine but there are crooks. I definitely wouldn't buy expensive goods from abroad because if anything goes wrong you've had it.
If you type "ebay" and "fraud" into Google you get 262000 hits!
There is some useful advice here
http://www.lasvegasvegas.com/ebaytips/fraud.php


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[milltech]

I recently tried to buy an X300 Garden flame thrower, I tried for several but the prices went to within £30 of a new one (£148.00 delivered) so I didn't see the point. At last there was a new one for auction, and I think the final price was something like £157 + delivery. Someone didn't do their research. I bought directly off the £148 web site, goods arrived next day, great service and no bother.

On the other hand I bought a hard to get CD for sale on Amazon for about £20 second hand for 0.99p, no other bidders, with a quid for the postage.



<hr width=100% size=1>John
http://www.on-line-marine.com

 

[rex]

Don\'t touch it with a bargepole!

I bought just one item off eBay and was hooked, now I keep bidding for allsorts of things I don't really need. Apparently there is no known cure, you just have to buy a bigger garage for all the gear that "will come in handy one day". You have been warned!!! Seriously there are good bargains but agree with all the other comments.

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[JeremyF]

As per everyone else...+ a few tips

1. Set yourself a minimum saving vs. best price from a traditional source. Kelkoo is good for getting a feel for best new prices. Seen Navman plotters go about discount chandler prices

2. Make sure you know exactly what model no. you are bidding for, esp consumer electronics. Often they are discontinued models; no probs with that, but don't pay the same as for a current model.

3. Avoid weekends and items closing between 7pm - 9pm. There is typically a 10% price premium.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=red>Jeremy Flynn/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif
Dawn Chorus</font color=red>

 

[philwebb]

I was going to bid on an Icom radio which was offered on ebay, but emailed
Icom with the model number and found that it was an American specification
unit not entirely suitable for European use. These radios are often on offer
from ebay "traders"
I bid on some lengths of rope but at the final price it went for (above my top bid)
it was no longer a bargain -you would have paid less at a boat jumble.
Shackles, cleats, screws etc seem to be a bargain but I wonder about the
quality, are you buying seconds or stuff made in Taiwan from soft metal?

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[cpedw]

Re: Ebay (nb) - advice please

I've looked at ebay a few times but it seems difficult to find items I'm interested in. Is there a trick or do people spend a lot of time trudging through the lists of items? Any advice welcome, thanks.

Derek

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

I got a negative feedback

I bought a CD changer at a reasonable price. I sent the cheque within an hour of purchase. Seller put cheque in bank and then told me he was on holiday for three weeks in USA.

I wrote a snotty email suggesting he knew his holiday plans and starting an auction which would finish 2 days before his departure was bad planning and in my opinion rude. I gave him a neutral feedback.

4 weeks later I received the changer and a negative score on my feedback. He wrote me an email saying I was the rudest 'newbie ebayer' he had ever dealt with, which I have to say still makes me laugh. He did however mention extremely prompt payment but that I was to impatient.

Personally I think I was within my rights to complain regarding his actions.

What I am trying to say, it is worth reading some of the feedback with a pinch of salt.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk>

</A>

 

[bedouin]

Re: Ebay (nb) - advice please

I think that depends a bit on what you are looking for. There are two ways to find items on eBay - browsing by category or using the search facility. These can be combined so that you can browse down a level or two then search.

For the boaty bits there tend to be few enough items that you can browse through occasionally. For the bigger categories, or where you have specific requirements, then searching is very useful.

So for example when I wanted a sextant I did a search for "sextant" and found a number, some of them in rather odd categories!

But for the most part using eBay is comparatively time-consuming compared to phoning the local chandlers.

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[robp]

I posted a reply the other day to bedouin on internet security. Just one of the things that had happened to me was; My son had his id hijacked and the hijacker did about USD25K of ticket fraud that my son could see, after the event. Of course his previously good fedback got wrecked BUT I then received an e-mail from e-bay suspending my account because I was "connected " in some way to my son! This was even though they had recognized he was not at fault. Talk about guilty till proven innocent! What annoys me is that the organisation does not answer e-mails. Use different passwords from anything you ever used before.

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[AIDY]

Re: I got a negative feedback

Thanks for all the useful advise chaps. I think I will watch a couple of items for a few day and learn.

So whats the catch with <A target="_blank" HREF=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15263&item=2487615686&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW> this ? </A> I grant you that it has six days to go. but there is no reserve price on it. If i was the only one to bit, would the seller say have to sell me this at a silly bid + p and p.

Sorry if it's a silly question.



<hr width=100% size=1>/forums/images/icons/wink.gif <font color=blue> Regards Andy </font color=blue>

 

[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

Re: I got a negative feedback

no, it will almost definitely have a reserve on it, <font color=red> it will say no reserve by the description if there is no reserve</font color=red>

you have three options

email the seller and ask him the reserve level
keep bidding in £5 increments until you have a winning bid
Wait until someone else has a winning bid, then you can choose your level

I always use a starting price rather than reserve, the starting price is visible.

Always if possibly do any bidding in the last 30 minutes of auction, you will be more likely to get a bargain.

<hr width=100% size=1>Julian

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.topcatsail.co.uk>

</A>

 

[bedouin]

Re: I got a negative feedback

The seller is clearly a pro so knows what he is doing. As you say there is no reserve so you could win with a bid of £100 however my experience is that items like this tend to go for a high price.

Eventually it is up to supplier to sell you the goods - if he doesn't like the final price and decides not to honour the auction there is not a lot you can do. His feedback is pretty good so he should be pretty reliable.

One word of caution is that he is implying that you can avoid VAT and duty on this item shipped from US; I imagine he achieves that by not declaring the contents. That of course is illegal and as the importer you would be liable for the costs and I imagine that you would technically be committing a criminal offence.

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[muminator]

I agree with the other comments. I use ebay very frequently in my job (wardrobe mistress), buying vintage clothing. Best advice is, as has been said, to check feedback scores. Any trader should want to protect his or her feedback percentage, and that's what keeps most (!) people in line.

If you're buying from abroad, check on payment methods and whether they agree to ship abroad. A lot of US sellers refuse to trade outside the States. Been caught with that one myself.

Good luck.

<hr width=100% size=1>Definition of an expert: An Ex is a has-been, and a Spurt is a drip under pressure...