Do You Use Ebay?

[harleyquinn]

I use ebay all the time. I've only had one problem with someone not paying for something they won, but since you don't send them the item until you get paid, I was only out the effort, but nothing else. With ebay, everyone has a feedback rating, where people that have bought or sold with this person leave comments. Those positive and negative comments add up your rating, and now ebay tells you what percentage are positive, so if a person has a rating of 120, but a 50% positive, you may want to stay away, but if the have a 75 and 100% rating, they may be good. Make sure to check the persons feedback before you bid, read what people say, if it's someone you're buying from, make sure that they're feedback is from people who have bought from them, not just from people they've bought from. (The feedback will tell you which it is).
My problem has always been with UPS, (not the US Postal Service, which is USPS), anytime a buyer ships with them, my stuff gets damaged, so I always try to get them to use USPS instead.
When searching for an item, try searching for misspellings, for example, if you're looking for Baulder's Gate, Try doing a search for Balder's Gate (no u). Because it's misspelled, less ppl will see the auction and therefore you're chances improve for a good deal. There's deals out there, it's just getting harder to find as more people sell. When ebay first came out, there were so many great deals, it was wonderful (especially when you're a poor college student, LOL).

[Sir Taliesin]

I'm hooked! I bought a PDA last month on E-bay and saved myself probably $100 easy! Plus 99% of the time there is no tax envolved! Like that too! Just have to pay the shipping. I'm currently looking for a computer on E-bay. Have about 10 or 11 I'm looking at. Systems there would normally cost me about another $200-$300 on the local market (Which really aren't local. Just the norm, Best-buy, Circuit City, Comp-USA... etc, etc, ad-nausum). I might add that it was my wife that got me hooked on E-bay. She's currently looking for some now out of print wallpaper. It's really great for that stuff!

[Moiraine]

I have used E-Bay twice, to buy books that I couldn't find new and/or in France. I plan to buy more stuff that way, but not often and not expensive and collection stuff : I buy books to read them, not to expose them on shelves ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[WillowIX]

LadyZ I'm sorry for what I am about to do but:

Welcome back Moiraine. [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] We've missed you here. Nice to see you back on IW. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[SomeGuy]

Never used eBay but have wanted to alot. [img]tongue.gif[/img] It has alot of cool LoTR things. I've always wanted an offical LoTR The One Ring with a chain to fit around my neck. Bid was like 5 bucks with 2 min left. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Ronn_Bman]

Originally posted by Moiraine: I have used E-Bay twice, to buy books that I couldn't find new and/or in France. I plan to buy more stuff that way, but not often and not expensive and collection stuff : I buy books to read them, not to expose them on shelves ! [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'll second Willow's postand say it's great to see you here again, Moiraine.

Back on topic, I'll mention that out of about 100 transactions through eBay, I never had a bad experience. I did order a comic book once that wasn't "as advertised", so I notified the owner; he was super nice, and promptly refunded my money. I sold a shirt once that wasn't what the buyer really wanted, so I refunded his money. No fuss, no muss. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I've used eBay for about 2 years now. I love it. It's great for finding products that aren't widely available anymore.

My first purchase was a set of video's for my boys. They saw The Land Before Time on TV one night and became instantly hooked. When I tried to order the films through Amazon.com, I learned there were SIX different movies (at that time). I checked out eBay and found a fellow in Canada that had the entire collection in brand new condition (still wrapped). I bought all 6 videos for a total of $65.00 (including shipping). So I got a very good deal.

I'm not "hooked" by any means. I've only bought about 30 items in two years (many of these were Christmas gifts for the boys last year). I also purchased original copies of Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale, and NeverWinter Nights off eBay and paid no more than $20 for any one of them (NOT including shipping).

In two years, I've never had a bad experience. Just be sure to follow several "common sense" steps and you should have no problems.

1) Always check the seller's feedback (and the number of transactions). I only buy from well established seller's with a good rating. I also only use sellers that accept PayPal payments. If they don't accept PayPal, I don't bid on their item for any reason.

2) ASK QUESTIONS!!!! If you have a question about a product, you can send an email message to the sender and ask them these questions directly.

3) Check the shipping charges. I purchased a Pokemon Battle Stadium for my oldest boy's birthday last year. The final bid on the item was only $15.00 (they sold for $40 in the store), but the shipping was an additional $15.00 because it was coming from Canada. So my total price was $30.00 (still a bargain, since the stores no longer carry the item). I knew how much the shipping would be, but a lot of people overlook that aspect.

4) Check the seller's location. If they are overseas, you will be waiting a fairly long time to receive your item. Also, if you are buying a game (like NWN) read the description carefully to make sure you are getting an English-version of the game.

5) If you don't use PayPal, most sellers will only accept a moneyorder or similar payment. This is the same as sending cash...so ALWAYS send it CERTIFIED MAIL and request a receipt. Otherwise, the seller could always "claim" they never received payment and keep your money AND their product both. By sending the payment Certified Mail, the seller must sign a receipt before getting the envelope and the Post Office tells them that they are sending a copy of the receipt back to the buyer..so the seller knows he/she can't lie about not recieving payment.

6) Determine a "maximum bid" beyond which you won't go. Do NOT get caught up in a bidding war or you will end up spending much more money than you planned to for the item. Set a limit and stick to it. If the price exceeds your maximum bid, then look for another auction...chances are, there will be several others you can bid on right away.

7) Be sensible. I know, this should go without saying, but it doesn't always. My wife LOVES rings. Fortunately, she has a co-worker who also loves rings AND loves eBay. This girl spends $300-$500 a WEEK on eBay buying jewelry. Needless to say, she has more rings than she knows what to do with, so she eventually sells some of them to my wife for a bargain price. It works for me - we profit from her addiction and my wife gets nice rings for her birthday, anniversary, and Christmas (yes, my wife loves rings THAT much).

There is another division of eBay called half.com. It is similar to eBay except there is no bidding. The seller just sets the price he/she wants for the item and you decide if you're willing to pay it. Shipping is shown and added automatically...so you see the Total Price before purchasing any item.

The only thing I don't like about half.com is that they do NOT accept PayPal...so I have to pay by credit card. I also had my only "bad" experience when I made my first transaction there. I bought a "brand new" copy of Aliens vs Predator (gold edition). When I got the game, I tried to install it on my computer, only to learn that it required a SECOND CD that was not included. [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img] Technically, the seller did not lie about the product. The CD I recieved was still wrapped in the original plastic, so it was "brand new"....but I learned that "brand new" does NOT necessarily mean "complete".

The good news is that the seller offered me a full refund and allowed me to return the product. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

[Darlon]

Nope, I never use Ebay, I hate auction sites, its so easy to get ripped off.

[Zero Alpha]

if you follow what cerek said you should be fine. my family love ebay, as you can find loads of unusual stuff, real cheap. im currently bidding on sega saturn Nights into dreams (rare). its the kind of thing you cant get in the shops, well worth the chance that i may get ripped off. and if they do we have both credit card insurance, paypal, and ebay all on your side. just dont rip anyone else off and you'll be fine

[Larry_OHF]

I found an old Fred Astaire movie on E-Bay that I could not get anywhere else. The person I bought it from was very nice and the shipment came faster than I expected...and was in great condition. I have also bought a sword from a dealer that uses E-Bay. Again, no problems. I am thinking about getting on there as a seller soon. I have a few things to rid myself of.

[ 06-13-2003, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]