any eBay buyers here?
 

I found some cool shit on eBay today, but I'm scared to death of actually buying anything from this online garage sale....

what kinda shit should I be looking out for? Is there someting that warns you of people that haven't sent the product or maybe sent something other than is described?

I have bought and sold $3000 synthesizers on ebay over the past 3 years man.

Check the history of your seller.

but its legit.

;)

crap.... now they're offline.... is it Friday already?

What fletch said. As long as the guy's selling history is solid, you won't have too much to worry about. I guess the best you can really do is try to learn as much about the product that you're wanting to purchase, before bidding.

I've bought a lot of hobby stuff on there - check to see how many sales they have had - that's the number alongside their name - check to see what other people have said about them.

If they have had a lot of sales and the majority of the comments against their name are favourable then the chances are that they are ok.

If you have any doubts then email them and ask a few questions. If they are keen they will get back to you with the answers fairly quickly.

If you have the slightest doubt then done bid - instead put it on your watching list and see how the bids go and if you feel more confident then step in at the end with your maximum bid.

I buy TONS of shit through ebay. Mostly vinyl and antiquities and have only been scammed a couple times in 4 years. And I have bought hundreds of things off there.

I would never buy electronics off ebay.

r u serious?

that's what it is, and that's why I'm leery....

Definately agree.

For stuff under $50 it's fine. anything else, forget about it.

The stories of people hyjacking accounts to place high-ticket laptops and electronics and then running off with the money scared me to death.

eBay is good. Just do it.

I've bought quite a few things, never had a problem.. make sure your seller has high feedback with little or no negatives and you'll be fine.

I spend a few k on ebay, never had any problems. And i'm in the Netherlands .

Some stuff i bought (electronics)

Intel Wireless kit
Plextor Burner
10 HDD 80 gig
20 Intel Eth Expr Pro Cards
Compaq IPAQ 3975

NEVER had problems, not even doa's

(i have more problems with paypal, still :winkwink: )

if you pay thru paypal, they have a gurantee now. if you don't receive the item, you can file a complaint, and unless the seller can prove they sent the item (tracking # thru a shipping service), paypal will credit back your purchase.

i buy all sorts of shit, including several video games, video game systems, computer parts, dvds, digital cameras, etc
never had a problem.

labret, you said you buy vinyls... for collecting or for spinning? if for spinning, what do you spin?

Amp,

Just check the sellers history report on ebay, most of the folks there are running their auctions just like we all do with paysites, this is a living and dont want to ruin it with silly games.

I have bought over 4g's worth of vintage furniture, stained glass, art deco stuff for my house and NEVER got burned once in the last 2 years.

the only thing you have to be careful of is that Ebay is seriuosly addictive. Buy a few things there and before you know it, the delivery man is a daily visitor to your pad.

Good luck and enjoy!

Jim
LWI crew

I brought many things from ebay including a hardrive, and it works great !

buy at least one thing a week there, look at RECENT feedback

I buy all types of stuff from a $5 cam to a $9,000 watch

have you ever bought Raku on Ebay?

ALWAYS ALWAYS read the fine print, there's been a couple of things that I made last second bids on and got stuck on, now I read everything a couple of times before bidding.

The first thing that I got shafted on was when the Playstation 2 first came out, I was stupid and didn't pre-order the thing, then went on Ebay and found one and bid $350 on it, only to find that it was for a PRESELL TICKET, meaning that the dude expected me to pay another $299 for the system on top of the $350, I told him where to go, he he he.

The second thing was an excersize step thing for my wifey which everywhere sold with 3 videos. On the auction, it was pictured with the videos, but after winning it, I found out that in the fine print it said "videos not included". The guy did throw in the videos in the end, but he charged me more :(

Cant say that I have.

Amp,

If you're worried at all or if the seller doesn't have much history, just use escrow.com. They charge a small fee, but their service is great, very easy to use and it totally protects you.

I buy a lot of domains names and I've been burned a couple of times. Now I use escrow.com and have no worries about getting screwed.....

just use lots of common sense

I've bought a whole bunch of shit from ebay too....if you pay with PayPal I believe you're covered for your purchase if they don't send you the item.

A lot of the electronics and computer sellers are small businesses owners that use ebay for extra exposure. Look for powersellers, they're the ones doing high volume each month. Some have the business phone numbers, addresses and websites in the ad. That's as legit as you're going to get on the net. I've been ripped off once in 3 years and it was over a $20 book. I've purchased several things over 1k and never had a problem. Check feedback. It'll give you a pretty good indication on who they are. Pay for insurance when shipping and get a tracking #. That's about it.

Don't buy used electronic equipment and if you do get the insurance. I bought a Pioneer CDJ100S DJ CD player from a seller on eBay and it arrived broken and unusable. I tired to disput it with eBay but he claimed it was shipped in perfect working order and since I hadn't bought insurance I got shafted $250us. I thought about reselling it on eBay out of spite but my rage wore off too quick and I just trashed it.

I have bought and sold in the thousands infact anyone need a webcam? :thumbsup

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2072104703

I'm a regular seller on Ebay, but there's always a risk when purchasing something online. My wife is the regular buyer! :)

Ebay has many ways to check the seller before you buy something from them. Feedback is key. If people are happy with the seller, their feedback should reflect that. You can always contact the seller and ask them questions and tell them your concerns. They should be understanding enough. If possible, ask them if they would agree to use www.escrow.com for purchases. That way, you will have less chance of being ripped off.

Many vendors use Ebay to sell electronics every day. See if they regularly sell similar items. If they do, then they are probably a reseller and are legit.

Good luck!

Be very careful Amp.

This is not a joke: The last time I sold something on Ebay, I ended up in the hospital, and had to have micro-surgery, physical therapy, and still I have no feeling in that part of my body because of the nerve damage.

I've opted against buying anything from eBay..... not worth the risk. I'll just stick to buying from companies. If a company fucks me, I can have Visa kick their ass for me. (and have in the past a few times) :)

If you use paypal you can do a payment retraction. I really hate it when people retract their payments.

I buy porn from ebay. I just bought this dutch amateur dvd and I've bought stuff vhs videos in the past. Never got screwed :thumbsup

I have bought major items like servers, switches, routers etc on Ebay.

1. Be sure you check history of the seller
2. NEVER prepay with cash cashiers or anything
3. ONLY pay with a credit card, or Paypal Credit card preferred it's easyier to chareback than to prove fraud for Paypal.
(We all know that story too well)
4. Be sure you get a tracking number on shipping

I sell a ton of stuff on ebay and most people are honest use paypal for payment and your 99% safe from problems.

That sucks, theres some really good shit there.

I got one of the first DVD players available online from eBay. It still works, its years old.

I bought one from Frys, and had to return it, in my experience, eBay som,etimes can yield better results than going to a store, and as mentioned, the 'Powersellers' are the ones you want to deal with. They sell literally thousands of things, and will not rip you off.

As you can tell, most of us here that have purchased big items have had no problem.

I sold a total gym I never used on ebay hahaha

http://totalgym.com/products/24000.details.html

:winkwink:

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if you use escrow.com, there is zero risk in getting screwed. they won't release your money to the seller until you tell them that everything is cool.

on the uk ebay i was second highest bidder for an item that went for £220.00. i got an email about a week later from the highest bidder saying i was lucky i didn't buy it as it was a fraudulent transaction and he only got £100 back of ebay.