In response to TriGWU’s fraud issue and Lostinthought’s question I figured I’d start this thread.
No sense in flooding Tri’s thread with ebay advice. He’s looking to get even and needs support in that field. Yet ebay advice is always good to know, tips and tricks and so forth.
So, what are the hazards, dangers, conveniences, and pluses to using ebay?
GAINER
I have used eBay since 1996, and learned allot about it…
Ive only been burned once and that person ended up in Fed Prison!
NEVER, NEVER, EVER buy from anyone who has negative feedback, unless there is a good explanation for it…
Don’t get tied up in a bidding war…I have seen many people spend more money on stuff than they could have went straight to a store and bought it cheaper, just because they didn’t want to lose to someone…
Watch out for people who make their profits from shipping fees…This is a biggie, if they don’t list a shipping fee in the auction, or at least reply back to you in an email shipping to your area, good chances are they are planning on screwing you with the shipping fees…
I have bought and sold many things on eBay and have had good experiences… Just be careful and know what you are willing to spend!
Yup those hidden shipping fees will always get you. I won an auction for a '92 GSXR windscreen for 12 bucks. I was happy thinking I saved a bunch of money since a new one would coost around 50 bucks. The shipping charge was 30 bucks. The seller gave mme negative feedback when I refused to pay that outrageous shipping, the F-N windscreen only weighs about 12 ounces less than a pound. Be careful with the shipping and anyone with negative feedback is a must
redmeanie gives some good advice.
Also…some people may disagree strongly with this, but I believe in sniping (making a bid right before the auction closes). My approach is that I figure out what the item is worth to me (what kind of deal/savings I’m looking for), subtract the shipping cost and the remainder is what I will bid - at the last possible minute.
Why, you may ask, don’t I just go ahead and make that bid earlier? Because many of the people on eBay are idiots. They bid on items because other people have bid on them. I bid on a flat weight bench and some dumbass outbids me even though there was another identical bench being sold by the same seller (Jesup Gym - I highly recommend them) that had no bids on it and finished 10 minutes later. I went ahead and bid on the second one, winning it at the minimum price. And, because I couldn’t resist, sent an email to the guy who outbid me explaining that we both could have gotten the same minimum price if he hadn’t been so stupid.
Yeah, sometimes it can be a real burden - being so intelligent and surrounded by a world full of idiots. But the few of us that bear this burden must do so for the future of the human race.
I have bought hundreds of computer parts as I build computers for a hobby in my spare time. (Ya need a cheep one, PM me)
Twice, I sent money and one person dissappeared, the other sent nothing.
One went out of busniess, the other just never sent it nor answered my e-mails. I tried the conflict resolution thing, and they decided in my favor, but didn’t help.
So just check out the persons rating, read a few of the bad ones, if any, wrote on them. If you see a lot complaints, best to stay clear of them.
Just my 2 cents…