Community Chat

[Moonchilde]

Yes, I know this thread will draw the usual OMG I would never dream of doing that, Ebay (like FB of course) is evil, they will bring about the end of the world, etc. posts. Meh.

I wanted to relate my experience so that maybe others who have wanted to buy from EBay but were hesitant could see it's not all bad & scary.

I have bought occasional inexpensive items from EBay over the years but never over $30 in case I was burned (though I never was), but never a bigger ticket item.

Looking for a new camera, and the one I chose had reputable sellers (Amazon, BB, etc) and gray market shysters. I of course wanted a good price but legit. But I noticed there were several EBay listings too. In checking one out, I found a dealer with 100% approval rating, who had been on EBay since 1999. Free shipping (ordered Saturday afternoon, arriving today), brand new (I wasn't shopping for used) - for what will be a $90 saving over the big box stores!

Look first for the seller's rating - 95% or above. EBay as a company takes those ratings *very* seriously, and serious sellers do everything they can to maintain good ratings. They *want* satisfied customers! EBay itself also gives good protection against scams to buyers, and I used Paypal - further protection.

CAN you get burned on EBay? Yes. But do your homework and protect yourself and you may just get yourself a bargain. The site in general is much safer to buy from than its early days when there was a lot of buyer beware.

[Plaid Pants2]

I love buying from EBay, and have never gotten burned by any purchase that  have made.

All one has to do, is just use a little common sense when buying on EBay.

[esmeraldagooch]

Glad you enjoyed buying there.  I have spent years purchasing there also.  Only a few times has it been bad, and ebay was not there to help.   Be aware that feed back is not exactly what you think it is.    There are some on ebay that knowinly sell things mislabled.  Most don't know the difference and are swindled.  The ones that call them out are told to keep the item, and their money is refunded.  When they do this they are unable to leave negative feedback....  So there is your 100 percent great feedback at work.

[Moonchilde]

@Plaid Pants2, it's the same, common sense-wise, with complaints about Amazon. Third party sellers ripping you off? Then um, don't use a third party seller. Not rocket science. At the least, read what other people have had to say about seller and service.

[MKR14]

I love eBay and have used it for years. I bought an expensive item for over $2000.00 once with no problem as I was emailing back and forth before I purchased it. Most at less than $50.00. I also do the research on the seller and the buyers from the seller. If they have  100% good feedback and have more than 20 reviews I feel confident buying from them. I also email the seller with any questions I have and if they answer quickly and not a day or two later I will buy from them. Mostly I ask about having a non-smoking home before I buy. My credit card has always been safe there.

[Moonchilde]

@esmeraldagooch, I will be very interested in the packaging when I receive the camera. It's being sold as brand new in the box, so will pay close attention to that. Also, it's *possible* (though that doesn't appear to be the case) that this camera is the international model and not the US model (which wouldn't bother me much). 

The seller had 5 of them and has now sold 4. They also had a different mfr camera at a great price. I wish I knew why the seller was able to offer the camera at that price. I do know there are huge markups on the cameras.  Maybe they are damaged *boxes.* That looked possible from the pix. Or they could be BB returns (BB is the only store in the US that has the particular color available currently) - better not be. I'll be going over it with a fine tooth comb.

[SilleeMee]

I've had more bad experiences with sellers on amazon than ones on ebay. For the most part, those have been minimal and not much of a big concern for me.

[gidgetgh]

I don't buy a ton from EBay, but often enough, and I've never had an issue. 

Only one thing- I ordered in the summer or fall and it was shipping from Japan. I got the items, but it took FOREVER. I won't do that again. 

[Plaid Pants2]

In all the years that I have been shopping on Amazon, I have had to return only TWO items that arrived damaged/broken.

Their customer service is second to none in my book!

[Azcowgirl]

I had one negative experience with an eBay purchase but I filed a complaint, eBay reviewed it and refunded my $600.00, and suspended the seller for false representation of product.