Ebay, love it or hate it.

The kid · Jun 4, 2012

'I've used this comvient source of supplies for many years. I"ve learned to be street wise before I buy. I check the sellers reputation thru his/her feedback. I look to see if they charge a fair price for shipping. I check to see how quick they ship. I refrain from buying in Asia because you ha e a 60/40 chance of actually getting it. All though you get your money back but it becomes a big waste of time. I've had a few dealers try to stiff me, but persistence prevailed and either PayPal or eBay ruled in my favor.

Know the ropes or the rules. eBay plainly stated what you can or can not do if you run into a trouble case. Keep all emails. Always use eBay as a means to communicate with each other. Share your thoughts. -robert

DKCDKC · Jun 4, 2012

I rarely buy from ebay, but do check out dealers before I do. However, I do sell stuff to dealers frequently. I look for dealers on ebay dealing in the kind of stuff I have to sell, then exchange emails with them directly, usually with a phone call as well. I sell using PayPal and have yet to have a problem. Those guys then take the work of selling on ebay off my hands. It takes a little work, but seems to be a good method. Of course, I have rather odd items... 1920s news photos, antique cameras, old newspapers, old toys, stuff like that.

Bird · Jun 5, 2012

I've both bought and sold on ebay, but not in a long time now. I liked ebay, but had a bad experience with PayPal and want nothing to do with them. They did eventually get it straightened out, but after I paid for an item, they repeatedly asked me to pay again, over and over until I got disgusted with them, and decided to never run that risk again.

forgeblast · Jun 5, 2012

With a little girl growing like a weed, we ebay clothes, shoes, books, toys etc. I sit down every sunday night and list about 10-13 items. Then I put them in the mail during the week. Using flat rate boxes, or having a good postal scale is helpful.

The kid · Jun 5, 2012

Bird said:
I've both bought and sold on ebay, but not in a long time now. I liked ebay, but had a bad experience with PayPal and want nothing to do with them. They did eventually get it straightened out, but after I paid for an item, they repeatedly asked me to pay again, over and over until I got disgusted with them, and decided to never run that risk again.

Bird, I had a problem with PayPal as well. I bought what suppose to be an NFL jersey nameplate with letters. Send the guy pictures of the jersey I was putting them on and he sent something totally different. He wouldn't refund, so I filed a dispute. This was a side deal so I had no recourse with eBay, but he was an eBay dealer. PayPal says they don't. Over custom made items. This went on for a few months. Sent more pictures and finally gave up. Then I tried one more time. I searched the net for paypals phone number. Spoke with a CSR and sent more info again. I quoted their own rules. Since the dealers products where all custom, he was in violation of their selling policy and decided to make a one time exception and refund my full amount. I thought to myself right.. They where covering their own but for screwing up. In every case I've filed a despite with a seller I had enough documentation to force a refund.

Sorry you had a bad experience. There is always several prechecks I make before buying from a dealer. On ebay. I've also sold quite a bit of stuff as well, but back then payment was by USPS money order ONLY. Those days are gone. CC's and Paypal is the new craze. I do use extreme caution and watch my accounts closely.

The way I see it. PayPal has their problems. CC's have thier problems. EBay, Paypal and CreditCards all cost the seller extra money. I just love the option to shop at home instead of driving many miles. To find it elsewhere but higher in price.

I bought my wife some new accessories for her new phone. If bought locally it would have cost five times the amount plus no sales tax and always pick items with free shipping. eBay is my local convenience store that has nearly everything I need.

It really helped me find parts for my 41 Studebaker street rod.

I can also see others position not to use it. - robert

greasemonkeyok · Jun 5, 2012

Early on I purchased a number of similar items from various sources, some overseas (England). Price range was between $50 to $100. About 40% of the items were usable, but the sellers flat out lied about the condition of the item. None were defective to the point that I was willing to spend the time to get a refund. All-in-all some of the items were a good value, so on the whole I was satisfied.

One thing that is an absolute for me, if the seller cannot take a clear, in focus, properly lighted photo, assume there is a reason unrelated to not knowing how to use the camera.

sweettractors · Jun 5, 2012

We sell implements on Ebay and our biggest complaint is they are constantly changing the rules for the sellers. Ken Sweet

The kid · Jun 5, 2012

sweettractors said:
We sell implements on Ebay and our biggest complaint is they are constantly changing the rules for the sellers. Ken Sweet

I think they will force sales tax on eBay buyer in the very near future. The states are loosing millions annually. I stop selling on eBay after about ten years. I recently started back up and could not believe how complicated it is now. Although with a little effort one could make a nice living on eBay. - robert

Domush · Jun 5, 2012

I've been screwed by paypal enough times to stop using ebay for anything but local auctions in which I can pay cash when I win.

Last time I sold an item paypal refused to let me withdraw my money unless I sent them a copy of my social security card, my license and a utility bill showing my current address. Kiss my lack of a butt! My local bank doesn't even get a copy of anything but a license, and paypal isn't even a bank!

I've had my identity stolen once, not going to walk right into it a second time.

if ebay ever removes the monopoly on paypal for auctions, I'll use it again. Until that time, I hope a competitor pops up to bankrupt them.

The kid · Jun 5, 2012

greasemonkeyok said:
Early on I purchased a number of similar items from various sources, some overseas (England). Price range was between $50 to $100. About 40% of the items were usable, but the sellers flat out lied about the condition of the item. None were defective to the point that I was willing to spend the time to get a refund. All-in-all some of the items were a good value, so on the whole I was satisfied.

One thing that is an absolute for me, if the seller cannot take a clear, in focus, properly lighted photo, assume there is a reason unrelated to not knowing how to use the camera.

That where I hammer them in feedback. If they want to refund, I expect a full refund. If they want thier product back, they send me a prepaid label. You have to read descriptions very carefully to see if they left a door open in case the deal goes bad. Most cases you are protected by eBay if the item was not as described. If it"s bought out of the country if the item is cheap they refund you and tell you to just keep the item. They don't want to pay shipping twice.

There's two things I try to do good on eBay when selling. Very detailed CLEAR pictures. Also a very honest complete desciption. -robert