eBay

[Hemisphere]

Hey,
I havn't been scammed.
But I have some questions about eBay.
I just registered a account there because I saw a product that I like.
I want to know how does eBay work, and is it safe to buy this item?
It cost about 2k, so I'd be really pissed if I was scammed, just came here to check with you guys.

Thanks.

 

[gmtfan]

If you just registered, I don't think it is a good idea to buy a $2k stuff. Check history (Feedback score) of seller to see how many he has and has he sold any other similar stuff. And also check if he agrees to sell it to you - a new registered ebayer.
I personally bough $600, ~$1200 and several $100 stuffs at ebay and also sold couple things for >$200 there
Best luck!

 

[GFXNow]

I just received both of my authentic New York Yankees jerseys that I bought off of there today and I am a new eBay user. I like it. If you want that item, then get it if you want, but only if their feedback scores are good.

 

[Earthian]

I have purchased hundreds of items on eBay and also sold some domains ... it is , basically , a safe marketplace as long as you pay attention with whom you are dealing with ...

regarding how to use eBay ... click on "Help" on the top right corner ... there is a whole section about "New to eBay" ... browse and read around that area ... it is pretty organized and informative ...

regarding safety and scams ... see below ...










check the seller's feedback to see ...


- if he has a rather high feedback score , which means that he has bought/sold items successfully with many eBayers in the past ...

- if he/she has negative feedbacks and what they say ... this way you could possibly find out if he is a scammer , if he does send the items out , if he describes the items accurately , if he delays in shipping them , etc ...

- customize the search options on the left of a search page on eBay and make visible the "Completed listings" field and "Items from seller" field ... check previous ended listings with this seller ... if he sells any ... at what prices ... if many go unsold ... etc ...










of course , all the above cannot guarantee that the seller is legitimate ... or that his account hasn't been hacked and a scammer is listing a product with the scammer's PayPal account as the receiving payment method (rare situation , but ...) ... or that a seller who was previously legit , decided to start scamming ...










for anything above $500 , it is suggested that you use Escrow.com unless it is a cash-on-collection situation where you can check the product ... for your $2000 item escrow is a must ...

eBay promotes Escrow.com for purchases above $500 (eBay help page about Escrow.com)

this is the Escrow procedure from the Escrow.com site

​

 

[wffsoccer]

for anything above $500 , it is suggested that you use Escrow.com unless it is a cash-on-collection situation where you can check the product ... for your $2000 item escrow is a must ...

LOL, good luck finding a seller to use an escrow service. I would laugh at any buyer that tried that, and I am a 99% titanium powerseller.

If your sellers feedback is >97% with over 100 FB, you're fine. Just make sure you use a credit card.

 

[Earthian]

wffsoccer - If a seller does not accept escrow (while the buyer pays the escrow fees) , it is an alarm for a possible scam ...





you mean you would buy a $3000 laptop from a seller based on his feedback ? PayPal covers only $2000 max and a CC chargeback is not certain that will retrieve your funds ... I understand about the >97% 100+ FB (of course , though , it is not foolproof) ... but I have seen members with 20,0000+ get NARUed ...





I am not saying that there can't be safe transactions for that amounts ... especially with high feedbacks (or low ones in certain cases) ... but for a new member who does not have a lot of expirience on eBay yet ... I would suggest that he uses Escrow.com for a $2000 purchase ...





just two weeks ago , I contacted a seller (with rather low feedback) who had 2 umPCs and 2 laptops for sale , real cheap , claiming that they were grade A clearance items blah blah blah ... I contacted the seller asking for Escrow for one of the umPCs ... she (I think she was a she , the eBayID looked like it was based on a female name) started saying "I don't know what Escrow is" , "I will check and notify you" "blah , blah , blah" ... the listing was ending and I send a message that I'll bid and that Escrow is legit ... she started saying not to bid and that she had 4 more of those umPCs and she would put a BIN for me after the auctions ... just her avoidance of Escrow made me understand she was a scammer (and that she said about the 4 more umPCs so I would not win the items over an inexperienced (not using Escrow) member ... two weeks later ... she got a negative feedback saying "blah blah blah ... no item , no refund , expensive mistake ... blah blah blah"





eBay and online transactions in general need caution ... you don't know who you might be dealing with ... and suing or trying to retrieve funds might be very difficult ... especially if the seller is in another country or if you can't easily get his details (full name , address , etc) , eg. when a court order is needed to get them ...

 

[Hemisphere]

Hey guys,
This guy was definitly a scammer.
The product was a laptop and I emailed him about it, before he replied the auction was taken down, then he said that he will sell it to me without the product being auctioned. (I'm not sure how that works, but I read the ebay FAQs and that is a sign of scamming or something like that)

I checked out ebay again and he was doing the same thing with different laptops, he had a "buy now" price of $1500 which was written in his discription. He wanted to sell it before the auction was taken down.

I'm glad I didn't waste my money, I hope none fell into his trap.
I tried to report him, but I didn't know how

Thanks for replying

 

[italiandragon]

LOL, good luck finding a seller to use an escrow service. I would laugh at any buyer that tried that, and I am a 99% titanium powerseller.

If your sellers feedback is >97% with over 100 FB, you're fine. Just make sure you use a credit card.

hi...why would be better with a credit card?

Thanks

 

[Daniel]

hi...why would be better with a credit card?

Thanks

Credit Cards are normally insured to high amounts and most banks allow charge backs to be made. Also you can report the card as stolen and reverse in charges in the last few days.