Ebay, love it or hate it.

[Iplayfarmer]

I've bought and sold a lot from Ebay. I've used Paypal for other transations as well. Overall I've been pleased. I've had the occasional problem with a deadbeat buyer, a purchased item arriving damaged, or an item not as described. It hasn't been any worse than any other type of commerce... Brick and Mortar, online retailer, or catalog sales.

I've financed my tractor habit almost exclusively by buying and selling via auctions, E-bay, and craig's list. I like selling on e-bay more than buying, but I'm grateful that e-bay is out there when I need something that is hard to find.

 

[The kid]

Being a 40 mile round trip to town, I like to look and buy on eBay. My biggest issue is shipping. Living here, shipping cost is just one of life's realities. One of my biggest complaints is sellers who refuse to use USPS. Many times, an item can be put in flat rate priority service instead of overpriced UPS/FedEx. Good sellers will do so, some will refuse, and the "bright" ones like to educate me that the post office doesn't ship to Hawaii. Most irritating are sellers that treat shipping as a profit center (charge $25 and ship in an $8 USPS box or advertise "Free shipping" but bury except Hawaii in the fine print. On balance I find eBay/Paypal a good experience.

You should send them a message stating your complaint. I usually tell them they should explore more buyer friendly shipping methods. When you don't buy, they get the message. Many will do it to make a sell when In a competitive market. -robert

 

[chad22]

I love ebay. I've bought many things on there and never had a problem.

Even sold a few things as well.

Chad

 

[alchemysa]

I've used ebay and Paypal often and have few complaints.

But nowdays I check out Gumtree classifieds first. It started in the UK but now its owned by ebay and is pretty international. Its mainly for local second hand goods. No auctions.

It uses different formats in different countries but I guess it will standardize the format over time. The Australian format is good I think.

The USA version still links to 'Ebay classifieds'. That might change in the future.

United Kingdom jobs, cars, property, free classifieds and more - Gumtree.com

 

[The kid]

I've used ebay and Paypal often and have few complaints.

But nowdays I check out Gumtree classifieds first. It started in the UK but now its owned by ebay and is pretty international. Its mainly for local second hand goods. No auctions.

It uses different formats in different countries but I guess it will standardize the format over time. The Australian format is good I think.

The USA version still links to 'Ebay classifieds'. That might change in the future.

United Kingdom jobs, cars, property, free classifieds and more - Gumtree.com

eBay classified is used to be Fijiji.com

 

[newbury]

Might have missed it but y'all do realize that ebay bought Paypal in 2002 don't you?

So if you have problems with either it's the same company.

I've used them a lot, it depends on where the bargain is. One of the things I use ebay for the most is for seeing what things ACTUALLY sold for and establish trends so I don't inadvertently try to buy when the market is peaking.

 

[techwrtr2]

Being a 40 mile round trip to town, I like to look and buy on eBay. My biggest issue is shipping. Living here, shipping cost is just one of life's realities. One of my biggest complaints is sellers who refuse to use USPS. Many times, an item can be put in flat rate priority service instead of overpriced UPS/FedEx. Good sellers will do so, some will refuse, and the "bright" ones like to educate me that the post office doesn't ship to Hawaii. Most irritating are sellers that treat shipping as a profit center (charge $25 and ship in an $8 USPS box or advertise "Free shipping" but bury except Hawaii in the fine print. On balance I find eBay/Paypal a good experience.

I like sellers who use priority mail. It's usually cheaper and pretty fast. I also like to support my local one person Post Office hoping that they don't close her down or cut the place to 4hrs per day making it impossible for me to use. Priority mail is also my preferred method for shipping small items. With a decently accurate scale, you can print postage at home for priority mail packages and stick them to the box. It's not considered "stamped mail" so it does NOT have to be handed to a counter person meaning you can put it in a mailbox if it will fit or just hand it to your mail carrier.

I've had hundreds of successful transactions on eBay. Mostly buying and some selling. Frequently using PayPal. I've only had about 3 transactions go wrong though I've not lost any real money. The prime rule of eBay is Caveat Emptor. Know what you are buying and ask questions of the seller. If a person is buying from you and asks questions, pay attention to the types of questions they ask. Pay attention to how sellers answer your questions. Pay attention to what they list and how they list. Study their feedback. And always set a limit to how much you are willing to pay. Factor the shipping costs into your decision to buy, some sellers do try and make up for a lower selling price by jacking shipping up. So I consider that in the price of the goods. Sometimes you'll find another seller offering an identical item with a higher selling price but free shipping. Other times not. There's a person local to me who I've bought from on many occasions. She charges a pickup fee... it's kind of irritating, but I've priced that small amount into what I am willing to pay. Her items sell cheap enough that even with that charge I've usually done well. Like buying a practically new small work group laser printer for under $20.

Don't automatically assume the other party is trying to screw you out of money/product. They might be and there might always be a legitimate concern. As a seller, always be certain to establish and maintain good contact. When I buy stuff, I'm always irritated by sellers who take my money and don't say anything... I don't know if the product has been shipped until I have it. Always ship promptly and if for some reason you cannot ship within a couple of days make sure it's either in your listing or you contact the buyer to keep him in the loop. I don't do repeat business with people who have poor communications habits. Ebay makes it possible to share shipping/tracking info when you sell so use it.

If the deal seems shady, it is. If the buyer has no feedback, cancel the bid. It's a pity giving buyers negative feedback isn't an easy thing (is it even possible anymore?) as that was a good way to check on buyers.

:2cents:

 

[Cat_Driver]

I always use e-bay, no problem yet. When I buy big ticket items I use E-escrow. I send the ecrow company the money and the escrow company gives the seller the go ahead to send the item. I have so may days to look over the product, if I approve then I tell escow to send the seller the money.

This world well on a lot of levels. If a buyer refuses yo use escrow, then that answers your questions right there.

Everything I have sold on E-bay went for a premium price. I sold one item I couldn't give away for $800.00 locally and it sold on ebay for $4,000.00. I sold one item for the price I paid for it 10 years earlier after using it full time for 10 years.

I had a lot of stuff I was getting ready to throw out. I put it on ebay an made a lot of cash.

I could go on and on, but the thing I love is how much more I get for items than selling locally.

The other iitems I buy, I've never been burned.

 

[rekees4300]

had a bad experience with PayPal and want nothing to do with them.

Ditto that ... Had a Paypal account for years but recently closed it. Became more of a hassle than it was worth. To use their terminology, they got "unverified".