How safe is e-bay?

MR_SIDO · 03-05-2005, 03:45 PM

Just bought a gift for the wife for mothers day....I am hoping that I recieve it but am still a little dubious. I have not recieved an e-mail from the seller as yet but I will give them some more time, I only bought it this morning. Which brings me to the question how safe is buying on e-bay? I know that there would be a dodgy few but surely it is governed to a certain extent. What are your experiences?

TRBOETR · 03-05-2005, 03:56 PM

Yeah i rekon its pretty safe, there is plenty of conditions when becoming an ebay seller. I have spend countless hundreds on ebay and have not yet had one bad experience. No doubt yours will be the same.

Good Luck.

bindi · 03-05-2005, 04:40 PM

I've only had one bad experience on eBay, the rest have been great. It was not such a bad thing that I have given up on eBay altogether, cos it is really pretty good imho. I've been on eBay for around a year and bought and sold plenty of stuff

Give the person time, they may not check their email till after work tonight.

I just hope it reaches you in time, you've left it a bit late!

XRated · 03-05-2005, 04:40 PM

I haven't had any problems with Ebay this far. Just make sure the buyer has LOTS of positive feed back.

TRBOETR · 03-05-2005, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

I bought a playstation game for 80 dollars off ebay .I did a transfer of funds.Then I got an email from ebay saying this guy is suspended for criminal activity.Lost my money and my kid was upset.

Spewin. Yeah you'll always get that. Sus out who you are buying from, have a look at their reputation and feed back.

GTFalcon 351 · 03-05-2005, 04:46 PM

ive bought 10 items so far, one item didnt arrive so i emailed the seller and another one was sent without any trouble and have otherwise had a good run with it

cArSiK · 03-05-2005, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

I bought a playstation game for 80 dollars off ebay .I did a transfer of funds.Then I got an email from ebay saying this guy is suspended for criminal activity.Lost my money and my kid was upset.

i was under the impression they were supposed to refund you for that kind of stuff..??

James

MR_SIDO · 03-05-2005, 04:47 PM

thanks guys, just recieved an email 5 minutes ago, its all good and they will express post the gift out tomorrow for delivery Thursday, so far so good. Will keep you posted.

M14A-Mclaren · 03-05-2005, 04:58 PM

I always receive emails from Ebay to verify my account or something, which is really quite stupid since I dont have a ebay account. I use trade me which is just New Zealand and won an auction for a new cellphone and the guy emailed me asking how i wanted to pay i told him then he asks for another week (I hadn't paid him yet) then just made excuses why he was taking so long and I decided to flag it and buy from a store.

-AL- · 03-05-2005, 05:25 PM

A couple of rules I try and follow with Ebay/Anything online are, Only buy thru well established local(Au) traders & Only bid what you can afford to loose.I know these rules aren't foolproof but in general the few transactions we've made on the site all has been good.

LuvinmyEB · 03-05-2005, 05:33 PM

As an eBay addict, both buying and selling, I hate when people don't send you an email when you've paid for the item and they just stick it in the mail.

If someone buys from me I'll send them an email straight away congratulating them, when/if they send an email telling me that they've paid I'll check my bank account and confirm that the funds have been place in there and verify it witht them. I let them know when I'm sending the item and ask them to contact me when they get the item.

I've only had one problem and that's the fake emails that end up being sent back to eBay.

03-05-2005, 06:53 PM

I got ripped off in March for $207 (including postage) for a slimline PS2 along with 3 others. After lodging a dispute (and getting the others to do the same) I have now escalated to a claim from ebay.... I just need to fax a copy of my bank statement that shows the transfer of funds and I should receive my money... The seller (hoplips) is now deregistered.

I'm just started on the receiving end of a dispute where the seller says I haven't paid...... I actually paid through their online shop (as per instructions), have received the item, and today I get a non paying buyer dispute...... fired off a message telling him he is a moron and should check his auctions a bit close.

I have sold and bought a number of items, and always got more for what I was selling, and paid less than what I would locally....

**Polyal** · 03-05-2005, 07:00 PM

Well it better be good. I just brought a 200 GB HD for $149. Which is a pretty good deal IMO.

Ive brought a few things before which have been hassle free. Except the bugger spoke really bad english, (even typing) that it made it a little hard. lol

bindi · 03-05-2005, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Well it better be good. I just brought a 200 GB HD for $149. Which is a pretty good deal IMO.

Ive brought a few things before which have been hassle free. Except the bugger spoke really bad english, (even typing) that it made it a little hard. lol

Hey as long as you checked the item was actually in Australia, it should be ok. Be very wary of the ones who say "shipping from Hong Kong" etc.

And who'd ya get it from? That's a pretty damn good price. Please PM me the ebay link schweetie pie!

Paris Hilton · 03-05-2005, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bindi

Be very wary of the ones who say "shipping from Hong Kong" etc.

I've bought many things from Hong Kong/Singapore and have never been ripped off yet...(Nokia 7250i, Nokia 6170, Panasonic GD60) and Japan (anime)

FreezeR · 03-05-2005, 09:27 PM

Ebay is pretty safe due to all the rules they have. Ive brought two phones off there and they got sent over from HK.
Had no problems at all, well worth it and you get stuff for so much cheaper then in the retail shop.

FoxMulder · 03-05-2005, 09:28 PM

I've bought many things off Ebay. I haven't been ripped off yet. I've even bought things from the US, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I'm currently waiting for one of the items to arrive from America, but that will take a while. (paid extra for the express postage, but since it's a pre sale, the item is not available yet).

I bought my entire car DVD system from the US, the only thing you have to think about is the bloody duties that you have to pay, if the item(s) cost too much. I also bought my current graphics card from Hong Kong, (couldn't understand the reciept that was in the box for the life of me, but it works and that's all that matters) it's an XFX Geforce 6800 Ultra! Bought it for $600 including postage. Can't beat that!

**Polyal** · 03-05-2005, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bindi

Hey as long as you checked the item was actually in Australia, it should be ok. Be very wary of the ones who say "shipping from Hong Kong" etc.

And who'd ya get it from? That's a pretty damn good price. Please PM me the ebay link schweetie pie!

well only because you said sweetie..lol

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....192223343&rd=1

I presume he has more, I did the buy now option. Still 200 GB for $150 delivered is pretty good I think. I haven't got a reply from him yet though. But I only purchased it about 3 hours ago :/

SpoolMan · 03-05-2005, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by useless

I bought a playstation game for 80 dollars off ebay .I did a transfer of funds.Then I got an email from ebay saying this guy is suspended for criminal activity.Lost my money and my kid was upset.

did you pay via pay pal?
it has insurance with it if you do..
i buy lots of stuff from e-bay just make sure you buy from sellers that have been there for a long time, with good feedback...
allways check postage and shipping costs before you bid some sellers must be on drugs for what they charge.

RSgerry · 03-05-2005, 10:16 PM

i have been an ebay user for a few years and have had excellent experiences. i have come across a couple of d8ckheads, but you get that in all walks of life. i have bought and sold loads of stuff and only once not received my item (i think the post office pinched it...). i only just received two hot wheels minis in the post today...

the_scotsman · 03-05-2005, 10:19 PM

I use eBay a lot, and luckily have never had a problem.
My fiance bought a phone from Honk Kong....we never received it...it got lost in the post in Sydney, which we know as it had a tracking number....anyway, the seller claimed off the postage insurance and sent us a replacement....goes to show that there are genuine people out there, only the odd one or two that are out to rip people off...

You also have to remember that you may not always recieve an email from the seller straight after you have won your item. The seller may be at work and not be able to access email until after hours...
As people have said, just check the sellers feedback first....stay away from people with less than around 90-95% positive feedback...thats my opinion anyway.

And NEVER reply or click on any email from eBay that asks for your user information or even asks you to click on any link regarding your account.....forward any suspicious emails to spoof@ebay.com.au where they look into these fake emails...

xceler8shun · 03-05-2005, 10:37 PM

i've never had a problem and am always getting some bargain off there every week,

I never buy off anyone with any neg feedback, and always check the delievery conditions, you dont want to have to travel 1000kms to pick up something.

the only incident i've had related with ebay was the item at the local post office, someone had ripped open the package it was in packed and then roughly sticky taped it back up, and i mean rough, i could nearly fit my hand through one of the holes in the packaging

brenx · 03-05-2005, 10:44 PM

Can't say I've ever had an issue buying or selling. I've been using Ebay for many years.

BuuBox · 03-05-2005, 10:49 PM

Quote:

I always receive emails from Ebay to verify my account or something, which is really quite stupid since I dont have a ebay account.

Those emails are fake, not sent by eBay itself, rather someone trying to gather eBay accounts. They'll never send you an email to verify your account, they specifically say this and warn users about this on their website when you sign up, from memory.

I've bought a few things from eBay, and haven't had a problem yet. Just wanting for a phone cable for a mate actually

Few safeguards in place to make it that little bit secure, but I spose there's always going to be dickheads, that's why I usually limit it to smaller purchases.

My first purchase was a EA-ED Factory Workshop Manual for my car, been invaluable in keeping the shitheap running...!

loxxr6 · 03-05-2005, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Can't say I've ever had an issue buying or selling. I've been using Ebay for many years.

Ditto. Bought and sold stuff and have had real good experiences.

The odd time something never reached me, the seller's resent the item. Only 1 lost parcel in over a hundred and forty transactions.

NZ · 03-05-2005, 11:15 PM

I've had a seller send me the correct item to my correct address on cod but somewhere along the linethe wrong cod papers got sent. basically the p.o couldn't do the transaction and the item had to be sent back to the seller then resent again with corerect papers. bit of a hassle for him i guess. seems it was a p.o stuff up when 2 items were sent at the same time.