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View Full Version : EBAY! - I'm just starting. Are there any Scams I should be aware of?



Alternative Solution
July 14th, 2010, 03:09 AM
Hey,

I've never gotten anything from Ebay before, but I found a jacket on there that I like. I'm a little weary though because I've seen this same jacket being sold before (without searching for it). Also, it seems suspiciously inexpensive.

Here it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/Mens-Slim-Sexy-Top-Designed-Coat-Jacket-Sz-S-M-L-108S-/140421148213?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_CSA_MC_Outerwear&vti=Size%09S&hash=item667248af72

I also wasn't sure if it is secure to pay. After I join, will it allow me to pay with paypal? Or is just buying it the regular way safe?

I just want to be aware of any scams I might come across. This one looks a little too good to be true.

Bachstelze
July 14th, 2010, 03:13 AM
The seller has high ratings, but since I don't know anything abotu the item and how much it usually costs, I can't comment on the "too good to be true" part.

Also, PayPal is the usual way of paying on ebay.

stmiller
July 14th, 2010, 03:31 AM
Each ebay experience I've had has been sketchy and frustrating.

One thing to be careful: feedback ratings can be misleading.

I was scammed by a person with 100% positive feedback - they had hundreds of positive sells. So, looked good.

I later found out they were selling cheap 1 cent stickers over and over (same item, selling hundreds) to quickly get a good reputation on ebay.

Then they began scamming and started to 'sell' big electronic items, shipping me an empty box after taking my money.

I tracked down the scammer to a guy in St. Louis who would never reply to any emails.

Ebay support could care less, and sided with the scammer b/c he had hundreds of positive feedbacks. They were no help - I ended up just dropping the whole thing after I could not get any action.

Groucho Marxist
July 14th, 2010, 04:07 AM
I've had a largely positive experience as a buyer and seller on eBay. Here are a few examples of things I have learned thus far:


Never buy electronics or merchandise from Hong Kong or Shanghai. Purchase items made in China with caution; many items are bootlegged.
Never buy from someone with less than 99% feedback
Never pay for your purchases outside of eBay. (I think that PayPal and eBay may have taken care of this, as it used to be a problem).
My favorite scam? I'm paraphrasing (it wasn't far off from this): "You are bidding on a piece of paper that will reveal the location of a warehouse where your item is located."
Never buy, and I quote, "Reel Asia DVD qalty A!" items.
Always read listings very, very carefully. Best example of this is a man I met who collected vintage turn of the century bicycles and purchased a $200 photograph of a rare bicycle rather than the actual model. Why? Because he impulsively clicked "Buy It Now" instead of reading the listing.

MasterNetra
July 14th, 2010, 05:14 AM
I had purchased a very low cost USB drive from a high rated Chinese seller and it crapped out on me shortly after i started using it. The seller however did refund my purchase quite quickly and apologized for it being crap. There are honest Chinese merchants out there, their suppliers sometimes aren't though. At anyrate use caution.

Seller looks good though. But a pearl of wisdom, if you can't afford to lose the money then don't buy it. Grant at $30 I doubt you'll be in a hole if it goes south.

PhilGil
July 14th, 2010, 05:59 AM
While I don't purchase from ebay frequently, I have had an account for more than 10 years and can't recall a bad buying experience. Groucho Marxist's advice is an excellent start.



I was scammed by a person with 100% positive feedback - they had hundreds of positive sells. So, looked good.

I later found out they were selling cheap 1 cent stickers over and over (same item, selling hundreds) to quickly get a good reputation on ebay.This is a common trick that scammers use to develop good feedback quickly. Be sure to check out the actual sales to be sure the seller has sold items similar to the item you will be buying.

I've bought lots of cheap knockoff stuff (and a couple of more expensive items) from Hong Kong vendors: cell phone batteries, chargers and cases, camera batteries, a photography extension tube set, computer headsets. In all cases I have receive the items as described, although shipping can take 3 weeks or so.

Sellers split the item cost and shipping cost up in different ways (sometimes to reduce the commission they pay to ebay). I only look at the total cost of the item (price + shipping) to determine whether it is a good deal. For example, the cost of your jacket is $48.

If the jacket is regularly $400 and you're getting it for $48, chances are it's a copy or a counterfeit. That may be fine with you, but be aware of what you are buying.

Matthewthegreat
July 14th, 2010, 06:10 AM
I use ebay a lot, I have had 100+ transactions and only been ripped off once. I bought a 16GB flash drive I think I paid $17.00 USD for it and I got it but it kept corrupting my data. So, I sent it back and never seen the refund they promised.

Other then that I have had a positive experience with ebay and have saved in the past far more then the $17 I lost. Ebay is of course, more risky the places like amazon but in many cases it's worth the risk. Just use common sense, if it looks too good to be true pay extra attention to the details and feedback.

After looking at the jacket it looks like a fairly safe buy. Cool jacket BTW :popcorn:

Version Dependency
July 14th, 2010, 06:17 AM
I've bought many things on Ebay over the years ranging from small 10 or 20 dollar purchases to buying computers and musical instruments costing several hundred dollars. Never had any issues.

The main thing when buying items (especially expensive ones) is to make sure the seller has great feedback (it's not too hard to find people with 99% or 100%, so don't bother with someone that has, say...91%). One of the things I really like to see in the seller's feedback history is problems that were corrected...something like the item was broken when it arrived and they sent a new one, etc.

Brunellus
July 14th, 2010, 06:22 AM
I've had a largely positive experience.

The general rules apply: if it seems too good to be true--it is. Big-ticket, new or new-in-box personal electronics are probably not good things to buy on ebay.

The items I tend to buy on ebay tend to be very specific--things that I happen to know a great deal about. I've bought used photographic equipment on ebay quite successfully--but, then my purchases were rather modest, and, again, I only bought things that I had already extensively researched. They also tend not to be absolute necessities. You need to be able to walk away.

I would generally not advise buying something you need to try on or fit--returning merchandise can be awkward or impossible.


I would be wary of people offering to deal only by electronic fund transfer. A Paypal account is a good idea--that shields your financial information from the payee/seller. Before Paypal, I'd deal exclusively in postal money orders.

3rdalbum
July 14th, 2010, 08:28 AM
Use Paypal.

I bought an item where the seller disappeared shortly after I paid for the item. It took a while, but Paypal eventually gave me back my money, and presumably the monies paid by the other people (who left negative feedback after me).

Ebay is definitely a good place to find a bargain and apart from that I've never had a problem.

Khakilang
July 14th, 2010, 08:29 AM
If you can get the jacket from your local store don't buy from Ebay. There is more scammer compare to genuine seller. The odds is against you.

crjackson
July 14th, 2010, 09:02 AM
There are may eBay scams out there, but I've NEVER been burned. I've been using eBay since about 1996 or so.

The trick is in doing your research. Don't just look at the feedback ratings;

1) READ THE FEEDBACK!
2) Is it actually a good price?
3) Use ONLY PAYPAL!

When reading the feedback, look at the selling price of sold items. Look at the feedback of the buyer (his transaction count and diversity of items). You are checking for indications of "Shill Bidding" and location of the buyer.

For instance, if most of his buyer have a low feedback score and are based in the same locations, this COULD be the seller or friends of the seller. Usually no item was actually sold (it was a fake transaction).

I used to own and operate a very large (bricks & mortar) eBay drop-off franchise store. I was a platinum seller with an account manager (eBay employee) just a phone call away. Why am I telling you this? Because I've had 10's of Thousands or transactions and never been burned. My definition of being burned is... I lost money because I didn't get the expected item, AND I didn't get a refund for said item. I've purchased a few items that were either misrepresented, not delivered or damaged upon arrival. I got my FULL REFUND and lost no money in the end, so I feel I didn't get burned, just inconvenienced.

The main thing I learned is to perform your due diligence. Consider the price (can I afford to temporarily loose my purchase price if the guy scammed me)? If the answer is no, then don't buy.

You can always get your money back if you paid using PAYPAL A N D you were actually mislead or scammed. You have to know how to properly file/escalate a claim when needed.

After looking over the auction in question I'm fairly confident that the seller is distributing knock-off merchandise (my personal opinion only). However that doesn't mean it's a poorly made product, and it doesn't mean you will be disappointed.

Just do you research and go into the transaction with your eyes open.

The Real Dave
July 14th, 2010, 02:41 PM
I've bought a few things from Ebay, some computer fans from Hong Kong, which were low quality, but do the job and only cost a few cent, a perfume and pendant for my gf from two different sellers, in England and America respectively.

The only time anything went wrong was when a CPU I bought was late by a few weeks, hadn't been dispatched. The seller was uncontactable.

After a week or so though, he finally replied with a genuine apology, that some stuff had happened in the real world to keep him away from eBay. He shipped it first class without extra cost, and it arrived a few days later.

MasterNetra
July 14th, 2010, 03:59 PM
Another thing for people to remember is that the USD dollar is worth considerably more in China too as such the prices of things made and coming from there will be of a considerably lower price so just because the price doesn't seem profitable in the US or other countries doesn't mean its not genuine.