Do you Ebay?

Canada
June 25, 2007 4:11pm CST
Ok Ok, I admit it, I have never used Ebay. But I have seen all of the advertisements here on mylot and I clicked on an item that looked interesting... Well, then I went through the process of setting up an ebay account thingy and registering my paypal... and I've been browsing some items and am thinking of bidding but firstly I don't know how and secondly how reliable are the sellers? I mean I am seeing dresses thata re my size and beautiful for only $15.00 now in the store this dress would cost me at least $60.00 so why so cheap.. Or I saw a no name ipod I wanted to bid on but it was listed as only $1.99 as if! Is it broken? Please share your ebay experiences. I would love to hear the good and the bad!
2 people like this
11 responses
• United States
25 Jun 07
I've never used eBay before in my life. I may at some point, when I get more money on my PayPal account, but either way, it just seems unreliable at times. I've seen people order off of eBay, and get their items, but the main thing you want to watch is a seller's reputation. And if it seems too good to be true, it is.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
Thank you. I haven't really looked around that much. I didn't know there was a "seller reputation" I guess I'll investigate this a little more.
1 person likes this
• United States
26 Jun 07
It's right on their main selling page, I do believe. It's a percentage and may have stars by it. It's in their "stats" box on the right side of the screen, I think. Just ask if you need me to Screencapture it for you. If they have ANYTHING under 97 percent, don't go with them. It means they could be unreliable.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
Wow, under 97%?? See I would have thought anyone over 75% would be good lol thank you again!
• Philippines
26 Jun 07
the good thing about ebay is that they have a good customer service/support which will help you until you solve some problem about transaction. I ve been using ebay eversince and i have no bad experience yet. and just incase i will encounterd bad experinces i know their customer support will help me
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
That is so good to know. Most online places don't care what happens to people on their site just as long as they keep coming back to the site.
26 Feb 08
I would say you have been very lucky to get good customer support from ebay. I won't bore everyone with my experiences opf customer support at ebay. Let's just say I am sticking with ebid.net ESPECIALLY with regard to their customer support.
@re08dz (1941)
• Australia
25 Jun 07
I've both bought and sold on ebay and to this date I haven't had a bad experiences. As others have mentioned because for the most part it's an auction those prices you listed are probably starting prices so you can expect them to go up. If you're planning on buying you can check out the sellers feedback (the little star next to their name) to see what others that have purchased from them have to say. Remember too that some sellers buy things in bulk etc to re-sell which is why they can do it cheaper. Also make sure you read the entire add so you know exactly what it is you're bidding on along with the postage costs. Ebay can be a great place to get some bargains as long as you exercise a little caution and make sure your know exactly what it is your purchasing, you can email the sellers etc for more information if something is not covered.
@re08dz (1941)
• Australia
26 Jun 07
To be honest I've never searched that but I would assume that's what it means - the price of the goods plus postage/shipping total :-) Most sellers put the postage costs in their description somewhere, but again if you're ever in doubt just send an email and ask - most reputable sellers are always more than happy to answer any questions you might have.
1 person likes this
• China
26 Jun 07
you can choose the high credit sellers first, and see the comments of his shopper, if it is high credit, i think it is credited i like some online stores like ebay , because i really can buy too many cheaper things
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
I have been doing a lot of browsing and it really does look very very cheap when compared to shopping in a store... I am actually considering doing all of my xmas shopping online this year!
• United States
25 Jun 07
There is probably a catch to the $1.99 ipod. Sometimes they put up low bids to save on listing fees and they know the bid will increase dramatically. If it is broken they have to say it or they will be liable for a refund.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
So if it is broken they MUST label it as borken? Sweet, that is what I need to know lol....
@jencie (13)
• United States
26 Jun 07
I use ebay all the time. I love it. What I normally do is check out other sites for prices, then go to ebay and buy from someone on there. You also have to read the feedback that's left for the sellers. If the feedback rating is less than 95% then I'll find another seller to buy from. As for the no-name Ipod you wanted to bid on, usually if it's an auction, they'll start it low to so more people will bid on it. This way they hope to get what they're looking for. But you have to make sure that you read the entire description. Sometimes people will post things that are broken to sell for parts. I've never had a bad experience because I make sure that the person I'm dealing with has good feedback ratings. And I try to never buy from anyone that doesn't accept Paypal. I don't like sending checks out and having to wait for them to clear to get my purchase. Try to buy things that are NIB (new in box) or NWT (new with tags) Most reputable sellers will have a return policy, so if you're not happy with your item you can return it. Do not buy from people that say "no returns" or "final sale". Let me know if you have anymore questions, as I've been an ebay member for about 10 years.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
Thank you so much... It is very nice of you to offer to help. You might regret that because I'm sure I will have lots of stupid questions lol but thank you. I made a bid las tnight on a brand new Ipod Nano, I bid $5.00 US I knew I wouldn't win it but I just wanted to see if I could do it lol. Within I swear 15 seconds of my bid someone else bid $5.50 US lol... it was fun... I don't have that much money in my paypal as I am new to that as well (pretty well new to the Internet for fun here) and I know that with paypal it states that it will take at least 6-8 days for me to move funds from my bank to paypal... I don't want to bid on anything seriously until I know the money is sitting in paypal. I don't want to start off and get bad ratings on ebay as they seem to be what people go by on there.
@babostwick (2036)
• United States
25 Jun 07
Usually it's an auction. Whoever bids the highest tends to get it. Some do it through that way and some do a direct buy. It really will depend on what you're looking for exactly. I have used Ebay and not had a bad experience with them at all. I've gotten some games from them, mostly in the N64 department and some through Game Boy. The games work and I'm happy. I think you have to take a look at the seller's rep before anything. If they are good, then I would trust them. If they have a bad rep, then I would stay away from them. If you ever get jipped by any of them, you probably could contact Ebay directly about it and get it resolved but always look at every detail before buying the stuff.
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
So even if someone is reported as not a good business person they are still allowed to sell things? Even though they have a bad rep and are a scam artist?
@rnn123 (55)
• United States
25 Jun 07
well first of all most of ebays products are bids.. so that means it might say 15 but the auction may last for days and if it's 15 bucks today it can be 30 by tommarow and if the auction is for 7 days it could go even higher than 60 bucks.. But, the good side of bids is that sometime u might find one that lasts 2 hours and you can get it at a bargain
1 person likes this
• Canada
26 Jun 07
I have seen that you can look for thingsare close to the bid closing time, I guess this is so that you can place last minute bids and hope to get it....
@junksta14 (207)
• United States
25 Jun 07
i dont ebay
1 person likes this
@aln1216 (207)
• United States
2 Jul 07
well thank you and your welcome the sellers are very reliable i have had no problems with any puchase my family been using e-bay for years we are all satified
26 Feb 08
Ebay is now the spawn of the devil!! It is getting more difficult for sellers to sell due to their rising fees, this means stuff for buyers is listed at higher starting or BIN prices. I told ebay and and its lousy pal paypal to take a hike 8 months ago. I have been selling on ebid.net over two years. I can sell my stuff MUCH cheaper there than I ued to on ebay, because it is FREE to list. Ebid.net is cheaper all round for buyer and seller. Happy bargain hunting.