Have you ever bought a *dud* from eBay?
By maezee
@maezee (41985)
United States
November 25, 2011 1:41pm CST
I am finally putting up this post but it's been on my mind for weeks and weeks... Back when I was having problems with my phone (which I bought through my service provider...) I decided to buy a 'back up' phone on eBay. I settled on a "manufactured-refurbished" unlocked Blackberry Curve 8300 (originally for AT&T, which is not my provider). Anyway, I put it away without testing it out first, and when I finally got around to trying it out - about a month or two months later when I actually needed it - I came to discover it was faulty. It froze ALL THE TIME during texts and phone calls, requiring me to take the battery out and re-start it. AND when it wasn't busy freezing, it would randomly shut off every 20 minutes or so. SO - buyer's beware - I should have tried out the phone right away so I could return it if need be. I definitely realized that this was obviously my own fault for not being smart about it.
Anyway, I decided no more electronics on eBay for me.I am going to try to sell it for 'repair only' just to get at least SOMETHING out of it.
Have you ever bought something on eBay that just plain didn't work?
2 people like this
6 responses
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
25 Nov 11
Yep,Buyer DEFINITELY Beware on Ebay...Coincidentally,My experience was also with buying a cellphone...I "Won" an Auction for what was described an "Immaculate" Camera phone,which arrived in its original box,accessories and Manual complete and in their bags,with the original sales invoice with a couple of months to run on the original 1 Year buyers warranty...so far,so good. Then,I took a look at the phone...scuffed all over the place,it was anything BUT in Immaculate condition..and the camera wouldn't work,all I could get was an error message. I contacted the seller,who argued it was working fine "The last time I checked it",and the most of a compromise offered was "use the warranty"..I sent it back to the high street electrical place it was bought from,who informed me it was "Water Damaged" and therefore exempt from the warranty conditions...No,I didn't want a banjaxed non funcional phone back...so,no money,no phone..And I won't be doing any electrical shopping in that place again,either...
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
26 Nov 11
In saying this,I've never had problems with NEW stuff I've bought on there..I've repaired a couple of family ipods whose batteries had quit, having sourced new batteries from ebay,I get phone accessories,rechargeable batteries,and I've bought a couple of bikes,and accessories for those..and yesterday the laser pointer I ordered as a kitten toy arrived. But I'd recommend not to get caught up in a bidding war for an item..it can be exciting to feel the win,but always check other sources than ebay too..no point celebrating a win that cost you more than an identical store bought item..
@bounce58 (17380)
• Canada
6 Dec 11
Just this morning, I was on ebay looking for an ipod touch. My son wants one, and I was hoping to find a good deal on ebay. There are some which says they are 'new', but the price is just about the same as when you buy it from the store. The older generations which are cheap I am unsure about. Like you say, they might be duds and more trouble than I bargain for.
@Masihi (4413)
• Canada
26 Nov 11
The store "everything for a penny" is a rip-off, they sell everything for 1 cent then they overcharge in shipping. Usually their stuff is crap. I brought a metallic crucifix only to find it's a big piece of cheap silver plastic. Sixteen bucks S&H! Crap.
@Dominique25 (9460)
• United States
25 Nov 11
I personally haven't bought any electronics that didn't work but I have had a few bad experiences buying things on ebay. Once I ordered a phone cover and never received it but I paid like $15. But I had just signed in as a guest and so didn't have any account info, like you mentioned, here was a mistake that I made by just signing in as a guest. So I just didn't worry about it. Here recently I ordered a perfume and lotion set. The tommy hilfiger freedom perfume and lotion and gift set. The perfume smells like it is suppose to. But the lotion smells absolutely disgusting. I had to wash it off my hands as soon as I put some on. So unfortunately there are a lot of risks with ordering on ebay. I prefer amazon. I hardly ever have a problem there.
@bostonphil (4459)
• United States
26 Nov 11
I collect costume jewelry and I LOVE grab bags. I have bought some great grab bags on ebay from one particular seller. But that seller has stopped selling grab bags and may not be selling on ebay at all at this point,
I have bought other grab bags from other sellers. And every single one was a dud. I opened one complaint but I was to find that it is the seller's word against the buyer's. Ebay needs to be neutral. I gave up and agreed to keep the jewelry.
I have not bought anything since although I do check ebay and am open to buying in the future if I find the right item. But I have learned that it is "Buyer Beware" when on ebay.
By the way, all my sellers had extremely high ratings.
@WakeUpKitty (8691)
• Netherlands
25 Nov 11
I never bought electronica on ebay or by internet abroad and I never will.
With ebay I am not sure it will arrive but also I may have electricity connections problems but most of all I don't know if I get the same rights/guarantee as when I buy it in my own country.
Today I did receive my clutch, the one I ordered by ebay. It looks great but it's broke and I don't think it was done by the mailman the way it was packed.
Years ago I bought a cellphone by the internet site of the provider, that one (my first) was broke too. It took ages before they sent something new.
