E-Bay - Is it safe?

[SpringPlum]

I've never bought anything of ebay because my roommates experiences weren't just real good. Oh nothing like losing all their money or anything but still... One friend ordered an anime series and paid a decent sum for it and when he got it, the series was this awful, confusing fan-sub that may have been done in someone's basement. The other bought a hard-to-find poster and paid nearly full price for it. When she got it (over 2 months later), it looked like it had been run over half a dozen times. And the packaging was fine so it couldn't have been the post office's fault. Both people they purchased the items from had good records too.

 

[d4]

i've never had too much problem with ebay (i've done around 80-90 transactions with 1 neutral and zero negative feedback). however, i limit my purchases to things i can't really get any other way and things that aren't too expensive. i think the most expensive things i've bought on ebay were a Mucha print and a museum replica battleaxe for around $30 each. i generally won't bid more than $30 because i'm simply not willing to risk much more than that. i can't imagine buying something in the hundreds of dollars off of ebay -- IMO you're just asking to get ripped off.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I have been wodering because I plan on buying rpg stuff on e-bay when I get some more money, I want to buy old edition items and that is the best place I can get those, unless I am mistaken.

One thing I have noticed with RPG stuff (both buying and selling) is that there is very, very rarely any scam artists ivolved. Every transaction I have done as seller & buyer has been perfect. Gamers are payment 'angels' and have never left me hanging (one fellow sent me 2 emails in as many days apologizing because his bank was closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday and he couldn't get a money order!). Poeple who sell games seem to see the other person as a 'comrade in arms' and are quite honest and open. Just conduct yourself in an honest manner, make sure the person you are buying from has a good feedback rating (I like to see at least 50 positives per negative comment, ideally no negatives at all should appear) and respond and send emails out promptly.

 

[Anime Kidd]

I know this doesn't have anything relating to Nifelhein's question, but I recently saw a thread on another board about some guy on Ebay selling other peoples' fan art as his own.

 

[Sir Whiskers]

First, let me say that shopping on ebay can lead to frustration, even if you don't get ripped off. Some sellers mis-represent the item's quality, or do a lousy job of packing it, or just wait a couple weeks before they get around to mailing it. Fortunately, they really are the minority.

I've made nearly a hundred purchases on ebay and was only once a victim of actual fraud. The seller had outstanding feedback (including recent sales) so I bid for a season 2 set of B5 dvd's. Sure enough, the day after I mailed the money order, negative feedback began to appear. I did all the things a buyer should to be careful, and it still happened.

This is a risk of doing business on ebay. If you're not willing to take the chance, don't bid. That said, there are things you can do to limit your risk:

1) As others have said, check the seller's feedback. Look to see if it's recent. Look for suspicious patterns - dormant accounts have been hacked and used by crooks to defraud buyers. Those accounts will usually show no activity for months, then suddenly lots for sale.
2) Start small, with relatively inexpensive items. Gaming items are generally a good deal and the worst problem I've ever had was a guy who took almost a month to get it in the mail to me.
3) If you're worried, avoid electronics, collectibles, and other high-dollar items. Crooks are more likely to post items with a large appeal (the aforementioned B5 dvd's, for example ). How many are really going to post an old copy of Gamma World, when they could post a mint season of ST:TNG dvd's or a laptop computer?
4) Many sellers on ebay are actual stores that also use ebay on the side. I've had great experiences with these stores, including diverzions.com and ShockingPrice.com, among others.

As always, YMMV. Everyone's experience will be slightly different. Just realize that if you buy often enough, eventually the law of averages will catch up with you. I'm willing to accept the risk, as I've saved far more over time on my good transactions than I lost on the one bad one. (My only irritation is knowing the %#!*^%*# got away with it... ) Oh well...

 

[Silver Moon]

Overall I've had primarily very good experiences so far, with well over 100 great transactions and only a couple of bad experiences. Both bad experiences were due to sellers misrepresenting the condition of the products (always be careful if the photos are a bit blurry), one of which took a "Bleep you" approach when I complained, so I left negative feedback. The other had me send it back to them for a refund then claimed they never recieved it so refused to refund any money. Fortunately I had insured the item, and the "never got it" letter was considered sufficient proof for the Post Office to declare it lost and issue me a refund for the insurance amount. I am skeptical though, as it was a pretty rate item that the seller posted an identical item of a month later.

 

[Wraith Form]

A friend just tried to buy a notebook and seems he lost his money, the guy is from Bulgaria and he is a lot unhappy

Which guy? The buyer or the seller? If I'm a buyer from the US, there's no way in hell I'm gonna purchase from a seller who is out of country. I tried once with Canada and I'm not sure it went well...and Canada's only 3 hours away from me!

There's all the shipping hassles, the currency exchange, the chance of your item being lost in the mail, etc etc.

On the other hand, 70% of my d20 collection has come from US-based sellers on E-Bay, and (with rare exceptions) I haven't spent more than $15.00 USD for any product--usually closer to $10 or less. [T20 - Traveller, the hardback, is an exception.]

 

[Nareau]

I recently had a pretty terrible Ebay experience that taught me something:
Checking someone's feedback isn't enough. You need to also check the feedback they're leaving for people.
I purchased a camera from someone on Ebay. Not only did it not work, but it also didn't include all of the accessories. After many unreturned emails, and many unfulfilled promises to correct the situation, I finally left negative feedback (almost 90 days later). The seller left me negative feedback within hours.
Looking at the seller's feedback, I discovered that this seller waits until he's gotten feedback before he'll give it. And every single negative he received, he responded to with negative feedback.
This isn't such a problem for him, as he has hundreds of positives. But it hurts me a lot, since I've only bought about 20 things.

Good luck,
Spider

 

[Nifelhein]

Thanks for all your feedback guys, I appreciate it a lot, and thank for actually making up for the problem and sharing your experience with your son with us Elf Witch, that shows us how e-bay actually works based on the good will of those selling the items.

I have pointed this thread to that friend of mine and he probably is gonna check it sometime tomorrow, when he answer me I will post any other info here. HE is from Brazil, just like I am, and the guy he bought is from Bulgaria, Wraith Form.

I have been thinking about how we could edal with the problem and basically we can get to him by contacting a lawyer there, or a corporation here that has contacts there, and making that lawyer go after the guy this may take sometime, but at least he has a chance of being caught and going to jail, what would be enough for many of those cases.

i know this because i study laws and that is what i would tell you guys to do if the case happened to one of you and the seller was from my country, of course i could also get the guy myself if you would drop me a line

Enworld is not only an rpg site, it is THE rpg players community, and that makes talking about anything a natural thing. I am happy to be here, happy that Morrus gave us all the chance of keping enworld alive and unhappy because I couldn't contribute myself and for that friend of mine.

Cheers,

Nif.

 

[Mystery Man]

Looking at the seller's feedback, I discovered that this seller waits until he's gotten feedback before he'll give it. And every single negative he received, he responded to with negative feedback.

Same thing with this kimera idiot. She red marked me almost immediatly (I expected this actually) after I left her bad feedback. I took that opportunity to call her a liar and a cheat and let any potential sellers (to me) know that I can prove it. As a buyer I could really care less about the red mark. Seasoned ebay sellers know that 90% of that is retaliatory anyway.

One thing thats driving me away from ebay, there's no more ettiquete anymore. When I was selling way back I used to send an email within minutes of the ending of the auction to the buyer congradulating and sending payment info. This was always appreciated and I never had an unhappy customer. The last two items I've bought I've had to email the seller to see if they were even alive.