eBay is a great place to pick
up some fantastic deals. As long as you know exactly what you want
and how much you are willing to pay for it, you can usually come
out ahead of both retail stores and online retailers.
Most of the sellers on eBay are one of two things - people
trying to clean out their garages or people trying to make a
profit. The majority of these people are very honest and pleasant.
I buy and sell on eBay with some regularity - the last time I made
a purchase at CompUSA was an ink cartridge that my mother needed
urgently.
Given the amount of bidding I do, there is a decent chance of
some bad transactions. I am not saying any of the people I have had
bad experiences with are dishonest; I believe them all to be honest
sellers. What is important when buying something on eBay is never
to let yourself get walked over.
The biggest problem is with items that never seem to arrive.
Last December, I was still waiting for an item I ordered in
October. After sending the seller another irritated email in early
December, I received a most profuse apology saying that it was
accidentally overlooked and never shipped. The best way to prevent
something like this is to harass the seller. Send them an email
once a week and ask about the status of your order - whether
they've received payment, shipped out the item, etc.
The biggest problem I have had is with people that ship
defective items. One of the first items I bid on was a memory
module for my mom's PowerBook 150
(on which I am currently writing this). The auction item
description stated it was for "Power Book 150 520 540". In any
case, it turned out that it was a PB 5xx RAM module that wouldn't
physically fit in my PB 150. The seller, who was a representative
for a major RAM vendor, looked into the matter and discovered that
an adapter was required. He gave me a full apology as well as
refunding my money. Return of the module was not required.
Recently I was involved in a heated discussion with an eBay
seller over an adapter. It arrived with one of the pins bent,
despite being incredibly well packed. Even with UPS's best efforts,
I don't see any way this kind of damage could have been caused. The
way in which the pin was bent indicated to me that the adapter had
been used since the damage had occurred. In no way do I believe
that the seller realised the item was damaged. The seller offered
to refund my money if I returned the item, which was perfectly
reasonable. However he wasn't willing to reimburse me for my costs
of shipping the item. It ended with him refunding my money and the
defective item is sitting on my shelf ready to be used for an art
project or whatnot.
I have no problem with sellers of defective items asking for the
return of their item. Some proof of the fault is perfectly
reasonable, otherwise it could be thought that you are trying to
get something for nothing. My problem was that I was being expected
to pay money for an item that I was not able to ever use. To me,
that seemed unfair.
You can't win every argument, but you can definitely prevent
getting regularly abused if you remember a few ground rules:
- Hassle sellers to make sure you know where your item stands. If
you are selling, make sure to give your buyers updates when you
send/receive payments or items.
- If you receive a damaged item contact the seller immediately.
Don't decide that "it isn't that damaged" or "it was only five
bucks." Never let anyone get the better of you.
- If the seller of a broken item requests that you return the
item to them make sure they are willing to pay for the return
shipping.
- Above all else, make sure to leave appropriate feedback with
eBay. If you have an encounter with a particularly bad seller, you
can contact eBay. I am nearing that point with one person with whom
I have had ongoing problems, and I understand that eBay has people
trained in dealing with such problems.
- In any dispute, eBay has the final word. If you contact eBay
and don't like their decision, you can either live with it or get
legal advice. I strongly recommend you live with it.
eBaying can be a very positive experience that can save you a
lot of money and time, but most of all you must be careful and
never ever let anyone get the best of you. Happy bidding!
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