How does E Bay work?
- Thread starter Big Rig
- Start date
I also have mixed experience with eBay.
Got scammed once before - that was 6 or 7 years ago though
Well apparently that was the bad ol' days. Now that eBay also owns PayPal, I hear that they offer more customer protection (?)
I am still buying stuff from eBay occasionally - only <$50 (more like <$30) "Buy It Now" new items with free shipping. Which means mostly cheap electronic components, computer accessories etc. Some Chinese / Hongkong sellers seem reliable and fast. I am moving away from eBay stores cuz there are more and more Chinese online stores that sell these sheat very cheaply (eg. DealExtreme).
Yes eBay seller feedback can be faked - there are lots of ppl who can pretend to be buyers and write positive feedbacks to any seller who pays them - when you check these fakers' buyer feedback, you may see a wide variety of products they have "bought" (ie. writing fake feedbacks for the sellers), which are really indistinguishable from real buyers!
However, buyer feedbacks are the best and really only indicator of the seller's reputation. That "Gold member seal of approval" means sheat, probably generated from the same feedback numbers which can be faked.
Got scammed once before - that was 6 or 7 years ago though
Some story - it was only my second eBay purchase, about US$60 value. Regular shipping (was NOT free) with no tracking number. USA Seller did reply to my emails initially, blaming USPS then customs. After 1.5 months - no more replies. When I finally got my wits to complain to eBay, they told me any dispute must be settled within 45 (or 60, I am not sure) days after the initial sale, and I already missed the deadline. Now I understand why the seller kept replying to my emails initially - JUST TO STALL FOR TIME UNTIL THE DEADLINE, typical scam for newbies! All I could do was to give that sheathead negative feedback, but he packed up shop soon after and probably came back under a new name.IMBob said:
Well apparently that was the bad ol' days. Now that eBay also owns PayPal, I hear that they offer more customer protection (?)
I am still buying stuff from eBay occasionally - only <$50 (more like <$30) "Buy It Now" new items with free shipping. Which means mostly cheap electronic components, computer accessories etc. Some Chinese / Hongkong sellers seem reliable and fast. I am moving away from eBay stores cuz there are more and more Chinese online stores that sell these sheat very cheaply (eg. DealExtreme).
Yes eBay seller feedback can be faked - there are lots of ppl who can pretend to be buyers and write positive feedbacks to any seller who pays them - when you check these fakers' buyer feedback, you may see a wide variety of products they have "bought" (ie. writing fake feedbacks for the sellers), which are really indistinguishable from real buyers!
However, buyer feedbacks are the best and really only indicator of the seller's reputation. That "Gold member seal of approval" means sheat, probably generated from the same feedback numbers which can be faked.
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No F: you have a point. Back in the day you could review who was making bids, leaving feedback and on a couple of occasions, I found two sellers bidding on each other's items. Then ebay in their infinite wisdom started hiding bidder and feedback leaver's ID so now you can't find the "phantom" bidder. This is another reason it is dying.
As for chinese or asian purchases: I bought a Tamiya RC kit from a seller in China and thought "ok, there goes my money" but lo and behold, the item arrived within the spec'd timeframe. Now this was long before we heard stories about melamine in baby formula and lead paint on toys, but I was pleasantly surprised.
As for chinese or asian purchases: I bought a Tamiya RC kit from a seller in China and thought "ok, there goes my money" but lo and behold, the item arrived within the spec'd timeframe. Now this was long before we heard stories about melamine in baby formula and lead paint on toys, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Used ebay twice - Once to purchase a toy train and the other time to purchase a vehicle - Both items were significantly less than other sources and in excellent condition. Two years later they are both working fine.
