Helpful Hints For A Safe Buying Experience

As a long time eBayer, I've come up with some helpful tips on making your buying experience on eBay a pleasant one. If anyone else has more tips, please add them to this thread to help buyers. 1. Read a sellers feedback before bidding. This is the single most important piece of information you will find - if you see multiple neutrals or negatives for quality, delivery or communication issues - you can generally believe the information. Don't bid if a seller has poor feedback. 2. IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE - it usually IS! 3. Ask questions of a seller before bidding. If there is something in the listing you don't understand, not mentioned or is not clear - e mail the seller using the "Ask the Seller A Question" link in the auction before you place a bid. 4. If shipping price or method is not listed - e mail the seller your zip code and ask the price before bidding. Don't open yourself up for a shock after you win. Some sellers start bids at very low bid prices and have high shipping to offset it. If you can't find the shipping price - ask BEFORE you bid. 5. Your bid is a binding agreement - please don't bid if you don't intend to pay. 6. Make sure your ISP does not block E Bay e-mails and your e mail address is up to date. Some ISP's have SPAM features that block E Bay messages. If yours does, you may not receive any end of auction notices from your seller. 7. If you don't hear from your seller within 3 days, e-mail them. 8. Read the full auction before bidding. You cannot change the terms of an auction after you win. Make sure you fully agree with all of the terms (method of payment, time frame for payment to be received) in the listing before placing your bid. 9. Carefully read the payment options the seller accepts. Be very wary if a seller accepts payment via wire transfer only - many fraudulent sellers will not accept any other method of payment, as they cannot be rescinded or charged back later. Paying with a credit card is the safest way to pay, as you have some recourse if the item is not received. 10. Please check the category of the item you are bidding on to ensure you are bidding correctly. 11. If you are buying clothing and measurements are not included with the size, e mail the seller and get the measurements before you bid. All manufacturers do not cut clothing the same way. 12. Read the E Bay discussion boards for help with a problem that may arise. There are chat boards for virtually any topic you can think of - you can obtain great advice availing yourself to this free service. Other E Bayers are the best helpers in a problem situation. 13. If the item is not as described, please contact your seller BEFORE leaving feedback. Most sellers want to please their customers, especially if they have good feedback. Allow the seller a chance to correct a problem before leaving feedback. 14. If you never receive your item, e-mail your seller. If you get no response, pull their contact info and call them. If their contact info phone number or e-mail address is invalid, file an invalid contact report with eBay. You also have the availability of filing an Item Not Received dispute. This can be filed 10 days after you have paid, but you should make every attempt to contact your seller and allowing them to rectify the issue before you file. I hope these suggestions make your E Bay buying experience a HAPPY one! A good friend will come and post bail for you in jail - a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Darn that was fun!"|||***waves to willysgrandma*** I would like to add: 15. You have 45 days to file a complaint for an item not received if you pay by paypal. DO NOT let this window close on you without receiving your item or filing a claim. Doesn't matter what the seller's reasons are ... this is your first line of protection. There was no monster. "Ah, the clean smell of kids who know they rule the world..." - Crow T. Robot ~~~T&S KKC member & Fire Ant #69~~~|||Good addition, I totally forgot about that! A good friend will come and post bail for you in jail - a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Darn that was fun!"|||May I add something? Don't assume the method of shipping if it isn't stated. If the shipping is in line with, say Priority Mail, but the seller states "Standard Shipping" don't assume it will be sent priority mail. Also, it is good to understand how long different mailing classes take. Only Express is guaranteed in two days. I've seen packages delivered cross country in two days by regular mail. I've seen Priority take a week. The words "eBay" and "logic" do not belong in the same sentence. KKC #21|||I'd like to add some tips, too: 1. Give careful consideration to buying from a seller with a feedback rating below 98%. Check not only the negatives and neutrals in their feedback, but look at the feedback they leave their buyers/sellers. If they don't respond to negative feedback in a calm, rational way, they probably won't deal with you any better. 2. The more unprofessional the buyer/seller is, the more professional you should be. 3. ALWAYS file disputes on problem transactions once communication stalls with your seller/buyer. You may not leave any feedback, but the strike they get is far more important, especially for sellers.|||Excellent post, willysgrandma! Lots of good advice! I might also add... If you contact a seller to ask questions before bidding and the seller doesn't respond in a reasonable time or not at all, or responds unprofessionally....DON'T BID!|||If you contact a seller to ask questions before bidding and the seller doesn't respond in a reasonable time or not at all, or responds unprofessionally....DON'T BID! Yes! That is likely an indicator of how you will be treated after the auction is over if there is a problem. A good friend will come and post bail for you in jail - a true friend will be sitting next to you saying "Darn that was fun!"|||You can and should check negs and neutrals here: Link Some advice always bears repeating: Always ask all questions before bidding and don't bid if seller doesn't answer. Look at the seller as hard or harder than you do the item and price. When you bid on an auction, you are agreeing to everything listed or not listed so don't bid until you are sure.|||Do not ever pay with a wire transfer or Western Union Money Transfer. Chinese sellers with no feedback are not selling genuine designer or name brand goods! You want to pick sellers with 99% or higher positive feedback and hundreds of them for selling similar items if you are going to buy something expensive. Email is not perfect communication, sometimes you should pull Contact Information and call your seller|||Willysgrandma Excellent post. You did such a good job of giving simple tips that could make an eBay transaction good for a buyer. And the additions that others added were great.|||Nice job WG!! ~~~~~ 3. ALWAYS file disputes on problem transactions once communication stalls with your seller/buyer. You may not leave any feedback, but the strike they get is far more important, especially for sellers. Excellent words of wisdom. Coulnd't have said it better!!|||Excellent post! Thank you If I'm going to buy from a seller who always sell the same kind of things, I check their feedback for negs and neuts, of course, but also to see if they have lots of repeat business. They do if their feedback received is quite a bit higher than their feedback scoreA seller with repeat business is obviously a seller with happy and satisfied customers .|||willysgrandma I do not agree with #3 & #4. If sellers cannot provide an accurate description and list their shipping charges, their auctions do not deserve my bids. I've got better things to do than ask sellers to tell me what they are selling and how much it will cost me to have it shipped. I also do not bid on auctions that do not offer a return privilege. To me it's a red flag when sellers will not stand behind their sales. I also do not bid on auctions where the description includes a laundry list of information that is irrelevant. That's usually a sign that there is a catch buried within the unnecessary verbiage.|||iipnd - I think WG's point is that you should not assume anything. Either ask or don't bid - both are valid responses. There was no monster. "Ah, the clean smell of kids who know they rule the world..." - Crow T. Robot ~~~T&S KKC member & Fire Ant #69~~~|||I almost always give a refund to a seller who asks, but I rarely print that in my auctions, because I've found some buyers abuse the refund policy. It is a hassle and it is costly (fees, shipping) to provide a refund.