wwp8

I just thought i put a few comments about the 2 companies

as there are a few problems with them ,
i used to buy/sell at ebay but stopped due to the security and helpfulness is total cr@p

i got ripped off by someone in yank land over £800 for a nav system,

got billed for someone elses invoices (no idea how but managed to get my address )

ebay is (don't give a to$$ attitude to people who has made a loss)
useless and unhelpfull
paypal is just an expensive (middleman ) service ,whatever happens is just your loss

safety measures

1, check feedback, also if they are quite current too.
2, find out if they are newly registered or been for a long time
3, if something starts too cheap , be very careful. maybe a bargain or maybe not
4, if they asks if you would like to purchase the item outside ebay GO AWAY!

if you ever win something on ebay AND intend to paypal
this is what i do now

1, email them saying you would like to pay by cheque
2, get their address details obviously you get their name (payable to: )
you can now decide to pay by paypal instead.

imlach

...or better still, just don't buy/sell anything on Ebay.

I've bought something once on Ebay, and it was only because the item was local and I could arrange a mutual meeting point to swap said item for cash in hand.

Too much trust involved in the whole system, and there are far too many people out there who are prepared to abuse that trust.

Add in "too good to be true" offers, and there'll always be a sucker who gets conned. Some people can't resist a bargain, even if deep down they know it probably IS too good to be true. More fool them.

Sad to say it, but I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it.

imlach

Even worse, far too many users of Ebay seem prepared to send their own personal cash (ie, cheques, paypal, etc) to individual personas they HAVE NEVER MET nor KNOW THE HISTORY OF in exchange for some high valued items such as PCs, laptops, etc etc, sometimes for thousands of pounds. They send this money, with the "trust" they'll get something back in the post after a few days once their payment has cleared. Nuts.

Obviously the process works in a large number of cases, but the potential for fraud is there, and so why risk YOUR OWN PERSONAL MONEY even if a slight chance you might get defrauded.

At least using your credit card in a high st store OR in a VISA & Mastercard accredited online shop/trader/retailer, you have the protection of consumer credit laws, as well as trading standards. Not always 100% foolproof I agree, but a lot less risk.

In this day & age, you should trust no-one when it comes to financial transactions. Sad to say it, but it's true.

Dazza01

try 192.com to get an address then pay them a visit or get ur friends too .............

imlach

192.com is not a catch-all, and anyway, who wants to enter into a sales transation with the prospect of having to visit someone 300 miles away with a baseball bat in one hand.....not really the 'normal' method of buying goods is it?!

fatherpierre

You take your chances..........

I've sold 100s of items on ebay without a glitch other than ***** emailing to say they never received their item. I always send by registerd or SD and emial back to prove delivery and never hear from them again.

I'd personally never buy anything of a high value without checking the seller out in the 1st place.

The most I've ever spent on a blind transacrtion (not knowing the seller) is £150 but I frequently use paypal to pay suppliers in the region of £3k+ without fault.

Paypal is actually a great tool for getting a discount as we often do a deal to split the difference of paypal's robbery fees which works out at a good few quid.

But paypal and ebay (who own paypal) don't give a ****. All they want is their cut, after that they're not interested.

imlach

That's my point. You don't go into Sainsburys every week to take your chances on a loaf of bread. You expect to pay your 69p, and get your loaf of bread. You don't want any risk involved with the transaction.

Yet, millions of users worldwide trust their money to a what is a worldwide jumble sale, exchanging cash with faceless people they don't know, with the 'chance' they'll never see either their money or their goods again.

Nuts.

fatherpierre

I guess it's down to good research.

If you're just buying a £30 jumper then simply make sure the seller has a good feedback and sells a lot of the item you want.

If you're after a £1000 computer and the seller has a low feedback from buying 20p items then alarm bells should ring!!

There is a facility to search in your area and a genuine seller should have no problem giving their landline number and address so you can collect.

The conmen rely on people's emotions ruling their actions......

Tiggs

time and time again ppl slag off ebay...this has nothing to do with ebay at all- this is second hand buying. you can do it via free adds, postcards in shop windows, car boot sales. ebay is just another medium for it.

now if you went and saw an add in a shop window for a pc 300 miles away would you buy it via the post? and if you did would you slag of the shop keeper if it fell through?

take some responsibility for yourselves!

i have bought loads and sold loads on ebay- i have always bought in person if it was pricey and always check out the seller as much as i can- and when an italian contacts me to offer 4 x the asking price for my watch if i pay via some stupid escrow service he has made up i dont sell to him!

if i ever get conned it will be my fault- not ebays.

T

dba

I hav ehad no problems at all,because i did my research on the products i was buying,and always entered into email dialogue before buying.I only buy items of small value from a buyer with low/poor feedback.

ProperCharlie

agree with Tiggs here - ebay is as safe as you make it. I always email the seller to ask them a few questions about the item. If i get a load of gobledegook from a drug crazed estonian by way of reply, i tend to give it a miss.

so far, i have had zero problems.

EddScott

I too have had no problems with Ebay and have bought a few reasonably expensive things from it. I must admit the most expensive thing I bought (£800) was within driving distance so I picked it up. Following that I paid about £200 for an radio control car from China which I paid for on Friday, it was shipped lunchtime Sunday and arrived Wednesday morning which impressed me alot.

I agree it is open for abuse and should have better safety features but just be careful and do things like check feedback and if over seas mail them first. I bought Autometer gauges from a place in America and I just made sure I had as much info as possible before commiting myself.

Scooby96

It is dodgy but with added care it can be ok.

An example being this email I recieved a few minutes ago re one of my auctions - dodgy or what!



Dear brassik,

hello, i'm frenc and i want to place bid, but if i win your phone mobile, i will pay you the may 05/2004. are you ok. please send me a mail before the bid finish. i'm a honnest person, if i pay you, you send me a phone mobile the may 05/2004, wen i send my personal cheque, thank you very much. IT'S IMPORTANT

To view the item, go to: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/ebayISAPI.d...tem=3090551058


Naturally I've told him / her where to go - cash / postal orders prior to sending or no phone!!

fatherpierre

You'd have to be a **** to fall for that. though LOL.

StickyMicky

theres sum scooby rear camber bolts on there for about £17 buy it now

i clicked buy it now not reliseing they were in the fooken USA

ive mailed him twice asking about sending a uk postal order or cheque and he still hasnt replied.
possible dodgyness ??

fatherpierre

Possibly.

Or he's thinking '****, I wish people would read the add before bidding'

StickyMicky

the add doesnt say there from the usa untill you have bought them

it says there located in england!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...EBWN%3AIT&rd=1

fatherpierre

True.

But he's registered in the USA.

The auction was in £sterling so he must have listed it on the UK site to fleece the unwary........

I doubt anyone would use ebay for a small sting like that - even though there are 17 of them available.

StickyMicky

hes a employe of ebay aperntly

the auction being in sterling is what im messageing him about
i mean i dont mind sending a envolope over to the usa, but can they accept uk postal orders??

he should be at least trying to explain how it works, ive never sent funds to america before

fatherpierre

I wouldn't stress. Look at his feedback.

Did you go to the site listed in his payment instructions?? You may be able to pay by switch.

If his P&P is that low I can only guess they'll be coming to you from the UK.

Scooby96

Tiggs - BTW escrow is a good payment alternative to paypal

StickyMicky

whats confuseing me tho, is that i send the payment to the usa and the goods are posted "maybe" from the uk

confused lol

Tiggs

scooby96- not the made escrow scam company this idiot was suggesting i use!