Do you find ebay useful? When was the last time you used ebay?

Going back to my first disappointing deal in ebay transactions, the seller's reputation was very high so I thought that I would also have a good deal with this person. As it turns out, I got a counterfeit so those rating would probably be from other buyers who didn't know how to distinguish an authentic item from a counterfeit one. So even if the reputation of the seller is quite impressive, we could still not be sure if we would be getting what we are expecting. The only thing that I don't like about meet ups is that when your deal doesn't work out well, you have just wasted each other's time from the very beginning. (_

My experience with ebay has been that you must be careful with some powersellers/ members with high positive ratings. Not everyone is honest and some use their rating to their advantage. There is much more pressure on a new member starting out to not get a negative than a member who does hundreds of transactions a day. 1 negative doesn't hurt a powerseller very much if it is swamped by thousands of positive feedbacks. I am sure that some members have pumped up their ratings with shill bids from alternate or hacked accounts that have won their auctions. I would always check a sellers feedback and look at the auctions won to see if the feedback matched as well as to check what items were being sold for. Conversely, I would also track bidding activity and check the reputation of buyers and look at their purchasing habits. If an item which previously had gone for much less multiple times before, suddenly receives a bunch of bids by members who normally don't by items in that category or who usually don't win expensive items, then that is a red flag. A good rule of thumb is to contact the seller before bidding with a question or two. How they handle this situation can say a lot. It's not fail safe, but it can be useful in screening some bad members. Also, if you send a message, and soon after receiving a response, a ton of bids are added to the auction, this is usually a bad sign and a definite red flag. Because I ask questions beforehand and because I am knowledgeable and I know what to look for, I have never had a problem with a face to face transaction on ebay. Meeting up in person doesn't guarantee an honest transaction, but it reduces the chances of something going wrong. As a seller, always examine cash received in an in-person transaction before handing over the merchandise. A popular trick is for a buyer to arrive with bills in large denominations, those being counterfeit, and getting your item and some of your real cash in return. It is wise to arrange meetings near banks or large retail outlets. Cameras are around and change can be provided by someone with the proper equipment to check it. I watch which bill(s) the buyer who asks me for change has given to a bank or retail store. Sometimes they aren't the same one(s) that they were offering to exchange with me.

Yes, one must be careful with the misrepresentation of items on ebay. It can be difficult to verify the quality of an item from a photo. Also it may be impossible to protect against lies or inaccuracies. As long as you receive a package, it's very difficult to win a chargeback against a seller through paypal. I have also completed a few ebay transactions in person too. It is much harder for me to do this as most buyers/sellers on ebay of not from my local area.

Yeah, the fraud on ebay is a problem. Fortunately, I have never been scammed or fallen for a scam on ebay. There have been times where I won an auction and the seller refused to sell at that price. One even contacted me after the period to leave feedback had expired. Once a seller asked me to send payment to an address other than the one in his profile. At the same time, just before I won the auction, some other members left him negative feedbacks for scamming them. I immediately reported his actions to ebay and I never heard from him again. Sometimes I would get contacted from sellers of items from auctions that I didn't win asking if I would like to buy outside of ebay, but I always avoided those offers. The e-mail scare tactics with professional looking fake sites are common and not just limited to ebay. It is important to be informed, not to let your guard down, and to check web addresses very carefully.

fluffysue, This is probably due to a hacked or hijacked account. The offender may have been able to trick a member into divulging account details by sending out the e-mail randomly. Once, they have hijacked one account than can more readily have access to other members and more easily fool some. Perhaps these people were able to obtain account by infecting computers and retrieving information through keyloggers. The more industrious may have hacked into the ebay database directly.

The interesting thing about the ebay (and also Paypal) fraud emails, is that the ones I received only went to the address I use for ebay, and I have several email addresses. At the time, it was an account that I pretty much only used for ebay and very little else. That always made me suspicious about where the spammers/scammers where getting their lists from. I stopped getting them since I stopped using ebay.

I think that it's great that you are still having a successful time on ebay. Overall, my experiences on ebay have been positive too. Luckily for me, I have recognized fraudulent behavior before it cost me more than time and effort. There are some really great buyers and sellers that are ebay members. I like to count myself among them. ebay has become less useful to me over time to the point where I rarely use it now. It's good to see you around Pigglies. Happy Easter!

I don't think that there are any other online auction sites that can compete with the type of volume seen on ebay in North America. I don't use the auction format for buying/selling much anymore, so anyone is welcome to correct me if I am wrong. I was unaware of the existence of taobao.com, but I'll check it out now that you have mentioned it. It certainly is more advantageous for both buyers and sellers to have options closer to home. It can really cut down on the costs. Cheers.

I never used ebay for purchasing games myself. The shipping charges were much too prohibitive. Also, there are easier, much less costly ways to obtain games.

Returns can be a big hassle and, most of the time, sellers are not willing to refund shipping expenses. ebay is probably the best place for selling niche items or older/antique items because ebay can draw much more interest from a larger group than might be available locally. It's all about supply and demand. The more interest available, the better the price for the seller. ebay may be the only place that you can locate those hard to find items. Thanks for sharing.

I wouldn't bid on an auction posted by a member with zero feedback. If a seller has multiple negatives, I always read them and check to see the reputation of those who left negatives and which items these transactions that have gone awry took place over. It has become more difficult to identify who the "good" sellers are on ebay and the feedback system doesn't provide the quality information that it once did. Fraud and cheaters are everywhere, but I run into more trouble on ebay than I do elsewhere.

Unfortunately, so much abuse of the system has rendered ebay's feedback system useless. This is one of the reasons why I stopped using ebay as it became harder to identify honest members. I first started noticing the decline on ebay when sellers began to ask for positive feedback before they would reciprocate. It all went downhill from there. A quick stop at the ebay website should provide an update on their fee schedule. If you can increase your profits on sales through ebay, than it might be worth the effort. I use local Buy/Sell/Trade forums myself. Good luck.

I am glad that ebay is a place where you can successfully conduct worthwhile transactions. There are certainly more than just businesses and powersellers who make up the ebay membership. I happen to find much better deals elsewhere. That won't be the case for everyone and some people like to shop from the comfort of their own home. When it comes to used clothing of good quality, we have so many thrift stores around and even a military surplus outfit. I can't find anything cheaper than at Goodwill, ValueVillage, etc. On top of there already rock bottom prices, there is no fee for Shipping and Handling. When on sale, clothes from Wal-Mart are dirt cheap.

There are some very reputable and solid sellers on ebay. If you can regularly win their auctions, then I am sure that these sellers can become great suppliers. Cheers.

I am no longer comfortable with attempting to purchase larger, more expensive items on ebay. Do you use ebay for big and more costly items?

Well I can't disagree with what you have said. You certainly can liquidate belongings quickly using ebay and it is simple enough to use. It's unfortunate that ebay isn't still more than those things.

That is very interesting. I was unaware that live food was sold on ebay. I assume that the seller is in your local area, no? If not, there could be several factors that could cause the food to arrive in a state less than living.

Where there is easy money to be made, fraudsters will be there. Conducting business online isn't the same as it is in person. Online business, whether sales or purchases, require a certain approach and precautions must to be taken. There are inherent difficulties in offline business that are amplified when you can't see who you are dealing with or where direct contact isn't possible. Online, one has to be more dependent on themselves for protection. It sounds like your brother is much more comfortable with risk. It's good to hear that he is performing well in the markets, especially at a young age. Many people have done quite poorly, so being able to make a living from investing is impressive nowadays.

Well, if you are able to win auctions at a good price that beats what you can find elsewhere after shipping, then I understand why you would use ebay. ebay may also be useful for purchasing hard to find items. The last time I used ebay, I was able to find a great deal on an item that I needed that wasn't available in my area.

Are you a power seller? Is ebay one of your indispensable tools? Yeah, you can't force members to actually pay. Some people don't care about their reputation at all. As a seller, do you cancel bids that come from buyers who have negative feedback or "unpaid item strikes"? It's been a while since I have been active on ebay. The removal of the ability to leave negative feedback to sellers and the "unpaid item strikes" are new features to me. It sounds like the problems with fraud and problem buyers have increased and, as a result, the protection for buyers has been reduced. I am not sure that negative feedback for sellers was a worthwhile feature anyway with so many sellers demanding feedback first before reciprocation. Do you use other methods to sell your items to avoid ebay fees?

Yes, I share your sentiments. Ebay was great in the beginning for the first couple of years that I was a member. There was a noticeable change that happened rather quickly in a specific period of time. It was around the time where ebay was on more analysts radar and the CEO decided to apply measures to increase growth. Ebay didn't go straight down as a service, but took a significant hit at one point and then gradually became worse and worse. Ebay won't ever be the same and now I have found so many other, much better, options. Ebay was a lot of fun in its hayday and it provided me with some great memories and invaluable experience. Thanks for sharing. Cheers.

Yes, ebay can be useful when trying to purchase hard to locate items, discontinued products or items no longer sold in stores. The trick is that you have to win the auction at a decent price (including shipping and exchange if the case may be). Oftentimes you have to invest much time and effort and you might have to contend with fraud too. Some people get a thrill from their experience on ebay. It can be exciting to win an auction and receive your item in the mail. However, many good deals won at excellent prices can be negated by one scam. The same can be said for sellers. Profits can be erased by getting caught in a scam or two.