Consumer Electronics Online Purchasing and Ebay

[deeman12]

I'm admittedly a novice to online purchasing, having only bought one ebay product in the past week. I'm still waiting for it to be delivered.

My main question is how does one distinguish between a con-job and something that is a legitimate sale? For instance, an Australian seller has advertised various unused G-Star jeans for $40 when their true value would obviously be a lot more than that. Now that is obviously too good to be true and smells dodgy. Their rating was ridiculously high too, which sets off alarm-bells.

Any stories of getting burnt from an online purchase? Ever purchased a product which didn't live up to your expectations or was a money-grab?

 

[alfy!]

If it's too good to be true, it generally is. Certain brands (ie. G-Star) are more likely to have loads of fakes on eBay.

I make online purchases every other week (eBay, other sites) and have never really had any bad experiences. I do tend to do a bit of research beforehand though.

 

[HarryTiger]

Their rating was ridiculously high too, which sets off alarm-bells.

That's a good thing. You look for a seller with lots of sales, > 500, and > 98.5 % feedback. If 500 people haven't been stitched then it's unlikely you will be.

With the asian fakes, they're pretty good fakes usually, I reckon the buyers just didn't care or notice. Though personally I wouldn't buy the fake on eBay as they're quite expensive compared to the price on the ground when you're on holiday.

 

[Caesar]

If it's too good to be true, it generally is.

This. As long as you don't get greedy you're fine.

I don't use eBay a lot, and when I do I tend to play it safe and just opt for stuff that's new and still has tags on it. Even so, you can pick up some great deals - tons of people chuck unwanted presents on there with low reserve prices, because they just want whatever they can get for it. If it's a niche item, there often won't be a ton of interest and you can get it pretty cheap.

Last thing I bought was a tennis racquet bag for $65 including postage, tags still on. Was in Rebel last weekend and saw it for $120 RRP.

 

[Shimmy90]

I generally buy alot of s**t online. I've perchased alot of stuff online from surf distrubutors that would set me back a fair bit. i.e shorts, shorts etc.

I just recently brought a Boston Celtic hoodie from online via the US. took a while for it to come through (About 3weeks) but pretty pleased.

Never had a problem with buying stuff from ebay, generally they have buyer feedback so research can be done there i guess.

 

[OneEyedHawk]

I'm admittedly a novice to online purchasing, having only bought one ebay product in the past week. I'm still waiting for it to be delivered.

My main question is how does one distinguish between a con-job and something that is a legitimate sale? For instance, an Australian seller has advertised various unused G-Star jeans for $40 when their true value would obviously be a lot more than that. Now that is obviously too good to be true and smells dodgy. Their rating was ridiculously high too, which sets off alarm-bells.

Any stories of getting burnt from an online purchase? Ever purchased a product which didn't live up to your expectations or was a money-grab?

As someone said, just check out how many previous sales and their rating. Read the feedback too, don't just check the %. You can usually pick the reputable sellers pretty easy. I've bought ****-loads from ebay, and have got g-star's for around that vicinity. You should be right if you do your homework, but I'd be happy to roll the dice for $40 anyway.

 

[dales.girl38]

I've used ebay quite a lot over the years, only had one situation when a DVD for my mum never arrived and after having years of good service, the company shut up shop without saying a thing and couldn't be contacted - appeal launched, appeal won, got a refund, no dramas. Paypal is a great thing for buyers.

Having said that, I've ended up with a lot of clothes that still have their tags on today. It's really only books that I buy online now (amazon or the book depository).

 

[Mitho]

Ebay is aligned to look after the buyer. If you get a ****ed deal, they'll usually sort it out.

But honestly, if it's too good to be true... it is.

I buy shitloads and have had 1 bad experience.
Item was outlined as PS3 COMPATIBLE BLUTOOTH!!!! yadda yadda.

When I got it, it wasn't compatible at all, I gave them negative feedback, they gave me my money back and then I changed it to neutral feedback.

 

[Unstable]

Is it best to bulk buy since it saves more with transport cost.

If I buy items separately each time, the extra cost on transport would add up. If I buy numerous items at once, would all items will charged to the one single transport cost.

 

[KardiniaPark]

I bought my wife from the Phillipines. I thought the freight was really expensive but it cleans and cooks like a real person. Next time I might get the model that doesnt speak english at all. Does anyone know if you can trade up after 3 years?

 

[BigKahunaBlue]

as long as you buy with paypal you will be protected. Of course the downside is that paypal feels it needs to charge you with every purchase but at least you can go to sleep knowing you will be safe.

And always check out their feedback or if they are a power seller. I wouldn't buy from anyone who has no feedback or has just started selling, tough if your an honest seller but that's the way it is.

But there is always cases of people being ripped off on ebay, like the guy who bought what he thought was a 200 gig usb card for only it to be a usb plug housed inside another usb stick..when he opened it up it was empty. He should have checked the buyers feedback.

 

[MarcusP2]

Is it best to bulk buy since it saves more with transport cost.

If I buy items separately each time, the extra cost on transport would add up. If I buy numerous items at once, would all items will charged to the one single transport cost.

From an online shop, yes, though it depends on their policy.

From EBay, no, unless you were buying them all from the same seller, and then it comes down to their policy.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

Check the users selling history or whatever it's called, if it's at 90% or higher you're usually safe

 

[Richo is God]

Basically just check their user rating and read comments/feedback on their page.

 

[HarryTiger]

I bought my wife from the Phillipines. I thought the freight was really expensive but it cleans and cooks like a real person. Next time I might get the model that doesnt speak english at all. Does anyone know if you can trade up after 3 years?

In the old days they had to use the Aussie Post (magazine).

 

[savagelunchbox]

Bought a lot off ebay and have been stitched up a couple of times. If you pay with PayPal you're eligible to claim what you paid up to $1000. So just pay with them and if its either 1) fake and didn't say in the description, or 2) doesn't arrive, you can claim for a refund.

I have been lucky enough that i once bought a DVD from the USA and after about 6 wks it hadn't arrived so i contacted the seller to see when it was posted, etc and they replied with an apology saying that had posted it the next day and must have been lost in the mail so they gave me a refund... ... ... a week later, my DVD arrived. FREE DVD

 

[SugarShane]

Yeah i scored a freebie once, but also got burnt once as well. I'm still infront over all though as my freebie was $30 and the one i got ripped on was $17. Lately though it's all business as usual. Did have one occasion though where i bought a CD on cheap but it wasn't said that it didn't have the back cover insert. That was annoying.

 

[Costanza_]

But there is always cases of people being ripped off on ebay, like the guy who bought what he thought was a 200 gig usb card for only it to be a usb plug housed inside another usb stick..when he opened it up it was empty. He should have checked the buyers feedback.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Damn, is that forum post still around?

 

[CrimsonButterfly]

I recently had a guy who tried to scam me.

He sent me a message "I am an honest seller and your product has been sent." I paid for it but he never claimed the money and the item never arrived. I was like "Why try and scam then not even take the money?"

I just laughed and got the item for the same price from another seller.

 

[PoppedCorn]

we buy a bit
never been ripped off
bought books, clothes, misses buys make up as its cheaper

99% of the time i only buy from aussie sellers and only if they are around the 98% in feedback
i try not to use paypal as it sucks ass
yeah you are protected, sure, but paypal can shut down the account at anytime they wish if they think a transaction looks 'dodgey'
plenty of stories on the net going around

besides if you sell something on the bay you oay to list it, pay a percentage of the final winning bid to ebay (the higher the item went for the more you pay) and then if the buyer pays you thru paypal you pay ANOTHER fee

ohh yeah
paypal is owned by ebay


buy aussie
check the feedback (look for neutral and neg and READ the comments)
and pay with direct debit
if they are a decent honest seller you wont have probs