E-Bay

330DTM · 03-07-2003, 12:44 PM

I'm curious as to what your experiences are with E-Bay.

How can you tell if the seller is reliable and what are the chances of being scammed?

I just need some pointers or tips because there are some prices for certain items which seem too attractive, i.e. very very low, but when I look at the Sellers ratings, it's always positive comments in most cases. What's up with that?

Razkal · 03-07-2003, 01:06 PM

Hey there,

I have bought a few things off of Ebay and I haev been lucky so far. First thing that I do is to look at the seller's feedback. If they have over 10 or so and they are positive, it usually means the person is good to deal with.

Also, I will send a quick email to the person and see how long they take to respond to me and what kinda info they give. You can get an idea about this person from that. Also, I pay using paypal and make sure that the person gets me the tracking # right away too so that I can follow it...

Hope this helps...

Sanj

BimmiN · 03-07-2003, 01:12 PM

I have bought and sold quite a few things on E-bay. For the most part everything hsa come as described. Check the seller's feedback. This can usually give you a pretty good idea of how reliable the seller is.
I will sometimes check the other auctions to see what other people have bought from the guy just to get an idea of what he sells, and if other buyers have been happy with the item.

03-07-2003, 01:18 PM

I've prolly made about 50 trransactions on ebay in the last 2.5 yrs

most were buying, one tiem i got scammed for about 200 canadian. the seller was a zero feedback seller. one time when I was selling a had a deadbeat bidder who also had no feedback. moral is dont deal with anyone that has less than 3-4 transactions under their belt

330DTM · 03-07-2003, 01:41 PM

Thanks for the replies, but here's an example I found.

For instance, there's a Sony VX2000 camcorder (not planning to buy but just browsing) for sale which usually retails $2,000 USD. On E-bay I spotted one for just around $400 USD. I looked at their feedbacks from other sellers an they had more than 10 positive feedbacks.

Please check out this example and let me know how you would judge from this person's item.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=20333

BimmiN · 03-07-2003, 01:53 PM

Although the current bid is at $400, it will definately climb in the last hour of the auction. There is a reserve that is probably fairly close to the "Buy It Now" price (2,250).
I would say that the reserve is about $2000.
-Cody

Miguel · 03-07-2003, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BimmiN
Although the current bid is at $400, it will definately climb in the last hour of the auction. There is a reserve that is probably fairly close to the "Buy It Now" price (2,250).
I would say that the reserve is about $2000.
-Cody

dammit.. I hate when that happens.. you get so psyched about getting a great deal and then the price triples when there is 15 seconds left

Its all about going high with like 4 seconds left and a high speed connection

djcontra · 03-07-2003, 02:10 PM

I've been buying from ebay since it first started many years ago. It's much safer now and there are less chances of being scammed but it still does happen. I have had great success, and only one mixup. The mixup was when i originally ordered some e36 ellipsoids and the parts place sent me e38 xenon ellipsoids and wouldn't honour an exchange! Whatever, I sold them for much more $$ than I bought them for, and ended up getting ellipsoids just last friday from a different ebay user.

check their ratings before submitting your bid so you can see what people's complaints were about (if any) most complainers are idiots and it was their own fault something went wrong anyway.

buy last minute too, never bid in advance, because within the last hour or 2 of the auction is when people start bidding like crazy.

if the buy-it-now price is reasonable, and you really want the item, use that feature.

Paypal is a godsend for exchanging money quickly, safely, and easily.

And remember kids, BMW parts from germany are less expensive than from the USA (even with shipping and duties included!)

www.ebay.de is your friend =)

Attention E46Lover!

on a side note, if you want quick cash, buy every piece of $1 or less jewellery off ebay that nobody is buying, even if it's ugly. I bought over 100 items like that and ended up pawning them off for thousands =)

330DTM · 03-07-2003, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BimmiN
There is a reserve that is probably fairly close to the "Buy It Now" price (2,250).
I would say that the reserve is about $2000.
-Cody

What does it mean when you say that there's a reserve?

Euro_E30 · 03-07-2003, 02:38 PM

hs anyone bought those indiglo gagues for e30's off e-bay?????

Euro_E30 · 03-07-2003, 02:39 PM

hs anyone bought those indiglo gagues for e30's off e-bay?????

Euro_E30 · 03-07-2003, 02:39 PM

hs anyone bought those indiglo gagues for e30's off e-bay?????

///Greco540 · 03-07-2003, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 328DTM
What does it mean when you say that there's a reserve?

Whe you are selling an item, you have the option of putting a "reserve" amount against it. If the auction ends and your reserve price has not been met you are not entitled to sell the item to the winner. Its for the sellers to protect themselves and make sure they get top dollar for their items.

More easily said, its the lowest price you're willing to let the item sell for.

AndreNY · 03-07-2003, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 328DTM
Thanks for the replies, but here's an example I found.

For instance, there's a Sony VX2000 camcorder (not planning to buy but just browsing) for sale which usually retails $2,000 USD. On E-bay I spotted one for just around $400 USD. I looked at their feedbacks from other sellers an they had more than 10 positive feedbacks.

Please check out this example and let me know how you would judge from this person's item.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=20333

hmmmmmm thanx alot man i guess im gonna take this one for me

J/K

BlitzSix · 03-07-2003, 06:29 PM

328DTM, that auction has a reserve price which isn't met yet. So it will probably sell for 1k or above....if it does sell...

Also, look at how much time is left in the auction. Most of the bidding takes place in the last 10 minutes of the auction, so it may seem low but it will probably go up by a lot. I saw an $50 auction go up to $275 in about 10 seconds...

And to tell if the other guy is good, just check the feedback, and read the description VERY CAREFULLY. Some people put like a PS2 online and somewere in the bottom they put "product is picture" or something, so people bid $150+ and they just get a picture of it