Bob “IA3R#7” Cope said:
…all of the above…exactly why I quit eBay years aog. Too much fraud and little to no support from eBay. Not to mention potential identity theft from PayPal…
Got along with out them before they came into existence, get along with out them now…
Wouldn’t buying using a credit card be a potential target for identity thieves ? Paypal is supposed to be more secure than using your credit card. Am I missing something ?
Every few months my credit card company issues me a new card, with a new number, because of all the sites that have been hacked.
i have had - until now - had no bad experiences with ebay.
my personal ebay rules:
ignore all not professional vendors.
ignore vendors with less than 3000 sells and with less than 99%. (exception: recommended vendors)
make contact with the seller beforehand about shipping or whatever - then listen to gut-feeling.
preferably use “buy now” - the moment of the click i know exactly all costs.
preferably use ebay-germany - less sharks in the pool and better customer protection laws.
realize the actual transactions through a professional importer, i trust. - no card, no paypal of mine involved.
as i write this, i have some link & pin couplers on the desk, i received last week from pasidump.
yes, sometimes i do not get something, i would like. but patience does it.
Those are some good rules Korm.
I’m no expert, but I’ve been buying (and sometimes selling) on Ebay for about 9 years, and here’s my thoughts. Ebay is an auction facilitator. And they do an amazing job, charging a very low percentage, permitting would-be sellers to portray and sell products to the national market.
Ebay has “stores,” and do some things to make them behave. But this isn’t a department store, like Amazon. There are people selling who are sometimes unscrupulous and even flat-out loony toons. I recall a certain “babykrilz” who thought he had the most valuable LGB set ever (he thought it was Lionel), and was asking $6k. Amazon wouldn’t tolerate that (probably), but Ebay – being an auction facilitator – can. And maybe should. The market (hopefully) decides if the seller is an idiot.
As with any auction, the buyer should go in with eyes wide open – seller credentials, product examination / questions, shipping costs, whatever.
Regarding refunds, I’ve had no problems when I needed to return an item. Maybe I’ve just been lucky; and I don’t discount the horror stories. Maybe I’ll get slapped with one of those, but I try to follow some basic rules to prevent that – rules like those Korm lists.
Just my 2 cents, fwiw.
Cliff
“Got along with out them before they came into existence, get along with out them now…”
Yes, it is good to use patience and prudence when buying online.
jack
You told everybody that we were friends
But this is where the friendship end.
All of a sudden you changed your tune,
Haven’t said a word since 'way last June.
Uh hum, my honey, uh hum, my honey…
Tell me I’m not the only one who remembers the hit record from the 50s that Dan paraphrased. Makin’ me feel old.
Jack
Wait a minute…I AM old!
Welcome Jack !
@Dan,
To make a long story short, I once used Paypa and bought on eBay. When I had enough trains to suit me for a while, I stopped buying. Then the bank I was using decided that they needed to charge for the account linked to Paypal. No problem, I am not buying right now, and closed the account. Several years later, I saw something I was interested in, and attempted to line a new checking account to Paypal. With out providing my full legal name, physical address (no PO Box), birthdate and SSN they will not re-establish my account. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL I PROVIDE PAYPAL OR EBAY THAT LEVEL OF IDENTITY. If you trust them that much, good for you. I do not.
After watching and listening on this forum and others over the less then exemplary performance of both sellers and eBay’s handling of conflicts, I will spend the additional funds to purchase from legitimate dealers who don’t mislead the buyer with ‘RARE’, etc listings of merchandise that is still available from the manufacturer. Or attempt to swindle customers by other means. I will make purchases here from members who I already have a knowledge of from their involvement on this site. The only reason I go to eBay now is for a good laugh at the insane pricing.
Me experiences, your mileage may vary.
Bob C.
_“sniping”
I tend to wait as late into a auction as physically possible and then post the highest amount i wish to pay for the item. I let the ebay system do the back’nforth. More times than not I win less than my maximum.
_This also eliminates ‘jacking up’ the price of the item. You’re not going to win the item till end at stated time/date. So why get involved with “emotional bidding” and prematurely jack up the final bid ? Unless you are ‘working’ for the seller ?
It only needs one bid to ‘lock it’ into place. Unless the seller expresses some major error/reason to ebay they can not remove it. Too many people (bidders) do not know how to function at a auction. IMHO
Granted as stated previously there are waaay more unscrupulous sellers on the ebay sys, including ebay with their global shpg option ! You use that, a savvy potential international bidder just stays away due to the estimated/unspecific shpg costs (Canada still does not charge duty on MR gear !) .
_“Shipping costs”
a u.s. based online G-gauge seller discounted item (i forecast 4 units) $445cdn. . . . input costs into my spreadsheet by the time it would arrive at my door total $619cdn—$135cdn portion would ah been today’s new deal-killing shpg rates !!
The base price WAS cheaper than retail here buuut cheaper to buy direct from our own Cdn bricks’n mortar … saaay at our annual train show !
“…Perhaps it truly is that older large scale stuff is getting harder to find. There certainly is less of it than in the past. …”
Are you referring to NOS MNIB ? IF yes … not many NOS 2015 vehicles left at dealerships !
Or anything ? This is surprising to hear unless when peoples retire from the hobby either way … their ‘collection’ is being sent to the regional landfill !! Which is a heartbreaker !!
nite
doug c
I have no doubt some of you have had bad experiences with sellers on eBay but to say there are more shady or dishonest sellers than good is absolutely not true. The design of the site does not allow it. If a seller is dishonest than their feedback rating will reflect that and folks will not buy from them. As I said before there is a link on every auction to report any issue you may have with the seller and item. too many complaints and eBay shuts them down. Yes I know they will just open another account but then they start at 0 feedback again.
About Paypal:
Paypal is a financial institution (essentially a bank) and is considered more secure than that piece of plastic with your real name on it. I thought everyone knew this, but most accounts are still compromised by handing your credit card to that cute waitress, bartender or store clerk when they take your card out of sight for a moment. Paypal doesn’t give your account information to the sellers on eBay.
Also, did you know if you use Paypal to buy something on eBay you are automatically covered if:
Complete purchase protection info here
They give you all your money back including shipping.
I’d like to start a poll. Of all you LSC members who use eBay and Paypal, how many good transactions have you had vs bad?
I’ll Start
Good 2326
Bad 2
Wow, am I the only guy who has not had extensive credit card fraud, or problems with ebay or paypal? And I’m much more high profile and don’t hide my real name or email address… how can this be?
I’m careful with what I do, and a few common sense rules seem to suffice.
There’s so many bitter people it’s surprising. You worry about paypal having your information, but your bank and doctor and many other places have more information about you with no customer service protection.
Oh well, more for me to buy I guess.
Greg
You worry about paypal having your information, but your bank and doctor and many other places have more information about you with no customer service protection.
Greg
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I have never figured that one out either…and that includes insurance companies and a host of others…but when it comes to EBay and Paypal…
…and I have had NO bad experiences on EBay or Paypal. over the past 10 years…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
I may have a slightly different perspective…I love eBay. It’s the only way to get some impossible to find items for our railroad, though we don’t buy nearly what we used to.
My ‘habit’ is shoes. My shoes run roughly $300.00/pr. I’ve found them on the ‘bay’ for $50.00-$75.00…new.
We bought a replacement ceiling fan, retailed at $495.00 for $60.00 NIB.
The boy found a NOS driver’s side mirror for the Malibu at a tiny fraction of the dealers cost.
More than just trains, we save a great deal of money through eBay.
I’ve thought about Craig’s list but the safety factor is way to low to justify the savings.
Ross, I think it is because banks and the medical industries are huge, and basically “take it or leave it”.
I am working these last few years to minimize my digital footprint, and more importantly, have some kind of verification information that is not easily hacked, and the information that is, I change it often.
So, when I am in a site that is new to me, and I don’t buy often, it’s paypal.
Greg
Really, I have had good experiences with Ebay and PayPal. The one time I didn’t receive what I paid for, I contacted PayPal, and the complaint was forwarded to the dealer. The stuff was next day air shipped to my house. All I wanted was what I paid for, so I was happy.
I agree with Greg. I hesitate to give my credit card number to online stores/dealers. If they don’t take PayPal, then I hesitate to buy from them. The exception being Trainworld, I trust them.
Since I only have one credit card, I do monitor it quite closely. I also pay it off every payday. So any fraudulent charges on it I will find rather quickly. That card got in touch with me when they saw something they didn’t like. Someone charged something for 75 cents to the card. That is actually normal in fraud cases. The bad guys do a test run for a low amount, to see if the information they have works, then they go to town. My card company called me before it went that far and shut down my account.
But, Ebay is also good for a laugh, since some people on there think they have stuff that is worth its weight in gold, when its really not that valuable. In the months after LGB shut down, the prices for LGB stuff on Ebay went crazy. Again, shop around and know what the going price is for what you want. Then you can spot the deals, and nab them when they come along.
I cant say I ever had issues with paypal and ebay. I tend to follow the same practice as Greg. If someone does not take paypal then I move on to someone who does. I almost never put my credit card info on the web even if the site is trusted. Ill call it in over the phone before I put it on the web. My bank is also great at catching stuff.
The first time I had a problem with my credit card info being stolen was from the hotel at York. I know it was there because it was the only place I had used it, since it was new.
Ebay IS my local hobby shop because there are NONE in my local area. I use it all the time with PayPal. I also shop other items than train related on Ebay, and never had a problem.
It’s funny (sort of), this topic is as polarizing as Farcebook, and as battery vs. track power.
I think the same generalities can be said, any of the above (paypal, ebay, facebook, battery, track power, credit cards) can be made to work, and one bad experience should not prevent you from using them.
Conversely, you can use any of the above in such a way that they do INDEED fail, and you can rail against them (pun intended) the rest of your life.
Greg
Has anyone ever had e refund from a seller get held up by E-Bay?. I had to return a railroad car due to damaged in mail. The seller agreed to the return and refund thru paypal… Now refund is being held up by E-Bay. Anyone have this issue before?..
Travis Dague said:
Has anyone ever had e refund from a seller get held up by E-Bay?. I had to return a railroad car due to damaged in mail. The seller agreed to the return and refund thru paypal… Now refund is being held up by E-Bay. Anyone have this issue before?..
No but I believe the seller gets 6 Business days after they receive the item back to issue the refund.
