How reliable is ebay?Its definitely a site where I can get some stuff that I can't get anywhere else, but mom

Question

is skeptical.
She says she doesn't trust strangers selling us stuff that she can't like test out first.
& she says its too complicated to create an account.
What to tell her to change her mind?
How does ebay work btw?
reliable?

Answer 1

It's reliable. Two insights. One, Ebay and Amazon (which I now work for) are COMPLETELY dependant on the trust of our customers. You will notice that the only thing that can prove an internet companies worthyness is it's customer service. I'm an Ebay fan, yet it's kind of a taboo at Amazon since they are a large competitor. Amazon.com has better customer service.. actually they were rated #1 in customer service the past three years, but when you take a little, and I mean a little, with Ebay, you will find you often times come out with a better price.

Two, the main concern or focus she should have is how people get your person information when doing internet based shopping. Both Amazon.com and Ebay have secure servers. Nobody will get there information when making a transaction, not even an employee of the company. It's all offline once it goes to our server. The number one thing to look out for are bogus emails, called phishing emails. If you receive an email directing you to ebay or amazon, which asks you for a password or other information, simply call the company to make sure they are truely asking for it..

I don't know ebays cs number, but Amazon.com's is 800-201-7575

...try our customer service out sometime. I'm possitive you'll be inpressed.

Answer 2

Today on the news a couple came forward with the news that they'd bought a Sony Camcorder, new in the box from a reliable store. When they got it home and opened it, there was a jar of spaghetti sauce in the box. Sometimes bad things happen, but for the most part, we do business on trust.

So? eBay? It's built on trust. The founders thought that given an opportunity, that folks would do business and play fair. My experiece, with over a hundred transactions, is that it works.

If your mom is suspicious and will only purchase items that she can touch and test, then eBay is not for her. If you, on the other hand, see something that looks like a product you'd like to have, there's probably a photo of it and the seller will have a rating of satisfaction from others with whom he's done business. That's called Feedback. Someone with 100% positive feedback has had every transaction work well for him/her. The feedback gives buyers and sellers an opportunity to rate their experience.

Being cautious is a good thing. However, if you want to put good vibes into the universe and trust others, then behave in a trusting way. Setting up an account is a little bit of a hassle, takes about as much time as getting a checking account at your bank.

Read the rules on eBay and make your own decision. Paranoia notwithstanding, there are bargains and some terrific folks doing business there. And, there's an element of excitement and fun if you are in a bidding contest with someone who wants the item you want! There are tricks of the trade and if you move forward, you might find a new way to get a bargain and experience trust in a whole new way.

Altruistic? yep.. give it a try.

vc

Answer 3

On eBay, sellers bid on things and the highest bidder wins whatever is being bid on, much like auctions. Some items have a "buy it now" icon, which means you can skip competing with other sellers and just buy it. Some things may have a reserve, which is a minimum amount of money that the seller will accept for the item. It will tell you if the amount has reached the amount of the reserve when you click to view the item discription. You can also go to the homepage of eBay, I believe that they have a FAQ and stuff like that.

Setting up an account on eBay isn't that difficult. I would suggest also making a paypal account, as most all sellers use it. It is free, and you can register a credit card and use it to pay for things you buy on eBay. The seller can't see your card number, or any of that kind of information, so the risk of someone using your card to buy other things is almost non existant.

Most sellers on eBay have some sort of guarentee, like if you don't like it you can send it back within so many days and get your money back. You can stick to sellers with guarentees like this, so if you don't like something, you can send it back. You can also see things other people have said about the person by clicking on the number after the person's name. It also has a percentage, which tells you how many people have said positive things about the seller.

There's nothing you can really say to change her mind, but maybe if you look around on eBay and figure out how to work it, and are able to show her you know how to use it, and teach her how to use it, she might be more likely to allow you to set up an account. My mom was skeptical at first because she didn't know how it worked and was afraid her credit card information was being seen by people on the internet.

Answer 4

EBay is very skeptical, but it all depends on who you buy from. You find something you want to buy, then you look at the sellers feedback. 100% feedback is always good, especially if they've sold to a lot of people. Just read people's reviews and decide from there if you think they're trustworthy. As for your mom, just ask her to start off with something small. Get a cheap little trinket and see how it works out. Maybe it will boost her confidence in eBay if it works out.

As for the bidding, you always want to bid the minimum price and if you really want to win the bid, place a maximum bid. That's how much you're willing to pay for a item. If someone else bids and it's not higher than your maximum bid, eBay automatically bids what they bid so you're still in the lead. Very handy device. If you win and you pay by pay pal, eBay handles it so strangers won't get your credit card number.

Answer 5

You can get good deals OR you could get ripped off. IF I buy anything there NOW:
1. I make sure there are pictures of the item.
2. I DOWNLOAD and SAVE all communications regarding the sale, including the advertisement.
3. I pay by Postal MO only. (THIS gets the US Govt involved if it turns out to be a rip off!)
4. I NEVER deal with a party having LESS than a 98% positive rating.
5. I NEVER buy electronics or software there.

E-bay operates on the old principle, "buyer beware". (In MOSTcases there is no return and no refund!!)

They "claim" to be able to help if there is problem with a purchase, but through experience I have learned that they have more ways of showing that it is "not their fault" and that they "can't do anything" than anybody I have ever seen.

Answer 6

You can trust the sellers on ebay who have a lot of positive feedback. I have bought almost 400 items over the past 5 years off ebay and I only had one problem -- and that problem was my fault. I bought from a foreign seller with only 16 feedbacks. Now I only buy from sellers with over 10,000 positive feedbacks and I only buy from domestic sellers. Take a look at the site; do a search on digital cameras and look at all the info they provide for each seller. I think it's reliable as long as you buy intelligently.

Answer 7

Well eBay itself has nothing to do with being reliable. Its the seller who has to be reliable. eBay provides you the facility to check the feedback of the seller before bidding (so more the +ve feedbacks the more reliable is the seller).

More info
http://pages.ebay.com.au/securitycentre/safetyguide.html

So dont rush while bidding. Do some research and DO check the feedback and you will be all right. If you have any more Q feel free to email me.

Good Luck ;)

Answer 8

In my experience eBay is just fine. Just pay close attention to the sellers feedback rating.

Read all their feedback for the last several months to get a feel for how they do business.

I have never been ripped of, and have scored some great deals.

Answer 9

E-bay is pretty reliable. You do run the risk of not being happy with something once you get it.

Make sure the descriptions are detailed. You should also check the sellers feedback, if they have negative feedback don't order from them.

Answer 10

i've bought and sold stuff on ebay. pretty much reliable IF you do ur homework. meaning if you check their info, their feedbacks, ask questions, and communicate with the seller. ebay guidelines would help, specially how to tell which one is fake and which one is real on those designer brands.