ebay users?

Question

Have you ever been ripped off and is it safe.I want to know this before I consider joining.

Answer 1

Ive never been ripped off in terms of someone not sending something or anything like that, plus you are protected up to a certain amount if you pay using paypal, you would be refunded by paypal. I think most sellers are genuine....however think the odd person may sell things in slightly worse condition than they say or there may be some ppl on there selling fake items....but i really love the site u can often get a book much much cheaper for example and thts factoring in postage, as well as new clothes...there are shops on there seeling new items. Be awae of wht the item costs new etc or is its an item tht u cnat get anymore think wht u want to spend as its easy to keep bidding! Oh and check feedback, is someone is dodgy there feedback will indicate it, be awae of ppl who have closed an account and set up under a new name, their name indicates this i.e. ebay puts a symbol next to their name!

I love ebay, never had a serious prob!!

Answer 2

I have been buying and selling on Ebay for a few years now and the worst problem I had was when someone managed to hijack my listing for a horse rug and change it to a featured gallery item offering expensive mobile phones (they also hacked someone else's email to send them through) that took a bit of sorting out because Ebay automatically billed me for the featured listing but it all came right in the end.
It is about as safe as it can be I think- there are always idiots and people looking to rip you off whether you are on the internet or the high street.
Join, and play around with it a bit, don't buy anything that looks too good to be true ( because it probably is) and keep your passwords safe and secret. Check out users feedback ratings before buying from them and don't buy anything expensive from someone with a low score.
I was very iffy to begin with - I think caution is just natural.
Happy bidding

Answer 3

I'm not a heavy user of eBay, but have been for 5 years - if you follow the rules of checking out the feedback score and sussing out the postage costs are realistic, you are pretty safe. You didn't mention if you were buying or selling. Either way the most important thing to check is the feedback score - click on the score and you can see peoples feedback
Good luck

Answer 4

Never lost any money yet. Was ripped of for £3.49 once for pack of the playing cards with the 52 most wanted Iraqies. They were Chinese fakes. I totally slated the guy and he now no longer trades on E-bay. The main point is to ask enough questions when you are buying and dont respond to any unsolicited mail. Check the feedback left by others for the person you are buying from this is the key to succesfull buying.There are a lot of folks ripped of by people pretending to be E-bay but have nothing to do with them. Mostly there Nigerian scamsters! One Englishman nearly got me aswell for £1000 deposit for a boat but i insisted on hos home address etc and Googled it found it to be a warehouse. Then when i went to the bank the name and account did not match up. Again a case of doing your homework before making purchases, especially large ones. Use Paypal and get yourself verified. Thats all i can suggest, i find it saves me a fortune and on the whole very good.

Answer 5

It doesn't cost anything to join ebay, it is reasonably safe, but read any negative comments, as well as the feedback score to use your judgement as to the safety of bidding.
I have had a few problems, but only lost £6 to someone who never supplied what she offered. She has been banned from ebay due to numerous complaints.
Ebay does it's best to keep everything safe.
Personally I find Paypal to be a convienient way of paying, and paypal do not charge for payments out.

Answer 6

Just look for sellers with a feedback score of 98% or higher, and also make sure the shipping fee's seem reasonable. Just use your best judgment and you will be fine. You can read the sellers feedback comments (from buyers) and see the items they have sold just by clicking the links provided on their "eBay My World" page.

Example: when I first started buying items on eBay, I bought a poster that cost $6.00 to ship- yet the seller had charged me $14.99- that is unreasonable. If I had been charged $1.00 or $2.00 over actual shipping cost, that is understandable to cover the handling/packaging and gas cost of the seller.

Answer 7

I have made over 100 purchases / sales on ebay over the last 8 years. I've never had a problem.

Use common sense. Don't buy a high dollar item from a seller who has just openend up an account.

NEVER pay via western union or wire transfer!!!!

Be VERY VERY wary of any offers you receive off ebay (second chance offers, etc.)

Answer 8

I have been using ebay since 2002 and have never been ripped off yet. I have heard of people that have been though. I think it is relatively safe. I would say 95% of people do not get stung.

Good luck

Answer 9

Nothing is 100% safe but if you look for high feedback score and never ever send cash cheque etc use paypal that way if something goes wrong you covered (up to a certain amount) and you should be ok

Answer 10

paul,

do not buy from sellers with less than 98.6% feedback.

the safest way to buy ANYTHING on ebay, is to pay ONLY through PAYPAL and fund the purchase with a CREDIT CARD!

if anything goes wrong and ebay or PAYPAL do NOT find in your favor, you then have the option of contacting the CC company and filing for a CHARGEBACK.

PAY SAFE, STAY SAFE

good luck, be careful and have fun!