Tips and Secrets To Shopping On Ebay

ABOUT ME

I have been selling on eBay since 2006, and in that time I have learned a lot of the tricks used by both buyers and sellers. There are many ways sellers will try to cheat buyers, and vica verca. I will share with you what I have learned, and hopefully this will help you avoid any unnecessary problems with your shopping experience on eBay. As long as you have some basic knowledge and you use common sense, eBay is still a very safe place to do you shopping. Remember the golden rule of shopping online "If it is too good to be true, then it is a scam".

Ebay is still a great place to get high quality items at low prices. There are many stories of people being ripped off on Ebay. These problems can in most cases be easily avoided simply by taking a few steps to protect yourself.

The first thing you should know, is that Ebay is not your friend. They really don't care about anything but making a profit for themselves. They advertise that they offer you 100% buyer protection, and it makes some people feel like they can sit back and relax, behave irresponsibly and Ebay will take care of them.

This is certainly not the case, Ebay and Paypal are only concerned about taking care of their own profits. What happens in many cases, is that a customer will complain about an item not received or an item that is not the same quality as advertised. Ebay and Paypal will open an investigation , and in most cases they will conclude that the buyer should receive a refund.

However if they are unable to recover the funds from a seller, they will send you an email that basically says "sorry we aren't able to help you". Of course they will not say it in those words. And they will promise to continue to investigate, but basically it is your loss.

You can ensure your protection by using your credit card to fund all payments for Ebay items. If you have a problem with an item you purchased on Ebay, your credit card company will offer you true buyer protection!

You can avoid most problems by doing a little research before you buy an item on Ebay. You can check the sellers feedback to make sure that there are no complaints for others. If a seller has more than 100 feedback's and more than 98% positive, you can usually trust this seller.You want to make sure that the feedback is recent, and relevant to the item you are buying.

Read the item description! I can not stress this enough, as a seller I can tell you that most of the customers I have had complaints from, simply did not bother to read the item description. They did not have any idea what the policy was regarding shipping cost and time of delivery. You can avoid a lot of problems by reading and understanding the item description, and if there is anything not covered, ask the seller!

Communication is key! If there is a problem, contact the seller and let them know. If you do not give the seller an opportunity to solve the problem for you, and you go straight to Ebay and complain to them, you have betrayed the trust of the seller. Also it is against Ebay policy to leave negative feedback or open any cases against a seller without contacting the seller first.

Remember that you get what you pay for! People do not sell authentic designer handbags on Ebay for less than 10% of what they are worth? You can not get an Apple Ipad on Ebay for 20 bucks! If you are expecting to find these things at these prices on Ebay or anywhere else , then you are beyond help!

Know what you are buying! There are a lot of pirated goods on Ebay, and most people who shop for desginer brands on Ebay are aware of this and are happy with that. Some of these items are exactly the same as the original products. If you want an authentic designer brand name handbag, don't try to buy it on Ebay for under 100 bucks!

VALUE TIPS

We do not suggest buying high end expensive gadgets and electronics on Ebay. Stay away from Iphones, Ipads, Notebooks and other high priced items. You get better value and buyer protection for these items on Amazon.

Avoid impulse shopping! It is common that items sell on Ebay for far more than they are worth at certain times. For example, If your favourite team wins the Superbowl, and you go looking for memorabilia the following day, it is likely that auctions will be bid up to double or triple the price that these items should normally sell for.

Check Ebay store items and "buy it now" items. When you are bidding on an item, you should always check to see if the seller has the same item for sale in his Ebay Store or in the form of a "buy it now" listing. It is very common that auctions can get bid up well past the price that the same item is listed for as a "buy it now" listing.

See if the seller has their own website. Often sellers offer the same items for a lower price at their own website , because they do not have to pay fees to Ebay. As we have already explained, you are fully protected as long as you pay with a paypal payment funded by your credit card!