ebay bad experiences?

Suby Wan Kenobi · Post by **Suby Wan Kenobi** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:12 pm

Couldnt agree more Megan, one other thing i would like to add is know your product. There is no point in paying more for it on ebay than you could at the local shops.

LTurbo · Post by **LTurbo** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 7:43 pm

tim_81coupe wrote:Paypal all the way for me. I won't trade any other way (used to do money orders though).

Paypal is not without its problems. Basically their not a bank and hence aren’t governed by the same laws and can do stuff like freeze your account with out warning or reason etc.... there are a whole bunch of kooky ideas why they do this but they do do it.

http://www.paypalsucks.com
http://www.paypalwarning.com

Most of the complaints seem to be from sellers though, I think for buyers its okay (just be aware of what they can do) as they will help you if you have evidence of bad happenings.

Fury · Post by **Fury** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 6:54 am

When ever I have had some form of problem, I have stuck to telling them my next action. This generally gets good results. ie.. If this doesnt get
resolved, I HAVE to report this to ebay - we all aggreed to this when signing up...

One seller, sold me Microsoft software disks, but kept copies. When I went to register it with Microsoft, they wouldn't register it in my name. In the end, I had the ebay transaction and payment details, which I went to Microsoft. They apparently sent someone around to his place, took the copies, deleted from his PC and was charged with fraud. I didn't mean for him to end up in so much bother, but it was out of my hands... he was NOT happy.

and another quick one - I won an auction, but the guy wouldnt supply the item, after numerious emails finally telling him i would go to ebay, He confessed that the auction hadn't reached the price he wanted. All I can say Is, apart from some time, I wasn't out of pocket, He is still a member ... but ebay threatened him with death if he did it again...

other than that, happy trading. I think you make up your own mind about who you trade with - or ask detailed questions if you are unsure - so at least you have a record of contact if you end up with a problem.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 7:52 am

I've done about 90 transactions there now - all with either PayPal or Direct Deposit - and have never had a problem that can't be sorted through a few emails or a quick phone call.

I have found a phone call usually works best (use the "Get Contact Details" function) as you can discuss the matter and understand their perspective.

Alternatively, you can always threaten to notify Ebay admin.

I've actually had about 3 transactions from The Trading Post go bad, so I'd be more cautious of that than Ebay.

Last word of advice: NEVER trust Australia Post. The people are generally really good to deal with and helpful, but their tracking and express systems STINK.

Subaman · Post by **Subaman** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:15 am

The last time I won an auction with a rediculous postage price I questioned them on who they were using etc, then I got a few quotes of my own and emailed them back and told him to use one of them as they were much cheaper. It worked! I am not sure who actually reserves the right to decide who and how something gets sent when it comes to postage on ebay, but I guess if you are paying for the postage then it should be your decision.
Cheers
Grant

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:32 am

Oh, one more thing: Be wary if buying electronic goods from overseas, like Hong Kong or Singapore (like phones or Ipods or whatever) cos the warranties are most often void in Australia.

Also be aware that there are a lot of cheap knock-offs around that look pretty good on a computer screen but crap in the flesh.

Kev · Post by **Kev** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:03 pm

stinky wrote:The address info is stored in your ebay profile and he should get it automatically upon your winning the bid.

I had a very bad experience with ebay ( on my first ever purchase) when I bought a nokia mobile phone for $500, the guy accidently sent it express rather than insured mail and it never arrived. Aus Post refused to take any responsibility neither did the seller. In the end convinced him to sell me another one for $300 which meant it was right on the RRP of the phone after adding the two figures.

Every time i've won an auction since it's gone off without a hitch.

I recently did an "introduction to law" course. When a transaction is done by mail the sender is responsible for what is mailed. You have good grounds to sue the vendor for the goods that you paid for.

stinky · Post by **stinky** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:10 pm

eh i'd say it would be, i think there were a couple of spoilers and some recaro race seat all from the same seller all $50, all with rediculous postage prices, if i remember right the seats were $589 postage

Buy it and then tell them you'll "pick up" and send your own courier.