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Let the eBuyer beware . . . that statement is just as true on eBay as it is with any other business trying to sell you something. eBay can be a great place to get terrific deals it can also be a place where you pay more than retail for merchandise. If you're a new eBuyer, here are several tips to avoid paying too much on your eBay purchases. I'll also throw in a couple of tips to avoid getting ripped off by dishonest eBay sellers. Finally, I'll give some suggestions for leaving feedback.
Just because your shopping on eBay doesn't guarantee that you're going to get a great deal. By following these simple tips you can avoid having a bad eBuying experience.
I hope these tips help you to have a better eBuying experience on eBay. If you've found this guide helpful, or entertaining, PLEASE VOTE on it at the bottom of this page. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any corrections, questions or suggestions for this guide. Most of all, have lots of fun on eBay!
Just because your shopping on eBay doesn't guarantee that you're going to get a great deal. By following these simple tips you can avoid having a bad eBuying experience.
- Know the retail price of the item that you want to purchase before you commit to buy or bid on it.
- Find out what similar items are selling for on eBay. Here's how you can find out the going rate of the item that you're interested in, you simply use eBays SEARCH tool. Click on the Advanced Search link under the SEARCH button, you'll be taken to the advanced search page. Under the search term entry box, select the "Completed listings only" radio button. Now when you enter your search term, you'll get a listing of completed auctions for the previous 2 weeks. Now you can get an idea of what it's selling for on eBay. (Hint: listings in green were sold; listings in red didn't sell. You want to concentrate on the sold items and determine if you're willing to pay that price.) Now figure out how much you're willing to pay for your item. Make sure you stick to your target price. If the price you're willing to pay is reasonable, you'll eventually get the item you want at the price you want to pay. Many new eBay members have won auctions, but end up paying way more than they wanted to spend.
- Be sure to take the shipping and handling fee into the purchase price of the item you want to buy. There are lots of items that are listed with an extremely low price, but they have an exhorbitant shipping fee. My advice is to stay away from sellers that operate their auctions with this practice. Legitimate sellers have reasonable "Buy It Now" prices and realistic shipping fees. If the price seems to be too good to be true, then there's probably something wrong. Avoid outrageous shipping costs.
- Many new eBuyers get caught up in the moment during the last few minutes of an auction and end up paying way more for the item than they originally intending to spend. They lose focus on their target price and bid up the auction to a price that is higher than they were willing to pay. Stick to your maximum price! You may not win this auction, but there's always another widget for sale on eBay. If you are patient and use reasonable bidding practices, you will end up getting the bargains you're looking for.
- NEVER buy anything from a seller that only takes checks or money orders. These sellers are usually not legitimate. If you send a money order or a cashiers check, you have no recourse if your item doesn't arrive. I think everybody has heard some horror story about somebody that bought $1000 concert tickets on eBay sent a money order for payment but never received the tickets. Don't let yourself become a victim! PayPal is the best way to pay for your purchase (both for buyers and sellers). Credit cards are also a good way to pay for your purchase, but many small sellers don't directly accept credit cards. If you don't receive the item, or if it was grossly misrepresented, and you paid with PayPal or a credit card you can get your money back.
- Make sure you read all the details in the sellers description. Sellers need to disclose any defects or problems with the item for sale, so you need to read the details to figure out if there are any problems and whether or not you can live with them. If you have any doubts regarding the item's condition, contact the seller. Legitimate sellers will respond to your question with a reasonable answer. If you receive a sarcastic response, or no response at all, you can get a good idea of the type of merchant you're dealing with. Customer service is very important to most eBay sellers. If the seller isn't going to answer your questions about the product, then think about how the seller is going to behave after you make your purchase. I recommend you avoid sellers that don't respond properly to your questions.
- Check to see if the seller has a return policy or if the item is being sold "as-is". Legiitmate sellers will usually offer a return policy or at least a Dead On Arrival (DOA) guarantee. Many sellers won't give you a refund for items in "as-is" condition. A lot of sellers will allow a return on these items (myself included) even if there is no return policy. If you get a defective "as-is" item, contact the seller about the problem. A lot of sellers (myself included) will still try to resolve the problem to make sure that there customers have a good eBay experience.
- If you have a problem with your purchase, and the seller advertised the item with "ALL SALES FINAL" or "AS-IS" and the seller isn't willing to resolve your problem, then you shouldn't leave negative feedback for the seller. The seller informed potential buyers that they were making a NO RETURN purchase, so you (the BUYER) are really at fault because you didn't heed the buyers selling terms. I know it can be frustrating, but leaving negative feedback isn't the appropriate way to vent your frustration. What you can do is leave positive (or neutral) feedback and write about the item's condition in your feedback comment. The seller acurately described the item for sale, you just happened to get the broken widget, so it's not fair to blame the seller.
- Be thoughtful when you leave seller feedback after your purchase. Keep in mind that most sellers are trying their best to provide good customer service. You should be very judicious before leaving negative feedback for a seller. Always leave feedback comments that stick to the facts about your buying experience. Negative feedback should be reserved for purchases where you have truly been either mislead or defrauded. Minor glitches shouldn't warrant a negative feedback; just explain the concern in your feedback comment. You can give positive (or neutral) feedback but state something like, "item in worse condition than I thought".
- Many new eBuyers leave negative feedback for sellers because the item doesn't arrive promptly. eBay sellers can't control the transit time of the shipping services. If the buyer shipped your item promptly, but it took a long time to arrive, you need to determine whether the seller took a long time to actually ship the item, or if the carrier took a long time to deliver it. If the seller shipped the item promptly, but the carrier took a long time to deliver it, then you shouldn't punish the seller with negative feedback.
- If you haven't received your item, the seller is using USPS, and it's been a reasonable amount of time since the auction closed (at least 10 days), you should contact the seller and find out when your purchase was shipped. USPS doesn't provide tracking services for shipping. USPS Delivery Confirmation is exactly that; a confirmation that the item was delivered. Keep a level head, contact the seller, and try to get any information from the seller. The seller may not have actually shipped the item on the day that the postage was printed. Legitimate sellers will usually have a reasonable explanation as to the shipping delay. Commercial shipping services (e.g. UPS, FedEx, DHL) your seller will usually e-mail you the tracking information, so you can track the progress of your package.
- Be wary of sellers that have statements like, "IF YOU LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR US WE'LL LEAVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR YOU" or any other inflammatory statements in their listing description or selling practices. If the seller is already yelling at you before you make a purchase, then you probably don't want to deal with that seller.
- Lastly, try to resolve any problems with your purchases by contacting the buyer. Just like any relationship in life, communication is the key to success. Filing a complaint with eBay or PayPal should be used only after you have tried to resolve the problem with your seller. Most legitimate sellers will work with their customers to keep the customer happy. Shopping on eBay is no different than shopping at a brick and mortar store. Most of the Sellers are honest and can be trusted to sell you a good product. As with any group of people, there are a "few rotten apples" that affect all of the other eBay sellers.
I hope these tips help you to have a better eBuying experience on eBay. If you've found this guide helpful, or entertaining, PLEASE VOTE on it at the bottom of this page. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any corrections, questions or suggestions for this guide. Most of all, have lots of fun on eBay!
Guide created: 06/16/06 (updated 10/14/09)
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