eBay is, quite simply, the most popular online marketplace in the world because it enables anyone with a computer and Internet access to save money buying and make money selling.  But like any marketplace, let the buyer (and seller) beware!  In this eBay Guide, I'll tell you what I've learned from my many years on eBay.  I wish I'd known then when I signed up what I know now after many years of tough experience.

PROTECT YOUR eBAY / PAYPAL LOGIN INFO

Above all else, you MUST be sure no one else ever steals or even knows your eBay or Paypal ID AND password.  This involves a great deal of care on your part.

• NEVER log in to either account without verifying that the URL (the address in your browser's address bar) begins with https:// and ends in a legitimate domain name (such as ebay.com or paypal.com ).  Phishing, or trying to get you to login to a realistic-looking web site set up by someone else in order to capture your login information, is a big threat - but it's easily avoided IF you understand that the crooks need to send you to some other site that isn't ebay.com or paypal.com and they need to get you to click on something first to send you to that other site.  So here's how to most easily protect yourself:
• Look carefully at the characters in between the http:// or https:// the first slash (/) FOLLOWING the http:// or https:// .  If the last of those characters is not ebay.com or paypal.com, then you've probably been re-directed to a bogus site.  If you see four numbers separated by periods, then you've almost certainly been re-directed to a bogus site.  When in doubt, DO NOT login. 
• Resist the urge to save a little time by clicking on a link in an e-mail to login to either eBay or Paypal.  Go to the site and log in to take care of any business you have.  I make it a rule to never provide any sensitive information in any form in response to any e-mail.
• If you must login to either account from a public terminal, be sure no one is watching your fingers or the screen when you log in, and be sure that the information is not saved for later use, AND be sure you're entering the information directly to the eBay or Paypal web sites on the appropriate encrypted page.  Someone might be using a keystroke logger on that particular system, so you need to be sure that you have a secure link to eBay or Paypal - look again at the address bar of your browser and be sure it starts with https:// .
• Be aware that other people may not have done a very good job of protecting THEIR eBay and Paypal IDs and passwords.  A friend of mine sold a laptop to someone who paid for it with Paypal using the account of a lady in South Carolina, but requested that it be sent to a different address in Russia "as a gift."  Uh huh, right...  So if you're selling, be very suspicious of anyone who pays using the Paypal account of someone in the U.S. and then asks you to ship it to an address of someone overseas.  In fact, always be very careful of shipping it to any address other than the confirmed eBay or Paypal address, and be wary when the names and addresses of the eBay ID doesn't match the Paypal account used to pay for it.  It would even pay to contact the owners of the Paypal and eBay accounts to make sure their stories match. Report irregularities to eBay and Paypal.    If you're buying, at least be aware of the possibility, however remote, that an account may have been hijacked.  This is most likely for accounts that aren't doing business every day - all of a sudden, a regular eBay account may be used to sell something very much in demand and very expensive.  Look carefully at the listing to see if the style or products are consistent with past listings from that same ID.  When in doubt, just send a note asking a question about the item.  If you get no response or a poorly worded, Google-translated reply that's inconsistent with the fluency of the feedback left for others or prior listings, pass on the opportunity to get a deal that's too good to be true.  It probably is and not worth the headaches you'll probably face pretty soon.

WATCH OUT FOR FAKEs and COUNTERFEITs

There are a lot of Guides on how to recognize counterfeit products on eBay, so I won't go into great detail here.  I'll just say that in spite of eBay's best efforts to police this, those best efforts are wholly inadequate and that the problem of counterfeit or fake premium branded items is a big one.  Be absolutely certain you're buying from a reputable source on ANYTHING where authenticity is important.  Don't just look at feedback - also look at comments from previous buyers, what they say in their listing itself or in their About Me, whether they have a legitimate presence in the brick and mortar world and where that's located, and any other clues you can find.  Don't trust your desire to get that premium item at an unbelievable price - trust your skepticism that you usually get what you pay for.  Don't be the biggest fool out there by winning the bid on a bogus item.

In addition to fake and counterfeit products (which can be very tough to recognize on eBay), there are also fake and counterfeit people.  eBay doesn't require identity verification of any kind, so you can sometimes encounter fake identities.  I once tried to sell a copy of Microsoft Office Pro 2003 on eBay, and when it sold at the Buy-It-Now price and I didn't hear from the 0-feedback buyer, I investigated by going to the USPS site and doing a search on the address, only to find that the address didn't exist.  I notified eBay that the account was bogus and filed a non-paying bidder notice, and put it out for sale again, and AGAIN it sold to a bogus individual.  So even though I could prove that someone was out there manipulating eBay, and got eBay to shut down both IDs,  eBay only refunded the final value fees and NOT the listing fees, which I lost TWICE, no doubt to someone who was also selling the same item and didn't want the competition from me.  Infuriating - but I'm guessing it's not that uncommon and will persist so long as eBay lets unverified buyers and sellers create accounts so easily.  Just be extra careful when dealing with zero feedback buyers - what I did the 3rd time to sell the software was leaving off the Buy-It-Now and then actually sending an e-mail to any zero feedback bidders to verify that they were real.  If I didn't hear back from them, I canceled their bid and blocked them from future bidding.  Worked well and the software sold to a legitimate buyer the 3rd time around.

PROTECT YOUR FEEDBACK RATING

I hate to say it, but there are some nasty people out there.  I'd say that for every thousand good and decent people you'll meet on eBay, there is one dirty, low-down, mean, pathetic, sociopathic, low-life creep.  That's why, to me, a 99.99% positive feedback rating is every bit as good as a 100% feedback rating.  But there are some things you can do to protect yourself nonetheless and keep your feedback rating as impeccable as possible.  First and foremost, communicate with buyers and sellers.  Answer every message you get from legitimate buyers and sellers (ignore, of course, the SPAMMERS trying to get you to go to some site or another or to buy off eBay).  Check your e-mail daily. Ship quickly when you're selling; pay quickly when you're buying.  If you're buying something, be careful about who you deal with, but then leave positive feedback as soon as you receive the item and are satisfied with it. If you're selling something, pay attention to every detail in your listing.  Don't make any promise you can't keep, and honor every promise you make, implied or explicit.  Follow the golden rule.  Adopt a feedback policy and communicate it to buyers, either in your listing or in your About Me page, and stick to it.  My policy is to leave positive feedback for anyone who leaves me positive feedback if I'm the seller, and to leave positive feedback after I'm satisfied with the transaction if I'm the buyer.   This policy has worked well for me to help me get well over 1000 positive feedback without a single "sticky" negative.  I'm very careful about ever leaving negative feedback, because the chances of getting dinged with negative feedback in return can be pretty high.  I feel obligated, though, if I have had a thoroughly unpleasant experience to leave negative feedback to warn others in the eBay community.  When you do get negative feedback, see if you can't get it removed using the Square Trade resolution process, even though it may cost you almost $30 even to try.  Again, the key to avoiding negative experiences in the first place is good communications - but remember, just like in a marriage, it takes two to make for a great experience and only one to mess things up to the point of no return.

DON'T RELY ON eBAY OR PAYPAL TO BE FAIR AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT

eBay and Paypal are in business to make money.  If you expect them to spend a lot of money policing every transaction that occurs on eBay (from which they get a cut), you are deceiving yourself and will likely be frustrated when they don't respond according to your expectations that they be fair to you. In all fairness, they do a pretty good job of balancing the demands of their shareholders (I only own 10 shares, but they've been going down more than I'd like) with those of their sellers - and if they tried to offer a perfectly fraud-free marketplace, the controls would cost eBay a ton of money they would pass along to sellers which would undoubtedly reduce the value of eBay as a free market.  They are trying to be fair to all concerned, and they don't really try to decide who is right and who is wrong.  They care most of all about their policies and procedures and following them so they stay out of legal trouble for those FEW situations that go to court.  Sure, they might surprise you once in a while if you DON'T expect them to be caring or fair, but they will almost always disappoint you if you DO expect them to be caring and fair.

Understand not only the protections eBay and Paypal offer you, but also the limitations.  Read their policies.  In general, if you send something valuable to someone, whether as a seller or returning something, get a SIGNED PROOF of DELIVERY.  You are not protected unless you have proof of delivery.  Even then, someone without scruples or conscience could substitute their broken item for your good item and return the broken one and demand their money back.

THE SMELL TEST

On any transaction where the amount of money involved is more than you can afford to lose, protect yourself by dealing only with those you feel comfortable with.   I call it the "smell test."  How can you tell if a buyer or seller stinks?  First, READ EVERY NEGATIVE FEEDBACK to see if its legitimate.  Not only that, check to see what they say about OTHERS.  Don't deal with ANYONE who badmouths others and can't tell the difference between the facts and their own opinions.  The best eBayers stick to facts and don't rant or call names in their feedback when things go wrong.  Nasty feedback left for others = a nasty person to deal with.  Dont' buy from sellers who don't pass the smell test.  Cancel the bids of buyers who don't pass the smell test.

COMMON SENSE AND PAYMENT METHODS

Let common sense (not greed) be your guide.  NEVER wire money to a stranger, not even if they've sent you a cashiers check that your bank cashed. If it's bad - and it will be if the person on the other end is asking you to wire a portion of the cashier's check - then the bank will come back to you for the entire amount of the check when it fails to clear at the other end.  Forged cashiers checks and money orders are rampant these days.  Be sure the seller will at least ALLOW YOU to pay with Paypal or a credit card, even if you pay by check or money order.  For your safety's sake, however, you're better off using a credit card.  You always have recourse if you pay by credit card (the issuer will literally play judge and jury if you have a complaint and they're more likely to be fair than eBay or Paypal).  You have limited recourse if you pay by check, and you have almost no recourse outside the courts if you sell by money order or cashier's check or wire transfer - and the courts won't help you at all if you're dealing with someone overseas.  If a seller can't take your credit card, be extra careful.  Credit card companies are very careful not to let crooks have a merchant account, because the credit card company is liable for any abuse that occurs such as unwarranted charges.  So if a company has a merchant account, they're at least a cut above your average crook.  But if they've had a merchant account for years, they're almost certainly a very reliable and reputable merchant providing real value to their customers.

That's everything I can think of that helps me keep my eBay experience a positive one.  I hope it helps you too - if you've learned anything from my Guide, please take a moment to click on the Yes button below.  Many thanks, and here's hoping to do business with you on eBay!

Dave Whittle