This is nuts!
I went to pick up my jug this morning and the vendor is one of my mates from the pub!!!
Englishman.
Any Ebay-ers Out There?
by Englishman 31 Replies latest jw friends
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AuntieJane
It's a SMALL world! Here's my latest eBay story. I was looking for Nascar tickets for my husband for last week's Kansas City race. We live way on the other side, near Colorado. Well, I found a pair only about 100 miles from here, so I wrote the guy. Turns out he is one of my husband's best high school friends....was a groomsman at our wedding...and had been here at our house in August! We had no idea he was selling on eBay, or even that he had tickets!
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ignored_one
I usually get 2nd hand cds off there. Sold some old videos too. Good for hard to find stuff.
Mate of mine's being paying silly money for the Recycle or Die cd series. Like £17-25 each 2nd hand.
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Ignored One.
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Satans little helper
I found this story on the BBC today - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3734462.stm
I was stung on ebay a couple of months ago where I bid for and won a mini iPod, the guy then said he was out of stock and I would have to wait 6 weeks. 6 Weeks later still nothing so i complained and paypal said they wouldn't investigate because it was past 30 days, getting ebay to investigate and start to get the money back was more difficult than anything as their system is designed to make you give up after a while of jumping through hoops. Be very careful and very wary of large ticket items - always use a credit card as then you can claim the money back through the credit card company if it goes wrong
in the end I got the money back but only because i threatened legal action and also got his ebay account frozen (through persistent bitching) but I still ended up £30 out of pocket as the guy only refunded the money he got from paypal, which didn't include what he was charged for the auction, so I ended up paying for his auction fees -
pettygrudger
I have purchased approximately 30 items off E-Bay - in fact I've almost finished my Xmas shopping & didn't step foot in a single store! I look through catalogs for items I want, and automatically now compare to what I can find on Ebay.
Simon's right about that whole postage thing though - the *cheaper* an item seems to appear vs. it's counterparts in a section, the larger the shipping cost. On a few things I looked a purchasing, the *cheaper* item's postage was almost 3x higher!
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Mulan
Yes, be sure to notice the shipping and handling fees BEFORE you bid. They can be outrageous. I've almost bid a couple of times, before I noticed the very high extra costs.
I have only had very positive results.
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DebraDoll
gitasatsangha- Sorry, no beads-ever. However, check out Dragon's website at;
http://www.uniquebeadedjewelry.com/index.html
Please be sure to read her "About..." page. She is an amazing woman with a fantastic story and I am sure she can find you ANY bead ever in existence! Good Luck!
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beebee
I frequently buy and sell and here's my tips based on experience:
As a buyer:
- do your homework and know what something is worth. I usually only buy when it's a real deal.
- As others have suggested, review the seller's feedback for a heads up on trouble, and if it's a brand new seller, it should be a better deal.
- Review the shipping costs. Sometimes they are higher because Ebay doesn't keep a percentage so a seller may start the auction at a lower price and cover their basic costs in their shipping. Sometimes its rediculously high. I always consider it into the max price I will pay.
- Read the description carefully. Look for words like "refurbished," any warranty info, etc. Don't be afraid to email the seller if you have questions.
- I almost always use auctionsniper.com and almost always bid at the last minute when I don't. I do this for two main reasons, one I preset the max I will pay and don't get carried away and pay too much, and if you bid early, you may effectively bid up the price. I want my stuff as cheap as possible.
- If its expensive, consider using an escrow service to guarantee you will get what you bought. Also Paypal insures to $500 for no extra charge.
- Historically some categories seem to offer better deals than others. I had to really hunt to find a deal on a used cell phone. That's why knowing the value before you bid is so important. I have seen things on ebay sell well above retail. Also beware "refurbished" things sometimes sell as high as first quality.
As a seller:
- Use Paypal. In the US it's free if you don't take credit cards. I do take credit cards. I don't take personal checks and hate money orders because buyers who use them always seem to take forever to even mail it. Odds of a default on a money order buyer are higher.
- Carefully add up what it will cost you to pack (boxes can cost money), ship (do you have to drive to drop it off), and other expenses like Paypal fees and Ebay fees. I find that if I don't think I can get at least $10 for it, its not worth my time and effort.
- Package like items into lots. This is good for clothes, especially kids clothes. Buyers want bargains and shipping eats away at the bargain so buying 3 items at once saves them money.
I've never had a bad experience as a buyer and only once as a seller. I have purchased things that didn't work and have gotten great service from the sellers including two that went above and beyond what I would have expected (on a used cell phone even).
Good luck and happy ebaying.
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DaCheech
I usually add $1.50 to $2.00 extra for postage for the reason that I have to buy tape, buy a box for close to $1
and have to make a trip to fedex or USPS. Bidders do not realize this, and have been accused by buyers
for something this small!
This week I sold a baby seat with shipping of $22, the potential buyers thought it was outrageous well
I only got one bid for $20 and when I shipped fedex charged me $23 plus $3.50 for home delivery. It's not always a money maker!
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DaCheech
Anyway, according to WT mith, you shouldn't buy for
there could be deeemonzzzzz in the stuff!
Good bidding