Bill 45

Being I am at home a lot for the past three weeks. Something to do I have been looking up cameras on E-Bay. Last week I had to send back a camera because it has some problems to it. I got my money back, how if the person selling the camera had said that the camera had problems, he could have save himself and me lot of aggravation. As I have been looking on E-Bay I finding things like: " The last time I use it was working." "Sell it for some one else". " I don't known anything about it" or tell you about the camera, but does not said anything about does the camera work. I have e-mail people asking a question about a camera, get no answer. Until auction open up and second hand store open, places one check out the camera, to a lot of people E-Bay is the only gram in town.

Horatio

Ebay has gotten really bad. I am very reluctant to buy anything on Ebay. Not only did it cost you time, it cost you the return shipping.

I hope you left them negative feedback.

Bill 45

Yes, he got negative feedback. No. I did not have to pay return shipping, that was pay by e-bay or the seller, all I known it was not me.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

You have to read, and think.
Would you buy a used *car* under those conditions?

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I’ve been buying on eBay off-and-on for twenty years now. These days they favor the buyer since the seller can no longer leave negative feedback, so as far as I can see, things are much better than they used to be.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I bought a flash unit that was in 'excellent' condition. The terminals were so corroded it would not take a charge from the batteries. That was the end of ebay for me.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Keep in mind that the "EBAY people" don't themselves have access to the items. The EBAY experience is at the mercy of the people who are selling/listing the items. Some people are honest. Others ....! If you buy from EBAY you go into the situation knowing that the "pristine lens" pictured may be what they say it is or there may be so much fungus inside it that it is unusable (one of my experiences). I appreciate that EBAY takes responsibility and refunds money.

BebuLamar

Many people sell a lot of stuff on Ebay and they didn't know nor have time to check them out.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I have over 5000 transactions on Ebay. You have to use some COMMON SENSE on ebay. If they say things like "the last time I used it it was working" WALK AWAY FAST, if you see any RED FLAGS, WALK AWAY, yes, it is that easy.
I only buy MINT IN THE BOX. I only buy from folks who say things like, "everything is working great" or, "only used it twice".
Be Ronald Reagan on Ebay, "TRUST, BUT VERIFY"

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Ebay is fine as long as you ask the right questions of the seller and get the answers you are looking for. Yes, there is a lot of nonsense, but the best approach is to ignore anyone who doesn't respond. If you ask a simple question like "is the camera in working order" and you get it and it isn't, then you have cause to request a full refund including shipping both ways.

I do prefer to buy and sell on fredmiranda.com - the members of that forum tend to be more honest and professional.

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

Good advice, if it doesn't "feel right" it probably isn't. EBay is founded on the fact that most people are honest and the cream will rise to the top (hence the seller ratings). I enjoy EBay as an outlet for things that I wanted but didn't need. And I'm taking the financial hit (new vs. used) which is good for the buyer. It's a great tool for those that play fair.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

Ebay is great if you know how to use it. If something you buy does not match as discribed you get your money back plus shipping both ways. Knowing that then you have to be able to read and discern. I look for feedback of a seller. If not 100%, I look to see why, sometimes it is a one off and you can tell it was the buyer that was the problem. I also look for sellers with low numbers of feedback say 50-1000 but don't like to buy from those with very high numbers (high volume dealers) if they are not at 100%. I myself have over 1300 feedbacks mostly from buying. Since 1998 I have had to return maybe 5 items. I offer help to those looking for items at no charge.
Ebay also is not always the best place to buy something. There are many times you can do better elsewhere, you have to do your homework.

https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/par4fore56?filter=feedback_page:All&_trksid=p2545226.m2531.l4585

eBay Money Back Guarantee means you're protected if the item you ordered didn't arrive, is faulty or damaged, or doesn't match the listing. You'll get your money back.

Rocky Beech

There are alternatives to Ebay. One is Mercari, but let me warn you. Mercari is simply an enabler for scammers. My first and last purchase through them was last month. I purchased what was advertised as an Epson 4990 scanner that I wanted to use for 4x5 negatives. It wasn't the best option but it fit in my budget. So after the sale there was no correspondence from either the seller or Mercari and when I went to my account there was no record of the sale. Later I discovered that the seller was selling the very same scanner on Ebay. Finally I got a notice that my package would arrive via UPS. And it did. sort of. The box was a 4990 retail package but the scanner that was in it was a far less capable scanner worth maybe $30. Now all over the emails and website Mercari offers that if you don't get what you ordered then you get your money back. Well my purchase never registered on my account and you have to select it before you can start a complaint. Then there is no working email or phone number for Mercari. I finally went to Paypal for a resolution. They sided with me and refunded my purchase price only it was on me to pay for return shipping to Mercari, not the seller. It cost me $60 by the cheapest way to send it. So for a $139 purchase I only got $79 back. Thank you very much. BTW, as far as I know, the seller got to keep all of his money. I also got a nasty gram from Mercari saying that because I went to Paypal they were going to ban me. Pleeeeease do!

bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I tried to buy 3 webcams from 3 different vendors on Ebay. One came without a part, the second came with a broken foot and the 3rd never arrived. I am very hesitant about purchasing anything from Ebay.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA