gwilliams6

BEWARE: Photography SCAMS: real scams to beware of that happened, even to Tony & Chelsea Northrup. Any happen to you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa1qtQ2iUF8

And listen to all the warnings about Ebay, that is why I never sell or even buy on Ebay. I know many veteran pros that have gotten similarly scammed from Ebay buyers . I know lots of folks here in UHH recommend Ebay, but I will never use them to sell gear, or buy gear, never. I will only sell, buy or trade with legitimate, respected used gear dealers.

Even if you dont care much for T&C , there is good advice in this video posted today.

Cheers and best to you all.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

In its inception years Ebay was nice.
People were real and honest.
I don't trust it at all now.

Sad what people did to it's reputation.

radiojohn

I would suggest that the more rare/expensive the item, the greater the chance of scammers.

In my world of not-the-newest-or-best, I recently bought three older Olympus DSLRS to acquire a backup set of lenses and a body. Each sale was about $75. Each eBayer had 99-100% ratings and each transaction was perfect in all respects.

I think most con-artists don't care about low priced transactions.

When I see rare or cameras well over $1,000 that are hard to find available mint from Eastern Europe [even Ukraine right now!] I'd get worried.

A more common problem is people selling items they know nothing about and 'think' they work properly.

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

Your post is misleading. It fails to explain that with Ebay you get 30 days if the product is NOT AS ADVERTIZED. Meaning, if you don't get the product, YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK, if the product, in any way, is not as advertised, meaning, if the seller says it works, and it does not, YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK, if the buyer says it is in MINT condition, and it is not, YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK, if the seller says everything works on the camera, and you find that something does not work, YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK.
Ebay is VERY SAFE, I have sold 100's of items on ebay and bought well over 1,000 items off ebay.
And yes, I have been SCAMED a couple of times, but I have always, GO MY MONEY BACK.
So, Ebay is SAFE and the BUYER IS PROTECTED.
It' too bad folks sometimes do not know Ebay gives a 30 DAY MONEY BACK guarantee NO MATTER WHAT.
I hope this post helps folks understand Ebay protects you. I have never been let down by the folks at Ebay.
And like I said, I am a TOP SELLER on Ebay and will continue to use them because they are SAFE.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Oh, I don't doubt that many sellers are legitimate. The problem is knowing which ones are not.

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

It is the same with many many other businesses also.
Ebay offers some great deals, and folks can buy with confidence knowing they have a 30 day period to be satisfied.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I echo these remarks "billnikon" is spot on with his vision of EBAY....it is part of "due diligence" to fully understand a commerce platform, and utilize the capabilities and "safeties" built into said system. Several scam attempts on me (out of hundreds of transactions) have resulted in money back without issue....several have even retracted the cost and told me to keep the item to avoid the Ebay Police. I lost $35 on a scam early in my Ebay days and although not much money the idea of being scammed told me to educate myself to all of Ebay's capabilities. EBAY is safe, just due a little homework, read all the policies and USE DUE DILIGENCE!!!!! It is not difficult nor scary.

alexol

I use eBay extensively, although less so now as I find they are becoming a bit too 'enthusiastic' with their fees for selling items. For that reason, eBay is now my second option.

I've sold over 800 hundred items and bought probably a similar number and have been very careful to maintain 100% positive rating.

Someone attempted to scam me when I sold an iPhone (which I subsequently learned is very common, so beware of that) but I have not had any issue with anyone that was not solvable.

For all the reasons previously posted, when used with a modicum of common sense, eBay is perfectly safe.

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

I too have to agree with bill Nikon. I have been buying from eBay for many years and never had a problem.
Like others have said, due diligence needs to be taken when buying or selling on ebay.
I always check sellers past transactions to see if previous buyers are satisfied with their purchases.
And I very seldom deal with any sellers with ratings below 95 percent.

Will

alexol

I'm less brave than Will, posting above.

My lower limit of acceptability is 98% and even then only after I've read every negative review.

I'm also wary of people who's rating is very high but they've only sold a relatively small number of very inexpensive items. I'm not going to buy a thousand dollar lens from someone who has 100% rating selling items at sub-$10 a pop, for example.

eBay is exceptionally protective - probably excessively so - of buyers; very much less so of sellers.

kskarma Loc: Topeka, KS

Count me in the large group of Members who have had very positive results from a LOT of purchases on eBay. I've bought probably 2-3 dozen cameras and lenses (mostly Nikon D750 and full frame lenses there...as well as some Z gear.)..with nary a hitch. In addition, I've also purchased a large number of non-photographic items there. This span covers about 10 or more years. My BEST (and FREE) advice to everyone on here, is to pay attention to the "Seller's Feedback" section. Be sure to look at these factors...time on eBay, number of transactions and their percentage of satisfied customers. Also...have a look at the "Buyers Comments" section as well. A seller is not going to be able to 'fake' all of this information over an extended period of time.

A few times, I have placed an order from a buyer....and shortly thereafter, I've gotten a message from eBay to the effect that "This Seller is no longer on eBay...!" I'm thinking this happened 3? times over my years on the platform. It's to eBay's benefit to be alert to any level of fraud...and to make things right as soon as possible.

Don't let the voices who say things like "NEVER buy from eBay" "eBay is a scam"...etc. dissuade you from doing business via the service. Remember...it's NOT an actual "Company"...they don't sell or buy...any merchandise, but are only the 'middle-men' in transactions between "Individuals"...and with millions of people using the platform, issues WILL arise....but a modicum of caution will keep you out of trouble.

I hope these comments and my history will provide some food for thought...

josquin1 Loc: Massachusetts

Totally agree.

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

Why do you agree? Have you had a problem with Ebay? Has it been resolved to your satisfaction?
Coming on here without any facts does not lend any credibility to the post.
Please come back and list YOUR reasons why you think Ebay is a SCAM.

kskarma Loc: Topeka, KS

A "follow-on" to my earlier post today....
If you watched "60 Minutes" on CBS this evening...Mar. 26, 2023, they ran a story about a couple who had run a specialty "News Letter" that dealt with on-line merchants, such as Amazon, eBay and a few others. In the case of this couple, they innocently incurred the wrath of some of the upper management at eBay, and these guys in turn, started a horrible campaign of terror against this couple. It consisted of threatening letters, unordered deliveries to their home, subscriptions to lots of 'marginal' and some fake, magazines, 'tailing' them when they left their home....a lot of extremely scary and unnerving things.
When the police finally found the source of this harassment, it led back to some 7 lower level employees at the headquarters of eBay. There were some eMails between top execs that indicated that they were at the root of this, but...those managers have now "left the company".... A VERY bad look for eBay....and this might not be the end of the story....

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

That involved about 8 employees out of thousands of employees. Yes, that was bad but overall Ebay is a safe site to do business with. I am a top rated seller with well over 10 years experience selling 100's of items.
EBAY IS A SAFE PLACE TO DO BUSINESS. I might ask how much business YOU have done with the company.