eBay Experience

[ricktas]

While Iam talking about this lens I paid $640 for it, is that price ok or not? its suppose to be in very good condition

We are not in a position to advise on that, we have no idea about this actual lens, and you should have checked out the members feedback, and asked them questions about the lens before you bid on it.

[bettess]

Thanks very much

[fabian628]

While Iam talking about this lens I paid $640 for it, is that price ok or not? its suppose to be in very good condition

Thats about what they are going for. Under 600 would be pretty cheap price. They usually go from 600-700. If its perfect condition, its a good price. Beats paying over $1000 from the shop.
Got mine from ebay as well, not 100% pristine but very good, I like it. Solid lens, and weather sealed so it doesnt mind getting roughted up a bit

[kroppkaka]

I have bought a camera bag and a lens from Ebay. They were all fine.
I also have bought some rechargeable AA batteries which were not even a third of their rated capacities.
They came from Hong Kong and seller had a good rating around 98%.

[Robdenham]

I have had non-ebay registered bidders, that were locked out of ebay, email me to my personal email address and trying to get me to send the item I was selling on to them first and then pay.
But other times I've had no problem buying little items(Photography related or not)

[peterb666]

I have bought a camera bag and a lens from Ebay. They were all fine.
I also have bought some rechargeable AA batteries which were not even a third of their rated capacities.
They came from Hong Kong and seller had a good rating around 98%.

The current arrangements for eBay ratings are terrible and they discourage true and honest ratings with genuine feedback or even placing Neutral or Negative ratings on sellers and I seem to recall (I is over a year since I sold my last item on eBay) a seller can no longer apply anything other than a Postive rating to a buyer now.

The orinal system where buyers and sellers could apply Negative, Neutral and Positive ratings was much better. I have had buyers with high rating numbers and a 100% rating who have been non-payers under the current system so I rarely sell now (I was doing $3000 to $5000 a year), but I am a regular buyer.

I won't buy from a seller that has a rating under 99% and perfer a little more than that. I also won't buy from a seller with a score of under 25 or so (depending on the value) as there have been cases where a dodgy seller will sign up, build up a small score and 100% rating and then start ripping people off. By the time negative ratings come through, it is all too late.

That said, more than 99.9% of sellers seem genuine enough.

[smurfinaus]

QUOTE=fabian628;711461]The majority of my ebay camera gear experience has been positive.
I think there are alot of genuine sellers out there who have truly babied thier gear and most of it is in pretty good condition.
However, I think some people skate over the description pretty lightly and dont mention some things that is important to alot of buyers, the majority being hobbyist who want to have good looking gear, who doesn't.

I try to avoid people with 0 -5 feedback unless they are in the area and I can pick it up. Sending a message to confirm the condition and operation of the lens is a good idea as they may be a bit vague in the listing.
I have found second hand gear to be much cheaper, and in all the items i have bought, working just like new. Some have a few cosmetics marks but nothing that would not be accumulated after 6 months use anyway.
Currently, every piece of gear I have has come second hand from ebay, the gear I bought new, although nice to have a new item, were pretty pricy and the resale was bad for the wallet.
Anyway, i wouldnt discourage using ebay as a source of second hand gear becuase alot of the things I have now i would never be able to afford new. [/QUOTE]

Thats the route im going as well. New prices are so expensive. Especially for lenses lol.
I guess the thing with ebay though, is to research what you want to buy I do this a LOT), compare prices with local retail (and also warranty if your worried about it), and weigh up pro and con's of getting gear 2nd hand. I guess also people have to consider whether savings is worth it in the end with price differences between local/overseas+postage (and chance it could get lost!!) and also convenience factor. Just bought another lens and considering another one right now .
Also asking the seller lots of questions is handy - thats why lots ask about shutter count (for bodies) and whether dust or mold for lens sales....ads not always descriptive.
Having said all that i much prefer Buy It Now option as a previous poster seemed to like as well. Hate it when i get sniped in last 5-10seconds LOL.:eek

[stoogest]

I just purchased a Nikon remote trigger (ML-L3) from http://shop.ebay.com.au/buyincoins_au/m.html and had no problems whatsoever. It did take almost 30 days, but it only cost me $2.46!!

Andrew.

[surfer]

thankyou everyone for your help , I appreciate it

[darkbhudda]

I've had a couple negative experiences including 1 item that didn't turn up. After a couple weeks I checked ebay to find the seller had been delisted. I raised a paypal dispute and on the last day of the dispute a parcel arrived with 2 of the items instead of 1. Good times.

Most of the ebay experiences I have had have been positive. Personally I love it when a seller takes the time to put detailed and additional information in the listing. Just yesterday I was looking at an item and found out a very useful tip on manual focusing on my camera thanks to a seller selling a manual focus lens.

[vanngirl]

Bought my second-hand Nikon F100 from eBay USA seller, cheaper than getting one here (I needed it for my course, my crappy old Pentax was too crappy/shameful), and it's been wonderful and not a drama. I also bought my 50 prime new off eBay Hong Kong seller, no dramas. Have also bought a few second-hand lenses, old school type things though, nothing modern, with no dramas. I still find the MF 105mm Nikon lens goes well, can't manage to get one for a bargain after a year of looking!
For my other "big" purchases I've used a local business (still cheaper "grey" products). You can find amazing bargains on eBay if you are persistent. All the other advice about checking feedback etc is valid, I guess I feel that most eBay advice is negative and for most the experience is positive.

[fimmwolf]

I've been scammed on eBay once, it was the complete lack of interest in resolving the issue by eBay that made me decide to close my account.
Sadly I didn't pay for the item through Paypal, a hard lesson learned indeed.

[jacksond]

I bought a Nikon F100 and quite a few small items such as lenshoods and caps for flash contacts. I only buy from dealers. I would want to handle an item first if I bought from an individual.

[tarwoona]

I've bought numerous things (110+) through Ebay and never really had a problem. One item was damaged in the post, but cant blame ebay for that and it was insured. I always try to use Paypal.
I also bought car unseen for $20k a few years back. So if you're careful ebay is really no more frought with peril that going to Harvey Norman.

[Danielle10]

Can I just say I am in love with Ebay.
Like the others have said, I have an "ebay" account, only use paypal, check feedbacks and past history etc.
I bought a lens, was brand new, everything is perfect. You must do research and like narelle said buy with your head not impulse - as hard as it is lol.
God bless ebay! hahahahaha

[judybee]

touch wood, I have not had a bad experience with eBay. I LOVE IT too !!!
I have bought heaps of smaller camera stuff (eg. lens cap, remote control, even a cheap monopod) and I've been happy with it all. I've not bought any big items such as lenses though.
I always use PayPayl as well .

[Xenedis]

I've been online since 1993.

I've been on the Internet since 1996, but had brief access the year before.

I registered for an eBay account on 11 January, 2010 -- yes, a little over a year ago. I just received an email from eBay, wishing me a first happy anniversary!

I've never bought or sold anything there, and to be honest, most of the time I'm not trying to buy or sell anything.

Despite that, you could say I'm rather cautious. I haven't even explored the place, and I certainly don't know the rules or culture. I'll keep my account in the event that I might actually need it one day. :-)

Despite whatever legal and financial protective framework exists, there still seems (at least, to my perception as an outsider looking in) to be a basic trust system at the core of it all, in that the buyer is going to pay up, and that the seller is going to ship the goods, and that the goods are as claimed, and in the condition as claimed.

Having said that, I'm sure that for many eBay is a great experience; it just hasn't been much of a need for me, and avoiding some other form of temptation to part with money is not at all a bad thing.

[squizzytaylor]

10 years and around 200 transactions here, 100% feedback and I have learnt to ask the right questions to ensure what you are getting a) actually exists and B) is what it is advertised to be (ask for serial numbers if the item is likely to have one). I have had a couple of Hong Kong/Chinese sellers try to supply products not as described but a quick direct message with the threat of negative feedback has righted any potential wrongs (i should add that none of these 3 incidents were too serious, just silly stuff like supplying a warm white led floodlight that was supposed to be cool white).

Geoff

[Scotty72]

I fully agree with Pete's assessment of the ratings system: for whatever reason, they seem to want to push you into not being negative and if you do make a formal complaint then, it is such a hassle that it is often not worthwhile to pursue it. I'll get back to that later.

Having said that, I increasingly use Ebay rather than than pay the huge mark-ups of local retailers. But, if the locals can 'play ball' and give a good price (within say 10-20% depending on the item), I'll buy from them. For eg, I almost bought my 'Bigma' via eBay until I was told about the local price match policy from Sigma's distributor in Oz. They didn't match exactly but, the small difference was ok due to the fact I could deal with a local bricks & mortar shop.

For other things, it is worth the slight risk. The best example I can think of is the sync cable for iPhones: something like $15 if you but it through official channels but, $3.95 delivered through eBay. Perhaps not the genuine article but it works perfectly. I bought 6: 1 for each computer; 1 for work computer, and one for the car and 1 to have lying around just in case.

Several years ago, I bought one of the very early model consumer marine gps devices. As they were still hugely expensive locally but, very cheap overseas, I risked eBay. Well, it arrived but, was the model down from what I had paid for (no Bluetooth connectivity). I complained to eBay but, I had to go through a series of hoops to prove the discrepancy: I had to go to the local agent for that product or a recognized dealer to certify. Of course, since I had by-passed them, they didn't want to know me unless I paid a service fee which cost more than the discrepancy. I asked if I could send it to eBay, they could read the model number off the product as proof. They refused. In the end, I gave up. Because I had 'withdrawn' the complaint, my negative feedback was changed, by eBay, into positive. So, I was forced to give the guy who deliberately ripped me off (and 2 others - we contacted each other from the initial feedback and found out that we all had the same story) a positive rating.

It was then that I discovered the importance of dealing only with sellers with very high scores and numbers of customers. My guy was a 'new' seller who I presume was a scammer who keeps on re-inventing himself. The only things I will buy from new sellers are <$10 where it doesn't really hurt if I'm ripped off OR where a can pay on pick-up so I can inspect it (a good idea for lenses)

Hope this helps people to be a bit cautious with this wonderful tool.

Scotty

[Xenedis]

What concerns me is that an eBay newbie, which I most certainly am, will have no feedback, will be clearly new, and will be inherently distrusted.

It seems like one of those catch-22 situations: How can you gain a positive feedback score if many people will not deal with you because you have a nil or low score, or they assume you're a scammer reinventing yourself?