eBay Experience

[stephendean]

People should be overtly worried about purchasing stuff from ebay. Over the years my wife and I have spent several thousand dollars on this site. We have yet to have had any problems. Some gear might take a bit longer than you expected to arrive. We have never recieved any dodgy or not fit for it purpose. We have purchased from private individuals and from ebay stores and have always been very happy.

[mickyj]

I started with filters, lens hoods, timers and light tents. I have had such a good run, I think I got adicted. All purchases have been possitive and the prices extremely good. In some cases, parts were not available and I got free upgrades. I often get discounts on future purchases with various sellers.
I know there is the potential to get scammed however I am careful. I always research my items elsewhere. Always double check 2nd chance offers and I am one of those that check the sellers ratings.

I started off with $30 and $80 items. My biggest purchase was $2000.

My big purchases have been:
Canon 350D with IR filter over CCD
Canon 10D
Canon 1D
Canon 5D
Canon TS-E 24mm L
Canon 24-70 L
Canon 70-200 L 2.8
Canon MPE60
Studio light, softboxes and backround kits

and much much more.

So far, everything has been a good purchase. Well below normal cost and many items 2nd hand. I am sure some people find sellers that should be ashamed of themselves and get burnt however there are bargins to be had. I have bought a lot from Hong Kong, some from the US, Some from the Ukrane and then smaller places about the globe.

I am not saying ebay is safe for everyone. It has been for me, but then again, I don't go for deals that are too good to be true, I watch items for ages and check them out. I often send many messages to the seller. Maybe I kick enough tires to make my purchases work out for the best.

[rebel18]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for 9 years and have only had three BAD experiences BUT I was covered by using Paypal. I have bought 3 cameras from ebay in the past 5 years and have been very happy, and am now selling a camera on ebay for the first time, so, when this Auction ends and if I end up selling it I will get back to this link and tell you how it went.
My advise, only deal with people who have 99% to 100% feedback and more than 100 feedbacks and only use Paypal for security reasons, and then you shouldn't go wrong.
hope this helps.

[rebel18]

Oh, I forgot this, always have registered post and watch what the seller is asking for postage, if they don't have the postage written always ask.

[kurra]

I have also bought many things off ebay and been happy most of the time. The most expensive thing I bought was a second hand lens for $1245 and I am very pleased with it. I guess we just have to look out for items for sale like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It may be legitimate, but it sounds very dodgey.

I hope I'm not breaking any rules Rick by posting this link,

[I @ M]

It may be legitimate, but it sounds very dodgey.

Just the sort of listing that reinforces my belief that closing my e$ay account was a good move.

Of course e$ay wouldn't care about a little bit of conflicting information in an ad getting in the way of making a profit -----


Item location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ---

and for those that actually read to the end of the ad.

PAYMENT:- BANK DEPOSIT ONLY- WHEN YOU BID MUST AGREE IT.
I HELP MY HONG KONG FRIEND SELL HIS ITEMS. PAYMENT TO HONG KONG AND SHIPPING FROM HONGKONG.
THANKS!

[mugget]

Ahhh... eBay... well i will add my own experiences:

I have only really purchased smaller items on eBay, a couple speedlights from power sellers (high positive feedback, but not necessarily 100% positive feedback - I think if you're dealing with that many different people someone is just bound to get their back up about something, like I found out - but more on that later...). I did also buy a used Leica Summilux 50mm lens from eBay, there were no problems at all, very accurate description and well packed for shipping, but I did check and it looked like that seller dealt mostly in photographic gear.

Now for the down side - I recently sold all my dSLR gear including my 1DMkII body, but it was the body that I had dramas with. I got an email from the buyer saying that I had not described the item accurately and demanding to return for a full refund. I went back and forth a few times, it was obvious he just mistook it for a MkII N. I was polite and tried to talk everything through with him but eventually they ended up making a PayPal claim. This was just a hassle because it tied up those funds from the sale of the body, it's just a good thing I didn't need the cash urgently for anything. But this is where I think I saved myself - I included plenty of photos and a very specific and detailed, accurate description. In the end PayPal found in my favor, but they escalated the claim again so a claims specialist had to look at it and I still wasn't sure what was happening about a month after I sold it! All fine in the end, the claims specialist found in my favor again so I'm just going to put that behind me... mind you I still received negative feedback out of it which doesn't accurately represent my selling on eBay because I always go out of my way to make sure that buyers are happy and communication is my strong point. I tried to ask eBay to remove the negative feedback since the complaint has been deemed false by PayPal, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

The other thing I should add is that you've got to be careful and check those provided item descriptions that you can add to your listing. The one used for the 1DMkII actually lists the MkII N in the opening description paragraph! I didn't spot that and for a moment I thought the sale was all going down the drain, but in the end common sense prevailed and PayPal realised it was completely unreasonable that one slip up in an automatically supplied description should carry more weight than the actual listing title and photos!

So that's my tip - by very specific and detailed in descriptions and photos, it could save you!

[fabian628]

ahhh that sucks they clearly wanted the 1d2n nearly happened to me once on an impulse was going to by a 1d thinking it was a 1ds, luckily I read again and saw it.

recently i sold a film slr on ebay. Was working fine a few days before te listing ended, but when it arrived for them, the shutter ceased. They were able to send the camera back for refund, but now I have a useless camera

[mugget]

Maybe some people here can give me some advice... I'm currently having troubles with a flash unit I've got listed on eBay. First time I had it listed I just didn't hear from the buyer at all. Sent a couple of messages just trying to get a response back from them - but nothing. So I went to resolution centre and reported they buyer as non-paying (and looking by his feedback I was not his first victim, although I was definitely not going to give a positive feedback rating just so I could have my say). Now it's been re-listed and the same thing again - going on 4 days and I have tried to contact the buyer but no response at all, no payment. So I will have to go to the report the buyer as non-paying again. I just wanted to check - this is the best thing to do, right? Since I'll get a final value fee credit? But if I cancel the transaction, although quicker I'll still have to pay eBay?

Ahwell, third times a charm...

[I @ M]

Maybe some people here can give me some advice...

Yep, ditch blood sucking e$ay and list it through Camera Market.

[macmich]

i posted on here about another issue
i sold a tripod with two heads and it went for $50
the buyer send photos to me shown that one of the heads is broken and demands a refund
i told them the only way that could happen is with plenty of force
i think they must have mixed plates up and tried forcing
anyway paypal awards the decision to them on the condition they send item back at there expense and then i mark as recieved and then paypal refunds
anyway yesterday i contacted the buyer and asked where my tripod is and when are they sending it
this is the response
i am not sendingunless i get the full refund and my postage
i have had same situation when i had to pay $25 dollars postage for return postage
i am not doing it again
also i am working in sydney until end of next week


i contacted ebay and told them of this letter and said that because of them i will not see my money or tripod again
i still have not heard back
i suggested theat these people would be using my tripod in sydney with the other head and they should be banned from ebay and paypal

[fabian628]

Ahwell, third times a charm...

that is pretty unlucky. Had my first non payer a few months ago. Once they get a non paying strike you can't leave feedback anyway and I'm not sure how many strikes you get before anything actually happens to you. Should only be 2 but knowing ebay its probably 5.
I'd suggest saying in your listing people with feedback under 10 message you before bidding, but it might reduce the number of bids and final price. But twice on one item sounds pretty damn unlucky.

[fabian628]

i posted on here about another issue
i sold a tripod with two heads and it went for $50
the buyer send photos to me shown that one of the heads is broken and demands a refund
i told them the only way that could happen is with plenty of force
i think they must have mixed plates up and tried forcing
anyway paypal awards the decision to them on the condition they send item back at there expense and then i mark as recieved and then paypal refunds
anyway yesterday i contacted the buyer and asked where my tripod is and when are they sending it
this is the response
i am not sendingunless i get the full refund and my postage
i have had same situation when i had to pay $25 dollars postage for return postage
i am not doing it again
also i am working in sydney until end of next week


i contacted ebay and told them of this letter and said that because of them i will not see my money or tripod again
i still have not heard back
i suggested theat these people would be using my tripod in sydney with the other head and they should be banned from ebay and paypal

In the paypal dispute centre you will be asked to reply to the buyer. I would state what the buyer has said, and if it was a message through ebay also quote the message number so that they can check this out. The only thing you can do is provide alot of detail to paypal, eg. photos of the item in the listing showing it is intact, if your photos still have exif data it could be a little evidence the item was still intact at a certain date.

Unfortunately people try to use paypal to insure for thier own stupidity

[stephendean]

It is really sad that some people try and scam normal people trying to do the right thing.

[LOK51]

I trust eBay more than some online shopping sites with really cheap prices. At least I know I can get refund from Paypal if something goes wrong.

[mugget]

Well that speedlight went with a 2nd chance offer, didn't realise that you can do a 2nd chance offer while a dispute case is open? Could get tricky if the original buyer did pay, but he emailed to say his circumstances had changed and couldn't buy it anymore. I mean really, you gotta wonder what kind of person just bids for no reason and then waits 5 days and only responds when a case is opened.

I have a few more bits to see, may look at Camera Market for them...

[etherial]

I just managed to pick up a Spyder3Elite for $60 on fleabay, so I'm very happy!

[fabian628]

Well that speedlight went with a 2nd chance offer, didn't realise that you can do a 2nd chance offer while a dispute case is open? Could get tricky if the original buyer did pay, but he emailed to say his circumstances had changed and couldn't buy it anymore. I mean really, you gotta wonder what kind of person just bids for no reason and then waits 5 days and only responds when a case is opened.

I have a few more bits to see, may look at Camera Market for them...

thats true. Some people take a bit of time to pay but to not even mention it . You can put in your listing that they need to communicate within 3 days and pay within 5 or something similar.

[Tricky]

I've just had a positive experience on eBay buying from a grey importer.

I bought a Canon 5D2 ($2188) and EF85 f/1.2L ($2100) from Oz Trading Centre (eBay ID: Trading_Centre). I was attracted by the following:

- best price I could find for the body / lens combo
- 21,500 feedback score on eBay, 99.5% positive
- eBay member since 2005
- free delivery by courier
- immediate response to my questions and request for a quote
- their eBay listings stated that their stock was already located in Sydney hence they guaranteed there would be no risk of incurring customs/GST
- they offered their own 2 year warranty (collect from your door, repair, return to your door) in place of the manufacturer's warranty

The body and lens arrived within 5 days. I think their price, communication and speed of delivery were all excellent. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

[macmich]

all good on the tripod
the buyer kept sending me messages and i kept sending them to ebay
they kept demanding i take 10 or$15 dollars of price and they would forget
i sent them a email stating i had sent copys of there emails to ebay
ebay contacted me yesterday and closed the case without refund
they finally worked out there scam
cheers macca