eBay can be overwhelming even for a veteran buyer and seller like me. I have experienced many of the negative aspects like hostile buyers, account take-over,
spamming emails, you name it. However, eBay has excellent customer service representatives that calmed me down and fixed my problems every time.
I find eBay to be a safe shopping experience if you understand a few rules!
1. Always price shop. eBay has great prices but not always! Search with Google to find your item online from other sellers. Look at the top ten. If the prices are all about the same or more than you would get through eBay. Then look at shipping cost and any discount coupons you may use to reduce the price. If that doesn't look good, go back to eBay!
2. Ready to buy? Check the seller feedback. Look at the negatives. Look at the withdrawn feedbacks.
Here is the truth about feedback... Buyers who are unhappy with a seller will often NOT leave feedback for fear of retaliatory negative feedback. Also look at the postive feedbacks. Sometimes buyers will provide some useful information about a transaction yet leave it as a positive feedback. Look at the detailed statistics. That information is left by buyers anonimously and is a better picture of the what kind of seller you are dealing with.
3. Read the listing carefully. Read the description carefully! If you ar enot sure about something, ask. Some sellers are offering items for sale from other suppliers. They are doing the legwork for you and are provding a valuable service for a price and acting as the "middleman". You can sometimes find their source by selecting a key part of their description,cutting and pasting that description into Google search with quotes, and seeing where else this is offered. Other sources may have a better price.
4. Another trick check the picture source within the description. Sometimes sellers don't always host their own pictures but use pictures from other websites. The secret is if you look at the properties of that picture you may find the source of the real supplier. Mouse over an image, right-click with your mouse, and then click on "properties" You will see where the image comes from. Most of the time it is on eBay or a picture hosting service. Sometimes, you will see the name of another store that sells the same item!
5. Does the seller have their own website? Check if the seller of the item you are considering has their website or web store. You can find this information on their About Me page. Usually, the same item will be cheaper directly from a seller's own website.
6. Ask questions about your item from the sellers you are considering. If the seller responds, you already know he is responsive.
7. Always check the closed listings for the item you are interested in. See what this item has sold for and from which sellers.
8. Protect yourself by paying through Paypal. Paypal offers the benefit of the doubt to buyers always! Trust me, I have been on the frustrating side as a seller, with buyers who file false claims of "Item not as described" Paypal always decided in the buyer's favor. Sigghhh but that's a topic for a
different article where I can vent about Paypal's unfair treatment of honest sellers!
9. Feel like taking a chance on an auction and bidding on a item? Always search online first as to the price for this item. You can get caught up in the excitement of bidding and overpay for your item!!! The fixed Price "Buy it Now" listings may offer a better price.
10. Shipping Fees. Shipping is very expensive and gets more expensive every year. eBay has really done a good job to force sellers to offer reasonable shipping fees.
However, if you feel a seller's shipping fees is extreme, ask the seller the weight and dimensions of the shipping box, and find the actual shipping fee estimate from UPS, FEDEX or USPS websites. Remember, the seller will add a nominal packaging and handling fee. That is expected. Also, if an item ships direct from a manufacturer, the shipping fee will also reflect a required manufacturer's dropship fee. So the shipping fee you are paying is: actual shipping + seller's handling fee + dropship fee (if any).
11. Insurance: UPS and FEDEX automatically insure any package under $100 dollars. You should never have to pay an insurance fee if your item is shipping UPS or FEDEX and is under $100 dollars.
12. Quick Tips on avoiding account hijacking and spam mail:
The biggest source of fraud on eBay is criminals who steal your account information. One day, you try to login into eBay and your password no longer works! First, double check you have not forgotten your password. I make myself panic every once in a while by typing in my password wrong!
How to avoid eBay and Paypal account theft:
Tip#1
If you get an email from eBay in your regular email account like "message from eBay member" or "account information needed" , "unpaid item dispute" , etc.
ALWAYS check that email is really from eBay. A real eBay email will also be in your eBay My Message Folder in My Ebay" Login into eBay from a NEW WINDOW, and double check that email is also in your email folder.
You can also double check from withint the email itself. eBay always uses your registered full name and eBay user name in any email sent from eBay:
In this example, this a real eBay email because the email is addressed to the user's full name, John R. Smith, and his eBay username, Propayer56
If the email say something generic liek "ebay user" or just a user name and not the full name, it is spam! Do not click through that email. You will go to a website that looks like eBay but is a fake website and someone is just stealing your login and email information.
Don't click through the email to response to the question. Always open a new window, and login into your eBay account separately. Answer the question through eBay My Messages center.
Tip #2
Always log-off when you are done with eBay. Don't just close the window. Log-off
13. Get and use a Paypal Security Key
Consider this cool little device available through Paypal, to add an extra layer of security when you log in with the PayPal Security Key. It’s easy, secure, and portable – so you can access your account from just about anywhere.
What is it?
It’s a little 1.5 inch long device that generates a temporary 6-digit security code every 30 seconds. Use it every time you log in to eBay or Paypal for added security.
The same security key works for Paypal and eBay! Everytime you login, you login in normally with username and password. Then you get prompted to enter your security code. Click the button on the Paypal security key, and enter the number who see on it!
14. Good Sources of eBay Secrets. Here are some books that I recommend about using eBay. Read their reviews and you will see they are trusted eBay resources from trusted authors.
If you have any questions or doubts, just ask me! I would be happy to help!
Safe and Smart Shopping on eBay
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