Can ebay be trusted??

I would always prefer to buy from a forum known user rather than ebay. That is however a business which may be a safer bet.

If you are looking for an olympus then I would join http://e-group.uk.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=29 as well and see what is listed for sale there.
(and look in the classifieds here of course)
 
jelizabeth said:
Im about to buy my first digital slr and have a limited budget. Ive discovered that ebay is the best option for getting a bargain but i am aware there is a risk to this....

Im thinking of bidding for an Olympus E-410. Feeling a little nervous about bidding....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Olympus-E-410...ea7675a4c&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_2605wt_1165

Is this a good move???
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You should be OK with that item as its from Cash converters - a high street chain of pawn shops.
 
I would pass on that one. You're buying from a pawn shop rather than the original owner. They say there are general signs of use through handling, without pointing them out. What's the mark on the LCD? Also, "our warranty does not cover battery life." Fair enough, but are they actually telling you the battery is shot?

It's not a case of whether eBay can be trusted, but whether the sellers can be. Don't think eBay is the best place for a bargain, either!

Always pay via PayPal, funded by credit card (so you have two avenues of redress). There are some sellers who ask you to pay by other means, but don't reduce their price by the amount they're saving in PayPal charges, nor offer any assurance should things go wrong. Others will offer a 30, 45 or 60 day warranty, or better.
 
Ebay can be OK but you do have to use caution. Look for positive feedback, it's not perfect but at least it's a sign of the sellers previous dealings. Check that the goods are actually in the UK (in your instance it's a business seller from the UK so it's probably fine) because if not you could get hit for duty and VAT. And don't get carried away and bid more than you really wanted to.

Having said all that... given a choice, I'd prefer to buy from a known forum member on here too.
 
photon said:
I would pass on that one. You're buying from a pawn shop rather than the original owner. They say there are general signs of use through handling, without pointing them out. What's the mark on the LCD? Also, "our warranty does not cover battery life." Fair enough, but are they actually telling you the battery is shot?

It's not a case of whether eBay can be trusted, but whether the sellers can be. Don't think eBay is the best place for a bargain, either!

Always pay via PayPal, funded by credit card (so you have two avenues of redress). There are some sellers who ask you to pay by other means, but don't reduce their price by the amount they're saving in PayPal charges, nor offer any assurance should things go wrong. Others will offer a 30, 45 or 60 day warranty, or better.
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Buy buying from business you have a lot more rights that a private individual - even though the goods are second hand a businees must still abide by the sale of goods act -

The Sale of Goods Act
If you buy goods from a trader, The Sale of Goods Act says they must conform to contract and must be:


of satisfactory quality - which means the product you buy should be reasonably reliable
fit for purpose - which means it should perform the function you bought it to do
as described - means it should be exactly what the trader told you it was

If something you buy doesn't meet these standards, and you return it to the seller quickly, you're entitled to a refund, replacement or repair.

The Sale of Goods Act holds true for second-hand goods as well, but takes into account that the quality should simply be what you could reasonably expect from that product, given its age and how much it has been used.

If the goods are less than six months old, it's up to the seller to prove they weren't faulty when you bought them. After six months, it's up to you. Of course, this assumes that the goods were expected to last six months.
 
Send a message to the seller, ask them questions and see how they respond.
I've been doing that recently with a seller with 100% feedback and I feel that I can trust him as he is also very knowledgeable.
 
Its always a risk but life is a risk. I have been lucky as i have just bought a D70 off ebay and all is well.
It is a good idea of hashcake's to ask questions and see how they respond
 
I wouldn't buy a DSLR on eBay unless I could collect it and test it.

Of course, that restricts me to sales within maybe 70 miles of my home, but then there's no postage to pay, plus a lot of reassurance.

I'd NEVER deal with anyone who wouldn't let me collect from their home if buying something this expensive.
 
Not sure I'd want to give "the buyer" my home address up front. You don't know who they really are, and I'd feel more comfortable in a public place. Of course, I've worked in security for about 35 years and I'm paranoid!
 
MartynK said:
Not sure I'd want to give "the buyer" my home address up front. You don't know who they really are, and I'd feel more comfortable in a public place. Of course, I've worked in security for about 35 years and I'm paranoid!
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Then you wouldn't sell me a camera I'm afraid. That's just how things are and it's why we have proper shops, the sale of goods act, and DSR's.

For me eBay's major flaw is that it's so open to unscrupulous sellers and buyers, and eBay do not really give a toss.

PayPal is equally woeful, being owned by eBay.
 
aahhh this thread is such a dissapointment to me :( sorry but ebay is one of the safest shops in the internet. i have an "ebay business" and its such a safe friendly place to be and YES you can find bargains and 99% of the time the person is genuine. if you're buying something like a camera from someone with nearly 20,000 feedback, how can you go wrong?! they obviously know what theyre doing or else those 20,000 people wouldnt of left posetive feedback, i personally have just over 60 posetive feedback adn ive worked for all of them. if you're paranoid about scratches and such then buy it new! i will agree that the items on ebay arnt always perfect and are usually second hand but if you're saving money why does it matter?


sorry about the rant im not having a dig at you, i just dislike when people have preconceived ideas of ebay


(edit to include this:
budfox said:
For me eBay's major flaw is that it's so open to unscrupulous sellers and buyers, and eBay do not really give a toss.

PayPal is equally woeful, being owned by eBay.
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you couldnt be more wrong. ebay has a large staff who's sole purpose is to find and remove "unscrupulous sellers." i personally had one person who bought an item off me, then refused to pay me and then gave me negative feedback saying he paid but i never sent it. i checked his other feedback and he had been doing this to everyone. i sent ebay an email and within the next day he had been removed, along with my negative feedback.

Paypal is also an excellent way of selling, would you prefer to give the seller your credit card details where they can take as much money as they wish? paypal is MUCH safer than offering your details. and YES YOU DO have to give you home address... but how else are they gonna post it? if you're that paranoid, get a PO Box?

sorry, again not having a do. just venting steam.
 
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I've bought a number of items from Ebay without any problems.

My D300 came from there a few months ago. It was new, unopened and a buy it now type sale from a dealer.

I paid £950 plus postage etc, when the going price was £1150.

Why so cheap? When it arrived the Nikon box (although unopened) was slightly damaged on one corner. I suspect that becouse of damaged packaging it would not be easily saleable by a dealer and so went cheap in the trade.

Got to go - there's a coffee maker that I want to bid on.:D
 
I have no prolbme using Ebay, have got some great deals on there.

As long as your are sensible from who you buy from you should have no problems IMO.

I would trust Ebay more than some of the internet shops, selling imported grey goods as Uk stock.
 
Of course ebay can be trusted, how else would it be a huge success worldwide. Like everything else always do your homework and make sure your buying from a seller with good feedback. Ebay isn't the same now as it was a few years back, grabbing a bargain is usually a little harder to do now. Always look to see where the item is located, the seller maybe based in the UK but the item maybe in China (for example) so take a good look at the postage costs. I never buy anything unless they accept Paypal (thats just me).

Mark
 
ebay is one of the safest places to buy from if you use paypal.

Just remember wherever you buy from, as with everything in life, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
 
MartynK said:
Not sure I'd want to give "the buyer" my home address up front. You don't know who they really are, and I'd feel more comfortable in a public place. Of course, I've worked in security for about 35 years and I'm paranoid!
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Conversely, I'm from a motor trade background, and one of the most common scams used to pass on "ringers" is to insist on doing the exchange in a public place, rather than than at the seller's home address......
 
ebay is perfectly safe if you use your common sense. check feedback and recently sold items for a possible patterns of misuse etc.

pay with paypal then you have some protection via disputes.

for example i bought a sigma 1.4x t/c on there a month or two back which was DOA, contacted the seller and sent it back they issued me with a full refund. if they had of gotten arsey about it i could of started a dispute which ebay would of looked at the evidence and ruled in whichever parties favour based on the evidence.
 
god i hope ebay is ok i have just put an Olympus EVOLT E-410 for sale on there,some of you have got me worried now
 
Can someone explain to me why there are so many Nikon 70-300mm AF-S on Ebay for around £90? Are they fake, or are they just coming with no warranty?
 
Norman said:
sorry about the rant im not having a dig at you, i just dislike when people have preconceived ideas of ebay
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You comments are a bit preconceived don't you think? That is unless you know 100% that those who posted before you have absolutely no idea about Ebay and have never used it


Norman said:
aahhh this thread is such a dissapointment to me sorry but ebay is one of the safest shops in the internet.
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It is? sorry but I disagree

Norman said:
if you're buying something like a camera from someone with nearly 20,000 feedback, how can you go wrong?! they obviously know what theyre doing or else those 20,000 people wouldnt of left posetive feedback
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It can go wrong very easily

Ebay accounts, with 100% positive feedback in the thousands, are bought and sold on the Internet on a daily basis.

Also feedback can be bought just as easily on the Internet.

I am sorry but Ebay is not the all singing all dancing super safe place to shop that you make it out to be - It is far from it in fact
 
neil_g said:
why? selling is a damn sight easier as long as youre sensible with what payment types you accept and you only send the goods once payment is in your account.
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really?

2 examples from last week (real examples from people using a couple of forums that I use).

1: Guy receives an empty box by special delivery. Wonders what/why/etc?
Then gets notice that an item that he had just sold on ebay was faulty and has been returned by the purchaser. Purchaser produces signed RMSD receipt corresponding to the empty box.

2: Bloke sells a laptop. It is returned as having been damaged in the post - screen is cracked. However it is not the original screen (there had been a very slight mark on the lid which is now not there). Buyer has swapped the screen for a faulty one and returned it. Free repair parts!

As a buyer I have several times been sent obviously broken items fortunatly cheap ones, however this means that the cost of the P&P and return signed for p&p means that it isnt worth returning. Most recently I bought a yashica slr described as working perfectly - difficult when there is a hole in the shutter. On complaining the seller says oh, sorry , I was selling for a mate and he said it was ok. I've accepted a partial refund and I'll put it back up as being for spares.
 
Keith W said:
Also feedback can be bought just as easily on the Internet.
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Can you support that statement? I can't see how feedback can be bought.

Keith W said:
I am sorry but Ebay is not the all singing all dancing super safe place to shop that you make it out to be - It is far from it in fact
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Well it's like everything else in life, approach it with a good dose of common sense and you won't go far wrong.
 
Steep said:
Can you support that statement? I can't see how feedback can be bought.
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There are places where accounts with x0,000 positive feedbacks can be bought - quite cheaply actually.
 
Accounts I can understand, but Keith also said feedback could be bought.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Conversely, I'm from a motor trade background, and one of the most common scams used to pass on "ringers" is to insist on doing the exchange in a public place, rather than than at the seller's home address......
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Ah, well. I suppose its about situational risk assessment. I spent most of the last 35 years in South Africa and you didn't invite complete strangers into your home to view expensive merchandise, because you might just find yourself being scoped out for a home invasion/burglary or facing a couple of 9mm handguns. You didn't visit strangers at their "home" with large sums of cash either.

Funnily enough, an empty car park was a good location for showing a vehicle to an unknown buyer. The seller and a friend (preferably armed) could check out the buyer and anyone with him as they approached, and drive away if they felt uncomfortable.

I have bought stuff through the internet, and ebay but I'm cautious unless its a large, well known company. At the end of the day, I'll just make a decision based on the price and possible risk. Is it worth it?

I've only been back in this country for a few months and, for the time being anyway, I'll stick to my own rules.
 
Keith W said:
Feedback/accounts either or both can usually be bought from the same places

Clicky
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Cheers m8 that link leads to loads of accounts for sale but not feedback alone. I'm aware of the 'buy loads of things for a penny' scam but again that's pretty obvious to anyone who looks at your feedback.
 
Just go to any of the places listed and ask to buy feedback, I am sure you wont be disappointed.

As I said feedback/accounts either or both can usually be bought from the same places
 
Pieface said:
Can someone explain to me why there are so many Nikon 70-300mm AF-S on Ebay for around £90? Are they fake, or are they just coming with no warranty?
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Just wondered if anyone has an answer to my question?
 
I've been selling on eBay recently in an effort to raise money for a new lens, and have not had any real problems. I would certainly waver at buying something expensive though, and I understand your concerns.

There is some good advice in this thread.

- Talk to the seller. Ask questions. Simple techy questions. If they can't answer, or are vague, they likely don't know much about what they're selling. Worry = worry+1. It usually only takes 2-3 emails between me and buyers for both of us to work out whether the other is genuine.

- Make sure they're sending it via a sensible option. A £400 item sent 2nd class standard ought to raise eyebrows. What happens if it ends up with you sounding like a box of popcorn?

- Do a situational risk assesment, like mentioned above. If it's new, ask them if they still have the receipt. If it's second-hand, ask for some unmodified images taken with it and check the exif data to see if it was taken with that camera on a reasonable date. A genuine seller won't have a problem with any of this, and it will give you a "feel" for how co-operative they'll be if there's a problem. (Not guaranteed though!)

Good luck!

-H
 
I got 40D from ebay, great buy. Theres no real risk with ebay, theres insurance with everything if you pay with paypal. If somethings broken or anything then you get a refund if you send back the items.
 
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