urgent ebay advice needed

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bailout

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I have only ever used ebay once before and that was for something I could pick up and pay cash. I have been meaning to investigate ebay and paypal for a while but have inevitably left it until I see something I want. There is an item up that ends tomorow (sunday) at 15.00 so I need some quick advice.

My main concern is with the paypal system that most auctions seem to use. From what I understand I have to register my credit card with paypal using a direct debit. How reliable/secure is this? What sort of protection do I get?

I assume that as lots of people are using it all the time it must be reasonable ok but I am just a bit cautious about this sort of thing. Also I assume they must make money somehow, do they charge for each transaction?

What are peoples general experience of ebaying? I have some stuff that I might want to sell as well.

Many thanks
 
I use paypay both for making payments to Ebay traders and for taking payments and have never had any problems with money coming in or going out. Yes, there's a fee per transaction, which is borne by the seller. The fee is a small set amount plus a small percentage of the additional price of the item.

When dealing on Ebay, whether as a buyer or seller, the most important thing to look for is the reputation of the person you are dealing with. Look at their feedback. Have they been trading or buying for a reasonable period. If they have received any poor feedback, look at the feedback rating of the people who gave them it. Look at what they have received poor feedback *for*. Look also at "feedback withdrawn" figures, which sellers often reduce to avoid negative feedback) and neutral ratings. Be wary of buying large ticket items from someone whose history is very recent or patchy.

As for PayPal, you will find that there's a network of people who are very anti, mostly because their accounts have been suspended or other action has been taken against them. Mostly this seems to be linked to people who have been scammed by on Ebay or possibly tried to scam others on Ebay. The problems seem to lie with:

1. A selling to B, A dispatching to B and B claiming (honestly or otherwise) that the goods do not arrive or arrive damaged or suchlike and B complaining to Ebay/Paypal suspending A's account pending resolution; or

2. A selling to B, A not despatching goods to B and B complaining as above.

There are scammers on Ebay both as buyers and sellers. If you buy anything of real value, insist on it being sent special delivery (it's worth the few quid more) or by courier and be wary of anyone who won't send the goods this way. I suspect that these days almost all reputable sellers on Ebay will want to do this anyway, if only to protect themselves against dishonest customers.
 
Woadrage is right, Paypal works well and is secure. I used it a lot (2000+ transactions) when I was buying and selling in UK and it was fine, no problems at all. People being people you get the odd dishonest user or somebody reacting too quickly and angrily about something and it goes pear-shaped. Use the feedback to guide you and it works out fine.

Beware of scam emails purporting to come from Ebay management. Never give them any details or follow any links in them. There are a lot of people trying to get your details.
 
Can also vouch for Paypal being secure!

Ebay is good and secure too, but do be careful and download the ebay toolbar off the homepage.

I have bought a good bit of stuff from the USA and had it shipped to SA - NO HASSLES!
 
i was the same as you until last week when i took the plunge and registered.

i have only bought stuff by cheque before.

only bought the one item on paypal so far but instead of the long process of sending the cheque buyer banking it then waiting for it to be cleared and then buyer sending the item which worked well but sometimes took two weeks i received my paypal purchase in two days.

but as above always check their feedback and pay special delivery for expensive items

good luck:clap: :clap: :clap:
 
No worries if you're buying something with paypal, it's all very secure.
If you're selling, you have to be a bit more careful with paypal... always get proof of postage (don't allow personal pick-up), otherwise there's the slight chance they can deny getting the item, so you end up losing the item to them, plus having to refund the money to them... a double kick in the teeth.
 
Paypal is great, more and more high street shops are allowing paypal payments online. Whilst the protection is also very good, please be aware that it only really can be used for higher value goods. A friend recently purchased a car stereo from an ebay seller and it did'nt arrive. After the seller not replying to a number of emails, my friend lodged a complaint with ebay and paypal. This is where it got a bit funny. Paypal got it sorted and refunded his money.
The item was purchased for a total of £15.45, not alot i know, but it was the principle.
Paypal then sent him an email.........
"Your claim has been successful, we are please to credit your paypal account with the sum of £0.45p".
Apparently paypal charge £15 to follow up claims.:lol:
Still, on a £1000 lens, it obviously makes sense.
Dean:)
 
I hate paypal and ebay as I cant stop sending money all over the world for camera gear,its cost me a small fortune.I love it realy:lol:
 
When buying on eBay, read the auction details, then read them again.
Be sure you know exactly what the seller is actually selling you, how they want to be paid and how much it will cost in postage, if you are not sure about anything ask the seller, a quick response (within 24hrs) is usually a sign of a good seller. Decide on a top price that you are willing to pay and do not go above that, remember that whatever it is there will be more of it available if not now then soon, so don't get auction fever and go paying too much. Unscrupulous sellers will often try to bump up the profit by charging high postage charges, if you can, avoid them. Check as said above the sellers feedback but don't be put off by high negatives, if the seller sells 5000 items a month, 50 or so negs a month is not terrible, again as said above read the negs to see why, many negative responses are from people who didn't read the auction details properly and 'feel' ripped off even though they weren't.

Paypal will cover you up to £500 in case it turns out you have been scammed in some way so go with them and do it soon, it can take a long time to set up a paypal account through your bank though using a cc will be quicker.
Be aware also that many eBay sellers will not accept paypal from a non confirmed address, or from a new (less than 5 feedback) eBay member without some other kind of confirmation.

eBay can be a great place to find what you need at a reasonable price, just use your common sense and you won't go far wrong.
 
I've never had a problem with Paypal - except it's far too easy and convenient to get rid of lots of dough. ;)
 
Thanks for the replies. I have signed up to ebay and paypal. Do I have to load up money from my bank acc to paypal before making payments? If so how long does this take to transfer?
 
No m8, if you have signed up with a cc then they will take the money from that as and when you buy stuff, if you want to use the bank account direct it will take time as they will check by depositing a small sum and getting you to tell them what it is before they will allow you to pay that way.
 
Steep said:
No m8, if you have signed up with a cc then they will take the money from that as and when you buy stuff, if you want to use the bank account direct it will take time as they will check by depositing a small sum and getting you to tell them what it is before they will allow you to pay that way.
Click to expand...

I put my debit card details in rather than credit card. Would I be better registering my credit card instead?

I find this with a lot of internet sites that they have pages saying how wonderfull their service is but it is often difficult to find an explanation of how it actually works.
 
I have two cards reg'd with Paypal - a 'Switch' Card which just takes money directly from my current account and a credit card. I can specify which method of payment with each purchase.

IIRC there's a short verification process after you register. Paypal transfers a very nominal sum to your bank account - you then need to contact them and inform them what that amount is.

Duh... or what Steep already said! :D
 
I registered, I bid, I won!

If this is the start of my decline into ebay addiction, debt and misery I will blame you lot :D
 
Oh dear your on the slippery slope now my friend:thumbs: :lol:
 
bailout said:
I registered, I bid, I won!

If this is the start of my decline into ebay addiction, debt and misery I will blame you lot :D
Click to expand...

:banana: :banana: :banana:

Welcome to the addicted!!

But now bet wisely little grasshopper!



:lol: :bonk: :thumbs:
 
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