Safest way to buy on eBay?

Luffy

I know there are all kinds of ways to a) lose your money and b) protect yourself, but what is THE absolute best combination of measures you can use to ensure you will not be ripped off as a buyer?

I believe its paypal via credit card? CC has protection as well as Paypal right? So if the seller does not deliver I definately get my money back?

I'm about to bid on a fairly expensive item from someone who has low feedack of 17, albeit 100% positive - however it seems they're an infrequent user despite being registered since Dec 2001. Only 4 Uses in the whole of 2004 and missed 2003 completey.

So I would like to ensure that any payment I make is totally covered. Am I on the right track with Paypal + credit card? Any other measures I need to take? Like asking for their address to send a cheque before using paypal? Or getting them to post it a certain method?

Thanks for any advice!

Chalky87

Well first things first....

To make sure as best possible that you're safe whilst buying on eBay, I would suggest a seller, who is a regular on eBay with at least a 50 feedback score (100% +).

The safest way to make a payment, other than CoD (Cash on Delivery) which I don't think is allowed anymore, would be to use your credit card to pay through PayPal, providing the seller is a verified PayPal member. Your credit card will indeed give you fraud protection, but if this a really expensive item, you should check your cards terms and conditions to see exactly how much protection is given to you.

As your seller has only limited feedback and doesn't appear to be a regular eBay user I would stay a little cautious about this one....if you can find a similar item from another seller with better feedback and more regular sales, then this may be worth a go.

Also, if it as an item that can be posted make sure it is sent by a traceable fully insured delivery service. For items up to £1500 Special Del. is always a good option.

Hope this helps!

snake666

or as members of MSE we could add this at the end of the listings then we would know we are afe with that item?
snake

Chalky87

Not too sure what you mean Snake....if you're suggesting that adding a little icon at the bottom of the auction saying...'Im a member of MSE' would mean that your transaction was safe I think you would be mistaken. I realise 99.9% of people on this board are very helpful etc. but just because your a member here does not necesserily mean you're trustworthy. Plus people could exploit the system....and we have 'Square Trade' for this sort of thing... :beer:

monkeyspanner

Has the seller been active recently? Is there a variety of buyers, leaving positive feedback? Is there reciprocated feedback between this seller and buyers separated by a reasonable amount of time i.e. is there a resonable length of time between the sale and the buyers feedback? Does this item fit with the sellers normal type of sale? Has the seller got any other items up for sale? Are they all suddenly high value items?

You could suggest a personal pick up and see what the reaction is. You could suggest escrow.

westy_3

Escrow.com are the approved ebay escrow service. That keeps your money safe with a 3rd party. The money is released when you tell them you're happy with the item.

Rhino666

I think the op was correct - well certainly from my experience......

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=146007

Lollypop_3

I'm not convinced you could use Escrow third party payment methods could you? The service is about releasing funds but only if the buyer is satisfied with the items - usually high ticket items. E-bayers accept that have purchased successful bid items whether they like them or not provided they are as described. If you simply change your mind or don't like the item then you don't have the right to refuse the purchase by not releasing the monies. That's surely a very different arrangment than what Escrow are offering. I doubt that any seller would agree to a third party payment method in case they lose the sale because the buyer has simply changed their mind when receiving the goods. Until the seller receives monies into their account it is unlikely they would release the goods at all.

It may work with items that are sold as 'buy it now' because buyers have the same rights as consumer's buying shop bought purchases but with normal bid items that's unlikely to be the case.