Buying on EBay - Trading Standard 10 point guide

VH

There seem to be a lot of posts from EBay newbies getting ripped off recently. The following is from the Trading Standards website and is excellent advice for EBay buyers:

Internet auction sites are becoming increasingly popular. Many people who advertise goods on this type of site are private sellers. Your rights against a private seller are considerably reduced and are the same as if you answered an ad in your local paper. It is very much ‘buyer beware’ regarding the quality of the goods, but the goods must still be as described. On an internet site, it may be difficult to find out who you are dealing with.

The obligation that the auction website has to you is likely to be limited. Some auction websites offer complaint resolution services or protection against fraud in some circumstances. Not all do, so read the terms and conditions carefully.

We have therefore produced the following ten point guide for buying on Internet auction site:

1. Carefully read the auction house terms and conditions, and make sure that you understand them properly.

2. Take some time to watch how the auctions for similar items develop before bidding for any item yourself. This can give you an idea of the prices sellers are asking for certain items and how much buyers are prepared to bid.

3. Look at the feedback ratings of the people you are dealing with. Be cautious of dealing with people who have no feedback or a high level of negative feedback. On the other hand, feedback ratings can be falsified, so be sceptical and use your common sense.

4. Check what items they have bought and sold themselves, and see if this history fits with what they are looking to sell to you. For example, if there are a large number of very inexpensive items listed on the person’s record as sold, ask yourself why they may now be offering to sell an item of great value.

5. When you find an item you wish to bid on, read the description very carefully. Satisfy yourself that the item is what you want and that you understand exactly what you will be buying. Look carefully at any photographs posted as part of the description. Has the seller lifted the photos from elsewhere on the Internet, or are they of the actual item on sale? Keep a record of the page of information that has been posted by the seller.

6. Use the "Ask Seller a Question" facility before you place a bid if you are in any doubt about the item. Good communication can prevent misunderstanding on both sides. Ask the seller to send you more photographs of the item, perhaps a picture of the item with a copy of today’s newspaper. Ask about the seller’s returns policy if you are dissatisfied with the goods. Keep a copy of any emails.

7. Set yourself a strict financial limit for the purchase. Don’t forget to account for postage or delivery costs, and clarify these beforehand with the seller if it is not clearly stated in advance. Remember that by bidding you are entering a legal contract to purchase the item if your bid should win. Bid up to your limit but think very carefully before you bid over. It’s easy to get carried away and pay more than you really want to.

8. If you are lucky enough to win the auction, make prompt contact with the seller. Ask about the timescale for delivery of the item to you. Check the seller’s postcode matches the declared contact address, for example by using the Internet sites https://www.postcodefinder.co.uk or https://www.multimap.com

9. Use a secure method of payment such as PayPal, where the money is deposited in a third party’s account before it reaches the seller. There are built-in safeguards with PayPal to protect your payments and to resolve any disputes which may arise. Do not under any circumstances send cash, and do not agree to transfer the money to the seller’s own bank account. This could potentially result in you hearing nothing further from the seller.

10. If a dispute does arise, your first step should be to contact the seller. Keep copes of all emails sent and received in the course of your correspondence. Keep calm and polite, but assertive in your negotiations and most genuine sellers will be able to offer a satisfactory resolution to your complaint. Use the PayPal system to resolve disputes if necessary.

soolin

That is a good logical guide, if only people would follow advice like that ebay would be a safer place. I still see people bidding on certain scams and wonder why.

Soo

Encantador

But I would be surprised if general advice from TS would push Paypal in this way.
It `seems` to suggest that Paypal (or similar) is the `only` safe way to pay.

I disagree with the suggestions not to use cash or bank transfer. We all know that both Ebay and Paypal are useless at sorting out problems and don`t really want to get involved.
I know for a fact that even the police have trouble getting them to commuicate with them let alone DO anything.

If it`s a scam/fraud, the police need a starting point, a good starting point is the address cash was delivered to and/or a bank account money was paid into.

I don`t see how using Paypal or similar is ANY safer.

Sounds like this was written/edited by Mr Paypal to me.

soolin

Encantador wrote:

But I would be surprised if general advice from TS would push Paypal in this way.
It `seems` to suggest that Paypal (or similar) is the `only` safe way to pay.

I disagree with the suggestions not to use cash or bank transfer. We all know that both Ebay and Paypal are useless at sorting out problems and don`t really want to get involved.
I know for a fact that even the police have trouble getting them to commuicate with them let alone DO anything.

If it`s a scam/fraud, the police need a starting point, a good starting point is the address cash was delivered to and/or a bank account money was paid into.

I don`t see how using Paypal or similar is ANY safer.

Sounds like this was written/edited by Mr Paypal to me.

Paypal is definitely safer than cash, my post routinely goes missing and cash sent by recorded delivery is not covered by Post office loss insurance.

For a buyer paypal is also safer than a bank transfer, at least with paypal you have a chance of getting your rmoney back, you have absolutely no hope with any other method. You are also covered for non receipt by paypal, if the seller can't prove delivery then paypal will refund you, try asking for a refund if you have sent a seller cash!

Personally when I am buying I tend to go for sellers that accept paypal, I rarely bother to bid where I have to send a cheque.

Soo

Soo

VH

I don't think TS are actually pushing Paypal, what they are saying is that given the other methods of payment available, Paypal provides much more protection than other methods.

Cheques are always iffy, I've had trouble with them, they go missing too easily.
Sending cash is silly as the seller can just claim they never received it. Even if it's sent recorded, they can simply claim that there was nothing in the package.
Direct Bank Transfer is great, although the seller could then not send the item out. If this happens, what do you do? EBay won't care and the Police aren't going to be bothered that you've been ripped off, it's hard enough getting them to come out for a burglary!

I pay for everything by Paypal, there's always the option of reversing the transaction if things go wrong.

Despite all the Paypal horror stories I've not ever had any trouble with it yet,

GibsonSt19

soolin wrote:

Paypal is definitely safer than cash, my post routinely goes missing and cash sent by recorded delivery is not covered by Post office loss insurance.

For a buyer paypal is also safer than a bank transfer, at least with paypal you have a chance of getting your rmoney back, you have absolutely no hope with any other method. You are also covered for non receipt by paypal, if the seller can't prove delivery then paypal will refund you, try asking for a refund if you have sent a seller cash!

Personally when I am buying I tend to go for sellers that accept paypal, I rarely bother to bid where I have to send a cheque.

Soo

Soo

At Christmas, I won 2x items, paid for them with Paypal, items never showed up, I registered a claim with Paypal who couldn't reclaim my monies, as the dodgy seller had withdrawn the funds from his Paypal account to his personal account. Enough said I think.....£523 down the pan, and now I'm left with the Small Claims Court Process.

Beware, Paypal is most certainly not 'safe'.

Altarf

GibsonSt19 wrote:

At Christmas, I won 2x items, paid for them with Paypal, items never showed up, I registered a claim with Paypal who couldn't reclaim my monies, as the dodgy seller had withdrawn the funds from his Paypal account to his personal account. Enough said I think.....£523 down the pan, and now I'm left with the Small Claims Court Process.

Beware, Paypal is most certainly not 'safe'.

Did you fund the Paypal transaction by credit card? If so, don't mess about with Paypal, contact the credit card company, explain that the transaction was for mail order goods that never arrived and get them to do a chargeback. Don't try and explain that it was for an ebay transaction, that confuses the card companies and they try and wriggle out of their liabilites.

Paypal will scream, but for £500 I wouldn't care.

GibsonSt19

Unfortunately, I was far too naiive and relied on Paypals 'Safe Payment Method' boasts. I used a VISA chargecard, which TheOneAccount tell me is not a Credit Card.