Do i buy a sofa off ebay? Any protection?

forgotmyname

Thinking of buying a sofa from an ebay seller, Several out there, Some registered as a business and have a shop/showroom others registered as a business and only have a house address, No collections etc.

A few are not listed as business sellers and also state no collections, House addresses registered. Checked google earth on one and a police van parked over the road with police on the doorstep. Doesnt inspire confidence.

I know its a budget sofa so expect to get what i pay for. But with light use i expect to get many years of use. Under £400 delivered for a 3+2 seater. Too cheap or similar quality to other overpriced outlets without the middlemen?


45 days to file a dispute but is it tough luck after that?

Any tips?

Thanks

Oliver14

What you need to remember is that if you need to return the sofa you may have to pay for that (and that may not be cheap). Yes paypal protection is only up to 45 days. After that you would have to rely on the sale of goods act and if the seller will comply with that if its a business which isnt registerd as that I cant see them sticking to SOGA without a huge fight.

Persoanlly I would wait for one of DFS (or any other shops) myriad of sales. Then at least you can see it and if you do have problems you have an obvious point of contact.

Sagz_2

Bear in mind that some of the 'shops' on Ebay are not longterm ventures. I bought a sofa from one on there that made me really ill (have a google of Watchdog Sofa Allergy) and by the time the court case reached a decision they had gone out of business.

I've learnt my painful lesson and will only buy from the big guys now.

hermum

I'd be far more inclined to spend the £400 on a really good quality second hand one, you'll probably have change for new a carpet & curtains as well & a much better quality suite that will last for years.

Pembroke

Just because the address is a private house doesn't make it dodgy though. If I sold furniture and worked from home I certainly wouldn't list the warehouse address as my business address as the possibility of a break in would be quite high. Honest buyers aren't the only ones who use google streetmaps, criminals are just as capable of using it to find unguarded warehouses on un-patrolled industrial estates.

They might also be dropshipping, as with larger items this is a valid way of selling.

I would endorse what hermum said though, get a higher quality secondhand one for the same money as you'd spend new and it will probably last a lot longer.

forgotmyname

2nd hand.. Been there & tried that many years ago. Went to look at a fair few and they were disgusting.

Price of fuel these days i could easily spend more than the price of these sofa's on fuel.

Maybe i was just unlucky.

Having to send it back if it was faulty inside the ebay 45 day limit did make me wonder how i could
do that via a trackable method.

BitterAndTwisted

I think that you were unlucky. I bought two Sofa Workshop ones from separate sellers and they were in excellent condition and went for a (virtual) song. Several years later they're still in great condition. Not much money very well-spent

hermum

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I think that you were unlucky. I bought two Sofa Workshop ones from separate sellers and they were in excellent condition and went for a (virtual) song. Several years later they're still in great condition. Not much money very well-spent

I'm the same as you, my last suite was through ebay & was of a quality that I couldn't afford to buy new, they had the receipt still which they had loaded on to the auction & they had paid around £5k for it, I won it for about £300.
Unfortunately when I moved 4 years ago it wouldn't go in the house, I then sold it on for more than I'd paid for it a couple of years before.
I am though a second hand rose, except for mattresses.
Over the years I've bought cheap new suites & they haven't lasted long before they look tatty & become uncomfortable to sit on.

pinkshoes

I sat on a beanbag for 14 months until I could afford the sofa I wanted. You can never quite get what you want second hand.

hermum

pinkshoes wrote: »

I sat on a beanbag for 14 months until I could afford the sofa I wanted. You can never quite get what you want second hand.

The one I got was exactly what I would have bought had I the money to buy new but I had been looking for a while, using the cheap crap new suite I'd bought a year or so before.

pitkin2020

I got my sofa off ebay and was well pleased with it, exactly the same one as in the shops but £300 cheaper inc delivery!

Like anything on ebay when spending a good few quid look for the trusted sellers with good feedback, check for feedback revisions etc.

You can buy from the shops if you want that piece of mind but your paying extra because they have higher overheads, staff and retail space aren't cheap.