The six golden rules of ebay discussion area

MSE_Martin

This discussion relates to the Six Golden Rules of eBay article.

Click reply to discuss.

withalj

The selling of urls is actually against ebay's rules, so I always report an auction I come across selling them. If everyone did the same, and ebay responded quickly enough, they would be wiped out.

I'm also very wary of one-day auctions. Personally, I don't see why anyone would use them except to hope to avoid ebay's attention.

The other 'scam' is the postage charges some people have. Always use the total price when comparing with elsewhere.

I've actually given up using ebay; I've found so many items for sale at a higher price than elsewhere, that it's often not worth the risk. I've also found that when selling my unwanted stuff, buyers are getting increasingly picky, expecting brand-new condition and consumer rights, even on second-hand stuff selling for a couple of pounds. It's just not worth the hassle. I've gone back to giving it to charity shops.

darbooka

Martin is a great person who has done all of us a great service (understatement of the year); however, I think the gist of his eBay item may be somewhat misunderstood and appear to be coming down a bit too hard on eBay. Surely it's a good idea to do price comparisons. Some of us have even compared various forms of money-saving websites to help us compare resources of comparisons. But in many ways comparing eBay to standard retail shoppes is like comparing apples and oranges.
For one thing, while eBay presents vast opportunities to grab a bargain it is a misconception to believe that anything and everything sold on eBay necessarily need by cheaper than the price one can find at a retail shop. On the other hand, eBay offers some attributes that most retailers do not provide; ie:
- the chance to bid or buy at a price that is worthwhile to you;
- the chance to ask the seller detailed questions about the product before you bid or buy;
- the opportunity to get, build and enhance a feedback rating based on your own performance of the transaction;
- in many cases, the opportuity to negotiate or coordinate mutually convenient payment and delivery methods and timescales with the seller;
- if you have a PayPal account with some funds left over that may take a week to get to your bank account you might in the same time frame be able to buy and get delivery of an item that you want using that money;
- if you don't know where to find a particular item at a retailer close to or serving your location, and you do see it on eBay then it might be worth paying a bit more for the convenience of getting it now;
- or, even if you do know a retailer near you that is selling a similar item you may not be happy with that business and not want to contribute your custom to it, preferring instead to buy from a fellow eBay member.
So it's much more than just price that determines the value of eBay. I haven't seen the eBay listing to which Martin refers, regarding to the markup of printers. As Martin describes it, it does seem potentially infuriating; however, any buyers could have queried the eBay seller for details before buying and could've tried to verified the printer manufacturer and then checked at least the manufacturer's own website for details.
But the crux of the matter is that there's no end to bargain seeking, and a bargain has a lot to do with price but it's not exclusively about price. And, incidentally, I wouldn't be so sure that even at 10 quid the manufacturer wasn't making a large profit on the printers (not to mention the consumables that need to be bought for it later). It's all about buyer wisdom and empowerment and so Martin is right to urge everyone to check and compare before buying. But consumer intelligence is more than just about being price-wise.
If and when your favourite catalogue store or other retailer begins letting you pay them at their tills for items at prices based on winning auction bid amounts that you've bid, that's when retailers and eBay would be more comparable. Until then, eBay poses quite a substantial competition base for many retailers and even manufacturers. And as eBay represents an enourmous economy of its own, with some 135 million users, it's no wonder.

victor2vt

You must always look out for scam e.mails that purport to come from e.bay.
They have the same logos on but as soon as you see them asking you to "Confirm your identity" or "We are updating our records" and asking for your credit card details, THE. E.MAIL IS A CON, TRYING TO GET YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS.
E.bay NEVER ask for your credit card details.
If you receive an e.mail like this send it directly to
spoof@ebay.co.uk
They will then look into it.
If you think you have been conned into giving your details they advise you to change your password immediately.
I'll forward Simon an example of a spoof e.bay e.mail so he can publish if he wishes

victor2vt

Martin,

I have sent you the above info, but I just got an automated reply and I have now deleted the spoof e.mail so cannot re send to another address.

John_Ci

To help MSE users and warn about an (almost) flawless scam technique.

I received a mail from what seemed like a legitimate notification from Ebay and a member saying that the bidder of an item had not paid and that as the next bidder on the list I would be entitled to take up the item.

Being as it was for a vehicle worth almost £4800 and being offered at £2850 you can imagine my interest and intrigue.

The scammer sent a mail (as they should) and followed the procedure to the letter. The scammer(it even used Ebay Member data as well as legit Ebay Member Name).

I asked if I could visit the vehicle and then pay cash.

The scammer said he was out of the country and that the vehicle could not yet be seen (first warning) and then said that he would be conducting the payment thru Square Deal; Ebay's approved and secure payment method.

I received a Square Trade notification saying that I should fill in the details and then wait for a invoice to be raised. Nothing that would cause concern at this stage. Because everything seemed legit.

I then asked if I could see the vehicle but the user then sent what seemed to be a legit request to send the money as cash thru Western Union and that on receipt the vehilcle would be shipped. Second Warning Bell.

The payment, sent thru Western Union could have been picked up at any time by the scammer using a false address (WU need to tie their authoristaion process down - its too easy to provide ID but maybe another thread on that).

Did he get the cash? No. I received a mail, strangely from possibly a realtive saying that I was about to be taken by a Romanian Scammer and to pull the deal. I had already pulled it and contacted Western Union to discuss.

What was worrying was the way the scammer used all of the legit methods to obtain a: My name and address (I am in the process of covering this problem for ID fraud) and b: the cash by gaining my trust (using so-called trusted payment methods).

On closer examination, the user used the same name as the EBAY USER ID witha Yahoo extension and the Square Trade Notification came from something like square trade but that on closer investigation was actually another dotcom on medical advice!!!

My advice is;

Check your mails and your mail data.
Check and make sure notification is not pasted into a mail.
Make sure that your notifcations extension is a legit site.
Make sure that if the seller gives info that you check it out.
Check and double check payment methods.

Ebay advises what to do to protect you - if you follow the rules (99%) you should be OK.

I might have lost £2850. Thanks to some quick thinking and my ability to check out things I did not feel right about (gut feeling goes a long way here - if you are not sure and it does not seem right, don't buy it) - but for all this my new experience as an Ebayer might have ended in disaster.

Hope this helps people.

John Ci

freddyfeet

I'm saddened to read Martin's warning about ebay scammers and cons and the subsequent posts warning people not to participate.

In my experience I have found that the vast majority of people who use ebay are very honest and display a level of integrity that I wish was more common elsewhere.

I've had lots of bargains, friendly transactions and one duff hard drive for which I received an apology and an immediate refund. I've also sold a few things and have been very careful to describe the items carefully if they are not perfect and have had no problems at all with buyers.

The cons are pretty easy to spot -- simply make sure you read the item description as Martin suggests. I've seen property for sale with a £0.01 starting bid and the header clearly stating, "DO NOT BID ON THIS ITEM - FOR INFORMATION ONLY!" yet a dozen or more bids have been placed in a few hours.

Yes ther are cons but please don't be put off -- it's too much fun!!

MSE_Martin

I've read a few 'i'm saddened about this article' which i find very strange. This isn't a "six golden rules of not using eBay" but an article about how to use it while protecting your pocket from overpaying, and protecting yourself from scams. It's the same approach as all things MoneySaving.

To quote the article (which bizarrely means quoting myself, but hey ho) "Rememember I'm not saying don't use eBay, it can be a great way of having fun and finding a bargain, but don't fall for the hype that its a panacea for finding a good buy."

jb84344

This is one rule I read in a book somewhere and now stick to rigidly - I'm sure most money savers do anyway but to be honest I didn't used to....

Never bid above a price you feel is reasonable, no matter how much you want the item, as another item exactly the same is bound to turn up in the very short future.

As a very recent example, loads of the limited edition comic relief DVD's came up for sale recently on ebay and I really wanted one (all of HMV had sold out). They were going for between £8 and as high as £25 each. 1 solitary dvd came up last week and went for £1.50 and no P&P !

JB

stevensdrs

Having bought and sold many items on E-Bay without problem, I find the greater majority of users to be entirely honest. Recently I sold a high value item without problem, however it later came to my attention that a SCAMMER had contacted all the failed bidders by sending the E-MAIL below.
The obvious intention was to try to trick the unwary into parting with their hard earned cash. One obvious clue is the very bad grammar in the e-mail.
****************

I am the seller of the description removed Item number:xxxxxxxx, and I've just been contacted by the eBay staff who informed me that the winner of the item I sold, withdraw his bidding and was rejected due to security reasons. The eBay policy automatically proclaims you to be the winner by default. I need your agreement on this so I can contact eBay to confirm you that you're the winner, otherwise I'll relist the item. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I need an answer asap. Your last given bid prior to being outbid is taken into consideration. If interested just contact me at xxxxxxxxx@aol.com as this is my verified Second Chance Program email address and include your eBay user ID and Item number you bid on to have it officially done through eBay. Looking forward hearing from you. Do NOT reply to this mail!!! Contact me at xxxxxxxxx@aol.com!

********************

This very likely came from a similar source to the previous post concerning the motor vehicle. Trading on EBay is perfectly safe provided you keep within the rules and ignore any tempting offers outwith the normal trading framework.

jojofrog

While I agree ebay can be a useful site, I have found that after adding on the postage costs, new items are rarely much if any cheaper than buying from a more traditional retail outlet, especially if you are prepared to shop around a little. Additionally when you purchasing from a shop, rather than eBay, it is often easier to enforce you consumer rights, should a problem or fault develop at a later stage.

When ebay can become really useful, is if you want/ need an item that is rare, unusual or discontinued etc.

Thanks for your solid sensible advice as always Martin!