Warnings and things to watch for

MSE_Martin

Beware of scams and poor transactions. Click reply to discuss.

JPS

You think you are buying a mobile phone....and hidden inside the description somewhere is a sentence saying you are bidding on a link to recieve the phone for £20. Deception at it's best - BEWARE!!

LincsLad_3

Often, the best bit of advice is "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

Be realistic - you are not going to get a 42" Plasma Screen TV for £25 (well, not this side of Christmas anyway!), a 'top of the range' PC for a tenner, or the latest mobile phone for £20.

ALWAYS check out the seller's feedback before bidding, and ALWAYS read the small print in the eBay listing. And if there IS small print, be wary.

scheming_gypsy

2 other things to look for are delivery charges and where they're shipping from.

Pretty often i've been about to grab a last second bargain and then spotted £25 delivery and it's being shipped from Hong Kong.

raeble

Never, ever pay by wire transfer i.e western union or bank transfer. Always pay by Paypal or similar or use your credit card. Do not use a debit card.

chiny

raeble
Never, ever pay by wire transfer i.e western union or bank transfer. Always pay by Paypal or similar or use your credit card. Do not use a debit card.

Hmm, why not ? Someone has just offered to pay me by direct transfer (I supply my bank details) - scam ?

Not convinced by Paypal - some definite dodgy stories.

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Chiny

System

Also, boycott those who still have the cheek to charge for paypal (its free except for when business users receive payment) when in reality it is a bigger benefit for the seller.

If the seller is a business user then they should absorb the cost, especially ifthe item is costly.

robnye

Also, boycott those who still have the cheek to charge for paypal (its free except for when business users receive payment) when in reality it is a bigger benefit for the seller.

If the seller is a business user then they should absorb the cost, especially ifthe item is costly.

not totally right....

buyers dont pay to use paypal.
but sellers, get charged 23p+ 3% for each payment they receive , then there is a charge of 25p to withdraw money back to their own bank account if it is less than £50 (free if over)

personally i prefer to absorb the cost of paypal payments myself and avoid people who do charge additional amount......

raeble

raeble
Never, ever pay by wire transfer i.e western union or bank transfer. Always pay by Paypal or similar or use your credit card. Do not use a debit card.

Hmm, why not ? Someone has just offered to pay me by direct transfer (I supply my bank details) - scam ?

Not convinced by Paypal - some definite dodgy stories.

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Chiny

I'm talking about for buyers. If you pay by wire transfer and something goes pear-shaped then you have a extremely to non-existant chance of getting your money back. If you pay by credit card or paypal using your credit card. You have more protection. Paypal and your credit card company can investigate complaints and take the money directly out of the sellars account to issue you with a refund. I have no experience of using paypal with your debit card or bank account.

If you are a seller and someone is offering to pay you by wire transfer - Are you a business? Do you really want some strange person with access to your bank details? If you are a business I would say fine go ahead. We use it at work all the time but if you are a private individual I'm not sure about that. You should talk to your bank to make sure there is no danger of the buyer being able to withdraw money from your account.

LincsLad_3

If you are a seller and someone is offering to pay you by wire transfer - Are you a business? Do you really want some strange person with access to your bank details? If you are a business I would say fine go ahead. We use it at work all the time but if you are a private individual I'm not sure about that. You should talk to your bank to make sure there is no danger of the buyer being able to withdraw money from your account.

Surely all the details they need are sort code, account number and name - all of which are available on every cheque you write, so hardly something that needs to be overly protected???

Also, boycott those who still have the cheek to charge for paypal (its free except for when business users receive payment) when in reality it is a bigger benefit for the seller.

If the seller is a business user then they should absorb the cost, especially ifthe item is costly.

PayPal is NOT free for non-business sellers, or it wasn't last time I looked. As a private seller, it costs me money to accept PayPal payment. True, it's marginally more convenient, and yes, it is now against eBay rules to make a surcharge for PayPal, but AFAIK, it isn't free for the seller.

LincsLad_3

Having just defended Paypal, I WOULD be a bit wary of any auction where payPal is the ONLY accepted method of payment. I would much prefer to see a genuine address that I could send my cheque to if I wanted. Many 'fly-by-night' operators on eBay accept PP ONLY.

The other thing is the relative high frequency of scam emails asking you to go and enter your account details on a [fake but authentic looking] webpage to 'prevent your account being closed down for security reasons'. Some of these letters look authentic, down to the precise logos and layout of a GENUINE eBay communication - of which there are few. As with any comunication asking for any password - treat with caution.

eBay have a tutorial on spoof emails at

this link. Worthwhile reading if unsure.