Ebay Experiences

I have never really shopped on eBay. I know people do get some fantastic buys there..but I can usually find what i need on Amazon, and since I always have gift certificates it is really my go to place. My sister sold a lego set on Ebay and ended up getting about 5x what she paid for it..so some people can really utilize the site well. Most of what I would sell is large..not sure how the shipping would work.

 

Overall, I too have had pleasant experiences on eBay, bar three nasty experiences. I always find eBay is very much biased against the seller, which I feel is very skewed. We used to sell on eBay until they revised their listing fees, which left us with very little of the money we made, at which point we stopped altogether because it was more hassle than it was worth it for us. We had one customer in Asia who insisted he hadn't received an expensive limited addition football shirt we'd dispatched. I don't remember why, but we couldn't send it recorded delivery, so it was like our word against his, so we had to refund him the money he'd paid.

Once I received fake makeup brushes which were sold as Mac. I didn't have the energy to pursue it. Then there was the case of the seller who sold us a faulty iMac which wouldn't even switch on, and made this weird noise. He wouldn't listen to us and just kept insisting there was nothing wrong with it. Luckily, we got aggressive on him, packaged and returned it without his permission, prompting him to refund our money LOL From that point on we decided that for such pricey items, we'd go directly to an authorized supplier in the future.

I only buy 'buy it now' items because I can't be bothered. Sellers can get greedy and give you the run around. Plus with the auction items, there are 'professional bidders' out there who always manage to outwit everyone and swoop in at the very last minute. I just can't deal with that.

 

I have been selling on eBay for quite some time and have never really had a problem with buyers until this past year. I have had 3 buyers not pay for their items. The first one actually got upset with me when I opened up a case against her and she had the audacity to tell me she did not appreciate this case against her because it was affecting her rep on eBay. Well I had sent her 3 notifications to pay her bill but never heard from her until I opened the case.

Needless to say, I have started putting in my listing for only serious buyers to bid since there has been a problem with too many unpaid auctions. If there is a problem people should have the consideration to contact the seller and explain their situation and whether they are going to pay or not. I would be more open to that then just not paying.

Overall, I love eBay and have had success with it and will probably stay there for longer.

 

I used to sell on eBay and I really enjoyed it. Then I stopped selling for a few years and went back to it. I still liked selling, but it just really turned into a hassle. I maintained excellent feedback but with eBay's "the customer is always right" policy, I gave up selling because I was afraid of getting a buyer (scammer) who would keep my item and expect a refund too. I guess I read too many horror stories on the eBay forums and I just decided that it wasn't worth it.for me I wish it wasn't that way because I really liked selling on the site.

I've bought some items from eBay too and have always had good luck with my purchases. I always read the sellers feedback first before I buy anything and if anything seems sketchy, I move on to a different seller.

 

I regularly buy on ebay and I've found that often buyers will bid an insane amount on items just so they don't lose them - even past the buy it now price - and then they don't pay and I end up getting a second chance offer sometimes because they never paid. I don't understand why you'd bother to bid on an item if you've got no intention of paying, though. Sure, we all forget about it from time to time, or for whatever reason can't get back to the site in time to pay, but that seems to happen too often for it to be a coincidence it keeps happening.

I've also found as a buyer that I've often already bought the item by the time I get a second chance offer on something so usually have to turn it down, and kick myself because I ended up paying more. Its frustrating. I think ebay should perhaps make it so that if a buyer wins an auction the money is automatically taken from their account rather than the buyer having to then come back and pay manually. It'd stop the buyers that are just wasting people's time that way.

 

I've only had good experiences on ebay, but only buying so far. It is so geared to the buyers advantage that I'm hesitant to sell through it. I am noticing a trend of ebay having higher prices to varying degrees than other more specialized stores, but there are still deals to be had.

 

I've never had an offer declined, but I've never asked any less than 50 cents under the asking price. They were also all small things though. My biggest problems is having things lost in customs that I've ordered from over seas. Mostly, from China. I've always gotten my money back but it still stinks because after waiting for two months only to ask for a refund, but I've never had a problem with a refund.

Another problem I've had is things not being like look in the picture. I ordered some mirror stickers, I was given he impression they were very thick stickers that reflected like a real mirror. They turned out to be paper thin and ripped easily and produced a very, VERY distorted reflection. Nothing like the picture and had a very misleading description. I didn't ask for a refund because at the end of the day I only spent a few bucks on a dozen of them. I did leave a bad review to let other buyers know and will never buy from them again.

 

I have had some pretty terrible experiences with Ebay, but I do not really hold anything against the site or anything like that, and I just chalk it up to my lack of effort and general complacency with what I have. I tried selling some items that I thought were worth a lot, but I had trouble setting the price and it just turned into a nightmare. With buying too I have had some items come in different and been charged wrong. I would just say to anyone considering it, just be smart and do your research beforehand.

 

I have only bought items on Ebay, and most of the time the transactions were smooth and I'm satisfied with the product. There were times when the item was not sent or the items arrived not as described, so in those times I tried to file for a dispute and I was mostly successful, but on the times that the dispute time frame has expired then I wasn't able to get my money back anymore.

 

I have made maybe three or four purchases on eBay in my life, so I do not have that much to go from. However, every time I find something I made sure to buy from reputable and good rating sellers. I did not have a problem with any of my purchases, but I still am A little afraid to buy from them because of some stories that I hear.

 

I can't complain about my experience with Ebay as a buyer: as long as you buy from certified sellers with an Ebay store and an high positive feedback rating, you should be safe. Of course you will find better deals from new sellers since they need to build a reputation, but there is a larger risk involved.

However I really hate the auction and bidding system: you have a really tiny chance to find great deals, but usually it's a waste of time. It was a nice idea at the start, but its execution was terrible and as OP said even good offers get turned down without apparent reason. If you want to shop on Ebay only use the "Buy now" option and you will avoid unpleasant surprises.

 

I very seldom sell on ebay; but I do like to shop there, and have found some excellent deals there. I always check both Amazon and Ebay; bcause sometime it is jusst as cheap on Amazon, and no shipping charge with Prime.
I do like the make offer option, and i have had good luck with doing that.
I do usually make a low ofer at firt, and then the seller will uually make an offer back; whic I then accept if it is reasonable. I seldom (if ever) have had a seller turn me down and not make a counter-offer; so i amm surprised that other have had thiss happen to them.
I also "watch" items; because sometimes, they do not sell the first time, and they are relisted at a lower price, and then I can get the item cheaper.

 

I love eBay and almost never had any bad experiences. I think it mainly relates to the fact that I usually check out the sellers' ratings and decide whether I want to sell, also based on the feedback of other buyers. Also, make sure to save all the things you want to buy in a wishlist because very often, the prices tend to fluctuate and you can save some money by doing so.

 

I have had a lot of good experiences buying things from people on the site, but have not had so much luck selling things. It is almost not worth it unless you have something really valuable to sell. Buyers do not want to pay anything for normal products or things you have just not used before. The item has to be high in demand in order for it to sell.

 

I have made about thirty purchases on Ebay over the years and they have gone relatively smoothly although my highest purchase was only in the $150 range. Ebay is still an important outlet to find the one-off items such as what one would look for to complete a collection or to get a good deal on a used/refurbished item. Other than items that fall in those categories, Ebay has fallen behind Amazon for more general merchandise purchases.

 

Most of my eBay experiences have been good, specially for the price I usually pay for my items. It took me a long time to realize that you can't just buy the cheapest thing you see, you have to read reviews about the seller and the specifications about the item. I've bought a skirt on eBay once that turned out to be the ugliest thing ever, but I've also bought party dresses that we're better than the ones I have bought offline.