eBay has become a household name for shoppers. A lot the buyers
on eBay are not regular internet shoppers but they still shop on
eBay. Such is the power of eBay giving simplicity of shopping
and top bargains. From time to time, there is some fraud on eBay
about fake fashion items, event tickets that do not exist, some
expensive electronic items that do not exist.
eBay does its best to intervene and resolve such disputes. As a
shopper, you can follow these 10 safety tips to avoid being
conned.
1. Check the seller's feedback. Positive feedback rating of over
95% is good. If there are many recent negative feedbacks, then
this is not a good indication. Also, read all the negative
feedbacks. Are these negative feedbacks reasonable? What type of
response does the seller have for these feedbacks? Does the
seller's defense sound reasonable? Sometimes new members who buy
items on eBay are paranoid and they leave a negative feedback in
a haste so make sure if the seller has defended himself/ herself
in a reasonable manner. If there are too many complaints of the
same nature, then it is probably true.
2. The sellers must have some kind of identification or
recognition seal like Paypal verified, or Square trade or a
Powerseller seal on the auctions. Such sellers are more
reliable. This is especially a good check when you buying an
expensive item.
3. Ask seller a question before bidding on the item. Responsible
sellers reply promptly to questions. Also, if the seller
actually has the item, he/ she maybe able to answer a valid
question otherwise not.
4. If you are buying something expensive, then get the contact
information of the seller at
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9>http://search
.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9. You have to login to your
eBay account and send a request. You can get the seller's
address and phone number. In doing this, your address and phone
number will also be emailed to the seller.
5. The items must have pictures unless it is a service that is
sold on eBay. If there is no picture, then the items is probably
not there. Almost all sellers will put at least one picture of
the item. Let's assume that the item is there but the seller has
been lazy in not putting the picture in the auction ad. Would
you like to deal with someone who is so careless? It just shows
that the item may not be in good condition, maybe defective or
broken.
6. Check description of the item. Research other websites for
the same item. Some of the shopping websites to research would
be shopping.yahoo.com, overture.com and shopping.msn.com. These
sites are adequate for researching items and get the description
that you need. The eBay description should match item
description on other sites.
7. Research prices for the item on sale. If the item on sale is
Gucci handbags, then search for this model of handbag on
shopping.yahoo.com. If it retails for $800 on Yahoo and seller
on eBay is selling a brand new one for $90, then this item may
not be authentic! Large wholesaler are able to sell items for
around 50% of retail but something like an original Gucci
handbag, it is unlikely that a seller would let go for $90
because these items sell like crazy. Just a note on fraud items
- a lot of fraud eBay occurs on fashion items. This is very
unfortunate and eBay has taken a lot of steps to eliminate
fraud.
8. If the seller has not mentioned any shipping and handling
terms, then ask before bidding. There are many auction ads,
where the seller mentions that shipping and handling will
mentioned to the winning bidder. Surprisingly, there are bids on
that item! If you start bidding on the item, then it means that
you agreed to the terms and condition of the sellers and there
is less room for you to dispute later so ask for the clear
instruction on shipping and handling.
9. Reliable sellers have clear description on their refund
policy. If it is not there, then ask the seller for it. If the
seller has no refund policy, then do not bid on the item. If the
there is no refund policy in the auction description, then make
sure you get the refund policy in an email from the seller. In
this way, you have a document of the refund policy.
10. Do a search for the sellers past items on eBay. Check to see
if the seller has sold similar items in the past. To search on
the past auctions, go to the Advanced Search page. Here click on
the items by seller link and type in the sellers ID and check
the box for Include Completed listing. It is always good to
check this especially if you are considering buying something
expensive.
About the author:
The author Guillermo Jalil owns several businesses including
eBay business and other internet businesses. For more Ebay
shopping tips on how to find great bargains visit
http://www.startbuyingonebay.com. For tips on how to make on the
internet from multiple sources of income visit
http://www.internetandmoney.com.
