Do you ever buy stuff on Ebay?

Grampa Don

Grampa Don

Yep, that's me
Location
Orange county, Calif.
I do. Whenever I want something I always check Ebay. I can often beat the price at Amazon or other major sources. Sometimes it's the only place I can find something. When the power switch on my old Craftsman table saw died, I was out of luck until I found a guy who had one at a reasonable price.

I've bought a number of cheap items direct from China. There are all kinds of weird things for just a few dollars and shipping is usually free. Shipping takes about a month, but that's part of the fun. Here is a pocket watch that cost me $12. I didn't need it, but it's a pretty thing and actually keeps time.

watch.jpg

Ebay is pretty safe. Sellers really sweat the feedback rating and you can always get your money back if something isn't right.

Don
 

I buy a few small household items and collectible/antiques.

I also sell a few things.

The shipping is becoming more of an issue but every now and then you come across a real bargain.
 
I cleared $12,000 in 2012 buying old vintage Vogue Ginny Dolls with highly collectible outfits all hand sown but in need of TLC. I refurbished them, posted clearer photos, posted very honest descriptions, and gave detailed disclosures as to condition.

I built a clientele that trusted me...mostly women my age who played with this type doll as a child and had collections of them. They were growing in value at the time but as the women aged out the interest in buying dropped and they also began selling. As soon as I realized that I stopped.
 
Years ago I bought stuff occasionally using money orders. Then they switched to the PayPal thing and that was the end of it for me. I want nothing to do with them now.
 
I've been using EBAY for almost 20 years. Unless it's something I need right away, I can almost always find what I need on EBAY for 20 to 50% less than virtually any other source/store. In the past year, I've started selling some stuff on EBAY, and have had good results. I usually check Amazon before I buy, but almost never use their services....Amazon is usually as high as a retail store for the types of things I buy. Also...I LIKE PayPal, for online purchases, and I see more and more online retailers using PayPal as their primary form of payment....far safer than posting a credit card number online.
 
I've used eBay for at lest 20 years and maybe more. I like it better than Amazon. I used to sell on there and I need to get back to it as I have some old wooden fishing lures to get rid of and a few other odds and ends. Mostly I buy on eBay. I prefer PayPal as I'm not giving out my bank number to everyone.
 
I used to
Bought, sold things
Right up to the time I bought this ridiculously large camera lens
The seller guaranteed it’d work on my camera
It didn’t
I asked for my money back
It all went into ‘arbitration’
Nobody to talk to
Nobody at eBay, ever
That was last century

It’s still in arbitration

amazon is now my online place for buying and selling
 
I used to buy stuff there all the time. I’d buy my beads, crystals, gemstones and all my raw materials to make hair toys, then sold them on Etsy. People give China a hard time but all the sellers I debt with were exceptionally polite and had good business ethics. Then I bought a carving knife set that was supposed to be made by flexcut who are brand name and this wasn’t by them so I sent it back but apparentjy I did something wrong yet I followed directions that I got from eBay officials. When they realized they messed up the recoiled and said I lost my case yet there was no records of all that was done. My records regarding that sale mysteriously disappeared.

The very first time I used eBay I purchased an epilator for about $23.
with shipping it came to about $40 but whoever shipped it decided to declare that the value was $100 so I had to pay 35% $35 duty fees since it was apparentjy an electrical item which is what she declared it as. It has an AA battery. Anyway I didn’t know any better so paid that additional amount only to discover the item didn’t work so then had to send it back. I didn’t get my money back so I didn’t use it for another 10 or so years but overall it’s not bad once you know what to watch our for.
 
I always buy from Ebay, always new things though.

My daughter bought a job lot of laptops that were
scrap, all broken etc., I don't know what the description
was on the selling page, but she was ranting about it for
ages. I think that they must have been offered as spares.

The things that I bought over the past six months are all
from China, with UK offices, they have a secure payment
system in place, they will only accept payment through
PayPal.

Mike
 
I have been making purchases on Ebay for years. In fact, I just received several orders and waiting on more. When I need to purchase, I check Ebay and then I check Amazon. The cheapest gets my business which is usually Ebay.
 
I've got over 600 transactions on EBAY, and only had 1 problem, package arrived torn up...probably damaged by USPS. I notified the seller, and they promptly shipped a new item. If a person reads the ad carefully, and checks the Feedback on the seller, there should be no problems with buying on EBAY. Over the years, I've saved hundreds...perhaps thousands...by buying online, and with EBAY.
 
What an interesting range of experiences. I've never tried to sell anything on Ebay. I've only had one instance where I had to ask them for help. I got an item that was different than the one I ordered. Usually, if you send a message to the seller they will send a replacement or offer a refund. One dealer never responded. I notified Ebay and got a refund the next day.

Like Don M, I always look at the feedback and read any problems people have had. And, I read the description carefully. If it doesn't seem clear enough, I ask for details. And, I sometimes see what other items they have on sale to get an idea of their business.

Don
 
I've bought some things. Just replacements for the things that failed. Like a Xmas sign and wind up wall clock with sentimental value. I was happy with the transactions. I did notice the "Ebayers" at the Post Office have really drop off. Those were the people with all kinds of packages to mail. You didn't want to be in line when they were mailing things.
 

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