How trustworthy is ebay?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Volt-and-Volume, Nov 25, 2015.

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  1. Volt-and-Volume

    Volt-and-Volume Forum Resident Thread Starter

    If a seller claims that a certain item's condition is "brand new" on ebay, can I count on it? What is your experience with ebay?

    I'm considering buying the Steve Winwood/Traffic, etc., box set "The Finer Things", but it's fairly expensive, so I don't want to risk ending up with four CDs covered with greasy fingerprints.
     
  2. Depends on the seller case by case basis. It's not eBay, it's the sellers. If it isn't what you pay for, eBay and PayPal have things in place to prevent you from being ripped off. Look at the seller ratings.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2015
    Dave likes this.
  3. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in
    I have had very few problems. It was more hit and miss in the past, but they've instituted a guarantee that if it's not as described, broken, never arrives, etc. you are still covered. Brand new means brand new.
     
  4. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    It's always best to look at an individual seller's rating. If the seller has a rating 95-100%, then you can be pretty sure that the dealer is honest and accurate in his/her description.
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  5. pscreed

    pscreed Upstanding Member

    Location:
    Land of the Free
    You're in the wrong forum, but the bottom line is the buyer is always protected on eBay.
     
    Defdum&blind and Aftermath like this.
  6. Volt-and-Volume

    Volt-and-Volume Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Yeah, that's what I was thinking myself. Surely sellers who has a rating of 95-100 % are trustworthy. Guess I should just go for it.
     
  7. Turmatic

    Turmatic Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charleston
    You are normally 100% protected by Pay Pal. Do not worry....
     
  8. Galley

    Galley Forum Resident

    Even 100% feedback is no guarantee. I recently received two Brownsville Station counterfeit CDs. I looked through the seller's other items, and the majority of it was counterfeit.
     
  9. Spanish Prisoner

    Spanish Prisoner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Central New Jersey
    What's wrong with greasy fingerprints on a CD, they can be easily cleaned?

    I buy lots of used CD's in various condition and the large majority play fine. To me, this one of the main advantages of CD over vinyl. Not to mention the fact that you can generally get the less than mint condition copy for far less than a sealed copy.
     
  10. Big-Faced-Child

    Big-Faced-Child Forum Resident

    Location:
    Perth, Austalia
    I use ebay a lot. I have been scammed once, it was a pretty good job with fake packages and Chinese characters in the return address.
    Paypal protection works, just don't close the case until you are refunded.

    I disputed a discogs purchase once too, significantly not as described. Paypal protection again helped me out.
    So yes, ebay is safe but only if you use Paypal.
     
  11. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    If I saw a copy of that box on Ebay and it was "fairly expensive", the red flags would go right up that the seller should not be trusted.
     
  12. katstep

    katstep Professional Cat Herder

    EBay is only as good as the seller. That said, 99% of my nearly 10 years of eBay experience have been positive. As others have said, the buyer is king on eBay, so if u have a dispute it will pretty much always land in your favor. Bid away.
     
  13. Volt-and-Volume

    Volt-and-Volume Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Why? All copies are fairly expensive. It's a rare box set these days.
     
    Dave likes this.
  14. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

  15. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    Agreed on this. eBay is best viewed not as 'buyer beware' so much as it is 'buyer be aware'. Do your research, viewing eBay as one of many sources and you should be fine.
     
    katstep likes this.
  16. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    I just finished yet another interesting transaction on eBay.
    Back on November 15th, after seeing the feedback for a seller was nearly 100% with only a couple of negatives, I began bidding on a large (23 disc) Blu ray boxed set. I won, I paid immediately, I waited for shipment.
    eBay was giving it 10 days from the auction ending, to delivery into my hands.
    After only one day, the seller marked it shipped, but with no tracking. I contacted him, expecting him to have enough sense to get tracking, if only to protect himself. He claimed he didn't, wanting to avoid the "extra" charges.
    Of course this was a red flag.
    The other, was the fact that he appeared to have many multiple copies of this set, which had never dropped below $99.00 at it's lowest price point, from online retailers.
    After the 10 days came and went without delivery, I requested a full refund of my $101.99. Early this morning, via Pay Pal, I received it.
    He also sent me a note asking I leave him positive feedback, as he had left me. I informed him that was impossible, as those capabilities are removed, once a refund is issued.

    Did he even have the item in the first place, or is he just taking in bidder's $$$, hoping to get away with it ?
    I'll likely never know, I'm just glad to have gotten my money back.
    What I did know for sure was I was protected by eBay, and Pay Pal, the entire time.

    I've since reordered from Deep Discount, albeit for an additional $16.00.
    .
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  17. mikeyt

    mikeyt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I found out last night that you actually can leave feedback after an issued refund.

    Purchase history > scroll down to "Cancelled Items" and find your refunded purchase > Click on "More Actions" on the right > And the option to leave feedback will be there.

    I just did so for an LP I returned. I purchased a UK plum Zeppelin III that was advertised as playing VG+ / EX and it was more like middling VG with dips into G territory. I considered keeping it and asking for a partial refund b/c I really like the mastering on this one, but I thought it better to buy it right and buy it once. The seller re-listed it after getting back and used the same false advertising. Tread lightly for LP purchases on eBay.
     
  18. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Thanks @mikeyt ! I just left him positive, honest feedback.
    .
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  19. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Decided to look in on that seller...several feedbacks after mine, all saying " item never received, but refund issued promptly." Since I'm not a crooked son of a bitch, I can only guess...really stupid way to get a loan ???
    :shrug:
     
  20. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    Could it be the seller was planning to drop-ship on the assumption he could get these for slightly less than he was charging, and his anticipated source for inexpensive copies dried up, leaving him no alternative but to either (A) sell at a loss, or else (B) not just issue refunds.
     
  21. Baroque

    Baroque Forum Resident

    The 2 things I've run in to are:
    - Sellers selling promotional or cut-out cds... the ones with holes through the jewel case/liner notes or slashed barcodes. It's best to inquire first if you want avoid one of these as most sellers won't list this in their description.
    - Sellers using their "own" grading system, where their Very Good may only be the equivalent of eBay's Good. I stay away from these.
     
    Gumboo likes this.
  22. vinylbuff

    vinylbuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Port Florida
    I bought a Classic 200g lp a couple months ago on eBay that was advertised as "open, but never played.... as new", and paid over $100 for it. When I received it, I put it on the shelf and because of some other household issues, forgot about it. I was revamping my shelves, pulled it out, cleaned it and played it. What a freakin' mess! Two spots in the lead in's, (one on each side) have multiple fine scratches, side two track one has a 2 minute+ repeating tick and surface noise throughout side one. I got through half of track 2 on side 2 before I pulled it off the table. My wife walked into the room, looked at me and said: "where'd you get that P.O.S..... the dump?"

    Right now I am in conversation with the seller to try and get 50% back, and, I want to send him the record back as it will NEVER get played on my system again. If this was a record I advertised either here or on eBay and I said it was unplayed and as new, it would look like it was just removed from the sleeve with no spindle marks or anything that even remotely looked like use. This one was/is just plain nasty.
    Okay.... rant over.
     
  23. mikeyt

    mikeyt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Bummer. If you open a case with eBay they may let you get a refund for the whole thing, regardless of how long it's been, with your explanation.
     
  24. vinylbuff

    vinylbuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Port Florida
    You may find this hard to believe, but in good conscience, I just can't do that, because I let it sit before trying it. If I would have been smart,(keyword "smart"), I would have cleaned it and played it the same day, and then returned it as "not as described"..... BUT, I voluntarily let it sit under the premise it was open and unplayed and I would get around to playing it. I'm taking the hit because of my delay.
    When I sell, either here or on eBay, my priority is making sure the buyer is satisfied. I would have never let that record out the door.
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  25. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    You're actually quite fortunate, because ebay recently changed their time limit on opening a case/dispute - from 45 days (which is quite plenty by itself) to an absolutely absurd 6 months.

    If that were not in place at this point in time...you know the rest.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2015
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