Buying on Ebay.co.uk some questions

chabsey

I'm thinking of buying a phone on Ebay but have never done so before and I've read things about dodgy sellers faking their positive feedback etc.

So, what can I do to check up on a seller? I've read through his feedback and it mostly seems in order, the auctions where he's sold the phone I'm interested in seem to all be positive. However, some older auctions that ebay doesn't include active links to seem to have quite a lot of negative feedback saying things like 'No sound from phone'. The seller has replied to a couple of these but not all of them. But those auctions were over 6 months ago and like I said, I've no idea if they're the same phone he's selling now.

So, if you're interested in checking out the phone I'm thinking of buying have a look here:

LINK

And let me know if I should stay away. The end price, after shipping etc seems to be about 80 euros cheaper than buying here.

What do you think?

Johnny Versace

Well there is always a risk when buying from eBay, however I've been using eBay for years and have never had a problem.

The seller looks fine. I would have no problem buying from him.

How are you going to pay him? I recommend PayPal. They have fraud protection.

chabsey

Thanks for the reply. Regarding paypal, I was going to stay away from them mainly cause of what I've read here:

LINK

From what I've read, whatever account you give paypal access to, they have the right to clear it without giving a reason! I suppose it's ok if you just open a specific bank account to deal with paypal and don't put any money into it except what you're using for an auction but I really don't like the idea of them being able to do that.

Johnny Versace

Well, I just use my credit card to put the correct amount into my PayPal account, and then I just transfer it to their account. It works fine for me and millions of others...

BrianD3

I don't know anything about phones but am pretty experienced when it comes to buying on ebay

First thing I notice about the auction is that he says he will only ship to the UK and that the cost will be £7. What you need to do is to get in touch with the seller and find out if he will ship to ireland and exactly how much it will cost. It's important that you do this before bidding. Otherwise he may try to fleece you on shipping/handling after you win the auction.

It's always good to have some sort of a question for the seller before you bid. This will tell you a lot about the type of person he is. If he's helpful and replies quickly, he's probably OK. If he gives you a vague or evasive answer or takes an age to reply or doesn't reply at all, then I would stay away.

The description of the phone is very clear and unambiguous and there is a picture. These are all plus points and give the impression that the seller is professional and organised.

Payment instructions are also quite clear. £4 extra for paypal transactions etc.

Go back and read his feedback very carefully. If you notice any recurring comments about slow shipping or overcharging on postage or items not being as described, then be a bit wary. Look at both feedback from buyers and feedback from sellers. Obviously the feedback from buyers is more relevant in this case, however feedback from sellers can also give you a clue about what sort of person he is.

If he has some negative feedback, some of it may be retaliatory feedback. This is often quite obvious. Eg someone with 0 feedback wins one of his items then decides they don't want it after all. He leaves them negative non-paying bidder feedback. They then retaliate with neg feedback for him. Have a good read through the feedback left for and by him, it will give you a good idea of whether any of the negs he received were purely retaliatory.

From my own point of view, having had a quick look at the auction and feedback, I would have no problems buying from this guy once I had confirmed that he would ship to ireland, how much it would cost and assuming that I was happy with the manner in which he replied to my questions.

BrianD3

chabsey

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I'll send the guy a mail and see what he says. He's based in Wales so I would hope he'd ship to Ireland.

BrianD3

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I'll send the guy a mail and see what he says. He's based in Wales so I would hope he'd ship to Ireland

He'll almost certainly ship to Ireland. However, a small number of UK sellers tend to be a bit fussy about sending items to foreign countries for some reason. I think these sellers have the attitude that sending overseas = hassle and it doesn't matter whether the buyer is based in Ireland or in Australia, they have the same attitude.

Others will send to Ireland even if their auction states UK only. However, they may use the fact that the buyer is in a foreign country to bump up the shipping and handling charges above what they should be. So it's important to find out these charges before you bid because at this stage you're not committed to anything. You can decide not to bid or you can question the seller and attempt to get him to reduce his S+H charges. Whereas after you've won the auction, you are committed to buying the item and if the seller decides to slap on extra charges for S+H you can't back out of the deal and have to pretty much accept whatever figure he quotes you.

BrianD3

dudara

As BrianD3 said, he looks decent. But e-mail him first. You can gauge an awful lot about him from his replies. Most traders state UK shipping only, but in reality most will post to Ireland, but you do need to find out the cost first.