Ebay tips for buyers (add any you know!)

bobs409

 
Administrator
Thought of 2 good ebay topics, this one called ebay tips for buyers and a seperate one for sellers.

If you care to share any of your little secrets for coping with ebay as a buyer, feel free to add to this list.
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Buying more than 1 item from the same seller? Be sure to ask about combining the shipping before purchase. Most will do so gladly. (I know I do) :)

Be sure to wait for an invoice to be sent before paying so the seller can adjust the ship charges.
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Looking for something specific on ebay? (or anywhere for that matter) It pays to shop around, look through all the search results. Don't just jump at the first one you find. Be sure to take shipping cost into account too.

Another good idea is to search Google to see if that item is available anywhere else cheaper.
 

1961BelAir427

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 3
Be careful not to fall for the newer feedback system Ebay uses where old negatives drop off and show people with 100% positive.
Also beware of big company (usually foreign) sellers with 98 or 99 % positive who sell tens of thousands of items as that usually means they have SEVERAL negative transactions within the last few months.
 

Clyde Waldo

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 6
Looking for something specific on ebay? (or anywhere for that matter) It pays to shop around, look through all the search results. Don't just jump at the first one you find. Be sure to take shipping cost into account too.

Another good idea is to search Google to see if that item is available anywhere else cheaper.

GOOD TIP Bob --- A while back I needed a new water softener and most I found on ebay were about the same price. Google search found same water softener much cheaper.
 

ridgy didge

Well Known Member
Don't use auto bidding,eBay uses it to drive up the price which benefits the seller and eBay.
Sniper programs let u buy in a similar way (very simplistic explanation I know)but work in the buyers favour and save you money.
 

4speedman

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 2
As bob already said watch the shipping cost.I was looking a coil bracket recently and the seller wanted $14.00 to ship it so I did not bid on it.I would think that could have been a postal delivery for a lot less.
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Just pryed $5.00 out of ebay's greedy little hands! Did you know that if you buy something on ebay and it has "guaranteed delivery" on it that if it's not delivered by the day listed, you can go to ebay and report it, then they either send you a $5.00 voucher to spend on ebay (for 30 days), return the item or contact seller about the late item.

Not all sellers offer it but keep an eye for any late deliveries and cash in on ebay for a change! Supposedly ebay PAYS for it, not the seller! I never heard of this before, it seems to go back to at least 2017!

I've bought an item that is 2 days late so now I got $5.00 to make me happy for a while. :happy


Read about it here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/sh...uaranteed Delivery&intent=Guaranteed Delivery
 

oleblu72

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 5
Yeah some of those Ebay shipping charges are highway robbery. When I buy anything anywhere I pay right away that's the way my parents raised me to be.

Mark
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Ca-ching a ling a ding! Got another $5 bucks! Item arrives today but was supposed to get here yesterday.

I like this. I'm into ebay for $15 now. (at least I get a few dollars back out of all I paid them!)

An oddity with this each time is I had to wait until after 8AM this morning for it to work. (typical ebay, can't get anything to work right!) I tried earlier and it said there was still time for it to arrive. ??? Ebay is in CA, the land of fruits and nuts so they are 3 hours behind me. Technically, it was 3/7 when I tried so it was a day late then but well ya know, ebay and all...

Oh well, :happy
 

Junky

Well Known Member
I don't ever leave feedback until the item has been in the hands of the buyer for over 14 days, unless the buyer leaves me feedback first. I also check to see if the buyer ever leaves feedback for the seller, and if the answer is that they don't, I don't leave them feedback. If you think of it, anyone can be a buyer on eBay and be a dead beat, and there is nothing that you can do about it if they place a bid or make a purchase of your item, except to report them as a non paying buyer. eBay doesn't use the buyers reputation for buyers, only sellers complaints about the buyer when they don't pay. You will have to have a long string of buyer non payment reports before they will dump you as a buyer. Now, on the other hand, a sellers reputation is important to buyers, however, many buyers never think to look to see how your reputation numbers were earned. Most of my reputation numbers are a result of purchases, not sales. I always give good feedback when I make a purchase even if the seller doesn't leave feed back for me first. Many sellers withhold feedback waiting to see how the sale pans out. I recently had to return an item, since the manufacturer changed the item, and the seller was using an out of date picture. I still left him positive feedback, since it wasn't his fault, or at least I will assume that he might not have known the change in the product. The product that I bought was a flat faced bracket that I could drill my own holes in the face. What I got was a bracket that had predrilled holes in it, but the holes didn't line up for my application.
 

Junky

Well Known Member
Just pryed $5.00 out of ebay's greedy little hands! Did you know that if you buy something on ebay and it has "guaranteed delivery" on it that if it's not delivered by the day listed, you can go to ebay and report it, then they either send you a $5.00 voucher to spend on ebay (for 30 days), return the item or contact seller about the late item.

Not all sellers offer it but keep an eye for any late deliveries and cash in on ebay for a change! Supposedly ebay PAYS for it, not the seller! I never heard of this before, it seems to go back to at least 2017!

I've bought an item that is 2 days late so now I got $5.00 to make me happy for a while. :happy


Read about it here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/shipping-delivery/buying-items-ebay-guaranteed-delivery?id=4641&st=2&pos=2&query=Buying items with eBay Guaranteed Delivery&intent=Guaranteed Delivery

Just read about this, and checked back on an item that I bought on 2/12, and had 3 day guaranteed delivery. It arrived on 2/18.. 6 days later, and if you deduct the 2 days for the weekend, it was a day late. No place to make the claim that I can find. Must be that you have to be Johnny on the spot making the claim, or the option goes away.
 

bobs409

 
Administrator
Just read about this, and checked back on an item that I bought on 2/12, and had 3 day guaranteed delivery. It arrived on 2/18.. 6 days later, and if you deduct the 2 days for the weekend, it was a day late. No place to make the claim that I can find. Must be that you have to be Johnny on the spot making the claim, or the option goes away.

I just checked some older purchases of mine and the option is there. One from Jan 30th. Maybe you're not looking in the right spot.

Go to your purchases page: https://www.ebay.com/myb/PurchaseHistory

Then click "more actions" on the left side of the item that's late and click "report late delivery." (that only shows up IF the item had "delivery guaranteed" If not, that won't be there.

See this example:

eb.jpg
 

Junky

Well Known Member
Thanks ... Operator error!!:confused The guarantee deliver day was met... It was 6 day guaranteed, and it was delivered in 6 days... I was thinking that everything was 3 days or less...
 

blkblk63ss

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 5
I bought or tried to buy a item on e bay within the last month because item was listed the lowest price. I paid through PayPal. I never got any shipping day or even confirmation that I bought it. Got to looking and seller was oversee:s. I did not look at seller location before I bought item Crap, I'm screwed now. Contacted pay pal and they would contact them and advise me . After a week or so they refunded the amount to my bank. Item was only $80.00 . I felt lucky so I learned a lesson . Watch were the seller is from.
 

Jim Sullivan

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 10
When I search for items on Ebay, I always check the filter for U S only. But some of the sellers are in China and have a California location. I bought a phone case and it didn't fit my phone. Contacted the seller who was supposed to be in California but was really in China. He tried his best to get me to "want" to keep the item, but I didn't want it as it was not as listed for my phone. He gave me my money back and told me to keep the case.
 
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