Buying from e-bay
- Thread starter yumepoi
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fengwei
New Member
yumepoi said:
I've bought (and sold) some stuff at eBay. A very nice place to get second hand gadgets. PayPal (www.paypal.com) and BidPay (www.bidpay.com) are the most used payment methods. I use paypal to get/send payment. You'll need a credit card to register a paypal account.
Good luck and happy shopping ...
yumepoi said:
Bought quite a few tihings from ebay before. Paid mainly by Paypal and Bidpay. Get the transporting charges correct before anything. The seller's reputation is very important as well. Look through the review. In personal view, I would look for seller with reputation rating positive by at leat 200 DIFFERENT seasoned buyers.
i personally think 200 feedback is a little too much. If you're looking for really good deals, you may be interested to look at individuals who are just liquidating their equipment, and not dealers with 1000s of feedback.
Sure its a little riskier, but i havent been burnt on ebay before, unlike crappy local sites like yahoo auctions. Of course, i dont suggest you buy from someone with only 2-3 positive feedbacks as well!
Sure its a little riskier, but i havent been burnt on ebay before, unlike crappy local sites like yahoo auctions. Of course, i dont suggest you buy from someone with only 2-3 positive feedbacks as well!
Big Kahuna
Senior Member
Not trynig to be paranoid but just be extra carefull when dealing with oversea vendor....make sure you don't fall into cases similar to "Romania warning" here...especially payment by western union :sweat:
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/pressroom.asp
http://www.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/pressroom.asp
....dreamseeker
Member
You can also buy bank drafts from the post office and send to them as payment. Take a longer time though. However, you need to ask the seller the mode of payment that he/she wants to accept first.
Generally, as mentioned it is either bidpay or paypal.
Shipping cost generally range from US$20 to US$60 using USPS and depending on the item that you buy. My lowest shipping cost was about US$5.
Generally, as mentioned it is either bidpay or paypal.
Shipping cost generally range from US$20 to US$60 using USPS and depending on the item that you buy. My lowest shipping cost was about US$5.
Wenx, I have purchased lenses from ebay and so far, everything has been good. As I have been burnt before (non-photographic purchases), I like to go for people with ratings of 99.5-100% positive feedback. If you look at the feedback and you see some people complaining, "Paid but goods never received..." then my advice is to avoid them. If you are going to spend a lot of money on ebay, I suggest that you be prudent with who you choose to deal with. It is pretty hard to recover your money once you pay up.
On a different note, have you heard of a redirection service provided by Singpost called Vpostusa? They can bring down the cost of your shipping. www.vpost.com.sg
On a different note, have you heard of a redirection service provided by Singpost called Vpostusa? They can bring down the cost of your shipping. www.vpost.com.sg
I bought a rangefinder from Ebay before, and because i wanted to save as much money as possible, i choose surface mail. Well it took approx 6 weeks to arrive! From 4th week onwards i almost gave up hope of receiving it.. :bsmilie:
But indeed i save a lot, if i were to buy it in SG, it will cost me twice as much :bigeyes:
But indeed i save a lot, if i were to buy it in SG, it will cost me twice as much :bigeyes:
knoxknocks
Senior Member
just be careful on ebay. There are a lot of scammers out there. If you see something too good to be true, then it probably is.
If someone is asking you to pay by wire or money transfer like Western Union, with unbelievable pricing - run as far as you can :sweat:
If someone is asking you to pay by wire or money transfer like Western Union, with unbelievable pricing - run as far as you can :sweat:
For small amounts it should be safe (scammers usually go for more expensice amounts), off course look at the ratings.
For bigger items ALWAYS use your credit card to pay through PAYPAL or Bidpay....in case you don't receive the item, you can do a chargeback. If you do get the goods but it is not what was described. You can then still do a chargeback, but you need to show your CC issuer that you have sent it back (always return it registered or by courier, so it is trackable). I had received bad products three times from the US........but the majority has been very succesful...many things you just can't get in Asia, or not at that price (read: cheap)...
Hong Sien
For bigger items ALWAYS use your credit card to pay through PAYPAL or Bidpay....in case you don't receive the item, you can do a chargeback. If you do get the goods but it is not what was described. You can then still do a chargeback, but you need to show your CC issuer that you have sent it back (always return it registered or by courier, so it is trackable). I had received bad products three times from the US........but the majority has been very succesful...many things you just can't get in Asia, or not at that price (read: cheap)...
Hong Sien
Same for many US sellers: they do sometimes overcharge to cover eBay and paypal fees, in some cases they call it 'handling charge' and charge you this amount apart from the postal charge. Ask before bidding. Postal charge from Europe to Asia is (really) HIGH!therat said:
Hong Sien
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