eBay Experience

[Redgum]

As eBay becomes cluttered and open to opportunists what experiences can you pass onto AP members that may make it easier/safer for them to buy or sell photographic equipment on eBay? Have you had any bad/good experiences (first hand) and how did they effect your sale/purchase?

[Kym]

An excellent thread. I've stuck it.

I've bought a few things from eBay. The most expensive being a lens.
I've stuck with high +ve feedback sellers with no problems.

[Harves]

I've had no bad experiences on ebay.
My most expensive was a second hand Nikon lens which I still have. As Kym said, check the seller's past transactions before you commit to buy.

[balwoges]

Bought a lot of small items from ebay using Paypal, sold lenses and camera which I knew were in good condition and buyers were happy, myself, wouldn't buy 2nd lenses advertised by private sellers.
My son, however, has bought computer parts and was misled about the condition of an expensive part, however after some argy bargy the buyer eventually refunded his money.

[Redgum]

I raised this because whilst selling my Nikon D300 and kit I had three scammers (trying to get user names and passwords) over two days and finally two non-existent successful bidders. eBay refunded all the fees but one could have been caught if not wary. (Like sending bank details to successful bidders that aren't genuine).

[swifty]

I've only used it a few times and am very wary and cautious when looking to buy.
I generally trust the shops that have hundreds or thousands of good ratings but for individuals, I try to steer clear unless there are information on the ad about the person, in which case I try to check that person out. If everything seems legit, then I would bid.
I havn't sold anything off ebay however. I always try gumtree.com.au or here first. And so far I've been successful so no need to use ebay.

[etherial]

I've bought heaps of gear of eBay for years and only ever had one issue which is when I was caught out trying to buy a non-existent 7D. That story is in this thread (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=48079).

You have to be so careful and buy with your head, not the impulse.

[Philr]

I buy and sell quite a lot on ebay as a trader. I find if you are genuine in your advertisments you will attract a lot of genuine buyers. Be wary accepting personal cheques as a form of payment and also of local pickups. If someone watches what you sell and you offer that as an option it is a very easy way to find where you live and suss your place out. If its a local buyer I try and arrange to meet at the local shops or somewhere like that. Paypal is definately the safest way to pay and buy but you are slugged a few fees. I also have a special "ebay" bank account set up so if someone can get into my account and take money its not the end of the world as it always has a low balance. In my 3 or 4 years I have had one product turn up damaged but that was Aus Posts fault and covered by insurance, and bad feedback left from one buyer who wasn't happy with his product. Ebay have always been great in their customer service also I have found.

[grw46]

I use E/bay a lot both to sell and buy and to date had only one bad deal , the item did not arrive, which was refunded by P/pal.
I buy on the US UK and Canadian sites , sticking to people with good feed back and have got some very good deals.
Best deal was a $100 lens that I picked up for $25 landed because it was incorrectly listed:D.
I pay only by Paypal and insist on registered mail or signed courier for items I buy .When selling I restrict my sales to Australia only and registered mail.
Read the buyers/sellers feed back and ask questions .

[Tricky]

You have to have your wits about you when using eBay. There is good value to be had, but equally there are many traps to fall into. Some thoughts / experiences:

- always use Paypal. I've previously lodged a successful claim with Paypal in respect of a lens that had fungus. Got a full refund. I think Paypal cover up to $1000, but only one or two (?) claims in any calendar year. Also be sure to always ask explicitly if a lens has fungus or scratches or anything else wrong with it, if not already stated in the listing; that way you have a more clear cut case if the product does turn out to be less than perfect.

- only buy from sellers who have a substantial positive track record. Ideally 100+ with 100% positive feedback for private sellers, and 1000+ with >99% positive feedback from traders.

- beware of zero feedback sellers with a high priced item for sale at a low price... they're almost certainly scammers... for example this Canon 1D4 (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120536292692&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)with a "buy it now" price of $985 that sold yesterday... I hope the buyer is located in Darwin and will go to pick the item up in person for cash; wouldn't fancy his chances of receiving the item by mail...

- don't buy memory cards off eBay - go to "cheap as chips" (AP sponsor) instead. I bought a Sandisk CF Ultra III card off eBay at a great price... realised it was fake when the performance wasn't up to scratch. I eventually got my money back from the seller. The card was a beautiful copy - I showed it to various AP members at a meet-up, alongside a genuine card, and more people picked the real card as the fake... There's guides on eBay on how to pick fakes, but better just stick to cheap as chips.

My overall guidance would be the old "if its too good to be true, it probably is". But overall, although I've had some close shaves, I've never ended up out of pocket through using eBay (I've sold / bought around 100 items over the years, including maybe 10 camera items). The existence of eBay is, overall, a great thing as far as I'm concerned: it gives the used camera gear market "liquidity". But buyer beware.

[NikonNellie]

I have only bought two items from EBay - one was the Yongyuo Flash unit and the other was a sensor loupe. Both purchases were payed with Paypal and I only used traders with a 99% positive feedback resulting in very smooth purchases.

[arthurking83]

I generally tend to use ebay as a price guide.

very rarely have I bought from ebay itself, although I've bought from (once)ebayers who are local to Melbourne, I've contacted them in some way and bought direct form them handing over real cash in person... remember that kind of thing? :p

I do deal with a few well respected genuine ebayers(usually for cheap accessories), and have had good experiences in all my purchases to date, so with my OCD requirement to maintain an impeccable record.... I use it sparingly :th3:

I like to check prices, so will have as many watches on a particular item to understand what other people are willing to pay for it(inherent value, rather than expected value).. and then I keep an eye out for a similar item in various retail outlets I frequent(Camera Exchange is a frequent window shopping experience for me :th3:) or via Photographic Trader.
Sometimes I cave in and end up getting it off ebay, if the local prices are exorbitant.

[rwg717]

I use eBay a bit and usually only to buy small items, but I avoid the "little" sellers....but ones with the big stars are usually good, especially if they are offering free postage. I would be very wary of camera bodies and expensive lenses....very risky stuff:(
Richard

[Redgum]

Has anyone encountered mid-sale offers? Where a prospective buyer will offer to do a deal now before the auction closes? For much less of course.

[jim]

I've bought a heck of a lot of stuff on eBay. The only disappointing experience was what turned out to be a Chinese forgery of Photoshop.

Immaculate forgery, the only tip off was that it worked perfectly right off the bat without any complicated registration rigmarole.

Vendor provided a full refund without argument.

[Tricky]

Has anyone encountered mid-sale offers? Where a prospective buyer will offer to do a deal now before the auction closes? For much less of course.

Yep, regularly. Particularly prevalent with photographic gear, where there is a relatively large market volume and clear market value for popular goods. If you offered say a 40D, almost bound to get some people asking if you'll do a "buy it now" for say $50 less than the auction is currently at, but lots less than the item would normally go for. For items I'm selling, I'll either state "offers to end auction early will be ignored" or answer as such to an incoming question and make the answer visible to be seen in the listing.

I've also had people offer to do a deal "off line", ie outside of eBay, usually on the grounds of saving fees. Would never do this - at least with eBay and Paypal there is some regulation and protection.

[old dog]

I`ve bought a few lenses and neck strap, ext tubes etc and all has gone smoothly. A couple of weeks ago there was a D300 (new) offered close to home. I asked to see it and was basically refused. Could have had it for $900, brand new, so the person said. But it had to be shipped....why I said....I declined to proceed any further. Just this week, similar add, in the next suburb. What a coincidence......beware.

[Jcas]

I had been using ebay for years without any hassles, always check on peoples feedback before i deal with them and everything was going fine until THIS (http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/showthread.php?t=48215&highlight=ebay) experience where my account details were stolen.

Still to this day i have no idea how it happened as i am super carefull, i still use ebay, but very sparingly and i doubt i will ever feel safe on there again.

[Speedway]

I have been using ebay for a number of years now and never had a problem. I try to use power sellers where possible or sellers with a large 100% positive feedback. I wouldn't use gumtree in a fit as I have personally seen obvious scams reported to them with no action from them other a couple that were removed only to be put straight back on under a slightly changed name.
Keith.

[peterb666]

I have bought and sold on eBay but don't do a lot of selling now as the feedback system no longer allows negative feedback for dud buyers. I have had a couple of non-payments and a couple of returned items (uncollected). For the latter, I advise the buyer and give them the option of having the item resent after expenses or refunding the payment less selling and postage costs.

As a buyer, I have only had one dud item and as the shipping cost exceeded the value I chose not to return it. I have scored some good buys, particularly from the UK, the US and even Japan. I pay careful attention to the seller ratings.

You do need to have your wits about you and it is quite often cheaper to buy off eBay, e.g. from Adorama and B&H.

[Wulfys Kingdom]

Ebay's live help said to me when a buyer bought my item who is in the US and I stated in several places in my auction that I was only posting within Australia that "they have entered into a contract with you by buying the item and you are still obliged to sell it to them".

The reason I was on live help to begin with was that he wanted the item (which was worth $850) sent to his friend in Zimbabwe as a "gift". It was a very suspicious transaction and the person bidding only had 1 feedback from several years ago!

I was very annoyed that ebay claimed you still have to send the item regardless yet allow you in your add to state where you will send it to!

I dont know if this is one of their terms somewhere, or whether the person on live help didnt know their job, but I wont be selling on there again.

[peterb666]

Ebay's live help said to me when a buyer bought my item who is in the US and I stated in several places in my auction that I was only posting within Australia that "they have entered into a contract with you by buying the item and you are still obliged to sell it to them".

The reason I was on live help to begin with was that he wanted the item (which was worth $850) sent to his friend in Zimbabwe as a "gift". It was a very suspicious transaction and the person bidding only had 1 feedback from several years ago!

I was very annoyed that ebay claimed you still have to send the item regardless yet allow you in your add to state where you will send it to!

I dont know if this is one of their terms somewhere, or whether the person on live help didnt know their job, but I wont be selling on there again.

I wouldn't pay any attention to eBay's live help.

If you have restricted your sale to particular countries and the seller wants the item sent elsewhere, communicate with the buyer that the terms restricted sale to specified countries and cancel the sale. The buyer has not bid according to the offer. Only send by registered mail or better.

I don't sell items with an expected sale price overseas anymore as you can no longer buy additional insurance with registered mail. This is due to restrictions on insurance in most countries. You can get insurance with other types of mail like Express Post International or Express Courier International to get insurance, signature on delivery and tracking. You are looking at $60 to $75 or more depending on the value of the goods for a 2kg package. That is enough to discourage the dodgie byers and the genuine ones will factor that into the amount they are willing to pay.

By cancelling the sale, at most you get a single bad rating point which I could live with. It only lasts on your % rating for a year.

eBay really sucks for sellers now unless you are careful.

[Redgum]

But of course you wouldn't post the item until you were paid - eBay rule. Was there anything stopping you adding say $50 for postage? And insurance is the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller?
Had you set up your ad correctly to restrict sale to Oz market? (Underneath the price section).
Certainly sounds like a scammer though.

[Jeanette]

oh dear...my first time . finally i go to ebay and look for a camera bag that i liked..
still waiting for it to arrive.(2wks).. paid via pay pal so hopefully no issues there ..
fingers crossed
Great thread .. got more to look out for now :)

[ricnak]

Ebay - If the deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

A fairly common thing on ebay is account hijacking. I have come accross it twice as buyer. The first was a few years ago around the time that the medium format was going digital. The seller was in Vic. It was his first listing in about 3 months. He had excellent feedback, both as as buyer and a seller. Bought and sold electronic stuff. From his feedback I could see that it was his first photography type sale/purchase. I emailed with some very specific (difficult) questions about the camera. The answer was OK - sort of. He mentioned that he was in Italy.

I went back to his ebay profile and got some more details - his user name gave some good hints. Searched in the white pages and gave him a phone call - he was not in Italy!. He had no idea that his account had been used to list the item. Contacted ebay with the details and the name and address of the scumbags in Italy.

Recently, same sort of thing. When I contacted the buyer she said that it has happened to her several times. She is a reputable dealer of antique jewellery. They had listed a very expensive camera at around half it's market price - brand new!. Her account was idle at the time.

My ebay checklist goes like this -

1.Is it too good to be true?
2. Seller Feedback - 99% - there are some unreasonably difficult buyers out there too!
3. Recent Seller Activity - hijackers target idle accounts. Are they selling any other items?
4. Seller preferences - what do they buy and sell usually
5. Questions - ask really hard technical ones. Lets you know the level of their expertise. Make sure they answer your questions. This week I have asked a person who claims to have been the licenced dealer for a product in SA for over 30 years to supply me with their business name. He gave me his mobile phone number twice! - no deal.
6. Paypal - always use it. It makes the seller tracable.
7. Bookmark the item - usually hijackers remove the item from the listing as soon as someone looks interested. They then prefer to deal away from ebay. If it is not on ebay when you do another search - then it does not exist.

Wow - I sound like a cop!

Have I ever been caught out? Yes..... I have bought Yugioh cards for my son. Two were fakes!

You live and learn -

[Jeanette]

thanks ricnak.... my hubby usues it alot and never had any issues... even though this person i bought off had 0% like hubby said could be his first time like i am ... so thought i would give it ago
I have used paypal.. phew so can get money back and item very little money .. i had to go cheap for my first few times as i have always been too concerned ..
you dont sound like a cop .. just sound like someone with experience :)
cheers Jeanette .. will keep you informed... I just want my lovely bag :)

[Jcas]

My stepson very nearly got caught, the scammers are out there big time. He placed a bid on a front end loader in the machinery section, there were a few bidding for it, the seller had zero feedback which rung alarm bells with me,( I know everybody has to start somewhere, but your first ebay sale isn't normally an 11000.00 machine)
but they stated Paypal as payment method, so that enticed him to bid on it as money is normally refunded if the deal turns out to be a dud.

They were in Sydney and offered free delivery Australia wide.

Anyway he won it for 13,800.00, I advised him how to get sellers details off ebay as you are able after you win or bid on something, he tried to ring the number they gave him but never any response, a day or two later he received an invoice from the seller requesting him to wire transfer the money to a bank in Germany ..... no way!!!!!!!!

It seems there never was any such machine, they just hoped he would be mad enough to send the money .. :eek:

[Wulfys Kingdom]

If you have restricted your sale to particular countries and the seller wants the item sent elsewhere, communicate with the buyer that the terms restricted sale to specified countries and cancel the sale. The buyer has not bid according to the offer. Only send by registered mail or better.


The transaction was cancelled (luckily the buyer never responded to the cancellation request) and my fees were credited. It would have been very annoying if i had to pay ebays fees on top of a cancelled sale, just another thing that's a rip off.


But of course you wouldn't post the item until you were paid - eBay rule. Was there anything stopping you adding say $50 for postage? And insurance is the responsibility of the buyer, not the seller?
Had you set up your ad correctly to restrict sale to Oz market? (Underneath the price section).
Certainly sounds like a scammer though.

Of course you wouldnt post an item before payment is received (and cleared if its a cheque etc).

Considering what the buyer asked me to do and that he had only 1 rating from 2006 or 2007 no amount of additional money for postage was going to make me post it, i was just too suspicious of the transaction, and i didnt want an additional claim to deal with should it never arrive.

I had listed in 3 separate places where i would send, in the proper section, in the description and in the additional instructions.

[Redgum]

Of course you wouldnt post an item before payment is received (and cleared if its a cheque etc).

I had listed in 3 separate places where i would send, in the proper section, in the description and in the additional instructions.

I guess what I'm asking is - If you have been paid and the extra postage has been paid, why not continue with the transaction? Proof of postage (registered for $2.50) is available from every post office and that's all you need for eBay to prove you have posted the goods.

[lacad01]

Touch wood I've always had a positive experience purchasing photo gear via eBay. Some tips to help:

Try not to get sucked into something which looks too good to be true as said already
Always check the feedback and comments. Use the option to check in the last month, 6 months, etc
Check for hidden charges such as tax, VAT, duties, shipping etc
Be prepared to wait, especially for stuff shipped from Asia. I don't mind waiting a couple of weeks if I know I'm getting a great bargain.
I've only ever purchased new from overseas vendors.
Some of the stuff I've purchased online include a 2nd hand Canon 20D from a local person; Sigma 10-20mm WA zoom, CPL filter, Kenko extension tubes, Nissin flash, camera backpack, 240V power adaptor for a Canon 450D --> all new from Asian eBay stores :)

[Wulfys Kingdom]

I guess what I'm asking is - If you have been paid and the extra postage has been paid, why not continue with the transaction? Proof of postage (registered for $2.50) is available from every post office and that's all you need for eBay to prove you have posted the goods.

I didnt get paid for the transaction when I cancelled it. Having only sold on ebay once before (and never having to make a claim on any items i've purchased previously), I didnt know what would happen if the item was conveniently "lost" and I didnt have time to research it at the point of this person trying to make the transaction, so I just stuck to my guns and said I do not post international. I felt it was the best course of action for me to take at the time.

[janni]

I found item hunting in ebay is fun. as everyone said, always read the seller's comment carefully. Even power seller is sometime a bit dodgy. I also go to the shop first to have a look at the item that I want to buy. I got my used lens and CPL from ebay with no issue.

[selaw]

All in all I've had no real problems with ebay. A couple of times there have been a long wait for item to be shipped and my last purchase was the 1D3 body. I was confident with the seller but it did take Aust Post the best part of 11 days to get it to my place (Melb - Bris)...That was a gut wrenching wait specially sinse the tracking number didn't provide any details until after it arrived at local Aust Post centre...The seller was very helpful throughout the process by keeping me up to date with his own enquiries...At the moment I follow lenses and accessories to bidding end just to get a good idea of what they are selling for.

[wiggles]

Ebay's live help said to me when a buyer bought my item who is in the US and I stated in several places in my auction that I was only posting within Australia that "they have entered into a contract with you by buying the item and you are still obliged to sell it to them".

The reason I was on live help to begin with was that he wanted the item (which was worth $850) sent to his friend in Zimbabwe as a "gift". It was a very suspicious transaction and the person bidding only had 1 feedback from several years ago!

I was very annoyed that ebay claimed you still have to send the item regardless yet allow you in your add to state where you will send it to!

I dont know if this is one of their terms somewhere, or whether the person on live help didnt know their job, but I wont be selling on there again.





Hey the same thing happened to me except the so called guy from US asked me to send it to his son in zimbabwie and was willing to pay me $400 postage and another $600 dollars for my sony ericsson w800i $190 phone and he wanted me to send him a Birthday card as well . It was too good to be true and alarm bells rung. I contacted live help and they sent me a message saying not to send it to these countries and that they have hackers stealing names and passwords from other legit sellers I didn't contact the buyer I only filled in a complaint form and they dismissed the guys bid. :( I just got put off from selling it. But I still buy things from sellers on ebay.

[Wulfys Kingdom]

Hey the same thing happened to me except the so called guy from US asked me to send it to his son in zimbabwie and was willing to pay me $400 postage and another $600 dollars for my sony ericsson w800i $190 phone and he wanted me to send him a Birthday card as well . It was too good to be true and alarm bells rung. I contacted live help and they sent me a message saying not to send it to these countries and that they have hackers stealing names and passwords from other legit sellers I didn't contact the buyer I only filled in a complaint form and they dismissed the guys bid. :( I just got put off from selling it. But I still buy things from sellers on ebay.

Thank goodness I wasnt just being paranoid. Even if it was true, the risk of not knowing at the time would have caused too much hassle to bother.

[Alpacamike]

I have bought and sold many things on eBay over the last ten years but sadly the last few months it has turned into a bit of a jungle, I find as a seller you do not have many rights with the new rules imposed on you by eBay, you are basically on your own.
I have experienced winning bidders not wanting to pay, others arguing about the cost of postage and so on. Buying from China is an absolute no no but on the other hand I have bought plenty of things from the U.S.A with no problems what so ever.
Alpacamike.

[peterb666]

I have bought and sold many things on eBay over the last ten years but sadly the last few months it has turned into a bit of a jungle, I find as a seller you do not have many rights with the new rules imposed on you by eBay, you are basically on your own.
I have experienced winning bidders not wanting to pay, others arguing about the cost of postage and so on. Buying from China is an absolute no no but on the other hand I have bought plenty of things from the U.S.A with no problems what so ever.
Alpacamike.

I was predominately a seller on eBay too and have since stopped as the rating system no longer filters out bad buyers. I had sold heaps of hobby stuff over the years (toys, models, cine film, photographic stuff) and used the proceeds to buy other stuff for my current hobby and got very high prices with things like Dinky toys. I did well and when I first started, had a great rapport with a number of repeat buyers.

I still buy but am very reluctant to sell. It just isn't worth the hassle and there are too many dumb or dishonest buyers now. I think any future photo gear will be offered on forums, here and in the US.

I have bought from the US, UK, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong.

The only bad seller I came across was in the US and they had a good rating. Sold a Vivitar lens with a stuck aperture (common problem) that was not disclosed in the sale and they were de-registered by the time the lens arrived. The postage was more than the lens anyway so it would not have been viable as a return.

I am very careful to check ratings and feedback but the whole feedback system has been ruined by eBay.

[peterb666]

Hey the same thing happened to me except the so called guy from US asked me to send it to his son in zimbabwie ...

There are some countries that you don't even contemplate and that's one of them. My last sales were restricted to Australia, NZ, UK and the US.

[Zac]

I use eBay a bit and usually only to buy small items, but I avoid the "little" sellers....but ones with the big stars are usually good, especially if they are offering free postage. I would be very wary of camera bodies and expensive lenses....very risky stuff:(
Richard

I have bought and sold quite a bit on eBay. I generally find the littlish sellers with around 20-2000 feedback the best, they understand the system and are building their reputation so work to impress. The huge auction house type sellers that sell anything and everything are generally the worst : slow to post and unlikely to help if something goes wrong. Feedback is important, above 99% is usually OK adn 99.5% excellent though it pays to read the negatives and neutrals.

I'm fussier again with overseas sellers as the logistics are so much harder and more expensive if something has to be returned. Where possible I buy in Oz.

I will also buy from newbies... but only low value items.

[SirusDeVirus]

Recently bought a 32GB SD card for approx $15 including shipping on ebay for my Nikon D5000 and it turned out to be a FAKE SD card from China. It only contained 2 GB of space and corrupted file over 2 GB.

Made a complain to Ebay/Paypal and they were happy to refund me $15 provided i send the card back to the seller which costs $25 registered to China at my own expense. The return postage cost more than the card which doesn't make any sense to me at all. In the end i kept the FAKE card.

[Mr Lensbaby]

Recently bought a 32GB SD card for approx $15 including shipping on ebay for my Nikon D5000 and it turned out to be a FAKE SD card from China. It only contained 2 GB of space and corrupted file over 2 GB.

Made a complain to Ebay/Paypal and they were happy to refund me $15 provided i send the card back to the seller which costs $25 registered to China at my own expense. The return postage cost more than the card which doesn't make any sense to me at all. In the end i kept the FAKE card.


I cant see that as a problem just re sell it on eBay :th3:

[bigbaz]

I am currently trying to get a battery that i purchased replaced, the seller has not responded to my emails since mid last week, so i have opened up a paypal dispute, see how it goes and will let you know

[Watchamacallit]

Recently bought a 32GB SD card for approx $15 including shipping on ebay for my Nikon D5000 and it turned out to be a FAKE SD card from China. It only contained 2 GB of space and corrupted file over 2 GB.

Made a complain to Ebay/Paypal and they were happy to refund me $15 provided i send the card back to the seller which costs $25 registered to China at my own expense. The return postage cost more than the card which doesn't make any sense to me at all. In the end i kept the FAKE card.

Sorry to hear Sirus - unfortunately it's one of the most common practices for these dodgy sellers to do what you mention (Sell a 1-2GB card as 16-32) or have a slower speed card but same size. Guess the rule of thumb is to be very, very wary of people claiming to sell cards on ebay (or any other cheap seller tbh). It's very c There are some things that are worth just paying a bit of a premium for a bit of peace and mind.

Hell, even a 16GB card I got bundled with my camera from a shop in HK (one of the more reputable ones) doesn't seem legit (it's a different blue and the bottom notch is missing to the website) yet it is 16GB and operates at the correct speeds. Regardless, I still went out and bought a more authenticate card.

@Sirus
Then regarding the Paypal asking you to send it back even though postage costs more just seems stupid - just like saying "we can't be bothered making the claim because the $$$ is so low." Almost like some insurance companies - "oh we'll insure it, for the cost of the car each year"

[Zac]

Recently bought a 32GB SD card for approx $15 including shipping on ebay for my Nikon D5000 and it turned out to be a FAKE SD card from China. It only contained 2 GB of space and corrupted file over 2 GB.

Made a complain to Ebay/Paypal and they were happy to refund me $15 provided i send the card back to the seller which costs $25 registered to China at my own expense. The return postage cost more than the card which doesn't make any sense to me at all. In the end i kept the FAKE card.

Its not worth buying memory cards from eBay. Feedback won't help you., most users plug the card in, their PC or camera reports the fake capacity, take a few shots and leave positive feedback. Only later once you exceed the true capacity of the fake card do the problems become obvious.

Memory cards are pretty cheap in store or from reputable Aussie websites. Its not worth the risk getting them from offshore.

The postage issue is something many don't think about. For many items (even legit ones) it effectively means no warranty as its so dear sending stuff overseas from Oz :(

[RaoulIsidro]

I bought a lot of photo gear from eBay and have great experience.
I like the BIN (Buy It Now) button because it just quickly cuts the deal instead of prolonged agony only to loose out by $2.50!
But scammers and criminals use and abuse BIN...
I bought a nice camera from a wedding photographer who had to list his BIN item several times because scammers from Nigeria, Russia and Indonesia were always clicking it! I had the good fortune of beating those scammers on his fourth listing!

[Zac]

I bought a lot of photo gear from eBay and have great experience.
I like the BIN (Buy It Now) button because it just quickly cuts the deal instead of prolonged agony only to loose out by $2.50!
But scammers and criminals use and abuse BIN...
I bought a nice camera from a wedding photographer who had to list his BIN item several times because scammers from Nigeria, Russia and Indonesia were always clicking it! I had the good fortune of beating those scammers on his fourth listing!

You can set your selling preferences to "Oz only" or only allow buyers from certain countries...

[CarolTas]

I think these days we know not to click on that link in the email. I did a few years ago and 2 weeks later I logged in and found 2 Goldwing motobikes for $7,500 and $8,000 sitting in my account for sale by me! My account had been hijacked! I was locked out when I opened a new page. Thankfully no one bought the bikes before eBay took them down after I notified them. Not knowing bikes I suspect these should have been over twice the amount they were asking. So if it looks too good a bargain it might be best to leave alone.

I still buy and sell on eBay and I use PayPal but I never click on a link in an email then my account can't be hijacked!

I always go to the account and log in if I receive an email from eBay, Paypal or my bank - I NEVER USE THE LINK which could lead to a fake page. If there are any important messages they will be in my account.

ALSO https:// should be in the address bar for secure log in and our names are now normally on our accounts.

[joele]

Recently I bought second hand off ebay.

Canon 70-200mm f4 L IS - $1,100 - Perfect, like new.

Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro - $584 - Perfect, like new.

Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 - $385 - Was advertised as like new, but it has a noticeable amount of wobble/slack in the front (extending part) of the lens. I tried a new lens in store and it was't like this. Today I dropped it at Camera Clinic to get a quote. They were not sure if it was a repairable problem, it does take good pictures but they suggested (for $49 they charge) to pull it apart and fully inspect it as it was "probably caused by a drop or good whack". I agreed to pay it and find out if they think there is anything bound to happen soonish with it (internal damage/weakness) and if they can quote on repair.. Hope they can fix it, next I will have to deal with seller and paypal..


I have sold a LOT on ebay as I tend to like to try everything out myself LOL, but I am very careful to accurately describe the condition of the item.

I once had both my ebay and paypal accounts hijaked, I NEVER ever click on links in emails and am very careful to always type addresses and not use links to any important site (ebay/paypal).. So have no idea how it happened, ebay reset my password but paypal required me to join again. The guy who stole the account had just paid $80 for subscription to an online game, but it was refunded to me almost immediately.

[Boofhead]

I recently purchased one of the Canon lookalike lens coffee cups on Ebay. After 4 weeks it had not turned up, from China, and I could get no correspondence with them. I made a disputed transaction "item not received" case with Paypal. 2 days later Ebay notified me that the seller was no longer registered with Ebay. Paypal refunded the money in full within 24 hours.
I buy quite a bit of stuff on Ebay and only pay with Paypal or cash on pickup. In over 700 transactions I can only recall about 3 that have not produced the goods and I have never been out of pocket yet. I have either been refunded in full by the seller or Paypal. I think a little bit of care can save a lot of grief.

[Zac]

Recently I bought second hand off ebay.

Canon 70-200mm f4 L IS - $1,100 - Perfect, like new.

Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro - $584 - Perfect, like new.

Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 - $385 - Was advertised as like new, but it has a noticeable amount of wobble/slack in the front (extending part) of the lens. I tried a new lens in store and it was't like this. Today I dropped it at Camera Clinic to get a quote. They were not sure if it was a repairable problem, it does take good pictures but they suggested (for $49 they charge) to pull it apart and fully inspect it as it was "probably caused by a drop or good whack". I agreed to pay it and find out if they think there is anything bound to happen soonish with it (internal damage/weakness) and if they can quote on repair.. Hope they can fix it, next I will have to deal with seller and paypal..


I have sold a LOT on ebay as I tend to like to try everything out myself LOL, but I am very careful to accurately describe the condition of the item.

I once had both my ebay and paypal accounts hijaked, I NEVER ever click on links in emails and am very careful to always type addresses and not use links to any important site (ebay/paypal).. So have no idea how it happened, ebay reset my password but paypal required me to join again. The guy who stole the account had just paid $80 for subscription to an online game, but it was refunded to me almost immediately.

Joele, I hope you have been in touch with the seller before agreeing to get a quote on the lens. They may not have been aware that the wobble was an issue at all... and as you said the lens takes good photos. Most sellers (ebay, online or bricks and mortar) will NOT pay a 3rd party the buyer chooses to repair something they sold, but will expect the buyer to return it for a refund or repair. They want to asses the item first, and will have ways of getting it fixed much more economically than paying retail repair prices.

[joele]

Joele, I hope you have been in touch with the seller before agreeing to get a quote on the lens. They may not have been aware that the wobble was an issue at all... and as you said the lens takes good photos. Most sellers (ebay, online or bricks and mortar) will NOT pay a 3rd party the buyer chooses to repair something they sold, but will expect the buyer to return it for a refund or repair. They want to asses the item first, and will have ways of getting it fixed much more economically than paying retail repair prices.

Yes and No, I told them I had a problem.. They did not reply at all (it was a few days ago)..

I am willing to eat the $49 inspection fee, but it is hard for me to really deal with them and paypal/ebay without an offical report stating there is a problem. Camera Clinic are an authorised Tokina warranty repair center, so I asume their report is worth the paper it is written on. I also want to know if it is a problem that will get worse or is just a little slackness in the build, before I decide how I wish to proceed. If it isn't going to get worse (become a bigger issue) and as I said the IQ seems fine I will just live with it..

It isn't actually a professional seller as in an online store, they are just a local canon user with around a 100 sales all positive who was selling up all their gear (maybe moving brand or something?).

[natogden]

generaly i prefer to buy stuff from a friend or someone with a genuine interst in what im selling. Its far eaiser when you know the person and can contact them eaisly.

and you can never be to sure about ebay i think

[mpot]

Its not worth buying memory cards from eBay.

I disagree. While it's true that most memory cards on ebay are fake (http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi), if you do your research, you can find reputable sellers on eBay.

For example, 1800memory is an authorised SanDisk reseller who sells genuine SanDisk cards on eBay, and can be trusted.

[Zac]

I disagree. While it's true that most memory cards on ebay are fake (http://martybugs.net/articles/fakesandisk.cgi), if you do your research, you can find reputable sellers on eBay.

For example, 1800memory is an authorised SanDisk reseller who sells genuine SanDisk cards on eBay, and can be trusted.

If they are a genuine stocking it makes all the difference. Thanks for the tip!

[thegumbootman]

As far as photography goes, I've bought the Nikon 50mm 1.8, two Holga cameras, a Holga wide lens and film. No problems. I've bought quite a few guitar pedals which have all been fine.

Only problem I've ever had was when I bought a PS3 controller for $45 (they are $99 to buy in stores) and it turned out to be fake. I was refunded by PayPal, sent the controller back to him but he never accepted the delivery so it was sent back to me, where it still is in it's packet on my floor. :confused013

[fabian628]

The majority of my ebay camera gear experience has been positive.
I think there are alot of genuine sellers out there who have truly babied thier gear and most of it is in pretty good condition.
However, I think some people skate over the description pretty lightly and dont mention some things that is important to alot of buyers, the majority being hobbyist who want to have good looking gear, who doesn't.

I try to avoid people with 0 -5 feedback unless they are in the area and I can pick it up. Sending a message to confirm the condition and operation of the lens is a good idea as they may be a bit vague in the listing.
I have found second hand gear to be much cheaper, and in all the items i have bought, working just like new. Some have a few cosmetics marks but nothing that would not be accumulated after 6 months use anyway.
Currently, every piece of gear I have has come second hand from ebay, the gear I bought new, although nice to have a new item, were pretty pricy and the resale was bad for the wallet.
Anyway, i wouldnt discourage using ebay as a source of second hand gear becuase alot of the things I have now i would never be able to afford new. :th3:

[Stingray]

Have purchased alot off ebay over the years (and sold a fair bit too)
prob most expensive and nicest purchase was the 300D about 4 years ago :)
best sale was a printer i picked up at a local auction house for $20 sold for $750 (LOL) ..
havent had the time to do the ausction house/ebay thing for a while..
when buying from ebay I agree with the general theme thats coming from every1 ..
buy from sellers with high positive feedback ..
most of my purchases these days are small cheap items from china with free (or low pastage), like mice, high dB WLAN antennas.. and the sort ... i've found generally as long as you expect it not to be "genuine" then ya fine.. LOL .. as well as any probs these sellers are more often than not willing to either refund or send you a replacement item without hassles.
also its against ebays policy for someone to try to "offer" to buy something you are selling outside ebay..
and I am instantly turned off an item i want to buy if the seller is local yet doesnt offer a "local pickup" option .. (or if the postage is outrageous for something going cheap) ..

[Rod038]

I have made nearly 400 transactions as a buyer and seller and have only had 3 instances as a seller where the bidder did not pay for the item. Fees were refunded and item re-listed.

When buying I look firstly at the sellers feedback (lots of transactions and 98 or 99%), but then at the item description and any photos. If I am unsure about something I contact the seller for clarification.

A great tool to use on Ebay are the guides. These are very help full articles for someone like myself who are new to photography. There are many articles on the pitfalls and what to look out for when looking to purchase. In fact I think allot of these articles are relevant reading even if you are not planning on buying off Ebay.

I have bought 100% of my photographic equipment off Ebay and have not had a problem yet, but I have done the research first.

Allot of the negative remarks about purchasing on Ebay would apply to all purchases made in general, whether online, store or classifieds. Its always a case of buyer beware. There are scammers everywhere.

[bettess]

I just brought a 17-40 L series lens from ebay I hope all goes ok as I have not recieved it yet

[bettess]

While Iam talking about this lens I paid $640 for it, is that price ok or not? its suppose to be in very good condition

[ricktas]

While Iam talking about this lens I paid $640 for it, is that price ok or not? its suppose to be in very good condition

We are not in a position to advise on that, we have no idea about this actual lens, and you should have checked out the members feedback, and asked them questions about the lens before you bid on it.

[bettess]

Thanks very much

[fabian628]

While Iam talking about this lens I paid $640 for it, is that price ok or not? its suppose to be in very good condition

Thats about what they are going for. Under 600 would be pretty cheap price. They usually go from 600-700. If its perfect condition, its a good price. Beats paying over $1000 from the shop.
Got mine from ebay as well, not 100% pristine but very good, I like it. Solid lens, and weather sealed so it doesnt mind getting roughted up a bit :D

[kroppkaka]

I have bought a camera bag and a lens from Ebay. They were all fine.
I also have bought some rechargeable AA batteries which were not even a third of their rated capacities.
They came from Hong Kong and seller had a good rating around 98%.

[Robdenham]

I have had non-ebay registered bidders, that were locked out of ebay, email me to my personal email address and trying to get me to send the item I was selling on to them first and then pay.
But other times I've had no problem buying little items(Photography related or not)

[peterb666]

I have bought a camera bag and a lens from Ebay. They were all fine.
I also have bought some rechargeable AA batteries which were not even a third of their rated capacities.
They came from Hong Kong and seller had a good rating around 98%.

The current arrangements for eBay ratings are terrible and they discourage true and honest ratings with genuine feedback or even placing Neutral or Negative ratings on sellers and I seem to recall (I is over a year since I sold my last item on eBay) a seller can no longer apply anything other than a Postive rating to a buyer now.

The orinal system where buyers and sellers could apply Negative, Neutral and Positive ratings was much better. I have had buyers with high rating numbers and a 100% rating who have been non-payers under the current system so I rarely sell now (I was doing $3000 to $5000 a year), but I am a regular buyer.

I won't buy from a seller that has a rating under 99% and perfer a little more than that. I also won't buy from a seller with a score of under 25 or so (depending on the value) as there have been cases where a dodgy seller will sign up, build up a small score and 100% rating and then start ripping people off. By the time negative ratings come through, it is all too late.

That said, more than 99.9% of sellers seem genuine enough.

[smurfinaus]

QUOTE=fabian628;711461]The majority of my ebay camera gear experience has been positive.
I think there are alot of genuine sellers out there who have truly babied thier gear and most of it is in pretty good condition.
However, I think some people skate over the description pretty lightly and dont mention some things that is important to alot of buyers, the majority being hobbyist who want to have good looking gear, who doesn't.

I try to avoid people with 0 -5 feedback unless they are in the area and I can pick it up. Sending a message to confirm the condition and operation of the lens is a good idea as they may be a bit vague in the listing.
I have found second hand gear to be much cheaper, and in all the items i have bought, working just like new. Some have a few cosmetics marks but nothing that would not be accumulated after 6 months use anyway.
Currently, every piece of gear I have has come second hand from ebay, the gear I bought new, although nice to have a new item, were pretty pricy and the resale was bad for the wallet.
Anyway, i wouldnt discourage using ebay as a source of second hand gear becuase alot of the things I have now i would never be able to afford new. :th3:[/QUOTE]

Thats the route im going as well. New prices are so expensive. Especially for lenses lol.
I guess the thing with ebay though, is to research what you want to buy I do this a LOT), compare prices with local retail (and also warranty if your worried about it), and weigh up pro and con's of getting gear 2nd hand. I guess also people have to consider whether savings is worth it in the end with price differences between local/overseas+postage (and chance it could get lost!!) and also convenience factor. Just bought another lens and considering another one right now :).
Also asking the seller lots of questions is handy - thats why lots ask about shutter count (for bodies) and whether dust or mold for lens sales....ads not always descriptive.
Having said all that i much prefer Buy It Now option as a previous poster seemed to like as well. Hate it when i get sniped in last 5-10seconds LOL.:eek

[stoogest]

I just purchased a Nikon remote trigger (ML-L3) from http://shop.ebay.com.au/buyincoins_au/m.html and had no problems whatsoever. It did take almost 30 days, but it only cost me $2.46!!

Andrew.

[surfer]

thankyou everyone for your help , I appreciate it

[darkbhudda]

I've had a couple negative experiences including 1 item that didn't turn up. After a couple weeks I checked ebay to find the seller had been delisted. I raised a paypal dispute and on the last day of the dispute a parcel arrived with 2 of the items instead of 1. Good times.

Most of the ebay experiences I have had have been positive. Personally I love it when a seller takes the time to put detailed and additional information in the listing. Just yesterday I was looking at an item and found out a very useful tip on manual focusing on my camera thanks to a seller selling a manual focus lens.

[vanngirl]

Bought my second-hand Nikon F100 from eBay USA seller, cheaper than getting one here (I needed it for my course, my crappy old Pentax was too crappy/shameful), and it's been wonderful and not a drama. I also bought my 50 prime new off eBay Hong Kong seller, no dramas. Have also bought a few second-hand lenses, old school type things though, nothing modern, with no dramas. I still find the MF 105mm Nikon lens goes well, can't manage to get one for a bargain after a year of looking!
For my other "big" purchases I've used a local business (still cheaper "grey" products). You can find amazing bargains on eBay if you are persistent. All the other advice about checking feedback etc is valid, I guess I feel that most eBay advice is negative and for most the experience is positive.

[fimmwolf]

I've been scammed on eBay once, it was the complete lack of interest in resolving the issue by eBay that made me decide to close my account.
Sadly I didn't pay for the item through Paypal, a hard lesson learned indeed.

[jacksond]

I bought a Nikon F100 and quite a few small items such as lenshoods and caps for flash contacts. I only buy from dealers. I would want to handle an item first if I bought from an individual.

[tarwoona]

I've bought numerous things (110+) through Ebay and never really had a problem. One item was damaged in the post, but cant blame ebay for that and it was insured. I always try to use Paypal.
I also bought car unseen for $20k a few years back. So if you're careful ebay is really no more frought with peril that going to Harvey Norman.

[Danielle10]

Can I just say I am in love with Ebay. :p
Like the others have said, I have an "ebay" account, only use paypal, check feedbacks and past history etc.
I bought a lens, was brand new, everything is perfect. You must do research and like narelle said buy with your head not impulse - as hard as it is lol.
God bless ebay! hahahahaha

[judybee]

touch wood, I have not had a bad experience with eBay. I LOVE IT too !!!
I have bought heaps of smaller camera stuff (eg. lens cap, remote control, even a cheap monopod) and I've been happy with it all. I've not bought any big items such as lenses though.
I always use PayPayl as well .

[Xenedis]

I've been online since 1993.

I've been on the Internet since 1996, but had brief access the year before.

I registered for an eBay account on 11 January, 2010 -- yes, a little over a year ago. I just received an email from eBay, wishing me a first happy anniversary!

I've never bought or sold anything there, and to be honest, most of the time I'm not trying to buy or sell anything.

Despite that, you could say I'm rather cautious. I haven't even explored the place, and I certainly don't know the rules or culture. I'll keep my account in the event that I might actually need it one day. :-)

Despite whatever legal and financial protective framework exists, there still seems (at least, to my perception as an outsider looking in) to be a basic trust system at the core of it all, in that the buyer is going to pay up, and that the seller is going to ship the goods, and that the goods are as claimed, and in the condition as claimed.

Having said that, I'm sure that for many eBay is a great experience; it just hasn't been much of a need for me, and avoiding some other form of temptation to part with money is not at all a bad thing.

[squizzytaylor]

10 years and around 200 transactions here, 100% feedback and I have learnt to ask the right questions to ensure what you are getting a) actually exists and B) is what it is advertised to be (ask for serial numbers if the item is likely to have one). I have had a couple of Hong Kong/Chinese sellers try to supply products not as described but a quick direct message with the threat of negative feedback has righted any potential wrongs (i should add that none of these 3 incidents were too serious, just silly stuff like supplying a warm white led floodlight that was supposed to be cool white).

Geoff

[Scotty72]

I fully agree with Pete's assessment of the ratings system: for whatever reason, they seem to want to push you into not being negative and if you do make a formal complaint then, it is such a hassle that it is often not worthwhile to pursue it. I'll get back to that later.

Having said that, I increasingly use Ebay rather than than pay the huge mark-ups of local retailers. But, if the locals can 'play ball' and give a good price (within say 10-20% depending on the item), I'll buy from them. For eg, I almost bought my 'Bigma' via eBay until I was told about the local price match policy from Sigma's distributor in Oz. They didn't match exactly but, the small difference was ok due to the fact I could deal with a local bricks & mortar shop.

For other things, it is worth the slight risk. The best example I can think of is the sync cable for iPhones: something like $15 if you but it through official channels but, $3.95 delivered through eBay. Perhaps not the genuine article but it works perfectly. I bought 6: 1 for each computer; 1 for work computer, and one for the car and 1 to have lying around just in case.

Several years ago, I bought one of the very early model consumer marine gps devices. As they were still hugely expensive locally but, very cheap overseas, I risked eBay. Well, it arrived but, was the model down from what I had paid for (no Bluetooth connectivity). I complained to eBay but, I had to go through a series of hoops to prove the discrepancy: I had to go to the local agent for that product or a recognized dealer to certify. Of course, since I had by-passed them, they didn't want to know me unless I paid a service fee which cost more than the discrepancy. I asked if I could send it to eBay, they could read the model number off the product as proof. They refused. In the end, I gave up. Because I had 'withdrawn' the complaint, my negative feedback was changed, by eBay, into positive. So, I was forced to give the guy who deliberately ripped me off (and 2 others - we contacted each other from the initial feedback and found out that we all had the same story) a positive rating.

It was then that I discovered the importance of dealing only with sellers with very high scores and numbers of customers. My guy was a 'new' seller who I presume was a scammer who keeps on re-inventing himself. The only things I will buy from new sellers are <$10 where it doesn't really hurt if I'm ripped off OR where a can pay on pick-up so I can inspect it (a good idea for lenses)

Hope this helps people to be a bit cautious with this wonderful tool.

Scotty

[Xenedis]

What concerns me is that an eBay newbie, which I most certainly am, will have no feedback, will be clearly new, and will be inherently distrusted.

It seems like one of those catch-22 situations: How can you gain a positive feedback score if many people will not deal with you because you have a nil or low score, or they assume you're a scammer reinventing yourself?

[judybee]

What concerns me is that an eBay newbie, which I most certainly am, will have no feedback, will be clearly new, and will be inherently distrusted.

It seems like one of those catch-22 situations: How can you gain a positive feedback score if many people will not deal with you because you have a nil or low score, or they assume you're a scammer reinventing yourself?


You could buy some things first and then you will get positive feedback from sellers. That's a good way to start off.

[peterb666]

To get your rating up, just buy a number of small, low cost items like filter ring adapters and stuff like that which cost around $2 (provided you need them) each and you will soon have a positive rating into double digits.

Most genuine sellers who have a restriction on buyers will let you in if you email them first and express a serious intent on what you want. As a seller (just about to start reselling again), it isn't too hard to filter through the scammers. Like all things, if you want respect, you need to work at it.

[Xenedis]

Thanks gang.

I wasn't sure how to build up a reputation on there.

Unfortunately there's nothing I want or need, so I'll probably remain a nil-activity eBay member for some time yet. :-)

[I @ M]

Unfortunately there's nothing I want or need, so I'll probably remain a nil-activity eBay member for some time yet. :-)

I reckon that is quite a wise move, I have only used ebay for price checking for a while now, all the bargains seem to have disappeared and the restrictive sales measures ( double dipping via paypal) when selling make it more of a hassle than it is worth. :)

[squizzytaylor]

What concerns me is that an eBay newbie, which I most certainly am, will have no feedback, will be clearly new, and will be inherently distrusted.

It seems like one of those catch-22 situations: How can you gain a positive feedback score if many people will not deal with you because you have a nil or low score, or they assume you're a scammer reinventing yourself?

If you message the person you wish to purchase from before bidding 99.9% of the time they will be fine with it.

[eMOJO]

I've only had a positive experience with Ebay, both selling and buying domestic and international and this includes a couple of lenses. I never buy from anyone with less than a 99% rating unless it's a small, inexpensive item or a well established Ebay store that has many thousands of sales.

[johndom]

IThere are some great points in this thread,
My only bad experience was buying a dvd. Camera gear, i use big sellers with high feedback only. I have bought 10 or more lenses, tele, flashes etc.
Ricnaks list is on the money. Get your cards from cheapchips or other locals, really they arent even that much in the shops anymore, not like they used to be.

[markjaffa]

I buy lots of stuff from eBay - software, tools, dive gear and obviously photography gear. To date I have purchased the following photography gear - TWO BG-E6 grips for my 5D Mk II(first one was non-genuine, which I knew, but it only worked intermittently and was returned for full refund minus postage), a LensPen cleaning kit, a 14mm Samyang f2.8 Lens, an Expresscard 54 CF card reader, an Intervalometer, PhotoSol cleaning products, reference books, and an Underwater Strobe.
The only issue I have had was with the before mentioned grip, which was solved satisfactorily at little cost to me. I will continue to shop on eBay - using most of the hints that people have already given about keeping safe/not getting ripped off. Buyer beware is an age old saying that applies to eBay perfectly. :th3:

[8perpetual]

Most importantly, check the buyer's transaction history. And ask questions if you would like to. If the buyer is authentic and genuine, he would reply you. Just practice caution.
I bought lenses, filters, polaroid films, flashes and a lot of stuff from ebay and would continue to cause they have some good bargains there. Cheers

[bellbolski]

i have always used pay-pal to purchase items on eBay or c.o.d. in seven years i have only had one disagreement, that was sorted out... do not fall for items that want money in their account... and check their feedback... but i honestly recommend it, you can get some real bargains....

[rossl]

I have made many purchases (and some sales) on ebay over a number of years and have always been satisfied with the result, including computers, cameras, lenses, flash units and other accessories. On one occasion I scared myself through my own incompetence when buying a new $400 camera from Hong Kong (about 1/2 Australian retail price). Because my computer crashed part way through the payment process on PayPal, I inadvertently paid twice:eek::eek::eek:. I discovered my mistake within the hour and immediately emailed the seller. The seller must have been closely monitoring his email because it took him only a few minutes to issue a full refund for my overpayment:th3::th3::th3: Of course the seller had a strong incentive to do so. He was running an ebay shop and was very aware of the damage that can be done to his business by bad feed-back.

[tracyselena]

I have bought a brand new lens from a distributor in Australia for much less than rrp and it came quickly with 1 year warranty and I have not had a problem with it yet.

[fabian628]

What concerns me is that an eBay newbie, which I most certainly am, will have no feedback, will be clearly new, and will be inherently distrusted.

It seems like one of those catch-22 situations: How can you gain a positive feedback score if many people will not deal with you because you have a nil or low score, or they assume you're a scammer reinventing yourself?

That is true.
You never know with someone who has 10 or less feedback and is selling something for big $$
My advice would be to sell some smaller items, say, less than $50 where people will not be so suspicious that it will cost you your final price.
Regularily on ebay you can get item for hundreds of doallrs below the regular second hand price because its 0 feedback sellers or people selling $3000 cameras from thailand etc. but the risk is high, so if they are genuine, you do get a bargin :)
Even purchasing small item, maybe 4-5 things under $3 will get you some starting feedback so you dont look really dodgey.

Some sellers will cancel your bid on certain items if you have less than 5 feedback, becuase it really is a risk to sell to these people. Firstly they may not pay, or understand that you actually have to pay. OR they do not communicate and end up leaving negative feedback before they even contact you with a problem (happened to me where they just left negative without a word after 4 weeks :( ) Dropping the seller a message saying you are new to ebay and a genuine buyer may give them more confidence. Just don't say you are from nigeria and have a pick-up agent :p

[I @ M]

Are there any bargains left on that site?
I tend to think not.
The conditions imposed on people when selling amount to double dipping when ebay collects a sellers fee and then because you HAVE to offer paypal ( same company as ebay ) as a payment option they collect their kick from the convenience of you using their service.
Their supposed buyer protection is highly questionable and especially for camera gear there appear to be far better ways of both buying and selling on the net these days than ebay.

Yes, I had recent bad experience with paypal ( try talking to their help centre, learning the language of the Philippines is an advantage :( )

I am quite happy to have cancelled both my ebay and paypal accounts. :)

[fabian628]

thats true, but since they are so big they can get away with it. You get massive exposure but pay a price.
The smaller sites are nice but not many people visit. And if you are trying to sell something a bit obscure, its almost impossible to sell it.

[la lumiere]

Wow..lots of good advice out there so I won't repeat it.

My advice is to be VERY AWARE that eBay does absolutely NOTHING if you have a dispute - all talk and no action - If you think logically there is nothing they can do other than send "We're very disappointed in you emails" or if they really get heaps of complaints they may suspend a seller for a short time (no real help if you have paid for an item that doesn't turn up - even tho' you paid for registered mail). If booted out of eBay sellers simply change name and email and start all over again. Plus, let's face it lots of people tell 'porkies' and eBay have no idea as to who to believe in a dispute.

My advice .....only pay by paypal (linked to an account that is only used for that purpose and not linked to any of your other accounts)

Always have items sent by express post (has a tracking number) or by registered mail - If the seller is genuine then you have a good chance of receiving your item.

And.......never spend more than you are prepared to lose as it really is a gamble.

Cheers

[Papou]

Must admit to using ebay quite abit and have been bitten for the first time purchasing a Canon remote and lcd screen protector from Linkdelight.
Cost wasnt a great deal to lose sleep over but the thought of been bitten was maybe worse than the bight itself!!..
Paid for the items on the 3rd December 2010 and still awaiting items to arrive. have sent numerouse emails to linkdelight with coutiouse replies that the items have been posted to the proper adress and advise me to check with my Post office, which i do but to no avail!!..
Re-email them and same reply!!.. Not interested in causing a fuss over low$$ but have made me wary of purchasing from them again..maybe wary is an understatement!! Actually i wont purchase from them again full stop!!..
Have kept all sent and reply emails to them "Just incase"..
Anyhow my two bobs worth towards this post..
And must stress this is the only time out of heaps of transactions ive had my fingers burnt:)..
Cheers

[Redgum]

Papou, it might be interesting to note that only yesterday on TT Oz Post admitted that up to 25% of mail is lost or mislaid. And of course there's the other end, Hong Kong. In Australia, if an employee is caught "mislaying" mail they will probably get suspended for four weeks (on full pay). In China, the same offence carries a seven year prison sentence. One could reasonably expect that your goods are in this country and someone else is enjoying their use. Registered or traceable mail is always a necessity and less likely to go elsewhere but sometimes that out-prices the goods.

[Papou]

Redgum, your propably right mate?? as its my only bad experience with online shopping..Like i said , the cost wasnt humungas so didnt worry too much about it but just the same i will keep persisting:)!!..I find it strange that the goods went astray twice after being sent as they said ey??..

[fabian628]

Redgum, your propably right mate?? as its my only bad experience with online shopping..Like i said , the cost wasnt humungas so didnt worry too much about it but just the same i will keep persisting:)!!..I find it strange that the goods went astray twice after being sent as they said ey??..

Same thing happened to me. bought a battery from H.K, just needed a cheap one to test an old camera. Never receieved it. Just opened a paypal dispute and got my $4 back the next day.

Trying to get the same battery I bought one again from H.K. Arrived, tried it but it died almost immediately. I emailed the seller, they said it was my fault etc. etc. I explained clearly how it died within 3 frames and that I would like a refund or new item. They said i should send it back, but I explained it would cost me 3x the value to send it to them (due to high postage in Australia). After several emails, they agreed to send a new one and it worked fine, the other one was a dud. During my emailing I didnt threaten neg feedback, or a paypal dispute, but I would have won the paypal dispute I think.

[Redgum]

Same thing happened to me. bought a battery from H.K, just needed a cheap one to test an old camera. Never receieved it. Just opened a paypal dispute and got my $4 back the next day.
An important point here. As a prolific user of batteries I find it much simpler and just as inexpensive to buy batteries locally though on-line dealers in Oz. They get to you quickly and you have a telephone number to follow up if necessary. Of course, you still have the possibility of loss in the mail.
The important point is "what items to import". Many of the bigger HK trading companies have established on-shore warehouses in Oz and although GST plays a part in the cost it only represents 1/11th of the price. Often they sell things like batteries from local sources at the same price as their HK outlet.
I only buy small items from overseas when they're not available here.

[fabian628]

i personally believe it was never posted. Just got lost inbetween shippments of larger lots etc. I can imagine it happening occationallyewhen you sell 100's of items a day. I have trouble making sure i send the right item to the right person when i sell 5 things in a week :p

[Blueywa]

"Old Dog" mentioned this a while back;
He said "I`ve bought a few lenses and neck strap, ext tubes etc and all has gone smoothly. A couple of weeks ago there was a D300 (new) offered close to home. I asked to see it and was basically refused. Could have had it for $900, brand new, so the person said. But it had to be shipped....why I said....I declined to proceed any further. Just this week, similar add, in the next suburb. What a coincidence......beware".

I had a similar thing happen recently when there was an offer for a 'Brand new' Nikon D700 (FX) for a really fantastic price - dont know what it was but something spooked me, I reported it to flea bay and the offer disapeared within minutes.

I generally buy small bits and pieces from sellers with 99% plus ratings and always pay via Paypal.
A couple of occasions I've bought larger items but only from within Australia and still 99% plus sellers.
I had a chinese company do an instant refund when a 'cheap' item hadnt arrived thanks to HK mail.

[KaraT]

I have used ebay a fair few times to both buy and sell items. When selling most items i have sold as 'pick up only' and have never really had any problems with anyone. Recently bought a canon 50mm f1.4 lens from overseas and it arrived within a week and a half which i was really happy with. Have never had any problems buying from stores...

[4wdexposure]

I've been using eBay for several years and have only ever had one problem where the sale was a fraud on a $1,000 lens that I bought and paid for. PayPal refunded my money in 11 days. I've bought/sold over $20,000 of goods - mainly cameras and lenses and tell everyone eBay is the photogrpaher's friend. Admittedly you need to be careful of not paying more than new price in an auction, but apart from that I reckon it's great, But what ever you do (regardless of the incentive the sellers offer for a bank transfer) only use PayPal.*removed, members with under 30 days membership and 50 posts cannot discuss commercial companies - read the site rules * Good camera gear is expensive and if I can get those sort of savings it's another lens I can buy.

[Nikkie]

I like ebay I brought my camera there but since I did I have seen about grey I would not buy another one on ebay just for that reason I don't think mine is grey I don't think I would really know but it has been on the back of my mind just a tad wondering to know for sure I am happy with it and the more I learn esp learning to use Manual and try to keep away from auto a bit more since coming to forum I have been happy with the camera no probs

[I @ M]

I like ebay I brought my camera there but since I did I have seen about grey I would not buy another one on ebay just for that reason I don't think mine is grey

A very quick summary.

#1. If bought from e$ay the likelihood of it being a grey market item is almost 100%

#2. If bought from e$ay and it didn't come from an authorised ( insert camera brand here ) Australia dealer it is a grey market item.

[ricktas]

I like ebay I brought my camera there but since I did I have seen about grey I would not buy another one on ebay just for that reason I don't think mine is grey I don't think I would really know but it has been on the back of my mind just a tad wondering to know for sure I am happy with it and the more I learn esp learning to use Manual and try to keep away from auto a bit more since coming to forum I have been happy with the camera no probs

You can find out if it is grey, get the serial number and contact company (Canon/Nikon etc) here in Australia. Tell them the model and serial number and they can tell you if it was distributed via the 'official' channels, or if it is a grey import.

[Redgum]

I like ebay I brought my camera there but since I did I have seen about grey I would not buy another one on ebay just for that reason I don't think mine is grey I don't think I would really know but it has been on the back of my mind just a tad wondering to know for sure I am happy with it and the more I learn esp learning to use Manual and try to keep away from auto a bit more since coming to forum I have been happy with the camera no probs
Enjoy your camera without fear. It was manufactured in exactly the same place as every other camera of the same brand and the only difference is the vendor it was bought from. In fact, four times as many cameras are sold on the so called grey market as through regular shops which puts you with the majority.

[fabian628]

many people by second hand cameras for very close to hong kong prices becuase I think there is some fear these cameras are fake. You also do not know if someone has bought one from HK and is now selling it used (unless they have a aus invoice) :D


Enjoy your camera without fear. It was manufactured in exactly the same place as every other camera of the same brand and the only difference is the vendor it was bought from. In fact, four times as many cameras are sold on the so called grey market as through regular shops which puts you with the majority.

+1
The only problem with grey market is how your warranty is handled. If you have to send it overseas for repair / replacement it can be a hassle. Some grey importers have their own shop warranty. If something goes wrong you have at least some leg to stand on unlike a second hand one which is out of warranty. With canon Australia products you will deal with people in Australia, whether you get better service / treatment is debateable :p

[Nikkie]

Its still heads up for other people to be aware of my cam still works good as far as I can tell I am very happy with and don't feel cheated what so ever but next time I will go more out of my way and make sure I get it from an appropriate place like fabian said warranty reason might be a hassle and thanks for all this good information

[I @ M]

Nikkie, there is nothing to suggest that a grey market ( overseas into Australia ) camera body bought from a reputable vendor has any higher risk of failure than the same product bought from an authorised Australian dealer.
There have been instances where some less than reputable camera sales people have misleadingly sold refurbished ( warranty return and repaired ) camera bodies as "new" through places like e$ay.

There may be other differences in the way the camera is packaged for different markets.

# Some models have been supplied with battery chargers that are intended to work purely with 110 volts instead of 240 volts. Most have a charger that works over the full (universal) voltage range but will still need an adapter to use in Australian power points.

#Many have arrived with a photocopied English user manual although once again many models come with a manual in multi languages.

#Some bodies have arrived with a really neat feature, the camera menu language is set to Chinese by default !!!! Try resetting that correctly if you don't have any comprehension of Chinese. :D


In fact, four times as many cameras are sold on the so called grey market as through regular shops which puts you with the majority.

I would like to see the factual figures behind that statement, I reckon if that is the case the major importers would be very close to closing their doors in Australia by now.

[Redgum]

I would like to see the factual figures behind that statement, I reckon if that is the case the major importers would be very close to closing their doors in Australia by now.
A piece I wrote for the "Age Technology" last year drew this response from Nikon (Europe) in response to my question on monopolization of markets. "Nikon Channel Marketers supply a little over twenty five percent of the world market across a broad Nikon range", they added "we expect that other major camera manufacturers, with the exclusion of Sony, enjoy similar outcomes".
Nikon Australia is a private company working under licence to Nikon Inc. and competes openly with other wholesalers.

[darrenmars]

Like anything else, you can minimise your risks by being aware of the possible risks and acting to mitigate them.

My general rule is never buy anything over $20 unless the seller has at least 99% +ve feedback, has been using eBay for longer than a year and has made more than 100 sales. I also prefer to only pay using paypal unless I know and trust the seller.

My two worst experiences to date was buying a kodak junior from a guy somewhere up north. When the camera arrived it stank like faeces. I demanded a refund and sent the camera back. He claimed there was nothing wrong with it... it was a bit of a saga but because I paid with paypal I was able to get my money back. A damn shame because it would have complimented my other folder very nicely!

The other horrid experience was when I purchased 2x used 24" screens from a reseller. Their condition was far from the description, one didn't even work and the seller wanted me to pay return postage... the whole thing dragged on for over 2 months somehow and I eventually got my refund (including postage).

It was these two experiences (and other minor incidents) that prompted me to be more stringent with who I buy from. I still have the odd dodgy from time to time but overall my experiences have greatly improved. I've purchased all kinds of stuff from computer parts to cameras and lenses, camera parts, things for the missus... eBay can be good as long as you are careful.

[I @ M]

A piece I wrote for the "Age Technology"

Can we have a link to the entire article and the complete Nikon Europe response please.



"Nikon Channel Marketers supply a little over twenty five percent of the world market across a broad Nikon range"

I don't know what a "Nikon Channel Marketer" is but the way I see things is that Nikon produce 100% of Nikon branded products.

Of that product range, 100% of those products are distributed in various countries around the world through Nikon authorised distributors.

Those distributors in the various countries are only supposed to sell the products they receive from Nikon to authorised dealers in that particular country.

If as you claim, only 25% of the products sold in Australia or the world for that matter happen through the authorised supply chain then Nikon has a lot of internal investigating to do as to who is selling what where seeing as they control 100% of the supply. It would seem that 75% of their product line must be going missing within their own network.


Nikon Australia is a private company working under licence to Nikon Inc. and competes openly with other wholesalers.

Nikon Australia has an absolute monopoly on the supply of non grey market Nikon products to authorised dealers in this country.
Perhaps you might like to read ---

http://www.nikon.com.au/aboutus.php

and in particular the line --- " In November 2006, Nikon Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned sales and service subsidiary was established in Sydney, NSW, Australia."

[sealhead]

Over the years my wife and I have had many successfull transactions (250+)on ebay mainly, buying. Unfortuneatly the law of averages kicked in a month ago and I was knowing deceived by the seller of a second hand dslr. PayPal has taken the issue into their hands and hopefully I will have a full refund by the end of this week (17-6-2011).

Will post result.

Moral of the story: only use PayPal to purchase items.

[I @ M]

Moral of the story: only use PayPal to purchase items.

Funnily enough I would rather use my credit card.
A straight forward approach to your credit card provider to cancel or reverse a payment or to have a refund applied can take as little as four hours.

To have a refund applied through pay$al, by their own quotation, will take 4 business days. It seems that they hang on to your money in their account for a little while "just in case", some cynics might say that they are earning interest on it during that period. :cool:
Needlessly to say, after one such episode with pay$al I cancelled both that account and the e$ay account.

It seems that more people are doing similar and only the other day I emailed an online store who only accepted pay$al to tell them that I refused to have an account with pay$al and that their store had missed out on a sale. They emailed back very quickly saying that they had noticed a decrease in sales due to their policy and that they would be happy to accept my credit card details over the phone.

[fabian628]

they would be crazy if they were not earning intrest on it :(

sealhead, What were the circumstances of your ordeal on ebay? Did they have low feedback, any negative feedback? could you pm me the listing?

[sealhead]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260780241664

Hi Fab, the above link was the premeditated con from this young and deceitful cow. The seller adverised a Canon 1000d with a 18-200mm lens for $550 "buy it now". I only wanted the lens to go with a 450D I'd previously purchased of ebay for my daughter's 12th birthday as she is a keen little photographer. My logiic was the 18-200 would never leave the camera and give all the focal length she'd need and I'd on sell the 1000d and have a very inexpensive lens for my daughter. I messaged this lass to verify that it was a 'Canon' lens. This is the question and reply, quote. Me>"Hi, is the 18-200 lens a Canon and does the package come in original boxes?" Her> "Yeah comes in original packaging and yes its a Canon len"
With that written confirmation a purchased it using paypal.

Over a week later it arrived with only an 18-55 kit lens. I immediately contacted her trying hard not to drag her through the phone. Her reply was that she got a friend to list it and had spent the money. As you could understand I was blowing big time but composed I asked her to repay me asap. She said she would transfer the $575 back to me in a weeks time. You guessed it, no doe. I rang her to see what was going on and was abruptly told to "f**k off ****head".

That's when I lodged a claim with paypal. Yesterday the full amount was refunded to me, 5 weeks after the initial purchase. I am out of pocket $20 odd dollars for the postage back to the little darling and will not bother to retreive, enough time has been wasted.

The only warning sign that rang quiet alarm bells was her username: "ridebmxpunk" her low feedback (8) 100% positive was worthy of the risk. Using paypal is a risk management tool and in my opinion the only way to go. How could have I redeemed the money using any other legal method?

[fabian628]

they did not even bother to put up pictures of the item. low feedback, extremely vague destription is also a bit dodgey. To their credit they did sell a lens previously and it worked out but this time it seems they did not do well.
Some people really do not know the difference between a 18-55mm lens and an 18-200mm lens believe it or not! They are that blissfully ignorant. I guess you wanting your money back after getting a not as described item did not sit well with them. I hope you leave accurate negative feedback for them so they can at least write off that account, ebay does not need people like this. Luckily I have only had to leave negative feedback 3 times, over a few small issues (seller wanting extra money for postage, someone leaving nagative feedback without communicating; before you couldnt leave nega tive as a seller, and when the item was just rubbish and getting my money back would have not solved anything).

But yeah, that listing seemed a bit dodgey, sometimes you can get lucky and the seller doesnt know how much their equpitment is worth, but a too good to be true buy it now is risky business :th3: I recall a 500mm f/4 L IS for 4.5K buy it now, like new, looked at it later, ended up being fake from the feedback they got.

Anyway, glad to hear you got your money back. :)

[stephendean]

People should be overtly worried about purchasing stuff from ebay. Over the years my wife and I have spent several thousand dollars on this site. We have yet to have had any problems. Some gear might take a bit longer than you expected to arrive. We have never recieved any dodgy or not fit for it purpose. We have purchased from private individuals and from ebay stores and have always been very happy.

[mickyj]

I started with filters, lens hoods, timers and light tents. I have had such a good run, I think I got adicted. All purchases have been possitive and the prices extremely good. In some cases, parts were not available and I got free upgrades. I often get discounts on future purchases with various sellers.
I know there is the potential to get scammed however I am careful. I always research my items elsewhere. Always double check 2nd chance offers and I am one of those that check the sellers ratings.

I started off with $30 and $80 items. My biggest purchase was $2000.

My big purchases have been:
Canon 350D with IR filter over CCD
Canon 10D
Canon 1D
Canon 5D
Canon TS-E 24mm L
Canon 24-70 L
Canon 70-200 L 2.8
Canon MPE60
Studio light, softboxes and backround kits

and much much more.

So far, everything has been a good purchase. Well below normal cost and many items 2nd hand. I am sure some people find sellers that should be ashamed of themselves and get burnt however there are bargins to be had. I have bought a lot from Hong Kong, some from the US, Some from the Ukrane and then smaller places about the globe.

I am not saying ebay is safe for everyone. It has been for me, but then again, I don't go for deals that are too good to be true, I watch items for ages and check them out. I often send many messages to the seller. Maybe I kick enough tires to make my purchases work out for the best.

[rebel18]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for 9 years and have only had three BAD experiences BUT I was covered by using Paypal. I have bought 3 cameras from ebay in the past 5 years and have been very happy, and am now selling a camera on ebay for the first time, so, when this Auction ends and if I end up selling it I will get back to this link and tell you how it went.
My advise, only deal with people who have 99% to 100% feedback and more than 100 feedbacks and only use Paypal for security reasons, and then you shouldn't go wrong.
hope this helps.

[rebel18]

Oh, I forgot this, always have registered post and watch what the seller is asking for postage, if they don't have the postage written always ask.

[kurra]

I have also bought many things off ebay and been happy most of the time. The most expensive thing I bought was a second hand lens for $1245 and I am very pleased with it. I guess we just have to look out for items for sale like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160609266439&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It may be legitimate, but it sounds very dodgey.

I hope I'm not breaking any rules Rick by posting this link,

[I @ M]

It may be legitimate, but it sounds very dodgey.



Just the sort of listing that reinforces my belief that closing my e$ay account was a good move.

Of course e$ay wouldn't care about a little bit of conflicting information in an ad getting in the way of making a profit -----


Item location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ---

and for those that actually read to the end of the ad.

PAYMENT:- BANK DEPOSIT ONLY- WHEN YOU BID MUST AGREE IT.
I HELP MY HONG KONG FRIEND SELL HIS ITEMS. PAYMENT TO HONG KONG AND SHIPPING FROM HONGKONG.
THANKS!

[mugget]

Ahhh... eBay... well i will add my own experiences:

I have only really purchased smaller items on eBay, a couple speedlights from power sellers (high positive feedback, but not necessarily 100% positive feedback - I think if you're dealing with that many different people someone is just bound to get their back up about something, like I found out - but more on that later...). I did also buy a used Leica Summilux 50mm lens from eBay, there were no problems at all, very accurate description and well packed for shipping, but I did check and it looked like that seller dealt mostly in photographic gear.

Now for the down side - I recently sold all my dSLR gear including my 1DMkII body, but it was the body that I had dramas with. I got an email from the buyer saying that I had not described the item accurately and demanding to return for a full refund. I went back and forth a few times, it was obvious he just mistook it for a MkII N. I was polite and tried to talk everything through with him but eventually they ended up making a PayPal claim. This was just a hassle because it tied up those funds from the sale of the body, it's just a good thing I didn't need the cash urgently for anything. But this is where I think I saved myself - I included plenty of photos and a very specific and detailed, accurate description. In the end PayPal found in my favor, but they escalated the claim again so a claims specialist had to look at it and I still wasn't sure what was happening about a month after I sold it! All fine in the end, the claims specialist found in my favor again so I'm just going to put that behind me... mind you I still received negative feedback out of it which doesn't accurately represent my selling on eBay because I always go out of my way to make sure that buyers are happy and communication is my strong point. I tried to ask eBay to remove the negative feedback since the complaint has been deemed false by PayPal, but I'm not holding my breath on that.

The other thing I should add is that you've got to be careful and check those provided item descriptions that you can add to your listing. The one used for the 1DMkII actually lists the MkII N in the opening description paragraph! I didn't spot that and for a moment I thought the sale was all going down the drain, but in the end common sense prevailed and PayPal realised it was completely unreasonable that one slip up in an automatically supplied description should carry more weight than the actual listing title and photos!

So that's my tip - by very specific and detailed in descriptions and photos, it could save you!

[fabian628]

ahhh that sucks :( they clearly wanted the 1d2n :rolleyes: nearly happened to me once on an impulse was going to by a 1d thinking it was a 1ds, luckily I read again and saw it.

recently i sold a film slr on ebay. Was working fine a few days before te listing ended, but when it arrived for them, the shutter ceased. They were able to send the camera back for refund, but now I have a useless camera :eek:

[mugget]

Maybe some people here can give me some advice... I'm currently having troubles with a flash unit I've got listed on eBay. First time I had it listed I just didn't hear from the buyer at all. Sent a couple of messages just trying to get a response back from them - but nothing. So I went to resolution centre and reported they buyer as non-paying (and looking by his feedback I was not his first victim, although I was definitely not going to give a positive feedback rating just so I could have my say). Now it's been re-listed and the same thing again - going on 4 days and I have tried to contact the buyer but no response at all, no payment. So I will have to go to the report the buyer as non-paying again. I just wanted to check - this is the best thing to do, right? Since I'll get a final value fee credit? But if I cancel the transaction, although quicker I'll still have to pay eBay?

Ahwell, third times a charm...

[I @ M]

Maybe some people here can give me some advice...

Yep, ditch blood sucking e$ay and list it through Camera Market (http://www.cameramarket.com.au/).

[macmich]

i posted on here about another issue
i sold a tripod with two heads and it went for $50
the buyer send photos to me shown that one of the heads is broken and demands a refund
i told them the only way that could happen is with plenty of force
i think they must have mixed plates up and tried forcing
anyway paypal awards the decision to them on the condition they send item back at there expense and then i mark as recieved and then paypal refunds
anyway yesterday i contacted the buyer and asked where my tripod is and when are they sending it
this is the response
i am not sendingunless i get the full refund and my postage
i have had same situation when i had to pay $25 dollars postage for return postage
i am not doing it again
also i am working in sydney until end of next week


i contacted ebay and told them of this letter and said that because of them i will not see my money or tripod again
i still have not heard back
i suggested theat these people would be using my tripod in sydney with the other head and they should be banned from ebay and paypal

[fabian628]

Ahwell, third times a charm...

that is pretty unlucky. Had my first non payer a few months ago. Once they get a non paying strike you can't leave feedback anyway :( and I'm not sure how many strikes you get before anything actually happens to you. Should only be 2 but knowing ebay its probably 5.
I'd suggest saying in your listing people with feedback under 10 message you before bidding, but it might reduce the number of bids and final price. But twice on one item sounds pretty damn unlucky.

[fabian628]

i posted on here about another issue
i sold a tripod with two heads and it went for $50
the buyer send photos to me shown that one of the heads is broken and demands a refund
i told them the only way that could happen is with plenty of force
i think they must have mixed plates up and tried forcing
anyway paypal awards the decision to them on the condition they send item back at there expense and then i mark as recieved and then paypal refunds
anyway yesterday i contacted the buyer and asked where my tripod is and when are they sending it
this is the response
i am not sendingunless i get the full refund and my postage
i have had same situation when i had to pay $25 dollars postage for return postage
i am not doing it again
also i am working in sydney until end of next week


i contacted ebay and told them of this letter and said that because of them i will not see my money or tripod again
i still have not heard back
i suggested theat these people would be using my tripod in sydney with the other head and they should be banned from ebay and paypal

In the paypal dispute centre you will be asked to reply to the buyer. I would state what the buyer has said, and if it was a message through ebay also quote the message number so that they can check this out. The only thing you can do is provide alot of detail to paypal, eg. photos of the item in the listing showing it is intact, if your photos still have exif data it could be a little evidence the item was still intact at a certain date.

Unfortunately people try to use paypal to insure for thier own stupidity :(

[stephendean]

It is really sad that some people try and scam normal people trying to do the right thing.

[LOK51]

I trust eBay more than some online shopping sites with really cheap prices. At least I know I can get refund from Paypal if something goes wrong.

[mugget]

Well that speedlight went with a 2nd chance offer, didn't realise that you can do a 2nd chance offer while a dispute case is open? Could get tricky if the original buyer did pay, but he emailed to say his circumstances had changed and couldn't buy it anymore. I mean really, you gotta wonder what kind of person just bids for no reason and then waits 5 days and only responds when a case is opened.

I have a few more bits to see, may look at Camera Market for them...

[etherial]

I just managed to pick up a Spyder3Elite for $60 on fleabay, so I'm very happy!

[fabian628]

Well that speedlight went with a 2nd chance offer, didn't realise that you can do a 2nd chance offer while a dispute case is open? Could get tricky if the original buyer did pay, but he emailed to say his circumstances had changed and couldn't buy it anymore. I mean really, you gotta wonder what kind of person just bids for no reason and then waits 5 days and only responds when a case is opened.

I have a few more bits to see, may look at Camera Market for them...

thats true. Some people take a bit of time to pay but to not even mention it :angry0:. You can put in your listing that they need to communicate within 3 days and pay within 5 or something similar.

[Tricky]

I've just had a positive experience on eBay buying from a grey importer.

I bought a Canon 5D2 ($2188) and EF85 f/1.2L ($2100) from Oz Trading Centre (eBay ID: Trading_Centre). I was attracted by the following:

- best price I could find for the body / lens combo
- 21,500 feedback score on eBay, 99.5% positive
- eBay member since 2005
- free delivery by courier
- immediate response to my questions and request for a quote
- their eBay listings stated that their stock was already located in Sydney hence they guaranteed there would be no risk of incurring customs/GST
- they offered their own 2 year warranty (collect from your door, repair, return to your door) in place of the manufacturer's warranty

The body and lens arrived within 5 days. I think their price, communication and speed of delivery were all excellent. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

[macmich]

all good on the tripod
the buyer kept sending me messages and i kept sending them to ebay
they kept demanding i take 10 or$15 dollars of price and they would forget
i sent them a email stating i had sent copys of there emails to ebay
ebay contacted me yesterday and closed the case without refund
they finally worked out there scam
cheers macca

[bxaftw]

ive never had any bad experiences on ebay...

[Mark L]

ive never had any bad experiences on ebay...

Either have I.
But then I've never bought or sold any anything on eBay. :)

[I @ M]

Either have I.
But then I've never bought or sold any anything on eBay. :)

Best way to be. :th3:

[pod3009]

I've bought quite a few things on eBay - including some camera gear. My rule is to alwyas pay with PayPal as they claim to refund money in some circumstances if the seller defaults. When selling I always wait until the payment is completed before shippin the item. So far - no problems. It just pays to be cautious!

[mickyj]

I am still buying loads of things on eBay. My last purchase was from the UK and the current australian dollar made my item an even better bargain.
I purchased a hardly used WFT-E1 wireless unit for my EOS 5D. The previous owner did not know how to get it to work. Not only did I get it at 1/4 the price, it still has warranty (in the UK), came with the additional aerial, 4 additional batteries and loads of other add ons. eBay is a great place to find things for all sorts of reasons. Go eBay !!!!

[macmich]

i just sold my 50 d with all the gear with it and a 18-55 is with card
i paid the insurance up to a grand because they dont have in between and registered the mail
and the buyer recieved it within two days and i could watch it where it was in the systym
i had it advertised on other sites and no bites
cheers macca

[Maezyra]

My husband bought my Nikon D7000 from a store in Melbourne from eBay and also my remote, although I am not sure where that came from (both brand new). In both cases everything went very smoothly and we were very happy. The only negative thing we could say about the experience was the box for my remote became a little squashed in the post, but that is hardly a eBay problem. We were particularly impressed with the camera - We ordered it Friday at lunchtime and had it by mid-morning Monday. My husband did a lot of research where he bought it from, of course, and we had no problem whatsoever. I'll admit, I was nervous, I'm still an old fashioned girl, I like to hold something before I buy it, you know, in an actual shop, my husband is far more modern and orders a lot of things over the net - It certainly worked out very well for us! I have a shiny new D7000 and a infrared remote to go with it :D

[Stingray]

Must say, even my "bad" experiences on ebay have turned out good.. lol .. mainly cheap items from china (like lens caps/remotes/filters etc) the sellers are happy to resend the item if the initial one doesnt arrive .. or not work...
biggest purchase would have been our 300D 6-7 years ago - it has done us well :)

[JayR]

Ive tended to use eBay for used but near mint goods, with caution... Including a pentax prime retailing for about $1700 locally I got for about half that (and is perfect) as well as another 'floor' model that did have some problems, but with repairs was still far less than retail price.
Beyond that, generally cheap or hard to find stuff has been fine to date.

[stephendean]

These days there are a lot of reputable companies on ebay. So the chance of getting a dud is probably less than it use to be. Everything I have bought has been good, weather new or secondhand

[lincoln]

I can only add the often repeated warnings re caution.
At least 90% of my bag is eBay bargain buys.
Whenever possible I pick up and pay cash - most genuine sellers are happy to avoid PayPal fees and postage hassles.
When using PayPal and other interweb purchases I prefer to use a debit card a/c with a balance only a few dollars over the purchase price.
Should the details get hacked only a few dollars can be scammed at any other time.
My best deal was on a body which I was unable to put my best bid on but was offered "second chance" deal later when the sucessful bidder did not pay the desperate seller.

[john99]

I have bought a number of different items from Ebay and never had any problems. I always check out the sellers feedback.

[Blueywa]

Steer clear of an outfit called GimmeDigi out of HK ....

Recently I paid for an item using PayPal, and got confirmation of receiving my payment from GimmeDigi.
After three days my order hadnt been dispatched so I asked what the problem was, they replied all was ok and I would be informed of progress.
Another day went by and still nothing so I contacted them again with the same reply, I told them that if my order wasnt dispatched that day I would be informing PayPal.
Later that day (a Friday) I received confirmation that my order had been dispatched - I thought they were stalling as nothing much can be acheived on weekends.
My threat obviously had worked because the item arrived on Monday morning 'premium express' - the original deal was 'free postage' which suggested 21 days via China Post after being dispatched.

[nimrodisease]

I bought a new grey import D90 on ebay... never had any issues since I've owned it.

More recently I bought a second hand 18-200 Nikkor lens, which turned out to be faulty. It was from a reputable seller though, and they were happy to give me my money back.

Main lesson is, always check feedback ratings.

[Film Street]

I've had a couple of non arrivals on ebay.

There are two rules to stick by -



Always pay with payal
Start a complaint before the 45 day period has ended.


Do that and paypal will reimburse you.

[achee]

I've done my fair share of buying and selling on eBay. Most have been good! Besides a few very-poor-quality but also very cheap items from China (it didn't bother me), I only remember having one bad experience:

I bought MS Office 2010 (listed as physical goods, genuine) from an Australia seller, but soon afterwards I received an email from eBay saying they suspected copyright infringement so they removed the listing. I had already paid (via paypal), so I emailed the seller to see how things were going and waited... no reply and nothing arrived. I opened an eBay buyer protection case. After some time they emailed me saying:

Your case is open, and we wanted to check in with you to see if the issue has been resolved.
We encourage you to contact your seller to work things out.

If you were able to work this out with the seller, you can close this case in the Resolution Center.

If we don't hear back from you by Jan 18, 2012, we'll assume you've worked out this issue and your case will automatically close.

There were no further instructions on how they wanted to hear back from me, so I replied to the email saying I haven't heard from the seller.

On the 19th of January I received an email from eBay saying "This case was automatically closed because there hasn't been any recent activity on it. You don't need to do anything else." I asked about the case but from there only received automated messages saying "Thanks for your message. The case you contacted us about was closed after we made a final decision on it. We'll review your question or concern and get back to you within 72 hours." No, they didn't get back to me.

[mugget]

I made a complaint to eBay to get some negative feedback removed (buyer of a camera made a fuss because he bought the wrong camera - not my problem). PayPal/eBay dispute resolution found in my favour, but the buyer had already left negative feedback venting his frustration (which was completely out of line as I had done nothing wrong - which PayPal agreed with!) So I asked eBay to remove the negative feedback, got the automated reply "we'll get back to you within 72 hours". Nothing for a week or so and I forgot about it...

About 6 months later I got a message from eBay saying that the negative feedback had been removed.

So they do eventually get around to things, but I guess there's lots of problems that they have to deal with and seems like there's a massive backlog... so don't hold your breath! (Even though they probably will eventually get to it.)

[kyteflyer]

ebay just makes me nervous. I've heard a lot of horror stories over the years about people being scammed, or scam attempts, so I tend to avoid ebay as much as I can. That said, there are times when the only thing you can do, is buy from ebay. In that case I try to go for buy it now sellers with lots of positive feedback and who arent just selling one item. Most recent purchase was 2 spare batteries for my Olympus XZ-1. Can buy anywhere yes, but 2 for $6... nah. Only on ebay. I won't sell on there, but thats because I won't post out. Like some others, I prefer to sell on gumtree to people I can see, and who can see the goods for themselves before handing over their hard earned.

[Bloke]

:gday:/One other thing to watch with Camera purchases from E bay or other Grey Dealers, I wanted a particular Olympus Camera, and found some really good prices on E bay, but after doing my sums was told by Olympus, That to purchase an olympus camera Other than from a registered Olympus dealer in Australia, NO Warranty whatsoever And had to show proof of the dealer it was purchased from. So, had to buy from a local dealer, and pay more :((

[peterb666]

That to purchase an olympus camera Other than from a registered Olympus dealer in Australia, NO Warranty whatsoever And had to show proof of the dealer it was purchased from. So, had to buy from a local dealer, and pay more :((

All Olumpus gear comes with a 12 month international warranty but it is only honoured in countries that take part in the scheme. Olympus Australia does not take part in the scheme. Nice one Olympus Australia.


Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[Leggy]

I am regular ebay user and have bought one lens of Ebay, without a hitch.
I usually fire off one or two questions to the seller, usually on how well item will be packed or just to see how quick and well they respond etc.
I also look for "nearest first" when searching, otherwise all the overseas sellers seem to appear first.

[Simsya580]

I have bought all of my gear from ebay the dearest was $1600 from Hong Kong that was an $1100 saving from Harvey Norman. In total I have purchased 2 DSLR,s an a580 and a a77 6 lenses 2 battery grips and a flash, I also bought just recently a Sony nex f3 for travel and a heap of accessories for all my cameras. I have no fear whatsoever about using eBay and the only time anything has gone wrong was a couple times things got lost coming out of china but they were replaced without trouble. I currently have 12 items at various stages of delivery. The trick is to never buy from somebody that has less than a 98% positive feedback and less than a 1000 sales also spend the time to read the feedback and find out what sort of service they provide.

[fabian628]

I have bought all of my gear from ebay the dearest was $1600 from Hong Kong that was an $1100 saving from Harvey Norman. In total I have purchased 2 DSLR,s an a580 and a a77 6 lenses 2 battery grips and a flash, I also bought just recently a Sony nex f3 for travel and a heap of accessories for all my cameras. I have no fear whatsoever about using eBay and the only time anything has gone wrong was a couple times things got lost coming out of china but they were replaced without trouble. I currently have 12 items at various stages of delivery. The trick is to never buy from somebody that has less than a 98% positive feedback and less than a 1000 sales also spend the time to read the feedback and find out what sort of service they provide.

I think a general rule of 1000 sales is a little high. A regular ebayer selling things over many years might only aquire 100-200 feedback, buying from people with less than 20-30 is more risky, also looking at how long they have been on ebay.
Larger sellers also may not have specific knowledge about the item, if they sell 100's of items each week, its likely they do not have much camera specific knowledge (and therefore the listing might not be completly accurate). Amateur sellers sometimes will give good description, good communication and better postal rates.
Of course there are always exceptions, but I personally think with 1/2 decent common sense ebay is not as risky as alot of people make it out to be.

[extraball]

been noticing sellers on ebay with 0 feedback, newly registered, offering expensive camera gear, and often starting at .99cents I hope no-one gets stung, but they must, otherwise the scammers wouldn't go to the trouble.

[balwoges]

Sold camera equipment on ebay, no complaints, bought stuff on ebay without problems, always use paypal which I find very good.

[ricktas]

I LOVE E-bay. Sold my boomerang 6 times today!

[Xenedis]

I LOVE E-bay. Sold my boomerang 6 times today!

You must have bought a dodgy boomerang; they're not supposed to come back.

[Papou]

never sold on ebay but have purchased and being stung in the past but not by a hefty sum all i can say is, if you purchase an item and it doesnt arrive within fourteen days get onto the seeler and paypal emediately..
Make the the expiry complaiunt time does not expire on you??..

[nzmacro]

I tend to just stick to who i know and have good dealings with over the years on Ebay. Mine are all off the USA based Ebay. I generally check the history pretty well since lenses and gear can become expensive.

[defektive]

I sold an item to an international buyer last year who claimed not to have received it. eBay froze my PayPal account to the value of the sale and gave me 72 hours to come up with a delivery confirmation signature. I finally obtained the signature (I had sent the item registered post) through Australia post several weeks later, opened a dispute case with eBay and was given my cash back as soon as they received my email showing the recipient's signature. I'm happy to have got my money back but it sure does leave you with a bad taste.

Moral of the story: for valuable items always use a mail service with signature confirmation, tracking and insurance.

[Shane.R]

I LOVE E-bay. Sold my boomerang 6 times today!You'll be a power seller in no time :lol:

And people must understand, that you do not enter EBAY as a seller with 1000+ sales. Power sellers start of just like every other seller.

Speaking of "power sellers". I was sent a wrong car part, well I know it's wrong but I was told that I'm inconsiderate and that the part is correct. I can send it back for a refund minus all the postage to USA.

[Transformer]

I mostly buy low-value items from higher rated sellers. 100's of transactions later ... very few problems. With high ticket items, I have found that the seller rating helps a great deal. Paypal is good insurance.

[mugget]

Not sure if I mentioned this before, but I sold a MacBook Air on eBay a while back. I put a note in there to the effect of "bank transfer preferred" and sure enough the winning bidder did a transfer instead. To be honest I was kind of surprised! But it made me very happy to avoid any PayPal fees. I posted the MacBook out, not a problem.

This was back when I would have had maybe 20-30 feedback as well. But I put a plenty of photos and offered for anyone to come and look before bidding. Which I'm sure helped.

Not everyone is out to scam you, some people are still honest.

[tcdev]

Same as anywhere, be sensible about it and you're unlikely to get stung. We've had a few bad buys (nothing major) but PayPal has come to the party in every case, if it went that far. I've had one seller who refunded no questions asked when I didn't receive my item (and still haven't, to this day). My wife has had a couple of buys where the items weren't as advertised (we're only talking a few dollars here). The seller ignored her complaints and they subsequently didn't contest PalPal's refund either. So she got the items, which admittedly weren't exactly what she believed she was getting, for free in the end.

For that matter, we've had similar issues with online photo print (canvas) services - twice! (We unknowingly ordered from the same company a 2nd time, as they had since changed their name!) So it's not restricted to eBay at all!

On the flip side, our selling has been relatively incident free. Our only complaint really has been COD buyers who don't show up to collect. I mailed one item interstate which didn't arrive in any reasonable time but the buyer was pretty cool about it as I assured him that I'd refund the full amount if he insisted it hadn't arrived. He waited a few days, hassled his internal mail guys again, and turns out it had turned up earlier - so no issues in the end.

[Crysis]

I have got 85 stars next to my name on ebay.
In this time I have had 3 dealings that I had to go to the people running the show.
I got my money back and left bad feedback to the people who sold me the item, but never actually sent it.
This happened one after the other, I had feelings that they were like it but still went through with it.
One one I got an item that was not as it said so I gave them bad feedback, only to get a message from them.
It went a little like this. If we give you another item for nothing will you change your feedback.
I got the item and changed the feedback.
But that was early last year, and here we are now and I have to say all has been really good.
Just make sure you use Paypal on all things and I think you should be okay.

[jjnic]

Bought and sold a few things on ebay over the years. never had a problem. My only issue so far has been with Australia post. Once had a parcel that tracking information said was delivered but was not at my address. Rang Aust post to be told that it had been delivered and signed for . turns out it was delivered to the wrong address and signed for by the occupant. eventally got it a few days later unopened with my name and address clearly on the parcel!. Thank goodness for tracking information!
jj

[Redgum]

Bought and sold a few things on ebay over the years. never had a problem. My only issue so far has been with Australia post. Once had a parcel that tracking information said was delivered but was not at my address. Rang Aust post to be told that it had been delivered and signed for . turns out it was delivered to the wrong address and signed for by the occupant. eventally got it a few days later unopened with my name and address clearly on the parcel!. Thank goodness for tracking information!
jj
This has happened to me three or four times over the years.