Buy buy buy with caution (ebay.co.uk)

[matthew]

[robat]

If you haven't heard of eBay then to some extent you are certainly missing out.

The site offers a wealth of cheap bargains if you are prepared to look and devise some classic last minute bidding techniques. To some extent it could be called the "Half price Amazon"... as long as you stick to your boundaries and don't go on a bidding spree.

Unfortunately it's also the best place to spend, spend, spend. When you're bidding on a item that you really quite want, what's stopping you getting into a bidding war and finally spending maybe more than you would if you'd have just shopped elsewhere.

It almost needs to come with a cautionary warning; "Warning! Bids cost you money" as it's sometimes seen as a game and the idea that real money is exchanging hands can temporarily slip ones mind.

I've found some brilliant deals and for that I'd recommend it... and maybe you've got some things lying around the house that you no longer want? It's so simple to upload your items and get them sold. Just be aware that eBay takes quite a cut (around 8.75-9% on media but around 5.5% on larger items such as cars) and there's also PayPal taking a 3.45% slice of the final sale price.

As long as you are careful and don't get too hooked, it could save you a great deal! My advice; never forget to shop around, once you get comfy with eBay, don't forget Amazon, Play and all those high street stores!

Summary: Try it out, but take care!
Robat

[R-ruby]

eBay - Where would we be without it?

In my opinion, what you have to remember about eBay is its not the be all end all of shopping!
This is where people become eBay addicts...You spot a good deal, take it. See another, take that. Think of something you need, and take that just because your on a role!

You have to remember that ebay is an auction house.
Lets say for example, you want a new tv. The first place you look won't be the auction house will it? But people who become addicted to ebay will, and by doing that you will often lose out on special deals etc going on in shops.

Having said that though. You can nearly always find what your looking for on ebay. It's a huge community and you generally find buyers and sellers on there to be very polite and patient.
If there's something you need, I'd always say its worth having a look on ebay...but not before you've tried the shops...I just think thats the way to becoming addicted and ending up buying and bidding for the sake of it.

From a sellers point of view, its a great way to make money out of the junk you've got lying around the house.
However as a couple of reviews have already said there are lots of hidden complications the first time you sell something. So make sure your account and paypal account are fully verified before you go ahead and sell something!
If your not sure its always worth a quick phonecall to ebay or paypal who are both very helpful on the phone.
So all in all: eBay - top site!

Summary: Great online auction house

[meltd]

I'm not an Ebay addict. I generally use it in fits and starts, but I can honestly say I've never had a problem with it (except for my stuff not selling grrr).

Basically (for anyone that doesn't know), Ebay is an online auction. It started off mainly with people selling their unwanted items on the premise that one persons trash is another man's treasure, and people could make a bit of extra cash. But as with everything else people found a way to make lots of money from it, and many of the sellers are businesses rather than individuals.

I tend to steer clear of most businesses because if you look around the web the goods are generally cheaper elsewhere, and often there are no postage fee on top of price.

However, buying from individuals can be quite lucrative. Most items from individuals are used, but shopping around means you can get items that are pretty much indistinguishable from new.

Of course Ebay is not all rosy, people often have problems with non delivery or non payment. This can usually be avoided by a good read of the feedback, in particular looking for new users that have lots of sudden feedback for items costing only one or two pound. Or reading what people have said about delivery times.

Personally I have never bought off anyone who has less than 100% feedback, because unless you are looking for a very specialised item there are hundreds of sellers selling the same or similar items.

All in all I would say it was a good idea to begin with, but has been spoilt by the traders. And the price of many new goods are so cheap now, there isn't much that Ebay can sell cheaper.

[misc]

Ok ebay has become part of its culture and it clearly has many flaws and bonuses.

Overall I did used to love ebay but I have become ever increasingly sceptical about using it and am starting to prefer amazon. This is chiefly down to fake items etc, these appear to be very, very common on ebay now and its just a pain. I know that you can have it all refunded and that lark, but I would rather just pay a bit more on amazon and have the risk of this lessened thus avoiding all that hassle which just is not worth it.

Saying that selling things on ebay is much better and I think overall my golden rule is sell on ebay but buy from amazon, maybe this will slowly turn the tables and therefore you will be putting legit items on the site which shrinks the scope of all these fakes

[qi2009]