What are your experiences with eBay?

[fujiyama]

I don't bid very often and it sometimes amazes me how much people are willing to pay for certain items (which may even be purchased cheaper elsewhere) but once in a while I see a good deal and jump on it (I just got a nice cell phone for 21 bucks).

But I just set an order for something the other day that I wish I had not done so. I made the mistake in not really checking the feedback thouroughly enough. The seller had a decent rating (87) but the shipping I noticed was slow for most people's items.

I paid over a week ago and have recieved no response from the seller. No thank you. No confirmation of the payment. Nothing.

Do you think I could cancel this?

BTW, what are other users experiences with ebay? Have they been positive overall? I wish there were decent alternatives (and the other auction sites aren't as good), because someone told me the founder is a repuke.

[ffm172]

1. like you, I barely bid

only if I want something that I can't buy in the stores anymore. So far I had only positive experiences (in Germany). I don't know if you can cancel your order. You have to check the policies.

[murielm99]

2. I have had very positive experiences with ebay.

I have never had a problem with a seller.

Some of my purchases have taken awhile to arrive, but they have gotten here.

You should be asking the exerts at e-bay if you are concerned.

Good luck!

[merwin]

3. I have yet to have a completely horrible experience.

With some sellers, you have to nag them a bit, but for the most part I deal with sellers that have 1000+ feedback.

Feedback is definately a good thing to check before you bid, as it does make a difference.

[B Calm]

4. I bid on things that I know I can't find anywhere else.

I like collecting and ebay is the place to find what I'm looking for.

[arcos]

5. I've had great experiences...

Like you, I haven't bought much really, but in the last 3 months I have bought PDA, cell phone and wireless router without any problem at all.

[cornermouse]

6. I do quite well.

Only had one bad experience. Glass items that arrived broken and never got the promised refund even though I returned them.

One of the first things that I look at is the seller's approval rating, though. Slow shipping is a concern. Sometimes you have to be patient and I never post feedback until I receive the item.

[ET Awful]

7. Overall, I'd say my experiences have always been good.

Usually the only things I buy are CD's I'm looking for that are out of print and stuff like that.

I have yet to get a bad item or not get what I paid for.

As to not getting a response from the seller, I've had that happen before, and the day I was getting ready to complain to E-Bay, I got the item in the mail.

[reprehensor]

8. Overall, good.

Ripped off on one twenty dollar item, same deal, I bid on a rare item before looking at the seller's history/feedback. Low seller count, no contact.

If you get taken for less than twenty bucks, I'd say report it, leave the seller REALLY BAD feedback, and say goodbye to twenty bucks.

[mdmc]

9. good too

[GalleryGod]

10. Great!

Lotsa Bargains and Good Deals!

[BiggJawn]

11. Only been burned once.

That was on a camera by a Russian.

Everything else has been good experiences. Sometimes shipping and communications have been slow, but like I said, only burned once.

I check the shipping rates. ALWAYS inquire about shipping. Lot of good it does to win something for $10 and have to pay $25 "shipping and handling", especially when you know it will come in a little USPS priority box with only $7 postage on it. Expensive box, yes?

[terrya]

12. Mine have all been positive ones.

I've been very pleased with my experiences on ebay. :-)

[HamstersFromHell]

13. Been great for me.

Bought 3 amplifiers for home theater, 1 subwoofer, 1 preamp, a turntable, 3 cameras, 5 lenses, 3 tripods, 2 camera bags, and quite a few CDs and laserdiscs, a drill, and a jigsaw.

Never had a problem with any of it.

Watch feedback for the seller. Low feedback (or even no feedback) is not necessarily a bad thing (negative feedback is). Low feedback often results in low number of bids and a lower final price, so some real bargains can be had.

I usually won't bid on items that don't have either a fixed reasonable shipping cost or don't state that cost will be the amount UPS/FedEx/USPS charges, plus a small packing fee. There's a lot of sellers who'll gouge low bids with outrageous shipping to make up for what they think they should have gotten for an item.

Use Paypal to pay, and bid only on items where you can get Paypal's guarantee. Even if the seller doesn't come through, Paypal will refund your money.

Check shipping options, and utilize shipping methods with tracking numbers, even if it costs you a few dollars more. That way a seller can't back out of a sale where they didn't get what they wanted for an item and "lose" the package and merely refund your winning bid. (This happened to a friend on Yahoo auctions.)

Don't automatically assume just because it's on eBay it's a good deal. If it's new merchandise, check local stores for their prices (on their web sites). A lot of the "Buy It Now" auctions on new items are often overpriced. Example: A sander I was looking at on eBay had a but it now price of $37.99 Checking locally, Home Depot had the same exact item $3 cheaper.

Like anything, there's good and bad. Among the good stories, a co-worker won a stereo interconnect cable for his opening bid ($0.99 on a cable that sells for $30.00+ in stores here). Shipping was listed by the seller at $3.00 The friend paid the seller and looked and saw his seller was in Hong Kong, and figured he was going to be out the $4. Three weeks later, the cable arrived...it cost the seller more than what he got total off the deal just to mail it to the US, but he didn't want negative feedback.

Just my $0.02

[soothsayer]

14. Most of the nearly 600 times I've purchased things on ebay

have been just fine. I've done it for YEARS, but right now there are 2 items I'm having a hard time getting from 2 different sellers. Never had a prob before, and now two problems at the same time!

But mostly it's smooth as silk.

If the person's just a slow shipper, I guess you can give them the benefit of the doubt and wait. Or you can try to cancel. Depends on how much you want that item.

[thedailyshow]

15. mostly positive but the shipping rates are a ripoff

It's ridiculous to pay $15 for shipping when the item itself costs $6 dollars, and it's a sweater.