E-bay

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been looking for an out-of-print book for some time, and finally found some copies on e-bay. They’re described as being in good condition, and even with shipping and handling, are reasonably priced.

Here’s the thing, though. I’ve never used e-bay before…I’ve never even bought anything online before (except a pizza), and I’m a little scared. Is it safe? Do I have to worry about people stealing my online info? What happens if the product is a total piece of crap, and the seller lied?

I’d like to get your opinions on e-bay, and whether I should use the service.

2

The only advice that I have for you is to check the sellers feedback before you bid. If they have any negative feedback, approach with caution. I’m currently deadlocked with an asshole who won’t send my stuff, but was more than willing to take my money.

Most of the time, it’s easy and safe to use, so if the person has all positive feedback, you’re in. As for the condition of the product, all you can really do is ask the seller about it … otherwise, you’re just on your own there.

3

I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a first-time ebay user today. When I first bought something there, they still had the “escrow” system in place, so I felt completely safe. I sent my money to the escrow, they told the seller they had the money, the seller sent me my item, I got to review it to my satisfaction, then tell the escrow folks to release the houn-- … er, funds.

4

I started a thread a little while back, a lot of the info is from the sellers POV though. Should still be useful:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=114034&highlight=ebay

5

I agree- check the feedback. If the user has good feedback, I’d go ahead and buy the item, myself. I’ve been doing business on E-bay for several years and never, ever had a problem. I only bid on auctions from people with good feedback and so far, so good.

Zette

6

Captain Amazing - My 71 year old mother just bought a new car off ebay. Hardly a week goes by that some package doesn’t come to her house. She’s never had a problem. I’ve bought a few things, not as many, but never had much of a problem. Especially since this isn’t electrical or anything, I’d say you’re safe.

StG

7

Booksellers have a pretty clear definition of just what is “good” condition for a book. If the books are offered by people who are NOT booksellers, you might want to ask them just what they mean by good. I believe that you’ll need an eBay account and be logged in to use the little button that says “Ask the seller a question”, but I’ve used this button several times and had good luck with it.

Do you want this book for collection purposes, or do you just want a reading copy? Do you care whether the dust jacket (if it’s a hardbound book) is in near perfect condition, or even present? Only you can decide what is acceptable for your purposes, and how much you’re willing to pay to get it. A book in mint condition, with a perfect dust jacket, is likely to cost MUCH more than a book with a broken spine, dogeared and “tanned” pages, and no dust jacket.

I agree with everyone else. Read the feedback! If there’s only positive feedback, I just skim through it. If the seller has hundreds or thousands of feedbacks, I’m willing to overlook a few neutral or even negative complaints, but I DO look at what the complaints are about. Some buyers are just not happy with anything, so I discount their complaints. But if a seller has too many negative feedbacks, I will not buy from that person. I’ve found that sooner or later, just about EVERYTHING that I could want and afford will show up on eBay, so I do not have to bid on an item at a particular time.

I’ve had good results buying used books from both eBay and Amazon’s used book division. My local used book store (and, since she works there, now my daughter) can also frequently find a book for me online, through the various online used book dealers. There’s Bibliofind and ABE, for instance. Sorry, I don’t have links to them, but I’m sure that others do.

You can also try just using Google to find mention of the books you want. This will frequently bring up places that have it for sale. I’ve done this a time or two, hunting for books that I remember from childhood.

Good luck, and I hope you get what you’re looking for.

8

Bibliofind was http://www.bibliofind.com but the link is now connected with Amazon.com. Still, it’s great for finding books.

Generally, Ebay is safe, especially if the seller has good feedback and a lot of comments. I’m not a heavy user, but only once did I have a problem – it took them a couple of months to send the item – but that was minor. Everything else was quick and professional.

9

I use Ebay frequently and have never had a problem. Although now I am also currently deadlocked with an asshole who will not send me the books I paid for! So I guess this would be my first problem!

Anyway, Always check feedback

Be picky

Don’t be afraid to ask the seller questions!

10

Hate to be a “me too” person, but it can’t be overemphasized enough – check the feedback. I never bid on an item unless the seller has a large number of positive responses (if they have a large number of positives, I’ll usually let a small number of negatives go. Not every business deal works to every person’s satisfaction).

Zev Steinhardt

11

Well, I did it. I found the item cheap, the seller had a lot of positives and no negatives, and I figured paying an extra buck above minimum was worth not waiting 4 days for the auction to end, so I clicked “Buy it now”, and just sent the buyer the money through paypal. I’ll let you know.

12

We don’t use credit cards on line. Using money orders works just fine but takes a little longer for the transaction to take place. I always have a" thanks for the fast transaction" feedback from the seller.

Just my $.02 worth

13

Another source for out-of-print books is Alibris. They’re a front for a lot of used bookstores. It’s another option that’s not dependent on a private seller. You could look there if you’re not comfortable with buying from an individual.

14

I used to use eBay a lot…until one incident:

I had a guitar I no longer wanted, so I sold it on eBay. It sold for $60, or something…I charged $25 in shipping, first mistake right there. I went to Mailboxes, etc…it was $50 for shipping materials and shipping charges! :eek: Anyways, I am jumping ahead…I said in my auction that I wanted paypal only…but AFTER she had placed a winning bid, the girl e-mailed me saying that her credit card had recently expired and she hadn’t gotten a new one (of course, this was after a week of, for some reason, my emails not getting to her. I got hers fine, but she kept sending more asking me to email her…finally I used my school account and that got straightened out.) I agreed to take a money order…I felt pity, and figured she might give me a positive rating for being flexible. Well…the money order took two weeks to get to me (this is now three weeks from close of auction.) I got it on a thursday, and had class all of friday and monday, and couldn’t send the guitar out until tuesday of the next week. So I sent out the guitar (costing me twice as much as I expected) and sat back, glad to be through with the agony. Nope. She emails me a week later saying she never got it…I went to UPS’s webpage and tracked the package, it went to kentucky (where she was), then came back to albany, since the address was bad. She emailed me saying she accidentaly sent me her old address…grrr :mad: She sent a new address and said to send it to that one when I got the guitar back, and that she would pay for any extra shipping it needed. Well…I never got the guitar back…it stayed in Albany for two weeks, then I guess they figured something out, cause they then sent it to her new address. Well, during this time, the girl bought a different guitar, and ask that I send back her money and she would sent back the guitar. I sent her a money order…and never got the guitar back. NEVER. And she had the nerve to give ME negative feedback! (She gave it to me while the package was being held in Albany because of the wrong address SHE gave me.) That was in October and November. I haven’t used eBay since.

Sheesh, long post!

But other than that, all of my eBay dealings have worked out well (both buying and selling.)

15

Ick…

see, after seven days, I relist the auction. If I receive payment after that, I decline if it’s Paypal so they aren’t charged; if it’s a money order or a cheque I just mail it back.

When I say pay in seven days, darnit – I mean /pay in seven days/. The only way I’m flexible on that is if you are a previous customer from either eBay or my site, and I know who you are.

And yeah, guitars are expensive to ship. I found that out the hard way too.

16

I use ebay quiet a bit check. I have even sold a car on ebay. It is fine to use and would highly recommend it …