Buyer beware!!!

Ebay is where you sell to maximise your return- usually to the unwashed.

Ebay is where you buy if you do not mind being ripped of and you are gullible enough to be whipped into a frenzy sufficient enough for you to out bid more prudent people and you believe that "buying" and "winning" are the same thing.
--
Malcolm Martin

I do not use Ebay, because I am too leary of doing business, over the internet, with an individual of whom I have no knowledge.

What amazes me is that, even though I have never bought or sold anything on Ebay, or made a single bid, for that matter, every day, I receive several scam e-mails, purporting to be from Ebay. I can't imagine how many I would get, if I actually used Ebay. It would appear that Ebay must spawn a multitude of rip-offs.

--
Cliff

http://www.pbase.com/cliffb

Malcolm Martin said:

Ebay is where you sell to maximise your return- usually to the
unwashed.

Click to expand...

Well ... if one is a scumbag, one should certainly take that approach.

Or, one can add clear information and target a fair but not gouging price. Once one has done that, then one is not ripping anyone off ... even if the bidders choose to go high.

Sometimes it is worth it an item is becoming rare and/or time is short for whatever reason.

Malcolm Martin said:

Ebay is where you buy if you do not mind being ripped of and you
are gullible enough to be whipped into a frenzy sufficient enough
for you to out bid more prudent people and you believe that
"buying" and "winning" are the same thing.

Click to expand...

A truly cynical viewpoint.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos

I use eBay regularly. I have bought items on there that I cannot find anywhere else, at least not at reasonable prices.

There are some classic email attacks that eBay has thwarted by creating an internal secure messaging system. So everyone can now safely ignore email that purports to be from eBay.

As for being worried about being ripped off ... that happens every day in brick and mortor stores too ... the people who stumble blindly through life get ripped off all the time, the rest critically examine every deal and make their decisions.

I have several hundred transactions on eBay and have never felt ripped off. Well ... once felt that I had paid too much for shipping, but when I went back to the listing, I found that the shipping had been clearly stated and I simply missed it and made an assumption. It was an excellent reminder and well worth a few extra bucks.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos

Ask if you can send it via US mail and if they say yes, contact the local USPS and have their agents get them for mail fraud.

There is one particular low-life that tries to sell high end Nikon lenses for next to nothing, with ridiculous notices stating "Do Not Bid" and "Email Me" direct with some stupid hotmail account link in 72 font in the middle of the listing.. etc..

Yeah right... as if?

So everytime I see one of his listings I always "ask the seller a question" using the ebay link, and within 24 hours... I recieve an email/message from ebay, stating that there may be possible fraudulent activities going on and to be wary.. blah.. blah!

sigh

But the scammer is always shut down as ebay will have figured out that this low-life scum had hijacked another username.... etc....

I use Eudora for my emails, and it's great at letting you know that the links in emails are phishing scams etc...

I think it may have missed one or two obvious ones,, from "not my bank" but it regularly reports these findings on the bulk of spam/scam mail I'm getting

Ebay is what you make of it.. don't like it.. avoid it!

I have mixed feelings about it.. but if market forces are working then that's what item X is worth... I find I have set pricing for X and that's it... I usually pay th eextra $50 and get it from my local shops

It's a scam. Report it immediately to eBay. Never, ever, pay with Western Union.

Malcolm Martin said:

Ebay is where you sell to maximise your return- usually to the
unwashed.

Ebay is where you buy if you do not mind being ripped of and you
are gullible enough to be whipped into a frenzy sufficient enough
for you to out bid more prudent people and you believe that
"buying" and "winning" are the same thing.
--
Malcolm Martin

Click to expand...

Worthless generalizations. Believer it or not, one can find good deals on eBay. I have plenty of times. Maybe because I'm not gullible I know when something is too good to be true. But, believe it or not, not all of us among the unwashed masses are as stupid as you believe.

there is more junk sold on ebay than there are bargians for buyers. I personally would not buy ebay. I had two friends that bought cars on ebay only to get burned. so it is basically "buyer beware period"

The whole of forum life is based on generalizations. Whether a particular generalization is worthless or not depends on the eye of the beholder. However what your response does not address is the simple fact that people do get ripped of, conned and over pay on ebay or perhaps you think that everybody gets a good deal and the buyer need not bewary. I called them unwashed or gullible (for in business terms they surely are) you chose the perjorative "stupid" not me.

"Worthless generalizations. Believer it or not, one can find good deals on eBay. I have plenty of times. Maybe because I'm not gullible I know when something is too good to be true. But, believe it or not, not all of us among the unwashed masses are as stupid as you believe."

--
Malcolm Martin

...scumbag (although as I spend my time getting ouster injunctions for battered wives and the victims of domestic violence for not much money I prefer the desciption "hero"), but I have never sold a thing on ebay.
If I was a scumbag (in your parlance - not mine) I would surely use ebay.
--
Malcolm Martin

Malcolm Martin said:

I called them unwashed or gullible (for in
business terms they surely are) you chose the perjorative "stupid"
not me.

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Although you are attempting to pretend that your more subtle words are somehow not as insulting as the perjorative "stupid" (you seem to like your 10 dollar words) ... in fact, unwashed is as nasty an insult as stupid. And it carries the added bonus of implying that the speaker (you) is of a higher class. Bravo for that extra subtlety.

unwashed:

–adjective

1. not cleaned or purified by or as if by washing: unwashed dishes; the unwashed soul of a sinner.

2. pertaining to or characteristic of the common people; untutored, unsophisticated, or ignorant; plebeian: the power of the unwashed electorate.
–noun

3. (used with a plural verb) an ignorant or lower-class group; rabble (usually prec. by the): The author claimed that the unwashed would not understand his books.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos

The bottom line is that Ebay is great for some things and terrible for others. If you have the time and inclination to thouroughly research your item and the seller and Ebay/Paypal policies, you can limit your risk and purchase quality items at a fair, sometimes low, price. If you go into it without doing your homework you're inviting trouble. EG: the Ebay and Paypal sites have lots of info on scams and how to protect yourself. After a couple of good experiences and one bad one, I've concluded it's not worth the work and risk unless there's something I just can't find elsewhere.

Dan

Malcolm Martin said:

The whole of forum life is based on generalizations. Whether a
particular generalization is worthless or not depends on the eye of
the beholder. However what your response does not address is the
simple fact that people do get ripped of, conned and over pay on
ebay or perhaps you think that everybody gets a good deal and the
buyer need not bewary. I called them unwashed or gullible (for in
business terms they surely are) you chose the perjorative "stupid"
not me.

Click to expand...

Regarding this forum, I believe most here would agree that it's based upon a free exchange of information, ideas, and critique. "Generalizations" has nothing to do with it. Quantifying all "forum life" in general as based upon generalizations is merely, how can I put it, talking out your backside, and more specifically, an asinine generalization itself. Where this bit of nonsense could possibly originate is a mystery to me. Let's keep it that way. Your response does not address the simple fact that everyday many, many people DO NOT get ripped off, conned, or overpay on eBay. How convenient you should miss that.

Malcolm Martin said:

or perhaps you think that everybody gets a good deal and the
buyer need not bewary.

Click to expand...

Did I ever state this? We know the answer to that is "No". You're attempting to refute an argument I never made. Straw man. Of course everyone must be wary, and some do get ripped off. I never stated otherwise. The implication of your post, however, was that it's practically impossible to get a good deal. But it's widely known that that's not even remotely true.

Malcolm Martin said:

I called them unwashed or gullible (for in business terms they surely are) > you chose the perjorative "stupid" not me.

Click to expand...

Your direct implication is that the "unwashed" and "gullible" are indeed stupid. These are disparaging terms, and pejoratives unto themselves. Are you trying to say you weren't making some type of value judgment on the supposed lack of smarts of all eBay-ers? Yeah, right. You made a baseless, insulting, and plainly wrong, sweeping generalization about eBay buyers and sellers. Trying to sugarcoat it with a veneer of philosophical pap about the basis of "forum life" doesn't change that.

Yep, I've almost always gotten a second chance scam letter after bidding on an expensive camera. The messages were originating from Ebay Phillipines. Sometimes they were pretending to be the seller accepting my lower bid or sometimes they were pretending to be Ebay on behalf of the seller.

In defense of ebay buying, many of us on this forum have gotten good deals from reputable sellers like Cameta Camera. So it ain't all bad, but yes, Caveat Emptor.

I bid on something, lost and then received a second chance offer that didn't look right. I contacted the seller and he said it wasn't from him. I reported it to ebay.

It happened to a friend also.

I really wonder how the crook got me ebay email address.

... a 10 dollar word is. Perhaps it is because I am English.

Now, back to reality:- is it safe to buy on ebay without caution or not?

How about this for a £5.31 word: Nincompoop: noun {C} INFORMAL a foolish or stupid person. Or how about Dupe: dupe verb to deceive someone, usually making them do something they did not intend to do or noun: someone who has been tricked.

--
Malcolm Martin

Yes, guillible, unwashed, perhaps even naive or unwise are all appropriate, accurate and unobjectionable words. Certainly there are ebay sellers who are on the lookout for them. Others on this form have sought to attribute the word "stupid" to the description of those who may be victims although I have not.

However even Ebay does not hold out that everything in their garden is rosy. See:-

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/index.html

So, is it safe to buy on ebay without caution or not? Those who think not or those who simply do not know what it is that they are doing are bound to have another label attched to them- "Victim". Now that is an unattractive word. Let us hope that it avoids you and I!
--
Malcolm Martin

Malcolm Martin said:

Yes, guillible, unwashed, perhaps even naive or unwise are all
appropriate, accurate and unobjectionable words. Certainly there
are ebay sellers who are on the lookout for them. Others on this
form have sought to attribute the word "stupid" to the description
of those who may be victims although I have not.
However even Ebay does not hold out that everything in their garden
is rosy. See:-

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/index.html

So, is it safe to buy on ebay without caution or not? Those who
think not or those who simply do not know what it is that they are
doing are bound to have another label attched to them- "Victim".
Now that is an unattractive word. Let us hope that it avoids you
and I!

Click to expand...

Once more the straw man is propped up so that you can oh-so-masterfully knock him down. I'm sure everyone is impressed. Again, I say, you are attempting to refute an argument that I never made--please note that point. Never did I state that it was perfectly safe to buy on eBay. Here's a direct quote from my previous post to refresh your fading memory: "Of course everyone must be wary, and some do get ripped off. I never stated otherwise. The implication of your post, however, was that it's practically impossible to get a good deal. But it's widely known that that's not even remotely true." Does that help?

As I pointed out in my previous post--a point that you conveniently ignore(unsurprising since it destroys your argument)-- is that "gullible" and "unwashed" are as much pejoratives as "stupid". You imply that anyone who buys on eBay is such, i.e., gullible, unwashed--ergo, stupid. And that is simply not true. You made insulting, simple-minded generalizations. Anyone who shops on eBay deserves an apology from you.

EBAY is where criminals find a nice play ground. I'd buy NOTHING from that site!!!