Buying from ebay

D

davholla

Messages
2,685
Name
David
Edit My Images
Yes
Any tips? Is it safe? I am thinking of buying a camera which is only 6 months old and comes with a copy of the receipt.
 
Use Paypal and have it posted to the certified address associated with your account.
Ebay usually sides with buyers in any dispute, feedback is a guide, just be sensible and should be fine
 
I think it's relatively safe.
- Make sure the seller has feedback for selling. Lots of sellers when you check their ratings have large feedback numbers for buying. See what other buyers have said about your seller.
- Is the price too good to be true? If so, I'd be wary.
- Is the camera working? Do the pictures reflect the item or are they stock?
- How generous is the return policy? How well described is the item? If you're the sort of person to shine a flashlight through a lens and start screaming if you see a speck of dust and the description reads "looks ok" there's potential for upset.

As Rich said, eBay will side with buyers more often than not, so it'll probably be ok.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I think it's relatively safe.
- Make sure the seller has feedback for selling. Lots of sellers when you check their ratings have large feedback numbers for buying. See what other buyers have said about your seller.
- Is the price too good to be true? If so, I'd be wary.
- Is the camera working? Do the pictures reflect the item or are they stock?
- How generous is the return policy? How well described is the item? If you're the sort of person to shine a flashlight through a lens and start screaming if you see a speck of dust and the description reads "looks ok" there's potential for upset.

As Rich said, eBay will side with buyers more often than not, so it'll probably be ok.
Click to expand...
Thank you both.
It is not a crazy price - similar to grey import new.
 
Hi David, Ebay is pefectly safe, but check out the sellers feedback and if it's ok, you can't go far wrong. Pay by paypal and you will be protected.

Just wondering though, if the price is similar to a new grey unit, why not just go for a new one?

I bought my D500 as a 'grey' unit and it came with 3 years warranty, which was better than buying one in the UK! - Most of my lenses were also 'grey' and saved me a LOT of money.
 
I have found E Bay to be a great source of camera gear - but always pay by PayPal and communicate with the seller via E Bay (no other method). I did have an issue with one purchase but it was resolved very professionally. Against that my current gear collection is mostly from E Bay - there is no way I could have gear like this otherwise!
 
also check their history. A hacked account will have a whole load of stuff listed that is entirely out of character based on their previous listings - eg occasionally listing a few books and the odd collectors item, but suddenly selling a load of high end cars...
 
andrewc said:
also check their history. A hacked account will have a whole load of stuff listed that is entirely out of character based on their previous listings - eg occasionally listing a few books and the odd collectors item, but suddenly selling a load of high end cars...
Click to expand...

Good point! I used to work in the Fraud Department of a well known international bank - so I found them very easy to spot. In the past I reported several hundred sellers to E Bay. These days their practices have greatly improved and fraudsters have a much harder time - though one should still keep an eye out for them!
 
I have always found ebay a reliable source. I have bought my camera and several lenses, no more than a few hundred pounds each, with no problems. The only problem I had was with an item of software that I thought was pirated. Ebay resolved this in my favour.
 
Vintage Racer said:
Hi David, Ebay is pefectly safe, but check out the sellers feedback and if it's ok, you can't go far wrong. Pay by paypal and you will be protected.

Just wondering though, if the price is similar to a new grey unit, why not just go for a new one?

I bought my D500 as a 'grey' unit and it came with 3 years warranty, which was better than buying one in the UK! - Most of my lenses were also 'grey' and saved me a LOT of money.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, which grey supplier did you buy from? I have bought from eglobal in the past.
 
andrewc said:
also check their history. A hacked account will have a whole load of stuff listed that is entirely out of character based on their previous listings - eg occasionally listing a few books and the odd collectors item, but suddenly selling a load of high end cars...
Click to expand...
Happens to Amazon traders too. You'd think they'd have more sophisticated algorithms to spot an occasional seller of garden furniture suddenly offering a huge range of half price consumer electronics, with item descriptions that require email contact outside the normal sales system, but no. I used to have a lens I was vaguely interested in stored in the 'saved for later' section of my shopping basket. Every so often, I'd see a price change alert triggered by a third party seller offering it at a ridiculously steep discount. It was always a scammer, with a ton of other items at similarly 'tempting' prices, which I'd then report.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top