How to not get screwed on eBay

[gf78]

Since people have been bringing eBay up, I figured I would give you guys who haven't took the plunge and/or have had bad experiences buying there a few bits of advice.  These are just the guidelines I use personally so it's all my opinion.

1)  Always check the sellers feedback rating.  Nearly every seller out there will have a negative rating, especially if they deal in large volume.  Look at the comments and see what was wrong.  Many times, buyers can be an ass and leave a negative for something that didn't deserve that rating.  I've seen sellers get negatives because an item was in shipping longer than they thought it should be which was no fault on the seller's part. 

2)  If the seller doesn't put up at least two pictures of the actual item you are buying, I'm not touching it.  A seller may list a picture of a game for sale, but it's a picture of one copy of a game that they are selling multiple copies of.  You might be looking at a pristine copy of Kingdom Hearts with the shiny metallic cover, but end up getting a copy where the art is dinged in where the booklet tab cutouts are, a greatest hits version, etc. 

3)  If there is no thorough description of the item to go along with those pictures, I'm not touching it.  I may contact the seller to ask a few questions, but will absolutely not buy it otherwise.  When I list an item like a game, I describe in detail any flaws like scratches, dings, tears, missing booklet, etc. 

4)  If it's a game that originally came in a cardboard box (NES, SNES, Gameboy, etc.), then I ask the seller to please ship in a box so the item isn't damaged.  You would think this is a no-brainer, but I actually bought a new/sealed copy of Perfect Dark for the N64 and the assbag I bought it from put it in a padded envelope.  Needless to say, that box had it's ass kicked by the time it arrived. 

5)  Unless it's absolutely necessary, I don't buy items from outside the US.  This isn't any sort of discrimination, but your shipping costs will always be higher, it takes longer to get your items and many times you have to use Registered Mail.  If your not home to sign for it, it goes back to the post office.  In my case, the post office is about 35 miles away and that's a huge pain in the sack to drive there.  I have recently been ordering some Famicom / Super Famicom games from Japan.  It's a huge hassle if nobody is there to sign for the package and I'm too damn impatient to wait for the packages.  It doesn't help that when you check the tracking, a lot of the latest entry will be something like "package processed through sort facility:  ago." or something like that.  WTH is "ago???"

6)  If you find a seller that you bought something from and really were pleased, make them a favorite/follow them.  I bought a set of all seven PlayStation Final Fantasy titles from a guy about three weeks ago and they were fantastic, pristine condition.  I couldn't be happier with them.  His items all have a good, high quality photo showing exactly what you get and his descriptions are very detailed.  He also accepts offers and is pretty reasonable with it.  So it was without hesitation that I saw him list a copy of Chrono Cross in mint condition and I bought it from him.  Look forward to receiving it!

If you protect yourself like this, eBay can be the most fantastic place to buy games.  I can't tell you how many times I've been in a "mom & pop" shop and saw a game priced similar to eBay's prices, but the condition was less than desirable.  If I'm buying a cheap cartridge game for less than five bucks, I'm not going to worry too much about the condition as it's a cheap buy.  When I am buying a copy of Final Fantasy VII and it's going to cost me $20 or more, I expect it to look pretty damn spiffy

I'm not in any way saying don't look through resale and mom & pop shops, etc.  You can find great deals there sometimes.  But when there is that one game you just can't find, it's a more pricey title or you don't want to settle on one not as nice as you think it should be, eBay is a fantastic resource.  And if you search the way I do and follow the advice above, you should have a good experience.

[diazflac]

Great advice list gf78. I follow the majority of the guidelines you presented as well, and had to learn some of them the hard way over the years.

Here are some other tips that I wish I knew early on that I felt were worth adding off the top of my head (apologies if they're stating the obvious):

1. Be careful of "new" seller accounts or people with less than 15-20 feedback rating when buying. Sometimes these accounts are okay to buy from, but I've had problems with these types in the past too. Just make sure the seller's listing is thorough, and they are communicative/responsive to your inquiries. If they seem okay, then it's a gut call on your part at that point.

2. Unless you are already familiar with the seller and they seem to be in good standing, don't bother with "Private Listing" auctions. It's just not worth the risk. Google search ebay private listing and you'll see lots of stories of people getting scammed.

3. Wait to leave feedback until all outstanding issues have resolved. I've (foolishly) left good feedback for a seller early and had problems with the item upon arrival/testing. There is a feature that allows you to re-evaluate the feedback you've already left, but it's better to talk to the seller and let them do what they can to make it right first.

4. As alluded to in #1 in gf78's post, be courteous and practice patience. A little understanding can go a long way when unforeseen issues come up like shipping delays. You'll only be damaging your own ebay reputation by succumbing to anger and impatience.

5. Compare to google image search, especially if you are somewhat unfamiliar with the product. Make sure you are getting the authentic item in question, and though it is uncommon, it's not a bad idea to look up common signs of counterfeit products either (particularly if you are dealing in handheld games such as the Game Boy Advance or Nintendo DS.) Game piracy seems less rampant than what I remember a few years back, or maybe I've just better learned what to look for, but even well-meaning sellers might not know the copy they have is a counterfeit. If you have received a counterfeit, explain the situation to the seller and send pictures and credible resources as proof. You'll usually get a refund without hassle once you ship the product back to them. If it comes down to it, there's always ebay buyer protection you can lean on if seller communication breaks down.

6. If the listing is both "Buy It Now" and allows you to place bids, the "Buy It Now" option goes away as soon as 1 bid is placed. You can't bid low early and then decide to buy it now later, and sometimes the bid war can go beyond the original buy it now price.

7. If the listing has an "Or Best Offer" option that allows you to make an offer, unless you find the Buy it Now price to be completely worth it, always try to make an offer instead. The seller wouldn't have put that there if they weren't willing to take less than their BIN price. Don't make it too crazy low though, be reasonable, a few dollars off, depending on the BIN price. You want them to still say "okay, sure!" not feel insulted at your lowball offer.

8. Finally, if it is an auction style listing, save your bids for as close to the end time as possible! This took me a depressing amount of time to wrap my head around for as simple a concept as it is. Don't give in to the temptation to repeatedly bid early. Other bidders will only come along and enter bidding wars with you early on, unnecessarily raising the auction price. First bidder is okay, but even that you are better off just waiting as long as you possibly can.

[indenton]

A while back I was looking into the selection of Mega Man games on the PlayStation, I've heard questionable stuff about Mega Man 8 among the rest, but it's still pretty hard to find for a good price, this is PAL region by the way. 

Browsing Amazon for said game.  The description was pretty blunt about the supposed condition "disc only, scratched badly, but still plays fine... " something to this affect, the game was priced at £65!!!  Far more than I've ever paid for a new game, and yet the worst condition USED game that I've ever considered buying.  Naturally feeling this is a pretty bad deal, I bartered with the guy, bringing him down to £45 as well as holding him to his refund promise, I still had a bad feeling this was gonna backfire. 

few days later, the 'CD and plastic wallet' arrived in the post.  Well, he wasn't lying, that disc was in horrible condition.  Nonetheless, I popped it into my trusty PSX and long behold, the game wouldn't start.  So then Step 2, the PS2 REALLY didn't like it, scrapping sounds scare me.  Alright last resort, the PS3 was actually able to play the game and everything seemed fine.  Beat the first 4 Robot masters and the plot develops, move onto another stage of which there was no music.  I think I reached a boss and the game crashes... good. 

I tried restarting the save, and the exact same thing happened every time.  You bet I made a beeline for my laptop to get my money back. 

This purchase already went against my purchase condition 'include a case for CD-Based media, or else it's a no-go".  Even if the game hadn't been damaged from excessive use, the lack of a case means that the game's exposed to the world, you can just see the game buried among a bunch of discarded old DVDs without a care. 

[gf78]

A while back I was looking into the selection of Mega Man games on the PlayStation, I've heard questionable stuff about Mega Man 8 among the rest, but it's still pretty hard to find for a good price, this is PAL region by the way. 

Browsing Amazon for said game.  The description was pretty blunt about the supposed condition "disc only, scratched badly, but still plays fine... " something to this affect, the game was priced at £65!!!  Far more than I've ever paid for a new game, and yet the worst condition USED game that I've ever considered buying.  Naturally feeling this is a pretty bad deal, I bartered with the guy, bringing him down to £45 as well as holding him to his refund promise, I still had a bad feeling this was gonna backfire. 

few days later, the 'CD and plastic wallet' arrived in the post.  Well, he wasn't lying, that disc was in horrible condition.  Nonetheless, I popped it into my trusty PSX and long behold, the game wouldn't start.  So then Step 2, the PS2 REALLY didn't like it, scrapping sounds scare me.  Alright last resort, the PS3 was actually able to play the game and everything seemed fine.  Beat the first 4 Robot masters and the plot develops, move onto another stage of which there was no music.  I think I reached a boss and the game crashes... good. 

I tried restarting the save, and the exact same thing happened every time.  You bet I made a beeline for my laptop to get my money back. 

This purchase already went against my purchase condition 'include a case for CD-Based media, or else it's a no-go".  Even if the game hadn't been damaged from excessive use, the lack of a case means that the game's exposed to the world, you can just see the game buried among a bunch of discarded old DVDs without a care.

Without the original case and manual, a game like that would be worthless to me. You would be better off buying the PS2 Mega Man Anniersary collection with 1-8 on one disc.

[indenton]

The Anniversary collection was never released in Europe, I would've gotten it otherwise.  I know it sucks

[betelgeuse]

8. Finally, if it is an auction style listing, save your bids for as close to the end time as possible! This took me a depressing amount of time to wrap my head around for as simple a concept as it is. Don't give in to the temptation to repeatedly bid early. Other bidders will only come along and enter bidding wars with you early on, unnecessarily raising the auction price. First bidder is okay, but even that you are better off just waiting as long as you possibly can.

Agree here 100%. Because sometimes "/looks around suspiciously" people like to bid on crap they don't even want. Usually the drinking is involved LOL. Sorry ebayers, but when I see the same person bidding back to back...I can't help myself LMAO. I have to fill in that bid!! I don't want to... I HAVE TO!!! Sure it back fires sometimes if they retract the bid, but that's the chance you take.

[dashv]

I've had decent luck with international orders.

Landed stuff at much more reasonable prices than here in the US.

You are right though that you need to be careful. Some eBay sellers aren't really international shipping savvy. Some will outright terminate the sale.

[gf78]

The Anniversary collection was never released in Europe, I would've gotten it otherwise.  I know it sucks

That really sucks.  I picked brand new/sealed copies of Mega Man Anniversary Collection and the Mega Man X Collection as a pair for less than $30.

[Warmsignal]

Random question for ya, gf78. You wouldn't happen to have a YouTube account by the name of "helldestroyer77", would you? Your number of choice doesn't match, but your demeanor and general approach to eBay just reminds me a lot of that guy from what I've watched.

I'll add that even following all of this, you can still get screwed. Most sellers on eBay are only about 75% honest, and about 50% as helpful as they should be in the sale of their own stuff. Most of the time, they lack common sense, even ones with perfect feedback can lack it. They might mail me an expensive Sega Saturn game in unpadded envelope, or they will take plenty of pictures of Sega CD title, but forget to photograph the mold growing all over the booklet, or the crack in the disc, until after I've paid over $100 for their "pristine" condition game.

I just bought a DS game without seeing the instruction booklet, but I asked to be sure, and they assured me it's in there. I'm half expecting it to have nothing but the health and safety, even though I went as far as describing that the booklet should match the cover.

My point in all this ranting - even eBay's good sellers aren't that good. You will be lucky to find someone who is completely honest, and who cares about getting your stuff shipped in one piece after you've paid them. If you do find that seller, definitely save them. Cherish them, because they are few. There's actually a lot that goes into selling on eBay the right way and it can be quite the job, but most only do it on the side, with their spare time. So they cut corners.

Sometimes the risk is just worth having that game you can't get anywhere else.

[gf78]

Random question for ya, gf78. You wouldn't happen to have a YouTube account by the name of "helldestroyer77", would you? Your number of choice doesn't match, but your demeanor and general approach to eBay just reminds me a lot of that guy from what I've watched.

I'll add that even following all of this, you can still get screwed. Most sellers on eBay are only about 75% honest, and about 50% as helpful as they should be in the sale of their own stuff. Most of the time, they lack common sense, even ones with perfect feedback can lack it. They might mail me an expensive Sega Saturn game in unpadded envelope, or they will take plenty of pictures of Sega CD title, but forget to photograph the mold growing all over the booklet, or the crack in the disc, until after I've paid over $100 for their "pristine" condition game.

I just bought a DS game without seeing the instruction booklet, but I asked to be sure, and they assured me it's in there. I'm half expecting it to have nothing but the health and safety, even though I went as far as describing that the booklet should match the cover.

My point in all this ranting - even eBay's good sellers aren't that good. You will be lucky to find someone who is completely honest, and who cares about getting your stuff shipped in one piece after you've paid them. If you do find that seller, definitely save them. Cherish them, because they are few. There's actually a lot that goes into selling on eBay the right way and it can be quite the job, but most only do it on the side, with their spare time. So they cut corners.

Sometimes the risk is just worth having that game you can't get anywhere else.

LOL...sorry, but I don't do much "Youtubing" unless it just to watch some videos.

And you are right about eBay.  I buy & sell on there.  I almost never buy items that are the lowest price.  I'm willing to pay a bit more to get exactly what I want.  As I said before, I will almost never buy something that doesn't have multiple pictures and a thorough description. 

My user/seller ID on eBay is tempest92.  When I was selling (full time), I busted my ass.

1)  I made sure my listing had multiple pictures and a thorough description with notes on any flaws the item has.

2)  I list handling time as 2 days, but typically ship the very next day.  It just depends on when the item sells and is paid for.  If I can get it wrapped up before bedtime, I will take it with me and mail it after work the very next day. 

3)  Something cheap like a $2 CD or cheap DVD film I ship in padded mailers.  Video games I take more care and bubble wrap and ship in a box. 

4)  I always use either First Class mail or Priority Mail.  Truth be told, Priority Mail takes 2-3 days.  First Class mail will arrive in 2-3 days as well, 4 at most.  It just depends on how big the price difference is.  I'm willing to eat a little bit off my sale to ensure the buyer gets their item as fast as possible. 

5)  I never sold items I had no clue about.  If I was selling something, I was sure I knew everything I could about it.  Usually, items I sold frequently were games, movies, music CD's, action figures...stuff like that.  For example, when I sold Rahxephon volume 1 on DVD with the collector's box that would hold all volumes, I knew exactly what it was and listed it as such.

But yeah, most sellers don't have the patience and/or the knowledge or give-a-shit to do their homework or actually care about what they are selling.  If you look at my feedback, many of them say how awesome it was, how the item looked like it was just unwrapped, how fast the shipping was, etc.  I'm actually pretty proud of my eBaying accomplishments.