Why E-Bay ?
 

With so many posts advising of rip-off's on e-bay why do people even bother to get sucked into buying there?????

Because, imo, it offers the things you don't typically find in yards or at swap meets anymore. Plus, the convenience of sitting on your rear and not sweating a wrench in a spider/snake infested yard. That has got to have value.

ebay has thousands of auctions end daily that go off without a hitch and like uprmich says you can get things you would not normaly find and sometimes you can even get it at a good price the down side is that ebay could care less if you get ripped off all they care about is getting their fees i have bought 100's of items off ebay and not had any problems other than some slow shipping on the selling side i have had better luck on ebay than anywhere else that i sell including this site

The "bad" auctions represent only a miniscule portion of a percentage of the auctions on Ebay.

We have found Ebay to be the very best place (off our site) to transact business. Far superior to swap meets; or any forums such as this site on the internet.

Like here or at a swap meet, one needs to know the product and the value of the product.

Jon.

Yeah, especially for those of us who get distracted looking for snakes and spiders instead of car parts. :D

Out of the thousands of transactions that I've done on ebay, my biggest problem has been winning bidders not paying but I have always been able to recover my ebay fees for these auctions and usually sell with a "second chance offer" so it's no big deal.

Out of the items that I have purchased, I have only been ripped on two small items. Both of these were years ago before Paypal got to be so popular (and wasn't owned by ebay) and I sent a money order and never received the item. That problem is easily solved now; I ONLY pay via Paypal. If a seller doesn't accept Paypal, they don't get my business. I've had a few people that I've paid via Paypal not send me the item, but I filed a dispute w/Paypal each time and they refunded my money EVERY time w/o hassle.

Like others have said where else can you find what you're looking for so easily and have it shipped to your door. My time is worth money and the less time spent scrounging junkyards, the more money I save in the long run.:)

Ebay is EASY!!! Very easy. To mirror what some guys here have said I have been buying and selling things on ebay for a few years. Only once did I have a negative experience. 1 time out of about 100 isn't bad at all in my opinion.

Also think about it this way: I have a wife, 2 kids, and big families on both my and my wife's side. When the big swap meets come there is usually 10-12 other things that have to be done. Ebay is like a swap meet at my fingertips everyday!!

my policy towards paypal is very different and if a seller will not accept a postal m/o i usally feel something is wrong as what is to stop someone from getting your money and then cancelling their paypal account now you have no recourse as far as taking paypal for payment this just drives up the already high fees associated with ebay selling i have always accepted only m/o on my auctions and have never failed to sell because of it

I have been buying and selling on Ebay for 8 years and have done 4 or 5 thousand transactions. I have had 2 or 3 small problems but never for more that a few dollars. When I started using Paypal, it was free and they even gave you $5 for signing up. I have never had a problem with a Payapl deal. I also find that I get more/higher bids by accepting Paypal. The buyers like the convience of being able to pay without the hassle of going to the post office. I like the fact that I can be paid within a few minutes of the auction ending. As for the fees, I find that the higher bids I usually get because of accepting Paypal make up for the fees I have to pay. Also by accepting Paypal, I don't have to run to the bank every time I get paid for an auction. I live in the sticks so it is about a 45 minute trip to the bank and back for me. As someone said earlier, "time is money."
James

IMO, what's a IMO, must be something you saw along with the spiders and snakes! I just asked the question because it seems there are more and more posts about rip-off's. But from many of the responses there are also a lot of good deals and honest people selling on E-Bay.

thats why i only take postal m/o you can cash them at the post office when you ship your items also the post office can tell you right there if it is good and then you have cash in hand i have never had a problem by not taking paypal i have heard some real horror stories from people who have been ripped off by paypal users did you know if someone requests a refund from paypal they will return the money to the buyer without any input from the seller and then the seller is not only out the part but also the money so be very wary of paypal

Phil, IMO= In My Opinion, keeps everyone from jumping on your comments (usually) because opinions are like @#$holes, everyone has one. As far as spiders and snakes, well lets just say if I have the opportunity to rid the junkyards of either I take it. There is plenty of other habitat for them that I won't trespass on. NOTHING is worse than being under a car in NC and having a non-poisonous black snake fall on you or move 6 inches from your head...NOTHING. It is the closest I have ever come to knocking myself out. :biggerGri

Ebay is convenient, and often results in less aggravation than selling the old fashioned way.

Example: I sold a pair of 69-72 A-body bucket seats some time back. I advertised them here, in our local GTO clubs newsletter, and included them in a Hemmings ad. The seats were $250 and were nice. There were a few people interested, but no follow through. I put them on Ebay with no reserve and sold them for $405.

I've just started using Ebay, and I have decided not to take Paypal due to scams and issues others have had. It might cost me a little in the long run, but I will not argue with a corporate entity who is only concerned about their bottom line. I accept personal checks and allow them a week to clear. If you want it quicker, get a MO.

Mike

UPRMICH, thanks for the info on IMO, am getting kinda old and don't know all the buzz words now-a -days. But I do know if I was under a car in a yard and a snake fell on me I'd crap myself ,and then always look to e-bay for parts.

Ive bought alot of items off ebay and only had 1 bad experience with a $20 phenolic carb spacer. When it arrived it looked like it had been dropped off the empire state building and pieces were missing so i dont think the shipper did it. I use ebay as a reference for certain parts as well. Theres some good info on there from some of the sellers in there listings.

I like the convenience of letting the seach engine do the shopping for the best deal. I have bought many things and so far, so good. I hate dealing with the Money order deal as it becomes a hassle. Pay pal is so much easier and I will go out of my way to buy with paypal than a money order. When I sell, I only use Paypal. If you check out feedbacks, it can give you a good idea what you are getting into. I bought a used dual stage big shot nitrous kit and thought it might go sour as the seller only had about 8 sales and wasnt returning emails. Well I did a search on his address and name and found out his computer just died. Likely story, I thought. Well 3 days later I get an email and he is borrowing a computer to do the transactions now and he also tried sending the fuel pump but UPS wouldnt take it because of fumes. I checked out his buying and selling and he was buying Turbo stuff so it made sense that he was getting rid of the nitrous for turbo. Anyway with the low feedback numbers, I was sort of nervous but 6 days later I got my Dual stage big shot, with a cool plate to hold the 4 solenoids, Fuel filter, electric fuel pump, lines, bottle etc for $300. I was offered a brand new single stage big shot before I even received mine. Thats why we shop Ebay. I just bought a brand new LM1 with Aux Box 3 for $470 + $20 shipping. It shows $589 + shipping from the manufacturer.

Like most people responding, I think eBay is great. It's like a virtual junkyard or parts house where things show up that you would not have found otherwise. Some things I would not have even thought of buying had they not shown up on eBay. It's especially useful if you have a rare car, one that's not very common, and for which hardly anything is reproduced. I have a 73 Grand Am project and I've been able to find everything I need to make it look like new. I'd have never found many of those parts without eBay.

Also, I have sold parts that would have been hard to sell otherwise and for prices I never thought I would get for them. Where else do you have such a large market place to advertise your item? So it has made me alot of money too.

I have over 700 transactions, buying and selling and have never been scammed. Where else can you look at a seller/buyer's feedback before deciding to do business with them? If you buy something from a publication like Hemmings, for example, sellers there want you to send them the money before they send you the part and you have no way to check their reputation. I like Hemmings and have never lost money buying there either, but you have less protection than on eBay because there's no seller feedback to refer to.

I don't know why people blame eBay for what happens to them. Would you blame Hemmings, the local advertiser magazine, the newspaper, or any other place where you find items for sale if someone rips you off? Ebay's a way to advertise, just like any other way to advertise. Unless it's a local sale that you can personally go over and check out the item before you pay, you are always taking your chances, no matter where you are buying from.

Fortunately, I have found that almost everybody is honest on eBay and try to make their customer happy, which I think, in part, is due to the feedback system. Everybody wants positive feedback, since it's good for business.

I like and use and accept PayPal too. More convenient for me and for my buyers. Never had a problem with it. I also accept Postal money orders since they are good as money and can be cashed at the Post Office so you can have cash in hand before shipping. I don't like to accept checks or other types of money orders or cashiers checks, because there is too much potential for fraud and counterfeit with them. Allowing only a week for them to clear the bank is not enough. They can come back as bad several weeks later and you lose all that money and your item. Not worth the risk. PayPal and postal money order are safest. Out of country buyers must use PayPal or forget it. And if someone can't go to the Post Office and get you a Postal money order, you don't need them either.

Being a seller, the eBay and PayPal fees are a little higher than I like, but when I sell, I almost always sell the item and I get more for my parts than I would have gotten anywhere else, so I still do quite well.

You have to use some common sense. I wouldn't send somebody alot of money for something, like a car, without being able to go see it and pick it up myself.

If you're scared of eBay, start with buying something small and get some experience and see how you like it.
In such a large market place, there will always be someone getting burned in whatever situation, but you can't let that stop you from taking advantage of eBay.

As a side note...Postal money orders are now being counterfeited...even a bank has a difficult time verifying them now.

YES POSTAL M/O'S ARE BEING COUNTERFITED BUT THE POST OFFICE CAN VERIFY AUTHENTICITY WHEN YOU GO THERE TO CASH THEM WHICH IS WHY THAT IS ALL I TAKE NOW. I HAVE HAD 2 COUNTERFIT WESTERN UNION M/O'S WHICH I LOST NOT JUST THE MONEY BUT THE PARTS ALSO I HAVE ALSO HAD 5 BOGUS PERSONAL MONEY ORDERS {WHICH ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A PERSONAL CHECK} BOUNCE IN MY ACCOUNT BUT AT LEAST I DID NOT SEND ITEMS AND ON 3 OF THEM WAS SUCCESFUL IN PROSECUTION OF THE SENDERS. SO TO ALL OUT THERE IN EBAY LAND POSTAL MONEY ORDERS ARE THE WAY TO GO!!!!!!!

Postal Money Orders are being counterfeited and not everyone goes to the PO to cash them. I have always deposited mine in my own bank account.

But the Nigerians have successfully copied them and I have seen scans of them -- They are perfect. :(

But I suppose if you go to the post office to cash them they can be verified on the spot.