Items on ebay

Hi all,
Just a "heads-up" - have just posted a few items on ebay, if anyone's interested.
I also have a superb condition SMC-A 50mm/f1.4 and an SMC-FA 28-70/f4 that need a new homes PM me if you're interested, otherwise I'll shove 'em up next week.

Just look for "puzzle_box" on ebay
http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZpuzzle_boxQQhtZ-1

Matt

Superb comms & rapid delivery. Filter in excellent condition. Very happy buyer! Buyer camster_factor (114) 21-Dec-05 14:30

I knew the seller id was familiar! ;~)

How HONEST do you think Ebay sellers are ? I have bought a 16-0n kit for Rolleicord and some 220 outdated film for my Pentax 6x7 and have paid by Paypal last week and am STILL WAITING for the goods to arrive ( two different sellers) . How SOON should one expect delivery when something is won on E Bay ? Maybe someone on this Forum can advise.
Peter.

Peter,
I've had this situation a couple of time before - read the ebay FAQs and you'll see that you, as a buyer, can request the seller information. I've done this then telephoned them until I got the goods
Not all ebay sellers are like that though! I'm definitely speedy on delivery and payment!
Matt

99% of the time, Ebay is fine. Don't buy from people who look dodgy, and check feedback. Negative feedback isn't always bad, sometimes it is from people who are clearly unreasonable. It's a good idea to actually read the feedback, rather than go by the percentage.

G

Peter,

Do check that your paypal payment has gone through - I had the unfortunate experience recently that paypal seemed to decide to do a bank transfer, rather than an instant payment. Took about 14 days for the money to get to the seller. Couldn't see any way of getting round it once I'd figured out what was happening, just had to apologise and wait.

Dan

As a seller, as soon as I receive payment then the goods are sent the very next morning. Which means cleared payment of course, but with PayPal that is usually instant.

As a buyer I buy carefully and, so far, have only had minor problems and very rarely even that.

By and large i think it is the best way to buy or sell, and it has the benefits of being (usually) very fast and worldwide.

Thanks for all your replies: I am still 'new' to the EBay lark ! There are definitely some dodgy people on there; I was bidding on an expensive lens;in the bidders' list it had 'identity concealed'on all the prices, then I had a 'second chance'offer sent to me, the seller was in Dagenham, Essex not far from me BUT he had zero feedback and had only just joined EBay so I thought I would wait; then the lens came up again; then in a different list the SAME lens came up with the 'identity concealed' buyer again ! It was the same seller from Dagenham- three times the same item and you couldn't see who was bidding ! Also, again I had about 6 'Second Chance'offers for another lens, most from USA, one from Italy, one from Western Australia even ALL supposedly being the seller who I KNEW was from the UK ! How could all these people from all over the world be the seller? They had my user-name AND my real name and left messages on my computer e-mail and in EBay'My Messages' too; hope they are not getting my identity for fraud, it makes me worried !

Dont worry to much untill a couple of weeks has passed, if you dont get your item by then, by all means contact the seller.

My top rules for trading on ebay.

1) Avoid sellers who insist you leave them feedback FIRST (why? aren't they confident you'll like the goods?)
2) Avoid Sellers who list extortionate postage costs, they're simply trying to cheat the system.
3) Do read sellers feedback and try and ascertain if the negative ones are simply sour grapes from the buyer or rightly justified.
4) Definately look at what other items (if any) the seller has listed, also go through their feedback to see what else they have sold, IMHO a huge diversity of goods may well suggest they are selling stolen goods (unless they are a genuine business in which case they will more than likely say so.
5)Avoid sellers who hide their feedback or other information.
6) Avoid sellers who claim they are not responsible for loss in post if you dont insure the item...to a point this is rubbish, under ebays terms it is the sellers responsbility to ensure the delivery of goods, if it gets lost in the post it is THEIR problem not yours, it is up to them to obtain a reciept for posting the item (if not sent via recorded delivery) OK this only covers you for up to £30 in value so for any item over this amount then pay the extra for recorded or special delivery.

hope this helps

You can't fault the advice above, I'm a big user of ebay having bought mostly (over 400 items) and sold a fair bit (getting on for 80+ items). I go by the same handle as on here... I tend to only sell items that I have a passion for and a little expertise in.

My top tips for buying are:
1./ Make sure that you know as much about the item that you're buying as possible - google the item, you never know a 'normal' online retailer may have it cheaper.
2./ Take time to research prices, with more common items they'll come up again and again so don't always go for the first thing that you see.
3./ Look out for detailed well written descriptions, doesn't always mean that the item is good quality but people who take time with their listings are generally the more reliable sellers.
4./ ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS FIRST - if you don't get an answer or the one that you want don't bid...
5./ Pay promptly and communicate well with the seller, always ask them to tell you when the item is on it's way.

Top tips for selling:
1./ Take good clear pictures - making a special point to cover any known faults
2./ Write a detailed description
3./ Be as honest as possible about any problems with the item
4./ Be clear about any terms for the sale - postage, payment methods, insurance
5./ Answer questions quickly
6./ Use recorded delivery or a service that provides tracking details - it's safer for both of you...

Leave feedback only when you're happy with the transaction. Always try to resolve things amicably first and if this doesn't work use ebay or paypal's dispute resolution services (this has worked well for me and got me a refund in a couple of instances when I was mislead by inaccurate listings).

Yes there are a number of people that try to mis-use ebay but they are generally easy enough to spot - if you smell a rat then it usually means something's not right. Trust your instincts...

However, there are a lot of fabulous items that do come up at great prices from excellent people. I've made a number of great contacts from using ebay that allow me to enjoy my passions at prices I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. Most of my old collection of M and A series lenses came from ebay - the only bad photographic buy I've had was my first LX purchase and I managed to get the cost of a full service back from the seller. Took a while to sort but I ended up better off, with a fab LX that I knew the service history of. And... added into the bargain, I learnt one hell of a lot from that transaction - both about the workings of that camera and how to trade on ebay.

Will

Buying/selling on ebay can be a minefield. As a general rule, beware of sellers with new ebay accounts and/or zero feedback selling expensive items.

If you bid on any item, a rogue seller can get all the information they need to offer you a 'second chance offer' for a non-existant product.

ALWAYS RESIST & IGNORE unsolicited offers. Remember what your parents taught you; "If it sounds too good to be true . . . it probably is".

That said, some months ago I bid on and won, from a seller with zero feedback who even had their first listing pulled by ebay because it looked dodgy, a *istD incl. all accessories + SMCP-FA 100mm Macro lens for £450.00. The seller delivered the item in person to my home and included 2 X 2Gb CF memory cards. I thought Christmas had come early.

The moral of this story is that ebay sellers have to start somewhere and if they are genuine and choose to sell expensive items as their first sale, bargains can be had. My son bought a SMCP-FA 80-320mm zoom lens from a zero feedback seller (with my guidance) and got it for £40, another bargain, the lens is spotless.

It's a bit like betting really, only risk what you can afford to lose to zero feedback rogues, or better still, do your research.

BTW, have a look here for some of my surplus photo gear on ebay. Amongst them is a nearly new D-BG1 Battery grip for the *istD and a beautiful SMCP-M 1:1.4 50mm lens. Go on, you know you want one . Perfectly genuine reason for sale . . . I want a K10D so these have to go.

Will,

Just had a look at your site. I am afraid to say that I find all the Flash animation stuff extremely off-putting. It gets in the way of the photographs. I don't know who designed the site, but he ought to know that it is meant to be a showcase for your images, not his highly questionable web design skills.

G

I looked at your site a couple of days ago Will and I have to agree with George. Too much Flash and not enough Photo for my liking, especially when some links have only one or two images.

If a web site is worth the trouble it's worth the trouble to do it well.

Yes, all very good advice Spidy and I find #1 is what is ruining EBay. The feedback is becoming meaningless because people are afraid to leave honest feedback for fear of retaliatory feedback from the seller and it is very difficult to have it removed. The only relevant feedback a seller should give is how prompt the payment was made, so to holdback until the buyer leaves feedback is pure intimidation. I have seen people leaving positive feedback even after they been totally scammed. My question is how do you know ahead of time that the seller will holdback feedback because they usually never tell you that until it is too late?

BTW my best experience has been with sellers with relatively low scores because they have the most to lose percentage-wise with bad feedback. My worst has been with obvious clearing houses for multiple types of merchandise. Also a good indicator for me is to check the Feedback Left For Others. Quite telling about their attitude.

Cheers

Drew

There is a good reason for waiting for a buyer to leave their feedback - this is the point at which they confirm safe receipt.

I have often left feedback first and sometimes a buyer will weeks and weeks later then claim non-receipt and they try to use their outstanding feedback as intimidation of a different kind. It is wise to remember that some buyers are rogues....

Much simpler and safer to wait for that confirmation of satisfaction and then finish off with the seller's feedback.

But let's not eggagerate the situation because 99% + of the time all is smooth and well.