Anime & Video Game Collectors read on...
I have to hand it to them, that despite many unhappy experiences they are the clear market leader. The US site is nothing short of amazing and has everything you could ever need. There are bargains galore to be had even with shipping added on. Just control yourself & avoid those must have collectors items which cost a bomb.
Anime & Video Games
Most video games can be had for cheap here & i have built a huge collection in ebay, saving huge amounts of money. Just keep yourself away from the collectors items & really rare games as games like Shining Force 3 & Panzer Dragoon Saga on the Sega Saturn fetch ever increasing
prices. The bulk of the bargains are to be had in the US, most will ship internationally if u will pay shipping. The best way i find is to pay by credit card through a service like bidpay.com since i have yet to see an international money order & sending cash is a bit risky. Though i do it all the time & all i lost is $4 so far...
Due to the sheer volume of auctions many sellers start their auctions off at very low prices & just let demand decide the closing price. There has been many times i have picked up anime tapes for real cheap even after shipping is added. One trick is to buy anime on vcd format as cds are much cheaper to send. Do check that sellers will ship internationally before bidding or u may find yourself with negative feedback. Also don't get too caught up in the bidding as another copy of what u want will undoubtedly come along.
Best way is not to browse but to search for exactly what you are looking for because categories like anime contain just far too many items to scour. Another trick is to view just the items which are ending soon.
Also do check authenticity so you don't get any surprises.
Only thing to bear in mind is compatibility issues. For example, most game systems require some converter (which are banned from Ebay) to play foreign games. Also bear in mind that the VHS format in US is NTSC, not Pal - though most new VCRS can playback NTSC.
Other Categories
What can i say except very complete. If not available on the UK site it should be on the US site.
Listing
The listing interface has gotten much simpler with recent improvements & they finally have picture hosting so you can upload those pics of your goods. Variables such as the length of auction, reserve price, private auction etc make listing totally painless. No faults here.
Feedback
This is perhaps the best way to gauge an individuals trustworthiness. Be sure to check they are from different users & not just fake alliances with another individual.
UK Site underdeveloped
The UK site is a bit quiet but i think that is because online auctions in the UK have not really taken off. But i also think the introduction of listing fees in the UK were a bit premature & had an immediate effect of cutting back the number of auctions that were posted. I mean for a lot of sellers after paying the insertion fee & final value fee it really was not worth the effort.
That said it is still the market leader even in the UK. Though i find the UK yahoo auctions are a close second & there is no listing or final value fee.
I suppose the fees are going somewhere as there are constant improvements compared to the other sites, though the UK site i doubt will ever catch up with the US one.
Ultra Rigorous Copyright Policy
Seemingly a law unto themselves at times they actually state that they will remove items even if they are not illegal! They will often remove items like official dvds purchased in say Asia that u have for sale in the UK, for reasons that they are not licensed for sale in the UK. Yet they allow you to buy the US items which are not licensed for sale in the UK? Don't even try to produce documents from HMS Customs proving itmes are legal - they just dont cut it with eBay.
Aside from this the complaints procedure is terrible. When u complain about something they will pass the buck if possible & if not a favourite is to answer with a passage which bears no relevance at all! To tell the truth even with a legally sound argument you will give up in disgust as you will get nowhere with you arguments. I have heard many similar accounts from others who are dissatisfied with the service.
Unauthorised Credit Card Billing
As you may have discovered - & if not take note - the one time credit card billing is not what it claims. If you do not send payment promptly then they will take it upon themselves to charge your card without your permission now that they have your details!
by (75%):
by (25%):
13.01.2005 11:09
Would be interested to hear what happened about those unagreed credit card transactions- or did you just pay them? Card security is a concern for me after previous problems with a particular company, and my bank's lack of interest in the problem.
03.12.2000 20:21
This is a really useful review, thanks. It answered all the questions I would have had. I did want to read about the PAL type problems. It's a shame you're using phrases like "u" rather than "you" because otherwise I would guess reviews like this have a good chance of being awarded those £15 bonuses in this new scheme Ciao will be launching in the new year.