Warning to ebay users - FBI arrest fraudster
 Dec 27th, 2000 (May 18th, 2001)
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Heaps of stuff available - it'll almost certainly have what you want .
Disadvantages:
You just have to trust the person you're dealing with .
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Yes
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  ImogenW
About me:
I'm 27, a freelance hack based in London, where I've lived all my life.
Member since:15.12.2000
Reviews:154
Members who trust:129
Review rated by 52 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
This review received a counterstatement by a party concerned
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You know, in a funny kind of way it is actually e-bay's fault that I'm writing on this site at all - this, and Dooyoo. The problem with e-bay, you see, is that it is utterly addictive. Unfortunately, where a dooyoo or Ciao dependency will earn you cash, e-bay has the opposite effect. If I hadn't spent so much there, I would probably have been less inclined to search out these places. Still, here I am and here you are, and as I'm actually suppposed to be writing a review so I'm going to stop wibbling now. Right. Let's start with the basic concept. Imagine a massive, massive junk shop, record fair, cut-price mall and car boot sale all rolled into one. Then imagine it about a hundred times bigger. At least. Now, you're approaching somethign that 's starting to resemble this vast, vast site. The word auction doesn't even begin to describe it. In fact, I'd be willing to pay £10 to anyone here who can think of something that can't be bought on e-bay. We've had babies, body parts, bits of the Cross.... you name it, it's there. And if you're a junk shop junkie like me, you won't be able to resist.
Not least because its so easy. You just register, and off you go. You can either browse everything
at once or search through categories, with items organisable in order of most recent on site, closest to ending, cheapest or most expensive. Found something you like? Yeah, I thought it wouldn't take long. Well, sometimes you can buy it outright, by clicking on Buy It Now, if the seller's gone for that option, which ends the auction immediately and enables you to purchase at the buy-it-now price fixed by the seller. Otherwise, you leave a bid. This works a bit like a proxy bid in an auction house, in that you enter the highest amount you are willing to pay, say £50, even if the auction is currently at £20. This means your bid will appear as £21, but the site will keep you in the running, and you'll keep winning until the bid exceeds £50, when you'll get an e-mail telling you you've been outbid. SO far so easy. Now, say you win an auction. You might be in for a nasty shock if you've bought something like a pair of shoes - please remember you'll be expected to pay for shipping, which can be a lot if its intercontinental. FOr this reason, US sellers in particular actually won't accept international bids - check this before you bid or you'll piss people off. So, you contact your seller and work out a total You can pay a number of ways, but it's a lot easier if your seller is in the same country. People are understandably wary of accepting personal cheques, or cash through the post however, so the best way is usually either Bid Pay, Billpoint or Paypal. This is how they work.
Bid Pay is basically a site where you can buy money orders on line. You'll pay a premium of about $5 to get a money order for your final total, which will automaticall be sent to them. Works well: the main drawback is you have to wait a few days for the money to arrive and you have to pay that premium. Billpoint is my favourite. You simply register your card details and then when you win an auction, the seller invoices you for the total and you basically just hit the pay button. The money is transferred immediately to their account with no fee, so it's fast and cheap. The drawback is that a lot of people don't accept it.
Paypal. The most popular method, which is really irritating as my repeated attempts to sign up to it have come to nothing. So that's its main drawback - it's a nightmare to register. On the other hand, its very widely accepted if you manage it. If I'd been able to get in, I could explain it... as it is, I have no idea about the practicalities. After that, you just sit back and wait for your item to arrive. Easy indeed. And when it does, you go back to e-bay and if you're a polite ebay sort, you leave complimentary feedback for your seller on their account. They should do the same for you. And you really should, because this is a particularly important element of e-bay, as its their front line defence against fraudsters. If you don't pay up or are late or don't even get in contact with your seller they WILL leave bad feed back on your account, and you may find your bids being refused in future. So don't bid for things you don't want. Well, duh. Similarly, if someone tries to rip you off or gets things wrong, you can leave negative feedback on them.
And this is a problem. Recently in the news there have been reports of a spate of e-bay fraudsters being caught selling everything from fake JK rowling signatures on Harry Potter books to computers that didn't exist. Now, you can read this two ways. You can think oh, it's really good they're catching these people - that shows their anti-fraud system works. Or you can think well, they've caught a few, but that just means there are loads more out there. Me, I land somewhere between the two. I love and trust e-bay, but the biggest transaction I've ever done there has been about $150, which is peanuts to some of the amounts that are reached, and I don't intend to go bigger. On the other hand, you can assume that the fields which attract fraudsters here are the same as those outside the net: ie electronics, memorabilia, designer clothes, jewellery etc, so with a dose of common sense I think you can avoid the obvious fakes - unless, of course, that's actually what you are after. SO there you go. Like I said, a bit too easy. But it deserves its reputation as the number one auction site on the net, and for killing a few hours and spending a few pounds it really can't be beat. The only actual advice I have to offer is really basic - I know it sounds obvious, but do read the auction descriptions before bidding. Check the sizes of clothes, the measurements of posters, whether they'll ship to the UK and the accepted methods of payment before even thinking about bidding - it'll save you so much hassle later on. E-mail people as soon as an auction concludes if possible, it will make a good impression and that's always a good thing. And don't think e-bay won't get on your case if you fail to bid or are plain crap about paying up, cos they will.
So, go check it out if you haven't already. Just don't blame me if you get hooked.
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21.05.2009 13:56
This is a really good review - I have tried to sell things on e-Bay but I find it quite confusing and I wish I had seen this comment before I started. It seemed to me to be really weighted down with wordy terms and conditions and I didn't find it easy to understand how to check for payments - and it took me a while to learn I could print off a postage label etc too. This comment should be read by anyone wanting to try selling on eBay, it would prepare them better than the actual site does.
03.12.2002 15:56
Hi there Imogen - I am hooked on ebay but I sell quite a bit of my own junk to make up for it! Great op - kate
20.10.2002 20:58
It's too late, the bastards have got me. Once again i spend hours considering buying musical equipment on ebay that i wouldn't look twice at if i saw it in a shop. Whats going on? It's alright though, as it seems to work on the theory that if you have something, then there is somebody else somewhere who wants it and is willing to pay. I just got £165 on ebay for a Speak&Spell machine that i rewired to make insane noises!! Good op, cheers