I am in my forties(just), I like value for money, I will pay a little more for quality, but am quite...
I am in my forties(just), I like value for money, I will pay a little more for quality, but am quite thrifty. I hope my reviews help anyone looking to purchase any of the products or services I review.
Member since:01.01.2001
Reviews:65
Members who trust:56
I registered with e-bay a couple of months ago, with the vague notion that one day I might buy something! Well, I have since made two purchases and one sale and I must say I enjoyed the experience very much.
Registration consists of giving your name and address, a valid e-mail address, setting up your user name and password, and that’s it! You can register your credit card details if you want, but I being the cautious type decided against it.
You can personalize your e-bay, once registered, and select which options you wish to include in “My e-bay”. Once registered you can go to my e-bay and monitor your account, and see at a glance how long your auctions have left to run, incidentally you can run your auction for up to 10 days.
Well, firstly the site itself is quite easy to navigate, you can browse through the different categories, whichever takes your
fancy, and see what people are selling, and also what people are prepared to pay for those goodies!!
There are discussionforums, where you can ask questions of other e -bayers, some of the forums are for United States e-bayers, and others just for UK e-bayers. You learn a lot from reading the posts, and I would advise you to do just that first before you buy or sell.
Anyone who has traded on e-bay will probably have feedback, this gives you some idea about the person you are buying from or selling to. Feedback comments will help you learn whether a seller posts goods out promptly and also whether the goods are in decent condition, or whether a buyer comes up with payment in good time! This internet auction thing is based largely on trust, and I think the majority of people are pretty honest, but the feedback comments are there for you to read, and may help you decide whether to trade with someone or not. Of course someone who has not traded yet will have feedback of zero, so you have to decide whether to trust or not, it’s up to you.
You always have the option of e-mailing a seller to ask questions, I have done this a couple of times and always had a quick response.
E-bay have some nice security features, such as insurance in the case of fraud or malpractice. They also have guidelines which are designed to keep bad traders out.
*In response to one of the comments, there is a scheme for compensation if you are a buyer and feel you have been defrauded, the item in question has to be over £15 in value, and the maximum compensation is £120. If you are the seller ALWAYS wait for cheques to clear before posting goods.*
If you have a bid for an item, you will get an e-mail if you are outbid, you also have the option of setting the highest price you are willing to go up to, and e-bay will bid in increments each time a counter bid is placed, this is called proxy bidding. The other bidders and the seller cannot see what your highest price is, and in some cases you may get the item without reaching your maximum bid!
There are fees for selling on e-bay, and they are on a sliding scale depending on the price of the item you sell. The fees for car sales are fixed, and are at a different rate.
Remember when you are selling an item to think about the costs of posting it to the purchaser, visit the Royal Mail web site at http://www.royalmail.com/default.htm to get some idea of postage costs, and always state whether the seller is to pay postage!
If you are buying take the cost of postage into account too, as your purchase may not be so much of a bargain as you had thought!
I have purchased a couple of small items, and I paid a fair price for them. I have also sold one item, and was paid promptly by the buyer, who incidentally had good feedback ratings from others. So my own experience has (so far) been a positive one.
What I have found amazing though is the amount of high bids a person will make to “win” an item; in some cases they have paid the same price for an item which they can pick up brand new at Argos! This I have found particularly true in the gaming section, for example a Buffy The Vampire Slayer game for a Gameboy Colour is £22.99 at Argos, and I have seen bids for £19 on e-bay, so when the cost of postage is added it is just plain silly to buy this way!
I suppose it is all about “winning”, and that is the danger with auction sites, unless you are disciplined enough to stop bidding when you know you should, you may get stung. Very often you can get the same item new, and for the same price or less elsewhere. You do need to try and be rational, or you will get caught up in the bidding fever and may live to regret it!
Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable and exciting activity, and when you get your item at the right price you really feel good.
So if you fancy participating in an online auction, give it a go, and have a look in the loft because one man’s junk is another mans treasure!
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Good opinion. You might want to try selling some old stuff. You will be amazed what you will get for it (it's all about winning, right?)
fairy_kitty 17.06.2002 15:32
Hey! Great op :-) I love Ebay, it's a great way to make money off old baby clothes that you'd otherwise given to the charity shop or something! The only thing I don't like about Ebay are the timewasters, who bid with no intensions of paying, and the people who don't send the goods. They spoil it for the good Ebayers like us :(
Karnage 13.04.2002 21:24
Great op, I shall have to start using Ebay in future to clean up some of the junk I have...keep the great ops coming :)
Advantages: Wide range of items, cheap, easy to use, saves you a lot of money Disadvantages: I think I might be addicted.....non-paying bidders.....fees
silver_tiger 09.08.2004 (09.08.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of ebay.co.uk
Advantages: Proxy bidding, do not have to list credit card. Disadvantages: Can take up to 7 days for your account to be credited if you send your payment
carolinesite 27.02.2001 ·
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Review of ebay.co.uk
Sep 5th, 2001
(Oct 4th, 2001)
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