What items lend themselves to a safer Ebay experience than others?
homer742 asked:
I just unknowingly purchased a stolen phone from ebay. I called my provider before the purchase, and they warned me of this risk. I went ahead because of price and sure enough…
After I found out it was stolen, I began to warn my tech support customers about ebay, and one seemed to take it personally, being that he’s a power-seller. He said it depends on what you buy. What things are safer, and what things are less safe to buy on ebay?
I just unknowingly purchased a stolen phone from ebay. I called my provider before the purchase, and they warned me of this risk. I went ahead because of price and sure enough…
After I found out it was stolen, I began to warn my tech support customers about ebay, and one seemed to take it personally, being that he’s a power-seller. He said it depends on what you buy. What things are safer, and what things are less safe to buy on ebay?
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:30 am
I buy almost all my phones on EBay. The secret is to get the hex # or as much info about the phone as you can. Then call your phone company and see if the phone is clean before you buy it. If you do get a stolen phone then you also can put in a claim through EBay and they will refund your money.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I deal with Ebay alot. There’s really not any thing sold there that’s safer to by than another. I just got burned twice during the Christmas holiday. The first item was a $70 E815 Motorola for use with Alltel. The phone was clear to activate but the phone was not good as it would not hold a charge, keypad fell apart & the phone kept overheating! Next, I won a supposed New 2gb Insignia Mp3 player for $60 & that didn’t turn on! Finally, yesterday, I received a new Memory Stick (Kingjet brand) for my psp that I paid $17 and it too is no good as the psp nor my computer does not recognized the card, therefore it won’t even format it. Since I paid for the memory stick through Paypal, If the seller does not refund my money, I will file a claim. Paypal allows 3 claims per calendar year. Never buy a cell phone off Ebay unless the seller can tell you the ESN number before you bid on it. Then you can call your provider and see if the phone’s ESN number is clear. If the seller won’t tell you the ESN number ahead of time, more than like he/she knows the phone is locked or stolen. Another tip when using Ebay…STAY AWAY from sellers with Feedback lower than 98%. Regardless, if they are a powerseller, a feedback that low means that they have a hight rate of unhappy buyers. Once I get a bad product from a Ebay seller, I never go back to them again. I will never buy another used cell phone from Ebay, but I will buy one new if it’s priced lower than retail. Once you have filed 3 claims with Paypal ( I did last year) You really should consider using you credit card for future purchases. This way, you can file a claim with them and get your money back if the seller sells you a bad item.
April 4th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I personally have sold a number of phones on ebay in the past. Best thing to do is make sure you read through the users feedbacks on previous auctions and also find out as much as you can about the phone. Make sure the phone your looking at has a full description and not just one sentence etc.