Five Steps for Playing It Safe on eBayeBay Safety Tips for Buyers and Bidders© by Cheryl Coccaro; all rights reservedWhether you are buying or selling on eBay, most transactions are generally very safe. As a buyer, there are few steps you can take to help make your purchase a positive one.
1) The first, and most important, rule of thumb is to learn about the seller before you make a purchase. You might ask yourself, how do I do that? Well, the best way to do this is to check their feedback. Look for how high their feedback score is and what percentage of their score is positive. By reading the comments left by the seller's previous trading transactions, you will be able to see what they had to say about their experience with the seller or the buyer. This will give you a feeling of confidence when it's your time.
2) Should you have questions about a particular item, click on the "Ask Seller a Question" link to send an email to the seller with your question. If you get a really quick response, that is an indication that the seller is on top of things. If your email goes ignored....you should wonder why? You would not want to send that person your money, and perhaps not hear from them, or not receive the item you purchased.
As a rule of thumb, most sellers want you to be comfortable with your purchase decision, and are extremely happy to answer your questions. You should not bid on the item until you are satisfied with the answer you have received from the seller.
3) After you have won the item, make sure that you are paying with confidence. On eBay, PayPal is the safest, fastest, and easiest way to pay for your purchase. You can pay securely with a credit card or e-check, and still be covered under their payment protection policy. 4) To avoid being deceived by fraudulent escrow services, use www.escrow.com, eBay's approved escrow service. Escrow is available for any purchase, but typically is used for purchases of $500 or more. I advise you to use caution when considering escrow.
5) I strongly discourage using instant cash transfer services such as MoneyGram or Western Union. A bidder should be especially cautious if one or both of these are the only payment methods accepted by the seller. Never bid on listings where the seller only accepts cash sent wrapped securely. I would never advise sending cash through the mail for any purchase you make. Although most eBayers are honest, the dishonest ones are also selling on eBay. Sign Up for |
