Question:
In addition to the already good advise here: – Check "completed items" to determine prior selling prices of the item to determine your bid (as well as checking B&H etc…) – Check seller feedback – if there is none and it is a high priced item – think twice. – Sorry but I tend not to buy if there’s no picture. I’ve caught mistakes, discrepencies in condition from photos more than once. I’ve bought and sold cameras, lenses and other accessories on ebay very successfully. If you are careful and know your prices, its a great resource. The folks I’ve dealt with have been honest and helpful. One guy even sent me a manual he found for the camera I had purchased from him. It was several months after the sale – and for FREE. Good luck. Liz – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, I was looking for lenses for my EOS 500 (rebel) on Ebay and supprised at some of the low prices, however looking at your EBAY Lunacy threads I am worried. Has anyone sucessfully purchased lenses from Ebay, what advice would you give for someone that i considering this. Ps I am in Australia Peter — ICQ- 1644582 Townsville
Response:
I am an active Ebay member both buyer and seller. I have only been burned 1 time and had I done the homework and checked feedback first I would have known better than to deal with those people in the first place. Look for sellers who have high numbers at least above 25 and look at the feedback. Read any negatives in the last 6 months and if they have more than 3 negative feedbacks be wary! I can’t even brag of a wholesome non-negative feedback profile myself. Thanks to hubby’s temper at a lady who sold him a midget size figurine for an extrodinary price! I will tell you that you need to get postal MO’s or use Paypal so that you can have some sort of receipt that shows you payed for that item. Also maintain good communication with your seller so that they know your intentions and when and how you are paying. I also never buy anything for a huge amount of money that I can’t afford to lose. I would be weary sending someone over a couple of hundred dollars especially via MO. All in all, most ebay people are like you and I just plain ole’ hard working honest people selling stuff they don’t need anymore. Hope this helps, TC
Response:
Many eBay sellers do offer some sort of "money back guarantee". If you believe that the product is not what was advertised you can send it back and get your money back (w/o shipping). Also check the reputation of the dealer via the feedback forum. Good luck! Mark Vander Pol
Response:
Read descriptions carefully: A 50mm f1.8 lens for a Canon Autofocus Camera in good condition: May not be an auto focus lens May not be a Canon lens May not be "good" by your standards Ask your questions before hand. Save the email answers in case you have to go to safe harbor. Ask if it works or what functions are broken. Get them to be specific so you have something to base a complaint on. I recently sold a custom made flash bracket on Ebay. I stated it was built for use with a ETRS and Sunpak 522. After sending an email to the winning bidder to tell him where to send the funds, I received back a email asking if it would work with a Mamiya 645 and a Metz 45cl. Never having owned either, I could only speculate. I told the buyer that it was a little late to be asking that question, since he had already bought it. I asked him to let me know right away if he didn’t want it so that I could contact the next higher bidder. He wants it, but the questions as to whether it would work for him should have been asked and answered before he ever bid. He risked getting bad feedback for not completing a deal if he had declined to buy or if it doesn’t work, he will have incurred the bother and expense and possible loss of re-selling it. I’m sure it will work, but the point is to ask first. I was recently interested in a digital camera for which the description was unusually sparse. I emailed asking if they had tested it and was it working. The response I got was: "Yes, we got several lovely pictures." Was that before it broke? I wrote them back telling them that I needed them to say in writing "yes it works." Be sure and follow the other posters advise about establishing value. Also make sure that the seller is willing to ship to you. You may have to guide him/her in how to. I just sold something to a guy in Hong Kong and he sort of guided me through the process. http://www.usps.com has a rate guide for international shipping that is very good. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, I was looking for lenses for my EOS 500 (rebel) on Ebay and supprised at some of the low prices, however looking at your EBAY Lunacy threads I am worried. Has anyone sucessfully purchased lenses from Ebay, what advice would you give for someone that i considering this. Ps I am in Australia Peter — ICQ- 1644582 Townsville
Response:
<<Has anyone sucessfully purchased lenses from Ebay, what advice would you give for someone that i considering this. Ps I am in Australia The previous poster wrote excellent advice, that is exactly my approach. I would add my thoughts that most final prices on eBay are higher than one would pay for the same equipment at reputable dealers in the US. When I see something that looks good, I set my maximum price I will pay based upon market value, and considering I am buying blind from an unknown party. Then I determine how bad I want it. Based on these I set my max price I will bid, and be sure that emotion and excitement will not let me bid above this point. For some items I say "I don’t need this, but if I could get it for x$, then that would be nice." I bid to that point only, not $1 beyond. Also assume nothing about the condition or included assessories in a product offered on eBAy. Ask the seller explicit questions, preferably with yes/no answers. If the seller does not respond, don’t bid. There is a reason for the lack of response. Can’t help with advice based on your location. Larry Larry To reply via E-Mail, please remove the "nojunk" from my address
Response:
Hello, I was looking for lenses for my EOS 500 (rebel) on Ebay and supprised at some of the low prices, however looking at your EBAY Lunacy threads I am worried. Has anyone sucessfully purchased lenses from Ebay, what advice would you give for someone that i considering this. Ps I am in Australia Peter — ICQ- 1644582 Townsville
Response:
Like with any other auction, don’t bid more than you want to pay. At least for Americans -find out what the item costs new at B&H, Adorama, etc. -find out what the item costs used at KEH, B&H, Adorama, etc. -look at previous sales on ebay and find out what the final prices were in the same item -confirm condition, shipping charges, payment terms, etc. -decide what the top price is that you should pay–factor in sales tax, factor in warranty issues, support issues (I would spend some amount more to buy an item new or used from a reliable dealer rather than an anonymous name over the internet) -bid and save money! This has worked many times for me–and I am not afraid to walk away from something if the price gets out of hand–example, I was interested in a right angle finder for a Contax N-1; new from B&H it is $139, the opening bid on ebay for one is $39, but B&H has a used one for $79. The ebay bidding is now over $105–is it worth it to me at that price? Probably not.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello, I was looking for lenses for my EOS 500 (rebel) on Ebay and supprised at some of the low prices, however looking at your EBAY Lunacy threads I am worried. Has anyone sucessfully purchased lenses from Ebay, what advice would you give for someone that i considering this. Ps I am in Australia Peter — ICQ- 1644582 Townsville
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