The following are basic eBay tips posted by eBayer azleena_wm.
eBay is only an internet trading-ground. It is the responsibility of the eBayer to take proper precautions to avoid being scammed.
It is the responsibility of the buyer to do their own research about the eBay system, the feedback system and about the sellers, to use logic and to choose to buy from reputable sellers. Either a buyer can choose to "buy" an item at a very low price from a seller with questionable feedback and maybe not receive the item or recover his money, or else pay full price at a local store and get a genuine item with full warranty.
It is the responsibility of the seller to ensure payment is received in full before shipping, and not to be blinded by offers of big money to be paid by unsafe payment methods.
TIPS FOR BUYING ON EBAY:
1. Understand the feedback system, and read the seller’s feedback thoroughly!
A seller’s feedback is the only way to indicate whether the seller can be trusted (and even then, there is no guarantee – feedback can be faked!).
[For more info on feedback, read on]
2. Do not buy expensive items (plasma screen tvs, handphones, iPods, Mini O2s, laptops, notebooks) seling at ridiculously cheap prices from brand new sellers with no feedback, especially (but not limited to) from overseas!
Many Malaysians have been scammed. If you see any suspicious auctions, please report them (http://www.ebay.com.my/helpTSForm) and prevent more Malaysians from losing their money.
3. Read every word of the item details before bidding.
Sometimes sellers ‘sell’ an e-book, a catalog or an URL to a website where you can buy the item you think you are bidding on! If you see any, report them (http://www.ebay.com.my/helpTSForm).
4. Use logic
For items that are priced far below retail price, ask yourself if it is logical that you will get a genuine item for that price… if you receive anything at all! Items priced far below market price are usually either fakes or scams. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Also, beware of listings that only have standard photographs, item specifications and writeups that were probably taken from the manufacturer’s website. Anyone can make up these listings.
5. If the shipping and handling costs are not mentioned in the auction details, ask before bidding.
Especially if you are buying items from overseas - the shipping costs can easily exceed the item cost!
6. Ask the seller any questions before bidding.
A genuine seller will be happy to give you detailed answers to any questions about the item and his terms of auction. If a seller will not answer questions about his items or terms, this gives you an indication of his integrity.
7. Read all the auction terms carefully and make sure you can comply, before bidding.
Check the accepted payment method and expected payment time frame.
8. Do not bid unless you sincerely intend to buy the item!
Your bid is a contract. Honour it.
TIPS FOR SELLING ON EBAY
1. Be detailed
Include as many details of your item as possible.
2. State your auction terms clearly
You should indicate your preferred payment method, expected payment timeframe, and shipping costs clearly to avoid misunderstandings.
3. Take digital photographs of your item
Standard photos from the manufacturer’s website look nicer, but do take a photo yourself too, so the buyer feels more assured you actually have the item in your possession and can see the actual condition.
4. Screen your bidders
You can view your bidder’s feedback page to check their feedback record. You have the right to cancel or block their bids if they do not meet your stated auction terms.
5. Receive payment in full before sending out your items!
A common scam is for a scammer to email a seller requesting to buy an item for many times the retail price with payment via Western Union, and wanting immediate shipping (usually to Nigeria/Africa). The seller will then receive an email supposedly from Western Union, saying that the money has been paid and the seller must ship the item immediately. The seller then never receives his payment.
Even with a cheque or money order, make sure it clears and you get the cash before you send the item out!
6. Build your reputation
You could start off by buying things and selling smaller things or accessories before gradually moving into selling expensive things, if this is your objective.
http://www.ebay.com.my/helpIndex?page=helpBuildRep
7. Hits
You can put a free counter on your auctions to know how many people looked at each auction. If your auction is not getting any hits, then you’ll know it’s time to change the title, photo or price to make it more attractive.
http://www.andale.com
8. Shipping
Always ship your items using a registered method, either PosLaju or PosDaftar. This way, you can track the shipping status via the Pos Malaysia website, and there will be no claims that the buyer did not receive his item.
OTHER TIPS
1. Security
eBay (and PayPal, as well as your local bank) will NOT ask you personal questions in an email, and will NOT send you emails asking you to click on a link provided within the email. If you do click on the link (and fill in your details in the fake website), your account may be hijacked. This scam is known as “pfishing”. Learn more: http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/
2. Tools
Take a moment to browse this site:
http://pages.ebay.com/sitemap.html?ssPageName=h:h:smap:US
Here you will find many tools and advanced options to manage your items for sale, bids and feedback.
3. Help
You can contact eBay directly using these webform with any questions or concerns.
For general enquiries or customer service:
http://www.ebay.com.my/helpForm
For problems, concerns or even to report questionable content on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com.my/helpTSForm
FEEDBACK
This is how feedback works:
Scenario 1:
You go to a pasar malam. You see a seller selling a plasma screen tv for RM2000. You are interested, but your friends tell you they recently bought tvs from him and they are all fake or they never got them!
This is an example of a seller with negative feedback.
Scenario 2:
A stranger on the street offers to sell you a plasma screen tv for RM2000, if you give him the cash he will go home and get it for you right away.
This is an example of a brand new seller with no feedback and highly doubtful trustability.
Scenario 3:
Your good friend introduces you to his friend selling a plasma screen tv for a bit below retail price. The seller will sell for cash on delivery in certain locations, but is willling to send it to you if you are outstation. This friend has bought one from him and is very happy with it. The seller can also give you a referral list of people who have bought plasma tvs from him, and you can see the names of established and trusted society members on the list. You can even contact the referrals if you need any more info from them.
This is an example of an established seller with many positive feedbacks.
Admittedly, the ONLY way to make sure you will actually receive an original item with full warranty is to pay retail price and buy it from an authorised shop. But the feedback system can give you a good indication of whether a seller can be trusted, if you interpret and study it properly.
Firstly, understand how the feedback system works:
http://www.ebay.com.my/helpIndex?page=helpPolFdbk
However, just because a seller has a high feedback score, does not automatically mean he is trustable.
It is possible for an eBay account to be hijacked. The hijacker can then use the seller’s good name to create scam auctions.
Also, a seller’s feedback can be faked – either by opening multiple accounts and giving feedback to himself, or by selling and buying cheap or free things to increase his feedback score.
[Note: I am not saying that buying or selling cheap or free things is wrong. However, it is something a potential buyer should take into account when deciding whether to bid on an expensive item. For example, if a seller who has previously sold only Gmail accounts suddenly sells an expensive laptop, you should be wary]
Also, there will always be genuine new sellers just starting on eBay with no feedback. If you are an aware and careful buyer, and ask questions, you will be able to tell whether a listing is logical and real.
FEEDBACK CHECKLIST
If you are thinking of bidding for an EXPENSIVE item, these are the things you should look for on the seller’s feedback page:
- feedback score… must be a HIGH score with almost all positive
- any negative feedback? Why? You can ask for an explanation from the seller or the previous buyer, if they did not leave a follow-up reply or comment.
- is the feedback mostly from sellers or buyers? You should buy from a seller who has sold a lot and has many satisfied buyers.
- what else has he sold recently? Has he sold any similar items? Were his previous buyers happy?
are his previous buyers established eBayers with lots of feedback, or all new members?
- are the language and the words in the feedback from the previous buyers very similar? If yes, this may indicate fake feedback.
- you can check the time the feedback was left by the previous buyer and seller. I have seen cases in which the buyer and seller left feedback for each other within 2 minutes of each other!
- you can even go down a layer and investigate the feedback of the people who left feedback for your seller!
Troublesome? Yes. But it would be even more troublesome to ‘donate’ hundreds or thousands of ringgit to a scammer.
COMMON SCAMS
Laptops from Romania
Plasma TVs from Italy
iPods and handphones from China/Beijing/Hong Kong/Taiwan
buyers who email sellers wanting to buy their item urgently above the market price, want to pay by Western Union or BidPay and want immediate shipping to Africa, especially Nigeria.
Tuesday 30 May 2006
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