Ebay Shopping

C5Rick · 04-30-2007, 06:40 PM

Would like to hear if anyone has bought items for their Vette on ebay or should one steer clear.

or

Rick

RevXtreme 1 · 04-30-2007, 06:56 PM

I only trust buying from someone with an excellent established seller rank & has been a member for a year or more. I stay away from brand new sellers/buyers & those with only a few feedbacks.

Nytro · 04-30-2007, 07:05 PM

I just sold my tach drive distributor on ebay. Anyone buying there should definately use common sense when making a purchase. Make sure you check the persons feedback score, this is very important. Also if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. When you set up your account you must give a credit card number, I would recommend using a credit card that you never use and then just use it only for ebay. Also, and this is most important, there are many many crooks that cruise ebay looking for people to scam, it's called spoofing. What happens is they send you bogus emails looking to scam you. NEVER, NEVER answer an ebay or Paypal email that begins with Dear Paypal or Ebay customer, never. Any legit email from ebay will go thru your ebay mailbox in your account, and Paypal will always address you by your name. BE EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS OF ANY EMAILS YOU GET AND REPORT THEM TO EBAY OR PAYPAL THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO EITHER AN ITEM YOU PURCHASED OR HAVE SOLD, there are instructions in the security sections. Follow these tips and use caution regarding emails and you should be ok.

Jeff

chris308 · 04-30-2007, 08:30 PM

I bought my intake and catback on ebay. Amongst other things for my other cars.

85vette · 04-30-2007, 09:09 PM

I have bought 13 or 14 items for my Vette on Ebay. Like the others have said, use common sense. If the seller has been on Ebay since 1999, has sold 5668 items, and has a 99.7 feedback, he's probably legit. Use the "ask seller a question" feature often and be clear as to the total price including shipping. Some sellers will not give an exact shipping price. Be wary of these. Also, I only purchase through Paypal unless I'm buying from a known parts dealer. These dealers usually advertise and have 800 numbers included on the "view sellers store" feature along with a lengthy service date and high feedback score. All in all, a little common sense goes a long way!

THOR · 04-30-2007, 09:47 PM

Nice thread Rick. This all makes common sense. Thanks alot guys.

Rebekah7155 · 05-01-2007, 08:44 AM

car cover, intake, x pipe, all kinds of items
Definitely only buy from individuals with good feedback or from sellers with excellent feedback. If you pay with paypal you are protected for the most part. We've had a couple instance over the years where we had some minor issues with someone not refunding but paypal will definitely get your money back.
I sell quite a bit on ebay too. Better than having a yardsale and I tend to sell things while they still have some value.

**Rich Z** · 05-01-2007, 11:57 AM

Well, Ebay is DEFINITELY a "buyer beware" environment! I've bought a fair number of items off of it, and generally been happy with the transactions, but every once in a while will have one go sour. Although I bought my C5Z off of Ebay, I seriously doubt I would do that again. Once the auction is running, you (as the buyer) are pretty much under the gun to make a commitment on the purchase. Basically you mostly HAVE decide on buying the car sight unseen and win the auction, hoping for the best. Once you win the auction, you are generally required to put down a deposit which is likely nonrefundable. So if you then personally inspect the vehicle and find some major flaws that were "accidentally" absent from the auction's description, you are just out that deposit if you decline to complete the purchase.

Otherwise, while the auction is running you have to decide about making a trip to personally view the vehicle before committing to participating in the bidding. So you are pretty much limited to auctions where the car is within driving distance to you. Now if the car has a "buy it now" option, there is nothing stopping someone from winning that auction out from under you while you are in transit to view the vehicle. It can definitely happen.

Basically, Ebay is a seller's dream world. And can possibly be a buyer's nightmare if you aren't careful (or at least lucky).

As for other products, heck, make sure you shop around. It is not at all unusual for find things being auctioned at a much higher price than you can find elsewhere. Matter of fact, I would say this is VERY common. Don't just assume that because it is an auction, you HAVE to be getting a good deal.

And btw, PayPal will not always protect you. If there is a dispute with the merchandise, all the seller has to do is to provide a verifiable tracking number to prove the item was sent to you, and they win the dispute. Another common problem is that a scammer will set up a Paypal account, grab the money, then drain that account and be gone overnight. So if you have any doubts at all about the seller, use a credit card if at all possible. Disputing a charge with the credit card company may wind up being the ONLY way you can recover your funds if you wind up getting scammed.

Rebekah7155 · 05-01-2007, 12:01 PM

I use my amex on paypal so if paypal doesn't cover me amex will

Kap142 · 05-01-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nytro

I just sold my tach drive distributor on ebay. Anyone buying there should definately use common sense when making a purchase. Make sure you check the persons feedback score, this is very important. Also if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. When you set up your account you must give a credit card number, I would recommend using a credit card that you never use and then just use it only for ebay. Also, and this is most important, there are many many crooks that cruise ebay looking for people to scam, it's called spoofing. What happens is they send you bogus emails looking to scam you. NEVER, NEVER answer an ebay or Paypal email that begins with Dear Paypal or Ebay customer, never. Any legit email from ebay will go thru your ebay mailbox in your account, and Paypal will always address you by your name. BE EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS OF ANY EMAILS YOU GET AND REPORT THEM TO EBAY OR PAYPAL THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO EITHER AN ITEM YOU PURCHASED OR HAVE SOLD, there are instructions in the security sections. Follow these tips and use caution regarding emails and you should be ok.

Jeff

I have numerous purchases on e-bay. Many for my vette. Follow Nytro's advise and you've got it made.

Ken