Posted by Graham Knight on November 07, 2003 at 11:29:55:
In Reply to: Is Ebay "Safe"? posted by Mark Jones on November 07, 2003 at 09:42:55:
Depends on your definition of "safe". I've been buying and selling on eBay for 4 years, never been ripped off, got some great bargains, sold some stuff for outrageous prices, bought stuff I could never have got otherwise, and only ever had very minor problems like late payment, slow delivery etc...
Millions of eBay transactions are carried out every week, out of those inevitably a few people have problems. You can minimise the chances of problems by using some common sense, check out the sellers/buyers feedback, look and see what they have been buying recently, read descriptions carefully, does the photo match the description?
If an item looks too good to be true, or if you have any suspicions about it or the person selling it, email them and ask pertinent questions (without implying that you think they are a crook!). Most sellers know something about the items they sell, if they know nothing at all about an item you think is suspicious, or if their answers are evasive, you may want to pass on it and look elsewhere.
As eBay themselves say "caveat emptor...buyer beware".
With that in mind you are probably as safe buying and selling on eBay as you are anywhere else on the net.