SpendWize - Guide to Wiser Consumer Decisions

No doubt about it, going on eBay to make a purchase - especially one involving a substantial amount of money ($100.00 and up) can be a very fiscally-intelligent move. But a novice to the “game” is especially susceptible to the scammers or the just-plain-dishonest folk who are always looking for new “prey”.
Here are a few ways to minimize your chances of being taken once you have seen an item in which you wish to invest:

1. You are always given information about the seller– check it out. It’s less risky if the seller has a feedback score of over 96% ,the closer to 100%, the better.
2. Make sure the feedback score comes from more than single-digit responses. A positive
   response from 1 buyer equates to 100% but it doesn’t mean much.
3. Click on the feedback - if there are more than a few retractions, the seller may be suspect, even thou he/she is willing to negotiate.
4. Read some of the feedback, both positive and negative - you may learn of some situations which will give you pause .
5. Make sure you can tell where the seller is located. Personally, I am uncomfortable dealing with someone who is on another continent!
   An anecdote–one seller who was US-based was selling goods out of China– a reading of the feedback told me this.
6. Ok - now you are fairly comfortable that the seller is legitimate- BEFORE YOU PLACE A BID: Ask the seller a question - any little thing about the item of interest - the idea is to see how quickly the seller responds to you (if at all) - this would be an indication of how readily the seller would communicate with you should there be a problem.
7. Best way to actually make the purchase: Credit card through Pay Pal - this way there are 2 resources behind you should there be a problem.
8. A warning about PayPal - contrary to what the indications are, you are NOT fully protected in the case of a sour deal. PayPal should- but does not- freeze your monies in the buyers’ account for a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, if you attempt to get your money refunded from the dealer and you can’t, you must file a claim with PayPal - it can take up to a month for it to be dealt with. If PayPal can’t recover your money for you and IF the transaction was insured by PayPal, they will still only refund a portion of your monies to you.
9. For especially- expensive goods and those more likely to be defective (e.g.-electric items), a
   dealer affiliated with a physically-based business is a safer risk. And any seller who gives you a phone number (check it out to be sure it is legitimate) is less-likely to be fly-by-night than one who does not provide the same information.
10. When you receive your purchase, keep all the return-address information on the package for
    a decent interval of time - say, a few months. You just can’t be too careful.

Here’s hoping your shopping experience on eBay is a positive one!