A question to people who buy things off ebay

[Vacume]

im not shure i feel comfertable buyin things off the net, I can see the advantiges of buyin things off e bay but do u really know wut ur getting, dos 99% positive feed back really mean anything, any tips for buying things off the internet?

[freeslicefattyj]

I've bought 3 or 4 things off of ebay from people who had just under 100% feedback. One person was even nice enough to give me an extension while a check cleared. There are definitely a lot of sketchy people to run into, but I've never had a bad experience. I believe it's safe enough, although all of my purchases were udner $50 so it was nothing too big. I know people get scammed for hundreds of dollars all the time, but if you do it carefully I'm sure you'll be fine.

[ras1983]

i've sold a couple of things for several hundred each, and i have bought for a couple of hundred. i try to stick with online stores that have websites. i am personally very weary of big purchases over ebay; but i guess it depends on the product you want to buy.
definately some shady characters on ebay.

if its bass related, and you live in the states, you're better off buying here on TB.

[Minger]

Actually, for both of my Ibanez's, I've hit great deals.

My RB800 they described as being in OK condition, which was true - it was from 1987, and it had its fair share of dings and stuff. On the toher hand, initially I paid 192ish for it shipped with a gig bag, but then the seller said he was out of the states...so when he got back, he refunded $20 and sent it with a HSC...

And my SR800...well, the seller didn't know the model #...I asked a few questions, knew exactly what it was, and just hit the BIN for $190 shipped with OHSC.

So there are deals to be had, but always look for the good feedback...

[Alex]

I've bought a lot of things of eBay, and I've saved sooooo much money. I believe I have saved over $10,000 in under 30 purchases.

I've been involved in several $1000+ auctions, and it all went smoothly. You just have to make sure that people have a lot of good feedback.

[Minger]

And if its a bass, a lot of pictures. (sellers are usually nice enough to take better quality pictures and email them to you)

[bizzaro]

There are alot of sleaze balls around, no doubt about it. But basically most people are pretty honest. Ebay is a tribute to that for the most part.

I feel ok about ebay buying cause there is a track record spelled out in the feedback. If you use your head and watch out for suspicious stuff you should be alright.

The big down side about ebay is you can't see or handle what you are buying first and have to,(especially musical instruments), just use the judgement of the seller on it's condition etc.

[Loel]

I've made several small purchases all went well!!
and one lager buy that was for a lakland bass,i had
to buy it;1. it was from a lakland dealer w/100%
feedback,2.it's a Bob Glaub,3.new w/warranty,4.
candy apple red, now discontinued,5.Bin 675.
I've since ordered another lakland from an online
dealer,as long as you stay with the well established
dealers or ebay stores,or sellers with lots of good feedback
you should be ok!!

cheers

[Eli M.]

I've bought between 10 and 15 items on ebay and only had a problem with one item (a damaged case for a DVD I bought).

Otherwise, I've been lucky. I never buy from someone with less than 98% positive feedback, and I always ask questions to know exactly what I'm getting. Plus, if it's a bass, I come here to do research before I bid.

[tplyons]

Make sure you ask a lot of questions if you need to, do the research about your product, and frankly, be able to control yourself so you don't bid on something before you check it out. There ARE scammers out there, but for the most part, everyone is just trying to get a few bucks for their stuff.

[sasred]

All good advice above--my personal feedback cutoff is 99.5%, and I check all negatives if possible (obviously I'm not gonna surf the entire feedback chart of someone with 10,000-some odd transactions). Sometimes people post negatives without working with the seller first, so I try to get both sides of the story.
When in doubt, ask questions--a reputable dealer will be happy to answer.
Also, the suggestion for research above was an excellent one--know what to look for in what you're buying before you go in.

Been on eBay for 8 years...bought everything from my amp down to a 1 cent CD (Ronny Jordan's 'A Brighter Day'--criminal as it's an excellent jazz guitar piece!). Only got shanked once. So it can work for those who exercise caution.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by sasred

I check all negatives

+1

Sometimes somebody leaves bad feedback and then gets the problem fixed, but the feedback still goes into the percentage as negative.

[randlk]

I have bought 5 out of the seven basses I own off of eBay, and gotten really great deals each time. I bought my husband a fairly rare and hard-to-find keyboard off eBay, and got a very reasonable deal on it. I have bought varied other equipment off of eBay, as well, and have always been satisfied with quality vs. price. Communication is so important; if you are not comfortable with the seller, move on!

[DumbChild]

Ive never bought any bass equiptment off ebay, however ive bough heaps of other stuff and aslong as the seller is pretty clear and i always look through their feedback aswell. If those are good then you should be right. If something does go wrong u can get ur money back somehow im pretty sure

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Vacume

im not shure i feel comfertable buyin things off the net, I can see the advantiges of buyin things off e bay but do u really know wut ur getting, dos 99% positive feed back really mean anything, any tips for buying things off the internet?

The internet is not just eBay - I've bought hundreds of things off the net - but I would never touch eBay!

I am very "comfortable" buying from secure sites of reputable online retailers with large organisations and good customer service.

I will never be comfortable joining an auction set up by an entirely anonymous individual, who may disappaear without trace, as soon as you have committed money - with no hope of recovery!

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I have bought a fair few bass things on ebay

SVT-II - £500, a steal of a deal over here
Peavey 215 - £75 again, cheap as chips!
Peavey firebass and 410 tfx - £500, more than they go for now, but the right price back then
Peavey Classic 30 - £200, pretty cheap
Tech21 Sansamp BDDI - £120, cheapish

Ibanez ATK 400 - £150, STEAL!
Ibanez BTB406QM - £250
Epiphone G310 SG - £65, Steal
Aria II Pro - £60

All the guitars/basses were in mint condition except for the aria, but i just wanted a cheap banger

The firebass and cab were in excellent condition also, the 215 had some ripped torlex, and the SVT-II was in pretty good condition

I trust the basses arrive ok through the post, but with the rest i went to the bother of picking them up, well, except the SVT-II, but it was in a rack case so i trusted it would be fine

The only problem ive had was when i bought an SKB 8U shockmount case, there was pictures, and the guy said it only had some scratches on the surface etc, when it arrived 3 of the 8 latches were not working and one was actually missing! I looked at the pictures and he had taken them so you couldnt see the missing ones, and the broken ones looked fine, i went through paypal, the guy admitted it was broken when he sent it, but paypal still did nothing about it

[ldervish]

There are "sticky" threads dealing with this topic that have lots of general and specific advice on staying safe in the world of slimeball scammers. Pretty sure there is one in the classifieds area, and maybe others as well. But even if you read all you can read, then procede with caution, a snake can still jump up and bite you. All you can do is minimize your risk. If you can't deal with that, go local where you can put your hands on the merchandise before you pay for it.