Without a doubt eBay is one of the best places to buy from but there are a few things you should be aware of. I’ve done our best to list the most important ones here that I’ve simply learned through a process of trial and error over time.
Number one at the top of the list is to make sure that you read the item description fully. Don’t just presume that the item you are looking at will fulfill your expectations, even if it is a top brand product.
Location, location, location. Ok, you may not be buying a piece of property but do check for the item location. You can usually find this out at the top of the page near the price but don’t rely 100% upon the location displayed. Read the shipping details included in the listing itself. There are many sellers in Hong Kong etc who list themselves as being in the UK.
Pay particular attention to the postage and packaging costs. Often lower priced items with high p&p indicates that the item will have to be shipped from abroad. This is not always the case though. Some sellers use a low price and high p&p just to lower the amount of eBay seller fees they will have to pay.
Always check the payment method. Is it PayPal only when you hoped to send a cheque or postal order? Or alternatively it may be the case that PayPal is not an option. This will lead to delayed shipping of your purchase.
PayPal offers a brilliant Seller and Buyer Protection Policy. It does require that your address is PayPal confirmed. You can check the status of this within your PayPal account by going to ‘Profile’ – ‘Postal Address’.
Under UK law every purchase made online has a 7 day cooling off period. Within those 7 days you have the right to return any product purchased from any seller. This does not include CDs, DVDs etc that are unsealed and also perishable goods (flowers etc). Further details can be found at
http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38102.html
Warranty and Guarantee. It is best to look for either of these and also understand that there is a difference between the two. Really you want a 12 month guarantee as a warranty may imply extra costs in the case of a defective product.
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0054-1111.txt
Under the Sale of Goods Act you are protected as a consumer anyway. You have the right to expect anything bought in the UK from a physical location to be of satisfactory quality, fit for the purpose and ‘as described’. This appears also to extend to Auction sites such as eBay.
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=ADV0043-1011.txt
Lastly I cannot stress enough the importance of checking a sellers’ feedback. This is the most commonly overlooked aspect of buying from eBay. By looking at the negative feedback left by other buyers you can determine if it is worth you buying from a particular seller.
You can download a free copy of Feedback Analyser Pro by subscribing to my newsletter at BubbleShops UK (a network of sites that actively reviews and filters eBay listings for targeted results.)
Austin is a co-founder of BubbleShops UK, a network of sites dedicated to cutting out the 'noise' on eBay UK by reviewing and sorting results from popular searches. An example site on the BubbleShops network for is http://mp4-players.bubbleshops.co.uk. If you are interested in being a BubbleShops moderator for a popular product or category on eBay UK you can contact Austin using the form at http://mp4-players.bubbleshops.co.uk/about.htm
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Austin_Delaney
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