The Buyer Is Responsible to Read the Listing Description Before Buying an Item.

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How to Win at eBay:
Reading a List
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Employ this link to get to eBay whenever you buy and information technology helps me write more than like this, thanks! Ken.

meridian of How to Win at eBay     Index of particular pages

Who?

Earlier reading the listing in depth, first inquiry the seller's feedback. I've found no correlation to the condition of items as received to the atmospheric condition as claimed in listings.

Spend at least as much time researching the seller's feedback as you do the listing.

Great sellers have shipped me new items that were described as "not quite mint," and every time I've bought something described as "equally new" or "mint" from anyone, it's ever been worse than described. You've been warned.

Where?

Is the seller in your state? Is he up the street then you tin pay him a visit to inspect in person?

The Internet makes it trivial to "buy" things from anywhere, but skilful luck if you tin't arrange shipping and customs duties. The world's economy is notwithstanding half-choked by people who make their livings past getting in the way of your international shipments.

Beware sellers who conceal their locations with nonsense like "Hot Deals, U.s.a.." That was the lady who sold me a lens with fungus in it, fifty-fifty though the description explicitly warranted "no fungus." Her feedback is 99.0%, and wouldn't you know it, now that I wait at her current feedback, she's been kicked off of eBay. Read the feedback; feedback works.

How to pay?

Avoid buying from anyone who doesn't take PayPal. As of 2015, I don't know that eBay even allows anyone to accept annihilation other than PayPal, and paying with PayPal, y'all're covered under eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

Yes, PayPal is a part of eBay and information technology costs the seller a few percent, only I've had PayPal get me refunds when I've received garbage, and it'due south so much faster than any other payment method. Not everyone gets their scams resolved well, but I did. The issue may be whether or not PayPal can become itself reimbursed; read their limitations advisedly.

If a seller asks that yous check out using their own check-out system, but still paying with PayPal, information technology's rarely a scam, but likely not to run smoothly. I'm used to just about three fast clicks subsequently an sale closes and my orders merely arrive, since eBay and PayPal already have my data in their systems.

If a seller expects yous to use their checkout system, wait the potential for technical glitches.

How much is shipping?

Good sellers frequently ship for free, or close to information technology.

Bottom sellers jack upwardly the aircraft charges not only to profit from them direct, but because the money they pay to eBay is a percentage of the selling price, excluding the shipping charges.

Nickel-and-dimers volition overprice the shipping so that the final price you pay them may be the aforementioned, but since the per centum sent to eBay based on the selling price without shipping, might salve the seller 50 cents.

Always be sure to confirm the shipping charges earlier you bid.

Look at the photos

Simply if these other items cheque out, now look at the pictures.

If they are fuzzy and unclear, welcome to the social club. Very few if whatever sellers make proficient product photos, and it's worked to my advantage. I've gotten nifty deals on pristine gear when a high rated (100%) seller has illegible photos.

I've never seen a case where a seller doctored photos to hide defects. Well-nigh sellers are lucky to get any photos at all, much less have the skills to alter them.

eBay is always a gamble, and I gambled that a good guy wouldn't sell junk. When I try this, I usually get a bargain price and 20 year-old lenses that are notwithstanding similar new.

Of grade you lot're request for trouble ownership anything from a depression-rated seller (99.6% and beneath), regardless of the quality of the photos.

The main reason to look at the photos is to see what'south included, and to see what's for sale to confirm with the description.

Shiftier sellers describe one matter, merely the photos show a version or model less desirable. If I see a discrepancy betwixt photo and written clarification, I won't bid. For instance, the written clarification might be for a Nikon AI-S or AF lens, and the pictures show only an older AI lens.

Stupider people exercise this too, but l% of the fourth dimension they draw ane thing and send yous something better. Read their feedback.

If all else is good, merely and then read the written description

The terminal affair to do is read the listing. Many sellers don't really know what they're selling, and even if they exercise, the only way to know how to translate their enthusiasm (or lack thereof) is to accept researched their feedback.

Ignore distortion like VERY RARE!! BEST NIKKOR LENS EVER!!! HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER!!!, which is just fluff made upwardly past crummier sellers.

Read everything very carefully. I frequently will run across paragraphs and paragraphs in a listing talking about how great an detail is, and buried in the center of a random paragraph is a unmarried line like "item is nonfunctional." Honest. Read carefully.

When sellers try to put a value on the particular, or individual components of the system they are offering, accept them at almost half-cost. If a seller writes that "the lens alone is worth $500," check other Completed Listings and you lot'll see it's probably but worth $235.

The very few lenses I've bought with fungus or scratches (euphemistically called "cleaning marks") were explicitly described as not having these defects. The nicest lenses I've bought tend to have the fewest promises in their descriptions.

Like every other medium through which I've bought used items, from cars to toys and from paper classifieds to the Internet, the more the seller tries to tell you lot how cracking the item is, the more than information technology sucks.

Good sellers know every defect, and clearly call them out. They will post photos with arrows to show you every niggling nick and chafe. When you encounter this, its a very practiced sign.

A pro seller pal of mine one time asked for my photography aid because he was trying to effigy out how to make a photo of an extremely subtle defect that he wanted to be sure his buyers saw. He'southward a great guy, and even he'south astounded that with a feedback score of effectually 30,000 that no one has ever left him a negative feedback.

Not merely practise photos tell you little to nil, I've seen no correlation to the level of education of the writer to the quality of his goods. I bought a broken Nikon FA from a guy with the most eloquent and complete written description I've ever read of how perfect information technology was. Likewise, I've bought stunningly magnificent items from complete illiterates.

I was initially suspicious of descriptions which were in perfect English, except for critical words that were misspelled.

When someone uses "minty" instead of "mint," they oasis't obligated themselves to delivering something in mint (new) condition. When something is described every bit having "no where," although educated people know the guy means "no wear," the seller hasn't obligated himself. If a lens is described as "no fungis," it could be loaded with fungus, and it has even so been described accurately since fungis doesn't even exist, much less would information technology be in that lens.

In spite of my fears for descriptions that accept simply the critical words misspelt, I've not had a problem buying from them.

"Equally news conditions" means naught; that's non fifty-fifty in English language. "As new" has a legal definition as does "new condition," simply as far as I know, retard English has no legal significance. I suspect if anything goes to trial, I'yard told that judges tend to favor the buyer when a contract is unclear, simply ask your lawyer, not me.

In all honesty, I don't know that anyone goes to court over eBay disputes for camera items. Whenever I've wanted to bother to return something that was junk, the sellers cheerfully took information technology dorsum.

I practice know the one time I returned junk to a reluctant seller, it was eBay'due south and PayPal'south customer service people who heard our sides of the story.

The Fine Print

Read everything. Many crappier sellers have very fine impress hidden just about anywhere saying things like "all sales final," "no returns," or "detail is worthless."

Even I'chiliad amazed at how small-scale type can become on the Net.

Returns

If something isn't correct, I've been able to return it regardless of any stated render policy.

Information technology s nice if a seller formally offers i in the listing, but if your interest is protecting yourself confronting receiving broken items, I wouldn't worry well-nigh information technology.

I've been able to return garbage that was sold as "Equally Is, No Returns, No Way!"

Previous Returns

Look at the other items the seller has listed, and the other items he's sold recently (Completed Items).

Every time I've returned some piece of junk, it's relisted by the seller ii weeks later. Look in the seller's Completed Items, and you lot'll encounter the listing I won.

If you lot see a repeated listing, information technology comes from whatsoever of 3 causes: ane.) Junky item returned, 2.) Offset buyer bought the wrong thing and returned it, or three.) Outset buyer never paid for information technology or competed the transaction.

I've bought items that were re-lists, and they were perfect.

Well-nigh of the time I render something, the new listing lists the problem I found, but non e'er. Be conscientious.

Crappy layouts that don't fit your screen

I thought my website was the concluding poorly laid-out site left on the Internet, until I saw eBay.

Well-nigh eBay listings still expect like the web pages monkeys first started to write in 1992.

They have awful graphics, animated crap, and they are sometimes and then wide that I have to scroll left and right to read them, even on my 30" monitor!

These crappy spider web pages exist because eBay lets every nut identify whatsoever sort of listing he wants, and just like the early 1990s, you lot have people like me with no idea of how to design a web page trying.

Worse, many of the very worst listings appear to come from canned software packages bought by pro sellers.

The good news is that even though these are difficult to read, that I've never seen whatever correlation between the quality of items sold and the quality of the listing page. The only thing that matters is the seller'south feedback.

Questions

A list should stand on its own.

Information technology should answer all questions and disclose any faults which would reduce the value of the item.

If a list is unclear, ambiguous or otherwise invites questions, I stay away.

If an item isn't disclosed as existence broken, missing parts, or having specific damage, I presume it not to have them.

As Legal Obligations go, the seller is obligated to provide the item equally described, so if information technology'southward got defects (like oily blades, stuck shutters, etc.), it's his responsibility to disclose information technology in the listing, or gear up it free.

Information technology's not your responsibleness to play twenty questions with a seller trying to estimate what he's selling.

It'south like shooting fish in a barrel to buy, but very difficult to be a seller. The burden is on the seller to disclose everything, not on yous to have to enquire about every possible defect.

Every bit always, the seller's feedback should tell you everything.

Next: If you lot want information technology, Add together it to Your Watch Listing

dorsum to top of How to Win at eBay.

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