Beware buying on ebay

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
If you are buying from individuals selling on ebay there are implications that affect your rights.

Your statutory rights state that goods must:
  1. be of satisfactory quality
  2. be fit for purpose
  3. must conform to the description

The problem is that if you are buying from an individual, the first two of these three rights are not applicable. This is a major source of consumer complaints.

Ebay acknowledges this and provides a lot of information about shopping safely with them and whether purchases are covered by the PayPal Buyer Protection.

eBay UK: Safety Centre: Buying Safely

It is important to remember that not all transactions are from private sellers and many are businesses and as long as they are UK traders your statutory rights will not be affected and you will also benefit from the protection provided by the Distance Selling Regulations i.e. you have a 7 day cooling off period. You can read more about this in this guide to shopping online.
 

Paul Carcone

Facilitator
Jun 22, 2008
141
7
0
South Coast
www.carconeconsulting.com
Of course...remember that you are protected up to £500 for goods that you buy using PayPal...so it's worth paying for your items this way...and it also usually means that payments clear faster thus allowing you to get your hands on your goods faster too...

Paul C
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
ebay businesses

I bought a cot from a business on ebay but it contained the wrong parts and i couldn't make it, so they sent another part but it was the wrong one again. to get the right one they say i should pay - is that right? paypal also say i need to return the goods to get refund but that will leave me out of pocket, is that right?
 

Paul Carcone

Facilitator
Jun 22, 2008
141
7
0
South Coast
www.carconeconsulting.com
If you bought it from a registered business, you SHOULD be able to claim back any out of pocket expenses...However, your liklihood of success will very much be down to the level of responsibility of the retailer.

Even if you do have to shell out the postage expenses, you will be better off than you are now!
 

scotchlass

Facilitator
Sep 5, 2008
111
2
0
I have always been wary of buying on Ebay. I really don't like the idea of handing over money before I have the goods, or even see them (bar a grainy photo). I stick to local classifieds- it may cost a bit more sometimes, but I think the stress level is a lot lower!
 

bmd

New Member
Nov 27, 2008
11
0
0
I have never had a problem with buying on Ebay, as long as the user has a good rating then it should be safe.
 

Jorumian

Facilitator
Sep 1, 2008
347
3
0
Birkenhead
There are things I will buy on ebay and things I won't... There are also people and businesses I will buy from on ebay and people and businesses I won't.

I've found for smaller purchases, gifts etc that it can be a lot cheaper. I have also bought a computer from a seller with excellent feedback and not had a moments problem with it.

However for certain things where the look is as important as the goods itself, I wouldn't purchase. Furniture for example, or cars. It amazes me people still buy cars without even seeing them, let alone drive them...
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
I wouldn't buy anything from overseas as there are so many fakes, there have been specific cases recently of fake Nintendo DS Lites and GHD Hair Straighteners.

Tony
 

kris1anne

New Member
Jan 29, 2009
138
0
0
I have found that just making sure you look at a persons rating on the site and also their feedback can be really helpful in making sure that you are dealing with someone valid. It is interesting to know that if the seller positions themselves as a uk business your statuatory rights still apply. I was unaware of that until now. There is also an interesting thread on your rights concerning second hand goods, which many ebay purchases are that might be useful for this topic.
 

perfumemaster

New Member
Mar 15, 2009
10
0
0
A good rating doesn't necesarily mean non-fake goods. I've seen people with 000's of listings and every now and again you spot a negative feedback stating fake.

Stick to low value good to ensure your covered and read the paypal protection info.
 

keriSt09

New Member
Jun 18, 2009
10
0
0
I love ebay and due to this I buy lots of things on this platform and fortunately I never had problems. I sometimes sell things and the purchaser actually always paid prompt. I hope that I will be as lucky in the future as I was in the past. Besides this I am of the opinion that if you follow some rules and carefully check what you want to buy you can probably lower the risk scam.
 

Rachelle

New Member
Apr 25, 2009
895
0
0
I love ebay and have never had problems on this. I did buy something from somebody once with a dubous sounding name. It was something like crowbar and made me wonder whether or not he had got hold of the goods in an above board way. But I had committed to buying from him/her by the time I noticed the name and it arrived promptly and in great condition. Does make you wonder though ...
 

Chutzpah

Moderator
Jan 9, 2009
618
1
0
twitter.com
I sold my car on eBay.

I only buy stuff on there from time to time but have never had an issue. I even had a chap send my goods to the wrong address once because somehow eBay managed to give him the wrong address, he sent a new one with no hesitation and wouldn't accept my offer to pay at least some of the cost.

I think the biggest thing I've bought is a second hand freezer. Oh, and a cooker.

Like others, I always check feedback first.
 

kevinh1980

New Member
Oct 8, 2009
10
0
0
For the most part ebay is fine. Just make sure you check the sellers feedback. If in doubt you can always ask the seller questions, or ask for better photos to be emailed to you
 

lena25

New Member
Dec 15, 2010
1
0
0
i have never had a problem with ebay, Thank god.. always scan the feedback for a couple of minutes and go with my instinct...
But i recently got a pair of boots from there, they are absolutely gorgeous...
very helpful seller
Check them out.. type item number in ebay Search Box

110624377056
 

Isobel

New Member
Nov 23, 2011
6
0
0
london
I have to say I have never had a problem with ebay, but do always check their ratings before bidding.

I always thought Paypal was fool proof but there have been cases where people's money has not been safe and it has been falsely claimed back by fraudulent buyers claiming they never recieved their goods or they were faulty. Sellers beware too!
 

trickygj

Moderator
May 31, 2010
400
1
18
Cheshire
www.richardgjohnson.co.uk
Had good and bad on eBay.

What I will never do again is sell a vehicle in the AutoTrader. You do not know who is arriving at your property.

I sold a vehicle last year and the first person to come round nearly killed me whilst driving off my driveway with the bonnet open! He eventually got caught some months later and was charged with approx 20 theft/robberies.

My insurance tried to get out of the claim although after some argument I did get paid out. Apparently some policies exclude theft if it is perpertraed by prospective purchashers!

Always ask prospective purchasers to bring photo ID and a utility bill with them. Do not let them test drive the vehicle themselves. They should always be a passenger mainly for insurance reasons.