Moral responsibility?

trammayo said:
How about this?

6 x Pair USA TRAINS WORKING KNUCKLE COUPLERS--R2010 Brand New in Package | eBay

6 x 1pair = 6 pair. Now having seen the seller's previous postings on these couplings, I realise that it was item number six. The description is incorrect and misleading to my eyes!
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There is another aspect of caveat emptor and that is, as a prospective purchaser you have to deal with the limitations of a seller's intellect.

Now here's the rub - just because the seller cannot spell, or has a tendency to use 'text speak', does that make the person a dodgy dealer, guv ?

Which is why, just as you've done, you do have to be careful and work things out for yerself.

With evilbay, you kick the tyres before you bid, not after :nod::nod::nod::nod:
 
Probably the single best place to find the current selling price, actual value, what people are actually paying for an item is: ebay! ;)

The trick is, do a search for "sold listings"

First do a regular search on ebay for the item in question..the search brings up current active auctions, items that haven't sold yet..those prices are meaningless, because people can ask anything they want, often far higher than realistic.

So instead, click on "sold listings"..That brings up auctions that have ended, items that are already sold..and it shows what people actually paid! :) that's the useful bit..

yes, you might rarely find a sold item where someone still paid too much..but those are actually very rare. Often you will find several, 5 to 10 or more finished auctions for the same item..with those multiple sales, that gives you a realistic idea of the current going rate for anything..

Scot
 
Greg Elmassian said:
I make a habit of asking a question on every item I bid on. You can tell a lot about how the person responds, how fast, how polite, how informative.

Greg
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Interesting concept and well worth the effort. Presume you do this before you have made any bid?
 
I tried that before buying one of ECR's "faulty" locomotives. I asked for further details of the fault. The reply I got wasn't helpful at all and I told them so.

On one item it stated something about a 3 to 4 metre range. Since my garden is only 6m x 4m I considered I would be able to run the locomotive. As it was the particular item I bought didn't run in reverse and when I tried to get further details their reply was rather abrupt.

I don't know how they get away with selling a faulty item, even if they do warn the purchaser.

SW
 
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I buy a lot on ebay and I also sell a lot from small stuff up to expensive guitars and art.
I have been ebaying for about twenty years.
In the early days it was a little like the' wild west' ... you had to be very very careful and there was hardly any back up from Ebay itself.
Now you are covered as a buyer against misrepresentation, faulty goods, damage etc etc.
As a seller you do have some protections in place but it is extremely important to take more care as the seller as there are not only 'dodgy' sellers but many equally dodgy buyers who will chance their arm to get a refund and keep the goods...as me how I know!

When buying from Amazon 'marketplace' you also need to tread with caution...... usually good outcomes, but there is an increasing upsurge of 'less than perfect' sellers.

Where ever there is the chance to 'mug' someone there will always be someone who does the mugging and we all need to be very aware and use a certain degree of 'nous'.

The advice given already in this thread is good and just remember...just because it is on ebay, does not mean that it is the cheapest....check the past 'solds' and also look elsewhere on t'internet.

Politely ask questions and if the response is helpful, ask another, and, again, if the response is helpful and you are satisfied with the price or bid the maximum that you would like to pay, then you should be absolutely fine.

I have been stung only once as a buyer in thousands of transactions.
I have been stung only twice as a seller. and although ebay found in favour of the buyer in both cases (a total rip off....the buyer got a refund AND kept the goods!) they did also let me keep the payment.

Just be careful out there.........
 
Much of what Mike says is what stopped me from not only Trading but these days buying from Ebay as well. My reason is simple I have no faith in PayPal as I know of an occasion where some one had their Account emptied of £3000. May have been his own fault but he had been into PP and Ebay for long enough to make a silly mistake I would have thought. I neither have faith in EB's sellers responsibility either with as on Mike's example of being stung as a seller. The last thing you want with a 4 figure Live Steam Locomotive as I have considered selling. Have to say I find selling on here a much safer bet.
 
I certainly do n ot want to give the impression that ebay is a n-go area.
Although I have been stung twice as a seller, that is across 20 year! It was only for small amounts not for expensive items where I take extra precautions before shipping.
I have been shafted by legit high-street sellers more than I have been buying on ebay.
If something has arrived damaged or not as described I have just contacted the seller and in each time it was either replaced (if they had more stock) or I received a partial refund that was to my satisfaction.

So ebay is definitely a good place to sell (especially when they send to a £1 final sales fee offer!)...just do what you would do when selling on here..get the money first, check the address that you are sending to.
Hopefully, when buying anything from a retail shop...one would ask questions to make sure that it is what you want and also up to the spec that you would expect.

As to Paypal.
I have had multiple paypal accounts for many years and have never had a problem (oh great now I've said it...).
If you are careless with your passwords or details etc it is just like being careless with your bank details or having your address with your keys etc.
Paypal is not the problem, it is how some folk are a little, shall we say , careless with what they do online.....
That is why I do not give many personal details to this and other forums, facebook, twitter, messanger etc etc and I have 'alter-ego' email accounts in different names to act as a firewall for stuff that is not personal and might bring spam, phishing, malware etc.
 
beavercreek said:
I certainly do n ot want to give the impression that ebay is a n-go area.
Although I have been stung twice as a seller, that is across 20 year! It was only for small amounts not for expensive items where I take extra precautions before shipping.
I have been shafted by legit high-street sellers more than I have been buying on ebay.
If something has arrived damaged or not as described I have just contacted the seller and in each time it was either replaced (if they had more stock) or I received a partial refund that was to my satisfaction.

So ebay is definitely a good place to sell (especially when they send to a £1 final sales fee offer!)...just do what you would do when selling on here..get the money first, check the address that you are sending to.
Hopefully, when buying anything from a retail shop...one would ask questions to make sure that it is what you want and also up to the spec that you would expect.

As to Paypal.
I have had multiple paypal accounts for many years and have never had a problem (oh great now I've said it...).
If you are careless with your passwords or details etc it is just like being careless with your bank details or having your address with your keys etc.
Paypal is not the problem, it is how some folk are a little, shall we say , careless with what they do online.....
That is why I do not give many personal details to this and other forums, facebook, twitter, messanger etc etc and I have 'alter-ego' email accounts in different names to act as a firewall for stuff that is not personal and might bring spam, phishing, malware etc.
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Indeed, Paypal is one of the more secure trading platforms as it was designed for electronic trading - most of the banks and card companies are still light years behind having had to convert their systems to electronic trading.
 
When I first started with PayPal some years ago I was very cautious, but these days on-line buying is so easy with companies taking PP, I don't even have register to buy on these sites.
 
One advantage with Paypal is set it up so you pay after 14 days, that means they pay with their money and remove it from your bank after 14 days which is usually after delivery, they are quick to sort out problems if you have any while it's their money that's involved :) I only buy things that will be delivered within the 14 days :) I also use a card just for online buying which is keep next to empty until I need to put the money in for Paypal.
 
Sarah Winfield said:
I tried that before buying one of ECR's "faulty" locomotives. I asked for further details of the fault. The reply I got wasn't helpful at all and I told them so.

On one item it stated something about a 3 to 4 metre range. Since my garden is only 6m x 4m I considered I would be able to run the locomotive. As it was the particular item I bought didn't run in reverse and when I tried to get further details their reply was rather abrupt.

I don't know how they get away with selling a faulty item, even if they do warn the purchaser.

SW
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Unless it was an incredible deal or a super rare item unobtainable elsewhere, that would have indeed crossed them off my list of sellers.

Also the shorter range is not a "user option" but clearly a defect... I would have been concerned on how soon something else would go wrong.

Greg
 
LGB-Sid said:
One advantage with Paypal is set it up so you pay after 14 days, that means they pay with their money and remove it from your bank after 14 days which is usually after delivery, they are quick to sort out problems if you have any while it's their money that's involved :) I only buy things that will be delivered within the 14 days :) I also use a card just for online buying which is keep next to empty until I need to put the money in for Paypal.
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Paypal aren't keen on it now, but in the early days, you could link it to a credit card - mine still is :nod::nod:
 
Paypal aren't keen on it now, but in the early days, you could link it to a credit card - mine still is

And me also. PayPal is great - I use it regularly - but it's the only card they know about and keeps them (and any possible interlopers) away from the real accounts.
 
penylanpip said:
Paypal aren't keen on it now, but in the early days, you could link it to a credit card - mine still is

And me also. PayPal is great - I use it regularly - but it's the only card they know about and keeps them (and any possible interlopers) away from the real accounts.
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Amazingly, I was able to pay Companies House by Paypal o_Oo_Oo_O
 
Rhinochugger said:
Paypal aren't keen on it now, but in the early days, you could link it to a credit card - mine still is :nod::nod:
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You can still link it to a credit card, so besides the paypal protection, my fallback position is protection from the credit card company.

I cannot think of any greater level of protections, much more protected than cash, a check, or a credit card alone.

Greg
 
I use paypal although I can't say with total confidence. I regularly receive, what I know aren't genuine emails. I direct them to spoof@paypal.com which is supposed to record and investigate them.

Personally I would far rather send a cheque and wait.

SW
 
Sarah Winfield said:
I use paypal although I can't say with total confidence. I regularly receive, what I know aren't genuine emails. I direct them to spoof@paypal.com which is supposed to record and investigate them.

Personally I would far rather send a cheque and wait.

SW
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Paypal can't do much about Paypal spoofs, neither can any corporate body be it Costa (I nearly fell for that one) or whoever - and even Costa couldn't trace the scammers, largely because they operate in places like Russia (according to our IT security experts). Just because there are spoof emails around, it doesn't mean that the system has been hacked - maybe even the opposite, as they can't hack it, they'll try and spoof their way in to individual accounts :think::think:
 
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