Ebay savy PS''ers... can I get some advice??

[MsP]

I found something(non-jewelry) I''d like to buy but I didn''t find it until there was like 2hrs left in the auction and didn''t feel comfortable bidding until I had some questions answered. It''s fairly expensive ~$2,000... but a good deal for what it is. I accepted that if someone else bid/bought it, I''d be fine. Well, no one bid on the item and the auction ended. The seller contacted me and answered my questions and we discussed a reasonable price. So here''s my question: in terms of protecting myself, do I ask to have the item listed as a private(ie just for me) Buy-It-Now and then buy, pay through paypal, and use a credit card. Or just pay with paypal/credit card and skip ebay? In terms of protection for the buyer does ebay really have much worth or is it more paypal and your own credit card company?? The seller is willing to do either but said that if he has to relist on ebay, I would need to cover that cost(and I have no idea how much that would even be????)... I generally feel this is reasonable as I had the opportunity to purchase when it was originally listed but didn''t because I wanted more time to get more info.

Any thoughts?

 

[jewelz617]

Paypal. It''s the only way I pay on ebay. It''s not perfect but it will prevent the seller from seeing your card info.

 

[MsP]

Date: 2/6/2010 12:50:42 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
Paypal. It''s the only way I pay on ebay. It''s not perfect but it will prevent the seller from seeing your card info.

Yeah... paypal is a definite however does paying through ebay with paypal make any difference than just using paypal directly??

 

[jewelz617]

Date: 2/6/2010 12:54:43 PM
Author: MissPrudential

Date: 2/6/2010 12:50:42 PM

Author: PinkAsscher678

Paypal. It''s the only way I pay on ebay. It''s not perfect but it will prevent the seller from seeing your card info.

Yeah... paypal is a definite however does paying through ebay with paypal make any difference than just using paypal directly??

Do Paypal through ebay so your purchase is documented through them. So in case the seller tries to pull any funny business or say you didn''t pay or anything else, ebay and you both have a record of the transaction.

 

[HVVS]

Check the current PayPal buyer and seller protection policy to see what restrictions are on it now. But the seller could invoice you through PayPal and exactly describe what item the payment is for. And if you pay by credit card, I think you could always do a reversal (check your credit card agreement to be sure.) You could also check the eBay fees page to see what the seller was going to lose to eBay, and the PayPal fees to see how much he''d lose to PayPal, and that would help you decipher what the bottom line price is/might be.

I have bought jewelery items up to $800 that way, and car parts & etc. But jewelry has a bigger possibility of being not as described.

 

[MissMina]

I would not suggest bypassing eBay.
Have the seller do a private auction.

 

[Rhea]

I don''t think that ebay offers any more protection than just using paypal with your credit card. Ebay and paypal are owned by the same company now anyhow.

 

[icekid]

Date: 2/6/2010 1:30:40 PM
Author: Addy
I don''t think that ebay offers any more protection than just using paypal with your credit card. Ebay and paypal are owned by the same company now anyhow.

I agree. And paypal really is not much protection anyway. They are NOT on the buyer''s side. I only use my credit card on paypal, which is the REAL protection. I believe paypal will suspend your account if you try to solve problems through your own credit card, but that does not bother me.

 

[Rhea]

Date: 2/6/2010 1:40:16 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 2/6/2010 1:30:40 PM

Author: Addy

I don''t think that ebay offers any more protection than just using paypal with your credit card. Ebay and paypal are owned by the same company now anyhow.

I agree. And paypal really is not much protection anyway. They are NOT on the buyer''s side. I only use my credit card on paypal, which is the REAL protection. I believe paypal will suspend your account if you try to solve problems through your own credit card, but that does not bother me.

I forgot about that! My mom didn''t hear from paypal and after filing claim so she got nervous and contacted her credit card company to get them to solve the issue. Next thing she knew she had an extremely nasty email from ebay threatening to suspend her account if she ever did that again

 

[winternight]

I would do an auction through Ebay paying with paypal, using a credit card. If the seller doesn''t want to b/c of the price of listing offer an extra $25 or something. Not sure what the fees are. Also if you have a buy it now on Ebay you can use Bing for cashback.

 

[MsP]

Date: 2/6/2010 1:55:35 PM
Author: winternight
I would do an auction through Ebay paying with paypal, using a credit card. If the seller doesn''t want to b/c of the price of listing offer an extra $25 or something. Not sure what the fees are. Also if you have a buy it now on Ebay you can use Bing for cashback.

The fee is more like $85-90 from what I''ve calculated...but your point about bing is good. I think I could get like 10% right now.

Thanks.

 

[mrssalvo]

I''d probably bypass ebay at this point, it the seller has excellent feedback. It will cost quite a bit to list an item at a high dollar BIN auction. the seller can just invoice you directly through paypal and you can still pay through paypal. I would use a credit card via paypal though b/c like others have said, paypal isn''t the best if you need to get your money back from a seller whereas your CC company will usually be very quick to dispute charges and issue you a refund.

 

[KatyWI]

Definitely use a credit card through Ebay just in case, even if they WILL get mad if you have to contest it with the CC company!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 2/6/2010 1:40:16 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 2/6/2010 1:30:40 PM
Author: Addy
I don''t think that ebay offers any more protection than just using paypal with your credit card. Ebay and paypal are owned by the same company now anyhow.

I agree. And paypal really is not much protection anyway. They are NOT on the buyer''s side. I only use my credit card on paypal, which is the REAL protection. I believe paypal will suspend your account if you try to solve problems through your own credit card, but that does not bother me.

Yep, PP doesn''t protect the buyer. I tried to despute a little purchase and they refused to help me get a refund. Since I used my bank account rather than a CC, I couldn''t do anything about it. The buyer kept my money.

 

[DiaDiva]

Date: 2/6/2010 8:22:56 PM
Author: MC

Date: 2/6/2010 1:40:16 PM

Author: icekid

Date: 2/6/2010 1:30:40 PM

Author: Addy

I don''t think that ebay offers any more protection than just using paypal with your credit card. Ebay and paypal are owned by the same company now anyhow.

I agree. And paypal really is not much protection anyway. They are NOT on the buyer''s side. I only use my credit card on paypal, which is the REAL protection. I believe paypal will suspend your account if you try to solve problems through your own credit card, but that does not bother me.

Yep, PP doesn''t protect the buyer. I tried to despute a little purchase and they refused to help me get a refund. Since I used my bank account rather than a CC, I couldn''t do anything about it. The buyer kept my money.

MC, if you call/write to your bank, they are able to retrieve the money from PP on your behalf, even if you use your bank account. That''s what I did and I got my money back through BOA.