Buying on Ebay, On The Cheap!

We have all seen it: the elusive mega-deal on Ebay. It seems almost too good to be true. It is exactly what you want, when you want it, and below what you expected to pay for it. So what is wrong? There could be many things, but if you do not know what to look for, you could be purchasing from a fraud.

I am discovering the ins and outs of purchasing on Ebay right now as I look for a great used vehicle for my husband and I to drive. I thought I had found the perfect fit for our family. It had a great history, the buyer had a decent rating with lots of purchases, it was a good looking car, and the price was excellent. But as I did further research, I noticed all the previous bidders on not only this vehicle, but on past transactions, had the same type of format to their username. "b***4, c***5" are an example of these mystery bidders with no prior buying history. This led me to believe that they had friends, under fake usernames, bid on the vehicle to raise the price. So despite their over 95% rating, I knew they were scamming their customers. That is not appreciated for me, nor any buyer.

There are a few things that you should look for when purchasing anything on Ebay. The first is listing information and pictures. In this day and age, if the buyer cannot provide photos, simply do not buy. Everyone knows someone with a camera phone, digital, or computer camera. If they do not want to take the time to provide pictures, it is not worth your time and money to purchase the item. Also, check the descriptions of the items you want to purchase. It should have very specific information on the products they are selling so that you know what they, and you, are liable for after purchase of the product.

Seller rating percentage, and history, is a very important aspect to purchasing on Ebay. I would not purchase from anyone with lower than 95% rating. If they have a 95% rating, and only 3 transactions, definitely look into the history comments to find out what went wrong to get such a low rating with so few purchases. Always read customer feedback to see what type of company or seller you are dealing with for sales. If possible, only purchase from sellers with 100% feedback rating. There are lots of great sellers out there offering the products you want.

When looking through past transactions, see if you can look at bid history to find out if they set up fake bidders to increase the price on their products. If you see suspicious bidder names, with no transaction history, this is a red flag. Do not buy. If the history is listed as private, message the past purchasers to find out what their experience was like with the seller.

Overall, knowledge is power when purchasing anything off of Ebay. If you are unsure of anything, message or call the seller, and do not buy anything until you hear back from them on the details you need to know. Ask as many questions are you like to get the best deal. Overall, read, check history, and if anything seems suspicious, it probably is too good to be true.