Hello all ,
I've been surfing ebay lately and have found quite a few good deals but I've never really bought anything over the net . How do you guys feel about it . Safe? Reliable?
Appreciate any input .
Thanks in advance

Buyer Beware is all I can say. I'll add that the better the feedback score the seller has the more confident you can be in your purchase. I wouldn't buy from anyone with a low score or a brand new seller (score of 0). I usually restrict my buying to sellers with scores in at least the hundreds, and a high percentage score as well. Read the feedback before buying, and especially read the negative feedbacks to see if they are bullsh!t feedbacks.

Good Luck,
Mark

Also, if the price looks to good to be true, then it probably is....

Thanks for the input . Are you familiar with PayPal? Any safer ?

Ebay, is a great place to purchase used products, and also white box pc's. Since Ebay isn't the actual seller, results may vary. Ebay does offer a rating system, so be sure that you check the seller's feedback before bidding. You will be able to read other people's experiences with that seller. Going from that it is pretty easy to tell if they are a legitimate seller, also always be aware of the shipping cost game. Always check on the price of shipping before bidding. And one more thing, proxy bidding software is becoming very popular (I personally despise it), what it does is watches an auction and when it is almost time for the auction to close it bids for you. For example you are bidding on 32" tv and the current price is $150 with 5 minutes to go, you think you got it! Then you check on the auction after it has ended only to find out that 15 more people have vbid on it since and you didn't win it!

I and a lot of folks that I know have had really good luck with Ebay (65" Mitsu WideScreen tv w/entertainment center, Direct tv HDTV set top box and dish all for $1500 a year and half ago! The seller was moving and needed to sell it)

Just be sure to read the auction details very carefully, read the seller's feedback and pay attention to the shipping costs. Also, paypal is a product of eBay and is a great, realible way to pay for items won.

Have Fun!

And contact the manufacturer to ask if there is a warranty on things bought this way.

Your small number of posts only guarantees that you have not been posting long, but have you been in this hobby long enough to know what gray market is? The manufacturer has the right to declare that they will not honor a warranty on a product not bought through their chain of purchasing and resale, and nothing declared on ebay can contradict that.

For instance, we sell Yamaha. We could sell a Yamaha piece to an installer, who could sell it under his own name. Yamaha could then deny the warranty as it has to be sold by an authorized dealer. A few companies ratchet the situation up by going after the dealer (us, in that theoretical case) for selling to other wholesalers. Since any company has a right to limit its product's distribution in order to guarantee exclusivity (i.e. better sales) to a small number of dealers, it can reserve the right to cut off dealers who go around the agreement.

Of course, if you are buying used stuff on ebay, then, well, it's USED STUFF! And the regular rules apply.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Ive seen so many scams come from this its not even funny. But, its your money, just be prepared to get nothing in return for it. Freight carriers, the person you bought it from will do little to help you if and when something does go wrong. And in the end, most manufactures will have little to no pity for your situatuion since it "came from the net"

I dont expect any of the manufacturers to warranty product not bought through their chain of purchasing . Just wanted to get a feel for how fair of a shake most of these sellers give you and how reliable actually getting the gear is . Sounds like a gamble though , not sure if its worth the risk .

eBay is both a blessing and a curse on anyone who sells goods and services. I am very active on eBay and my wife runs a business selling custom children’s clothing. EBay is a great place to research market prices, find obscure items, and supply many things I use every day. That said, I am wary of anything purchased by a client on eBay and will often charge extra to install it, if even at all. Therefore I have come up with a list of rules I use, and recommend to anyone considering purchasing ANYTHING on eBay.

My rules for eBay are as follows:

Is it a commodity item such as a CD, DVD, auto part, ect?

Is it an item that requires no service or support such as clothing, collectibles, ect?

Is it advertised as new**, if so is the seller authorized to sell product on the net.

**Most "New in Box" AV equipment has NO WARRANTY if it is not being sold by an authorized online dealer. If it is from an individual, the seller was the original purchaser and the warranty does not transfer when you purchase it.

If it does not work, what will I have to do to remedy the problem? If I cannot send it back and get a new one, or an immediate refund, I do not buy.

How likely is an item to be damaged in shipping? Have you ever tried to file a damage claim with UPS? Not a pleasant experience!

Am I fully comfortable with the operation and performance level I will be receiving? What if it is not the right product for me?

Will I have to depend on a local source to provide me support? How likely is this local source to want to help me when they have not sold the product?

What is the sellers rating? Do they sell all different items, or do they focus on one category?

Is it too good to be true?

Ultimately it all comes down to if I can buy it and not have to worry about what I will do if something goes wrong it is probably a safe bet. Once again I do not use these rules / guidelines for AV, but for anything I purchase on eBay. Regardless eBay is always buyer beware.

When it comes to av gear, most manufacturers view items sold on ebay as "used." Even the LCD whores at sharp won't honor a set sold thru ebay.

Caveat Emptor!

If you want found the negative feedback for an ebay member, punch their name in here, pretty cool.:)

1) think of ebay as a flea market, sometimes you can find great bargains other times you can get screwed

2) you are at the mercy of the vendor not all are the same

3) assume everything you buy is "as is"

4) look at every detail of the users rating some criminals usurp peoples identity and good ratings. some hints are

a) same type of stuff and same ball park price. if the ratings are for some pens and now you are bidding on a 30k projector for 20k that is a good sign it is not legit

b) if the users contact info is not the same. (i.e. previous e-mail was [email protected] and the one for this transaction is [email protected])

5) remember your question here "How do you guys feel about it . Safe? Reliable?"
this is taken as "new guy that does not want to get screwed" so obviously we are saying the easy stuff. I am sure most of the stuff on ebay and most of the transactions are good and everyone is happy. On the other hand it is anonymous people on either side of the transaction need to be vigilant.

PayPal is great but get a separate checking account and drain it if you get money there. I've never had a problem but read http://www.paypalsucks.com for another perspective.

If I am concerned about a higher priced item's quality or performance, I'll initiate an email conversation to find out what the seller is really saying about it. If the item doesn't pan out, you have his word in writing as to what you should have gotten, and it helps if you have to negotiate later.