Is eBay safe? I guess this is a question which goes through everyone’s mind before they make their first purchase on eBay. It was going through mine before I ordered something from eBay. In the age of online scams and phishing sites, how does one be sure if eBay is safe? I have stream lined a few things that can give you some peace of mind and more confidence in eBay.
Note: Below points are based on my experience with eBay India.
1- Who sells the items on eBay?
The sellers on eBay includes companies, store owners, and even people like me, selling stuff sitting at home. It is a wonderful means to reach the masses and sell your product.
2- What can be sold via eBay?
Anything. You can sell anything new/used through eBay. However there is a list of Prohibited and Restricted items available on ebay.in which ofcourse is reasonable. You would not want to sell that stuff, at least on eBay.
3- Things to check before buying on eBay?
Thought there is hardly chance you can be ripped off on eBay, still you can check the seller’s profile for signs which can save your time. As you won’t lose your money in any case, it is the time you would want to save. Lets take an example- You buy something from eBay, the seller is unable to send the item or the seller is inactive now and is not shipping the stuff anymore. eBay would anyway give you back the money but you would not want to waste time with the process. Look for the following when choosing a seller.
a. Seller’s feedback percentage. It is ideally around 95%+ for most of the sellers. However this should not be taken as the only sign of a good seller. A seller with a low percentage may have come across a difficult customer who left a negative feedback. This could be because he did not read the item description carefully and later regretted purchasing.
b. Seller’s feedback in numbers. The more the number means that he has transacted that many times on eBay including selling and buying. Shows a genuine person on the other side.
c. Read the item description carefully. If you have any question, contact the seller. Either by asking the question on eBay or calling the seller. Most of the sellers have their contact numbers mentioned in the item description.
d. Check the shipping turn around time and cost. Some sellers do charge heavily for shipping. However eBay has a slab in place for a maximum shipping for certain item types, there can be in stances that you end up paying 30-40% of the item cost as shipping. You might also find items with seller’s offering free shipping.
e. Talk to the seller in case you need the item urgently. It is good idea to check with the seller before purchasing regarding the shipping turn around time.
4- Is eBay safe?
Now answering the question rocking everyone’s mind. Why is eBay safe? It is because of PaisaPay. It is like an escrow payment method. The money is stored with eBay till the time you don’t confirm the delivery of the item as described by the buyer. After the payment has been made for an item, it needs to be shipped by the buyer within 7 days. After that it needs to be delivered within 10 days. In case any of the above does not happen, your payment is refunded back to the account/card you used to make the payment. So no one can take your money and run away.
5- Payment Options- eBay India now features all payment methods you would want to use. You can use Bank Transfer, Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Cash Cards, Cheques, Demand Drafts, COD and a lot more. However for a particular item, the payment modes are as selected by the seller.
6- Discounts- You can also get discount codes from eBay from time to time. Extra savings. eBay is also runnning a special promotion these days called the eBay Edge. You earn points with your purchases and each point is worth Re 1. So you can redeem your points for instant discount codes which can be used to buy stuff at more discount.
7- Cherry on the cake- eBay offers certain promotions from time to time. I have participated in a couple so far where you are guaranteed to get a free gift. First time, I received a free iBall headphones and this time I am waiting for an iPod. So all you have to do is purchase something and as per the value of the product there are certain slabs set up and you can select which free gift you would like to have from your slab. It is again another benefit of buying.
8- What is stopping eBay to become the most used shopping site?
Considering the fact, there are all sorts of people selling on eBay, it does not have to do much of work when it comes to listing different items and maintain shipping cycle. It is all done by the sellers. There could be several reasons people ceasing to use eBay. One of these could be the bad name earned at the time Baazee was shut down and the reasons behind it. Also because people in India are still not used to buying things online, things like expensive electronic items. I was a bit circumspect when I was thinking to buy a laptop from eBay. Prior to this I always ordered items ranging up to Rs 2000 only. But this time I wanted to use the EMI facility offered by eBay and found a laptop that perfectly matched my needs. Another reason I so badly wanted it was because it saved me a whopping 7000 bucks comparing to the price in the market. Finally I bought it, free shipping and got it in 4 days. So I managed to save quite a bit here. It is just the awareness that is lacking and making people to avoid online shopping. I must say the trend is on a rise now a days.
Bottom line- Try it at least once if you have not so far. Not only you get to see a wide variety of items on eBay but you also get the benefit of the competition among sellers with slashed prices. It is the place you would not want to miss when looking to save money, getting genuine products and even get a chance to sell the old items you don’t need anymore.
