<p>I agree it’s not fair. Am still awaiting payment on an item we sold almost two weeks ago, despite terms of payment listed specifically in the description, and email and invoice being sent.</p>
<p>Related question, now that I see someone has resurrected the thread. Has anyone sold their kids’ textbooks on amazon? Is it easy to start doing that? Do you need paypal?</p>
<p>I’ve sold textbooks on half.com and it was really easy.</p>
<p>I think I buy about 10 things a year on ebay. Well, maybe more. Once when I missed work my friend Harvey asked if I was home sick with Ebayla virus…</p>
<p>lspf72, I would have had no trouble with a $400 credit… If you ever get one again, send it my way via Paypal ;)</p>
<p>Never been on ebay. I borrowed a book from the library “Ebay for Dummies” or something like that but I couldn’t hack through it. This will be something to do when I retire.</p>
<p>I went ahead and bought it. The helmet had a make me an offer option. I was able to see what they had taken for the helmet in the past. I saved another 25 dollars. It looks like they have sold many of these helmets and no complaints it wasn’t the real thing. I paid through paypal with my american express. I hope I don’t have a problem. My D really wants this helmet. I would never pay what everyone else is selling it for. This seller on ebay is 300 less then the price in the local tack store and the catalogs.
I’ll let you know when we get it.</p>
<p>I’ve pretty much stopped now, but in the past I have bought major items, including large appliances which unfortunately have yet to be installed, so I hope they all work. The appliances were all very high end–traulsen refrig, gaggenau oven and cooking modules, jade range, vent-a-hood exhaust, etc. The range is my favorite purchase–a student attending college out west but from a neighboring midwest state decided to go to a taping of “The Price is Right” (to the dismay of her parents who were expecting her home to start a job). She wound up winning the showcase, which included the range, an RV, a car and some other items. She kept the car and some smaller items and sold the RV and the range on ebay to get money to pay the taxes. My sons and I drove to the neighboring state to pick up the range from her parents, which was (and is) in its original packaging as shipped from the manufacturer. The student never even unpacked the thing.</p>
<p>Last summer, inspired by that gorgeous set on “Brothers and Sisters”, I bought some Schumacher grasscloth wallpaper for about $17 dollars a roll (it retails for over $200). I love ebay; but I do find it a little more challenging now to find reputable dealers than when I started. I have not sold anything myself, but I let my son sell a vintage saxophone and it went smoothly. Lately, just to satisfy my curiosity, I have been watching the listings on this Obama poster I bought from the campaign website and seeing it sell at times for over 10x what I paid for it; but I think I’m gonna keep mine.</p>
<p>Don’t use e-bay much, but did get a bunch of various Matrix style sunglasses for a Matrix themed birthday party.</p>
<p>I’ve bought many items on Ebay, all very good experiences. The biggest items were furniture (dining room table and chairs, bedroom set, china cabinet) and patio furniture (beautiful Cast Classics set in NJ, we picked it up at a spectacular home). I’ve bought many new things - walking shoes, luxury sheets, cosmetics, electric toothbrush heads, silver collectible Christmas ornaments in series.</p>
<p>I’d like to sell some stuff but haven’t gotten my act together. I have many books, exercise DVDs, old china, a rebounder, etc., that I’d like to get out of the house and turn into cash.</p>
<p>Can’t you get your money from Paypal?</p>
<p>I forgot who posted that her husband bought Marklin trains on Ebay, but my husband does, too! Our basement is, literally, filled with his multi-level train setup and he has thousands of components.</p>
<p>A few years ago when we went on our first cruise, I was daunted by the thought of “formal nights”…I didn’t own an evening gown and certainly did not intend to spend hundreds of dollars buying several of them. I went on ebay and bought five or six, none costing more than $30, so it didn’t matter that one was too short and another arrived completely lacking anything resembling a back. Horrified, I rechecked the ebay description, and there it was…“backless”! I have no idea how I missed that. In any case, I got some great dresses, and gave away the not-so-great ones.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t spend a lot of money for anything, but for little things, ebay is fun.</p>
<p>Agea go…now I Craigslist.</p>
<p>I’ve had mixed experiences on eBay. I have bought only a few things – we got one counterfeit game & the seller wouldn’t take it back & PayPal & eBay wouldn’t help but our credit card company re-creditted our account & debitted the huckster. One seller promised delivery included but then balked because we live in HI & wanted to charge us an exhorbitant shipping charge. We complained & PayPal & eBay found in our favor but the seller refused to honor us as winning bidders. Both of those sellers were removed from eBay at some point hereafter.</p>
<p>I bought some hammocks for friends & had them shipped to friends. They were not the quality I had thought they would be (when I saw them much later), unfortunately, but it’s hard to tell from pictures, so it isn’t really the sellers fault, more mine for assuming they would be what I had in mind.</p>
<p>I have bought ink for our printer at a savings of about 1/3 of the price off the lowest price I could get it otherwise. It’s the original manufacturer’s ink rather than a knock-off & works just fine.</p>
<p>A friend bought us a medical device for our project at about 1/2 of the price of a new device (about $700 instead of over $1400). Unfortunately, it was a very old device & stopped working less than a year later. That was probably not a great deal in retrospect.</p>
<p>I’ve purchased some books on eBay that were about 1/3 of the price I would normally have had to pay, including shipping. Those were good purchases. </p>
<p>My friend who bought the medical device regularly buys medical equipment & spends thousands & thousands of dollars on eBay & generally is happy with his purchases. He’s a lot braver than I & also enjoys fixing up/tinkering with things that don’t quite work for a great bargain. Once he buys & retrofits the equipment, he donates it to local charities.</p>
<p>All in all, I’m a bit reluctant to purchase much on eBay & only do if it’s a significant savings & I’m not too concerned about quality. I’ve been happy with books bought on eBay tho. I also bought some good green laser pointers on eBay at a 1/2 or less of the price anywhere else. They even gave me a bulk discount when I wanted to purchase more of them.</p>
<p>Mom60, let us know when you receive it and if it’s what you hoped for. I bet it works out great.</p>
<p>I needed a 1970’s prom dress to wear to a charity event (Who thought of that bad idea?) and ebay had it. DH looked just as elegant in his light blue tuxedo. My best deal was a timeshare rental at the Westin on St. John, USVI during Easter break for 1/3 the price that Westin quoted. I can say I’ve purchased everything, including the kitchen sink, a brand new stainless steel model by Elkay on ebay.</p>
<p>Do I eBay? DO I EBAY? I’m a little embarrassed that I believe my total number of ebay transactions is no longer three figures. I heard about it back in the mid 90s and have been active on it ever since. I did some selling early on but found it fairly time consuming. Some businesses have cropped up (I Sold It, et al.) that will do the selling for you–pics, write the listing, do the shipping. They take a hefty commission (30%?), but it would have been well worth it for me–just never even found the time to gather up stuff to take to them + there’s usually a minimum value of items they’ll list ($50?). I also know the stores haven’t done so well–the only one that opened in our smallish town closed. I too have boughts lots of clothing + timeshares + graphing calculators + furniture + . . .</p>
<p>Re: the clothing, it’s important to keep in mind you may or may not end up keeping what you buy. Things that don’t fit go to friends/family. Things I just don’t like go to the Salvation Army. In all I think I probably have a keep ratio of about 85%.</p>
<p>I recommend it to friends for those one-time items you don’t want to spend a lot of money on–prom dresses, tuxedos, halloween costumes. Just be sure to allow some time–I found my DS a gorgeous SFA tuxedo for prom but started looking probably 2-3 months before. (Total cost with tailoring was about $40. Couldn’t have rented him one this nice for that price. Plus it’s ours to keep!)</p>
<p>Ebay has been fun for me. If I haven’t poked around for a couple of months, I’ll go throw in a $10 bid on a cashmere sweater from Neiman’s. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. I mean–who would buy a gorgeous brown suede jacket for a still-growing 14-year-old boy at a retail store? Ebay, in its own very small way, has enriched my and my family’s lives.</p>
<p>One good method is to go to a real store and try on the things you want. Especially designer clothes. Then find it on Ebay. I did that with a formal gown. Got it for 1/4 of the price.</p>
<p>I just got a leopard fur jacket (actually dyed rabbit fur) with leather trim. It’s gorgeous and I’ve never owned fur before, but SO warm. I paid $49 on ebay & was the only bidder. Two days ago I was in EXPRESS with my son & they have a faux leopard jacket, no leather at all for $168. I love my jacket even more now! I tell everyone it’s vintage…and that it’s “not real” if they ask. (It’s not real leopard after all.) Sorry PETA.</p>
<p>I know a couple that sold their pharmacy 10 years ago to “retire” and have been selling on eBay ever since. They make more $ selling on eBay each year than they ever did at their pharmacy (big one too). They now take 3 major (3-6 weeks) trips a year with those small trip adventure companies. They say they work hard, but have set up a UPS account and have pick-up daily.</p>
<p>I buy low ticket items (cell phone accessories, dog flea medication, and an occasional CD) and I did find replacement spoons for my silverware at an unbelievably low price.</p>
<p>I’ve never used EBAY but there have been many discussions about high-quality fakes in one of my tennis forums. The racquets play nothing like the real thing but they do a fantastic job in replicating the paint job, decals, grip wrap, cardboard material, etc.</p>