E-BAY: how realiable is it???
 

I'm thinking of buying a new SD card for my cam but they're so freaking expensive... so e-bay has a few itens being solf for 0,99 USD with no reserve price + shipping.

Is it reliable? I'd have to use my international credit card but I never tried e-bay before so I'm kinda afraid of being screwed up. I see the sellers have a very positive feedback though.

Should I believe the cards are packed and brand new with no defects ? Or I shouldn't use e-bay for this kind of products... I don't know what to do... :(

and how can they sell a memory card (SD) for 0,99 if it costs from 40 to 70 USD ? that's why I'm afraid.

my sister got me one of there i think and mine works fine, my sis and bro are always buying stuff off there and havent had any problems yet :)

I've only ever bought music and concert tickets on eBay, so I can't vouch for electronics, but I haven't had any bad experiences yet *knocks on wood*. Be sure to check the feedback, though.

I've used eBay quite a few times, and in my experience, it is reliable. Just be sure to pay attention to the seller's feedback from other members.

They are able to sell stuff for less, because a lot of the sellers get stuff wholesale, direct from manufacturers, etc. So basically, they're able to turn a profit by selling a bunch for nothing.

Other times they could just be trying to get rid of old crap. Be sure to read the item description carefully. Check specifically for terms like "used", "like new", "new and in box," "unused", "does not power on", "never opened" and things like that in the descriptions.


H-D :pimp:

I've used Ebay as well. It has been quite handy for textbooks, jerseys, guitar stuff and video games. I've had an excellent experience with it as I got all those things mentioned at a fraction of the normal price. As long as the seller has excellent feedback(above 97%), you should be alright. Like HD said, also read the discription very closely to make sure they are selling a brand new card and not a used and/or defective one.

They say it's brand new, packed and stuff... but how can I believe it? that's why I made the thread! thanks... I'll see if they accept my credit card.

How good is their feedback? Has there been any other auctions by them that involved this particular item? If so, is there any feedback for those auctions? You can definitely learn a lot about a particular seller by just reading their feedback.

i always get ripped off on ebay ...it varys but my advice if you one of those type of people that fears not getting what you ordered or paid for dont use it :D but i must stop my ebay habbit for a while ..HAAAAAAAAAA ...

I've never had any problems on Ebay and I shop there all the time ;) I buy most of my gifts on Ebay.

its not so much "is ebay reliable" as "is the seller reliable".
and if an item is never recieved, or is different from what was described, theyll "investigate" or whatever.

I trust eBay, I've bought from books to electronics to crap I dont really need. As fluttergirl said, eBay is reliable, its the seller that should worry you. the rule of thumb on eBay is, try to avoid those with a less than acceptable feedback rating. I dont buy stuff from people with less than 90% good feedback. As for the 0.99 startng price. sellers do that to attract people by making them think they can get a great deal. I've bought crap that started at 0.01 and ended up near 500 (even then it was still a bargin). What you have to make sure of is that the user is reliable and that you are safe. Use done give the seller your info, use a medium like paypal, That way the seller doesnt see your info and you're insured incase the deal goes sour. Also, make sure that they do international shipping, specially in your area. Everything that they post on thier page (in regards to the item at hand) has to be true, if not and you report them, eBay will refund your money and you keep the merchendise. Basically, just do it, the pros out weight the cons.

Thank you Mullet! You're the one I wanted to hear (no disrespect to the others, of course). I see itens ending in 5 hours that have no bid... I'll try paypal and then I may have it shipped to a friend in US who's coming come to Brazil in a couple weeks.

Hey Marcos, could you post a link to what you want? I'll see if it's legit. And don't worry. I have no interest on bidding on it.


H-D :pimp:

Another thing you might want to look at is Reserve Price. That means that the seller has the option of either selling or reposting the item if it does not reach the reserve price. So even if you are the winning bidder but have not met the reserve price, you're not garranteed anything. You'll never know what the reserve price is, youll just know when its been met and when it hasnt.