[johnman1116]

Hello everyone!
 
So getting into this head-fi business, were all about upgrading our audio equipment to its best within our price range. We look through many online websites, forums and local stores and make deals. There are plenty of respectable online stores such as amazon, J&R, Sweetwater but what about ebay? Now im not bashing but ive pretty much always been sketched by ebay pretty much forever. I bought a Ipod LOD a while back and works just as advertised (awaan) and a couple DACs from sellers in the process of upgrading their system. I guess im okay with buying from sellers that actually sound like regular people who say things like "great amp, sad to let this go blah"/ The thing that always bothered me are items that are "all corporate" if you know what i mean. Information is just copy pasted from the manufacturer website and photos are stock, no returns, etc. The thing is, those can sometimes be the best deals with top rated seller status but i am always too skeptical to buy from them.
 
Recently ive been in the market for some UE Triple Fi 10s and Sennheiser IE8s and found some ridiculous deals on ebay but didnt have the cojones to make the purchase. Other items like amps and dacs, i feel, can be bought confidently from ebay because generally they arent fake. Probably because the companies tend to be smaller and their isnt a market for imitations or something idk. Large companies like Sennheiser and Audio Technica seem to have many fakes going around especially IEMs and Headphones. 
 
So the question remains, ebay or no ebay? 
I was just wondering what people thought and if they agreed or disagreed with me.

Thanks for the input.

 

[skree]

i've bought stuff from ebay, and will continue doing so, only new stuff from sellers though, never used stuff. There's just a few rules you must remember: If it's used and has only stock photos: avoid.
If it's too good to be true, then it probably isn't.
 
you get a feel for ebay ads... i avoid ads with no comments from sellers just manufacturing data, unless the item is new. i avoid ads that aren't spelled well, have bad grammar etc.. could be me being a snob but i feel uncomfortable buying something from someone who is so bothered about the item they couldn't be bothered to spell their advert correctly.
 
paypal is protection some. If its fake when it arrives - get it disputed and get your money back. end.

 

[seaskimmer]

You have to be careful on eBay. Usually the rule "if it's too good to be true" applies, but many things are auctions and therefore do start at lower prices.

I agree with the post above about checking for spelling and such in ads. Some sellers are from other parts of the world, so yes, it is understandable to have grammar and spelling that isn't perfect. However, if those sellers have poor feedback relating to damage or items that were never shipped, I would stay clear of them.

I would be careful about IE8's since there is a known market of fakes. TF10's, I haven't heard of any fakes of those yet. Whenever I buy from eBay, I make sure to check out the seller's history. If they receive constant negative feedback, I avoid them and move on to a seller who may be more expensive, but have a better reputation. Most of the sellers on eBay are "stores" and some of them have actual retail locations that you can call and chat with a person if you sometimes become skeptical.

 

[J W]

I requested to close my ebay account a while ago. I'm tired of the hassle.
 
Some sellers are great.  They describe the condition as well as they can. They answer questions. They package well. Heck, they even clean the item they're planning to sell. Imagine that. But I imagine these sellers are the minority. 
 
The buyers, frankly, have become awful in the last couple of years. How many times I've dealt with buyers wanting me to give discounts to them because they're students, and this happens after they win my auctions. Also, don't get me started on the people who bid on auctions and then refuse to either pay or answer my emails. You know, I even had some guy try to extort $11 from me so he wouldn't leave bad feedback. I guess ebay actually did something about it when I reported him because the guy eventually left me alone. Scammers! and not just Nigerians. 
 
Then Ebay charges fees up the wazoo. 
 
I've thankfully never lost a huge amount of money through ebay but I don't think it would be long before that stopped being the case. 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

I requested to close my ebay account a while ago. I'm tired of the hassle.
 
Some sellers are great.  They describe the condition as well as they can. They answer questions. They package well. Heck, they even clean the item they're planning to sell. Imagine that. But I imagine these sellers are the minority. 
 
The buyers, frankly, have become awful in the last couple of years. How many times I've dealt with buyers wanting me to give discounts to them because they're students, and this happens after they win my auctions. Also, don't get me started on the people who bid on auctions and then refuse to either pay or answer my emails. You know, I even had some guy try to extort $11 from me so he wouldn't leave bad feedback. I guess ebay actually did something about it when I reported him because the guy eventually left me alone. Scammers! and not just Nigerians. 
 
Then Ebay charges fees up the wazoo. 
 
I've thankfully never lost a huge amount of money through ebay but I don't think it would be long before that stopped being the case. 

 
 
It goes both ways my friend. The sellers have also become progressively worse overtime as well. It seems eBay doesn't really keep track of a lot of these losers who scam off of potential buyers by luring them in with false information. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to open up an eBay case to get an issue fixed. Its ridiculous. And I recently sold an item over eBay and that was a nightmare in itself as well. Definitely took a loss on a high quality screen that I originally paid $1,100 on (Dell 2707). I only made $300.00 back after eBay's crook fees. My most current item was a IE80 that I thought was real but I'll confirm this for myself today when I get my authorized pair. The add claimed 2 year warranty and that was not the case. At $325.00 I was not gonna accept this. I tried making a deal with the seller where he could pay for my square trade warranty ($50.00) and then I'd let it go. He didn't agree so off went the item. It took me 40 minutes to open up my case with paypal. I got the go around with paypal, bill me later, and eBay. They all re-routed me in circles. Once I called paypal with my 4th phone call I was irate. I feel sorry for the lady on the receiving end lol.
 
 

 

[exzeb]

Quote:

I requested to close my ebay account a while ago. I'm tired of the hassle.
 
Some sellers are great.  They describe the condition as well as they can. They answer questions. They package well. Heck, they even clean the item they're planning to sell. Imagine that. But I imagine these sellers are the minority. 
 
The buyers, frankly, have become awful in the last couple of years. How many times I've dealt with buyers wanting me to give discounts to them because they're students, and this happens after they win my auctions. Also, don't get me started on the people who bid on auctions and then refuse to either pay or answer my emails. You know, I even had some guy try to extort $11 from me so he wouldn't leave bad feedback. I guess ebay actually did something about it when I reported him because the guy eventually left me alone. Scammers! and not just Nigerians. 
 
Then Ebay charges fees up the wazoo. 
 
I've thankfully never lost a huge amount of money through ebay but I don't think it would be long before that stopped being the case. 

I buy and sell quite often on ebay. I agree that the buyers have gotten progressively worse. At this point, I no longer sell to people with 0 feedback; 9/10 times, they don't pay and dont respond. Guess I don't understand why someone would bid on something not intending to buy it, such a pain in the ass.
 

 

[sari0n]

It's not the best place for beginners, but once you know the system and how things work with paypal you can definitely get some good deals.  I buy about 2 items for each 1 item I sell on ebay, with ~100 transactions and I've had ten times more issues with buyers than with the sellers.  The fees are pretty ridiculous now, but it's still easier and somewhat more secure than craigslist or advertising on forums.

 

[lee730]

Quote:

It's not the best place for beginners, but once you know the system and how things work with paypal you can definitely get some good deals.  I buy about 2 items for each 1 item I sell on ebay, with ~100 transactions and I've had ten times more issues with buyers than with the sellers.  The fees are pretty ridiculous now, but it's still easier and somewhat more secure than craigslist or advertising on forums.

I think I'll just stick to buying. You are right about the fees. Its BS that you have to pay these fees, even when your item doesn't sell lol. Good think I was able to sell the 2707 the second time I posted the add... I've had some experiences though where I've had to cancel my orders with sellers. Either from misreading the add or false advertising generally. I always make contact with them though in these cases and don't leave anyone hanging
 

 

[J W]

Quote:

I buy and sell quite often on ebay. I agree that the buyers have gotten progressively worse. At this point, I no longer sell to people with 0 feedback; 9/10 times, they don't pay and dont respond. Guess I don't understand why someone would bid on something not intending to buy it, such a pain in the ass.
 

I've had people with significant feedback win auctions and not respond or pay, but you're right that generally the 0 feedback people are the worst. What makes it a PITA more than anything is that ebay panders to the buyers so much and requires the seller to jump through hoops to insure that yes, unresponsive buyer is unresponsive. I think ebay should have a requirement that a buyer, even if he's not yet able to pay, must at least make contact with the seller within X hours/days of the auction's close to confirm that he plans to pay. 
 
Sellers should also be able to grade buyers the same way buyers grade sellers. X/5 stars for time of payment, X/5 stars for communication, etc. . .. This will never happen, of course, as I'm sure it wouldn't be profitable for ebay to place any type of restriction on a buyer. Ebay is a necessary evil for many prospective sellers and ebay knows it and banks on it. 
 
 

 

[Semus]

My experience with Ebay has been quite nice actually.
 
My very first sell was a $2000 item. Keep in mind I had absolutely NO feedback. The first buyer was the winning bidder but after the sale, backed out. So I re-listed the item and offered the other bidder a second chance offer. He agreed and I had to prove that the item was mine and that it wasn't a scam. I had to do this through a series of pictures. I don't hold it against the guy. I would be very careful with big purchases like that, too.
 
That first transaction was a small hiccup but after it was completed the buyer sent me an email telling me that it was the smoothest transaction he had ever had on Ebay. Throughout the next four or five transactions, I received similar emails tell me that I was the type of seller that keeps them coming back to Ebay. Even though I only have a score of 8 at the moment, I take my time to contact each buyer and let them know exactly what's going on. I fill them in on things like when I'm going to UPS to ship the item. I also tell them to email me if they have any questions or concerns, and I always get back to them within a few hours.
 
One of the best things you can do for a buyer is provide as many pictures of the actual item. Don't just rely on manufacturers photos. This doesn't help describe the item at all. I stay FAR away from those items. I wouldn't buy an item with stock photos, so I don't post stock photos unless I include my own photos first. The stock photos can help as a visual reference, but should not be relied upon as the only image.
 
You'd be surprised how those little things can mean so much to prospective buyers. They want to know that they can bid with confidence. Even though my score is only 8 right now, it's 100% and I take pride in that.
 
The only bad experience I had on Ebay was with an LCD TV. It was damaged when I received it (UPS shipping damage) and the remote was incorrect. Also, the model that was listed was the wrong one. I was fortunate enough to be able to contact the seller and get a full refund within a few days. It was just a headache. I would avoid buying TV's from Ebay.
 
Just do some research. Find out who your seller is. Make sure you read their feedback.

 

[hodgjy]

I'm not going to go as far as saying eBay is evil, but let's just say I won't use it ever again.  EVER.

 

[manveru]

It's funny, I've never once had a bad experience on eBay for the last few years I've been using it. It's really easy to spot the fishy ads, and all of my buyers have had decent-excellent communication and payed within 2-3 days, but more often within 24 hours. I guess I'm just lucky. 80% of the stuff I've sold has been drum and pro audio equipment though. I imagine the type of people who would be interested in those kinds of things are less sketchy than people who would bid on tv's or laptops or something. I will agree that the fees are too high however.

 

[johnman1116]

The thing that is a little inconvenient is bidding on different items that are the same. Makes sense? lol
 
For example: 
There are 2 items for bid and end at the same or about the same time. They are the same item. How do you go about bidding? Do you bid on both or just one? What if you win both or dont win the won you bid on but couldve won the one you didnt bid on. 
 
But I do agree ebay is where the deals are at, well that and here at head-fi.org ofcourse  

 

[Makiah S]

I'm also not a huge fan of eBay it's really something you have to be GOOD at, my step father thankfully is GOOD at eBay
 
I did how ever get my ZUNE HD 32 on ebay and I got a good deal on it, I had to hunt a little. I think eBay does better with more popular items than niche items like high end cans, and if you know how to search right some times you can find those genuie first time sellers who's listings are terriable but whose product is good and cheap [got my Nintendo DS dirt cheap and it worked fine still does] So to each his own, but I'm tending to move away from eBay plus as I'm starting to look for things like the HifiMan 620 8(gb) or DT880 Pro's ebay is becoming more and more useless...
 
 

 

[3rdear]

I just started using ebay more, and there are aspects that leave me baffled.  For example, the way people bid on certain items, it looks like they are bidding against themselves and increasing the amount by their own hand: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&_trksid=p4340.l2565&rt=nc&item=290702709147
 
I've seen this happen multiple times for this item. The $ amount is linear, showing bids in order, yet I don't understand why people would do that, except that there is something else going on. Granted the person doing that has zero feedback, so who knows what might be going on behind the scenes.