Buying From Ebay
Author: Adeel
Just like real world, net is also full of conmen and crooks. There are also laws and checks to tackle them but still be careful as said cure is better then medication so it is for you to save yourself from any sly individuals who keep a greedy eye on your hard earned income like a cheap vulture.
Equip yourself with following information and protect yourself becoming a number.
1- If anything sounds too good to be true, it may be. Always ask lot of questions and don’t let them to duck any question.
Any honest seller will appreciate your queries and always give you more then asked details.
3- Always check feedback and be extra cautious when there is a seller with private feedback.
4- Always read feedback and see how that feedback was earned. Also check out for how long seller has been registered with EBAY. Also make sure some of the feedback has been earned by items of similar or same value.
5- Ask previous buyers of their experience specifically after leaving their feedback.
6- Be wary of overseas sellers and try to use square trade, which acts like a third party when buying high value items or overseas sellers.
7- Never rush to pay .Hand over cash once you are fully satisfied. You can use Pay pal.
8- Always keep record of all communication with seller. Make a printout and take it with you when you go to pay and collect.
9- Never ever buy a vehicle without a logbook.
10- Any MOT which has less then 3 months life, ask seller to get a new MOT.
11- Ask explicitly any reasons of MOT failure, if seller is getting rid of as a MOT failure. Speak at least with couple of garages to see whether it is worth a hassle to fix issues.
12- Always try to distinguish a trader from a private seller. Remember a trader is legally obliged by law to carry out certain things even after sales. Now in online world, things work on trust and you may have already (or will) learn how bond of trust develops on net.
13- If once you have figured out that it is a genuine private seller, then ask them standard questions like have they got a log book? Is vehicle registered on their name and home address? How long they kept the car? As a rule of thumb answer to most of questions should be yes.
14- Be very careful if you come across these sort of statements.
Bought car for some one in family and they don’t like it, its color, doesn’t fit in our garage, or my wife/some family member failed their driving test.
15- Remember it is a legal requirement to register a vehicle on your name, doesn’t matter how long you intend on keeping the car.
16- Always meet seller at their home address which should be same as registered address of car.
17- Even if you have 1% doubt, simply walk away.
18- You are obliged to complete a transaction but if seller has misled you, you are free to back off without fear of negative feedback. Even if you get a negative point, contact EBAY to remove.
19- Even if you are buying from EBAY, you can request for a test drive checking minimum of driving from small city street to motorway (going up to town) hard braking, turning aggressively, hill start to check efficiency of clutch and hand breaks.
20- Ask about history before bidding and check when you go for viewing.
21- Don’t ask subjective questions ask specific questions like what sort of issues/ defects are there on body work instead of asking how is outlook?
22- Always ask him to declare any fault and defects and once you got reply then reply saying that I am going to bid/buy relying on your description of your car. Read carefully response and you will be able to sort honest seller from a conmen.
23- Again never ever inspect/collect car in dark or wet.
24- Always give yourself sufficient time to drive and test your bought car before leaving feedback.
EBAY has a responsibility to stop all fraud but still there are few smart people who are always ahead of new check and balance systems. So million dollar advice or summary of this guide is to be extra vigilant.If you see any suspicious activity report it to Ebay.
Also share your stories here.
