Why do people even bother to use EBAY?

I love eBay. I've been a member over five years now with nearly 700 transactions. One went bad and I was fully refunded by eBay and another I found was a fake Prada (shame on me for not catching that one!), but I filed a Paypal dispute and was fully refunded (even the express shipping fee!).

My most expensive purchase was a diamond bracelet. Shopping for diamonds is very much like shopping designer goods: your darn well better know your product and how to use eBay before you dare spend money on eBay. I know jewelry infinitely better than designer bags or shoes, so I'm comfy shopping for that on eBay. I scored a KILLA diamond bracelet, nearly 3 carats VS/G color for $2500. The seller had a 30 day refund policy so, even though I louped it myself and could see it was the real deal, I still took it to a reputable local jewelry to verify not only the diamond quality but the retail value: the appraisal came back at $5500. Can you say happy dance? :yahoo:

I also love that eBay to me is a HUGE flea market. I have no patience to go to yard sales and flea markets, but eBay is so easy. I've found really cool things over the years at dirt cheap prices.

I'll grant you, reading this forum has me upset with eBay on the designer bag business but overall, eBay rocks! :rochard:
 
I use eBay because in spite of all the horror stories and issues (red tape, some not-so-bright ppl in all depts, etc), they STILL offer the MOST protection out of all the auction sites out there.
 
I still use ebay to purchase random things that I notice are cheaper on ebay. I don't purchase designer bags on there though. I also use ebay as a forum to sell some of my older purses that I no longer want.
 
I am fairly new to ebay but so far I am pretty satisfied. I have bought two fakes, shame on me because I should have been more careful. But neither one was very expensive which should have been my first clue. I think a good rule of thumb is, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is a rip-off. That's not to say you can't get great deals. It's like everyone on this thread says---you just need to do the research and know what you are buying.

I have had one problem with a seller who is extremely unorganised and apparently keeps poor records of payments received, plus is very slow to answer emails (threatening ones at that!). But the items I bought from him are inexpensive so if he fails to complete the transaction (so far I have received 50% of what I bought from him and am now going round and round about the second item) it's no great loss.
 
Actually, If your not an expert on how to recognize a authentic purse from a fake, E-bay isn't the place to shop.
I'm one of those gals, who is so afraid to purchase a fake bag on e-bay, that I don't even take the time to search it there.
It can actually safe me a lot of money if I was better in searching for the 'real stuff 'on E-bay.:sad:
I don't know how or when I'm going to be good at this, to buy on E-bay. I hope I'll improve myself in time..Got any tips on how to buy on E-bay?? I would really be helpfull for me if I knew How recognize fakes:flowers:
 
Actually, If your not an expert on how to recognize a authentic purse from a fake, E-bay isn't the place to shop.
I'm one of those gals, who is so afraid to purchase a fake bag on e-bay, that I don't even take the time to search it there.
It can actually safe me a lot of money if I was better in searching for the 'real stuff 'on E-bay.:sad:
I don't know how or when I'm going to be good at this, to buy on E-bay. I hope I'll improve myself in time..Got any tips on how to buy on E-bay?? I would really be helpfull for me if I knew How recognize fakes:flowers:

Start reading the Authenticate This forum and the individual authentication threads in all the designer subforums. There are lots of very sharp folks on here who can spot a fake, and will often explain why. The information they provide can help a lot in weeding out the obvious fakes from the maybes, and once you've done that you can post anything that you think might be real for the more experienced eyes to evaluate. It's a valuable community we have here.
 
I have been an ebay member for 7 years. I sell bags on ebay too, as some of you already know. Most of my clients are from other countries like the UK or Canada. Because of the exchange rate they get great deals on these bags, like 50% off! So for them, it makes perfect sense to buy on ebay. It creates a world market, and not just that but a market that stocks things that people, not corperations are interested in. If I did not love bags I would not sell them. I stock what I myself would love to own, and that is a very personal thing compared to larger corperate stores.
 
When it comes to buying designer merchandise on ebay, it's horrible. I tried to buy two bags on ebay and both were fake. I will never do it again. They charge you a little under retail price, and it is fake!!! It makes me CRAZY!!!!!! When buying other things, it's great. But when you want to buy an authentic handbag, just go to the retail store.
 
I myself feel pretty good with spotting a fake but what I see going on over and over is so many people don't get what is on the pictures of the Ebay auctions, then forget about the paypal scams that seem to go on and on. I mean it seems like everyday someone is getting scammed by Paypal which is owned by Ebay when they ship out of the country. It just seems like people are setting themselves to get ripped off with Ebay on designer purses. I think selling here on the PF is safer since I haven't really heard many horror stories.
 
Admittedly I have been scammed once (but it wasn't with handbags, and I was able to get my money back), but I've gotten really great deals with eBay. As a poor, former undergrad, I can't afford to buy a lot of designer handbags retail, so I have to go to the secondary market and be savvy with my money. I usually check the selling history and feedback of the person I want to buy from. Plus, this message board really helps (I just won an item recently, and I was able to get a quick response about its authenticity). There are good, honest sellers out there amongst the bad apples!
 
There are so many reasons to use eBay. If you do your homework and use caution, you can buy an amazing variety of goods, that you'd otherwise never find. Not everyone lives near a metropolitan area with good shopping. Ebay brings a world of interesting things to me.

I have had nearly all great experiences with sellers, and have even made a few friends. I have some one-of-a-kind items, some vintage designer bags I would never be able to find on my own, and by reading some of the guides and the message boards there I have learned a lot about what to look for and what to avoid.
 
Yeah..you have to educate yourself on your seller and also, research your buyers. I absolutely refuse to send any of my items out until their payments have cleared. I don't sell bags or anything too valuable but I don't want to get scammed either way.
I've only had a couple problems (2 buying, 2 selling) since I started buying on ebay in 1999. I only recently started selling though..