EBay for Dummies (23 page)

To ask a seller a question, follow these steps:

1. Click the Ask Seller a Question link on the item page.

You’re presented with the Ask the Seller a Question form.

2. Fill in the message area and politely fire off your questions; then click Send Message.

Expect to hear back from the seller within a day. If it takes the seller more than a day or two to respond (unless it’s over the weekend — eBay sellers are entitled to a little rest), and you get no explanation for the delay, think twice before shelling out your cash.

You can always change your user ID, but your past life (in the form of feedback messages) stays with you on eBay. Along with your feedback from your previous user ID, all your previous user IDs are listed as well in a user ID history search from the eBay Search page.

Factoring in the Extras

Before you think about placing a bid on an item, you should consider the financial obligation you have to make. In every case, the maximum bid you place won’t be all you spend on an item. I recommend that you look closely at the payment methods that the seller is willing to accept and also factor in shipping, insurance, and escrow costs (if any). If you have only $50 to spend, you shouldn’t place a $50 bid on a fragile item that will be shipped a long distance because often the buyer (that would be you) pays for shipping and insurance. In addition, if you live in the same state as the seller, you may have to pay sales tax if the seller is running an official business.

Payment methods

Several payment options are available, but eBay only allows sellers to show electronic payment methods. If you want to make a payment in the form of a check or money order, use the Ask the seller a question link — and ask! The seller is not required to accept any other form of payment but PayPal or one of the other electronic payment options (ProPay, Paymate, Moneybookers or a merchant account). These are the forms of payment available to you:

Credit card:
Paying with a credit card is a favorite payment option for many buyers, one that’s offered mainly by businesses and dealers. I like paying with credit cards because they’re fast and efficient. In addition, using a credit card offers you another ally, your credit card company, if you’re not completely satisfied with the transaction. Credit cards can also be used for payment through the other electronic payment options a seller may offer. I still prefer PayPal.

Sometimes sellers use a friend’s company to run credit card payments for eBay auctions. So don’t be surprised if you buy a vintage Tonka bulldozer and your credit card is billed from Holly’s Hair-o-Rama.

PayPal:
I pay for all my eBay purchases through PayPal. Owned by eBay, PayPal is the largest Internet-wide payment network. Sellers who accept PayPal are identified with a special icon in the Seller Information box (as well as a large PayPal logo in the Payment method area below the description) and accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover as well as electronic checks and debits. The service is integrated directly into eBay auctions, so paying is a mouse click away.

After you register with PayPal to pay for an item, PayPal debits your credit card or your bank checking account
(or your account — if you have earned some money from sales) and sends the payment to the seller’s account. PayPal does not charge buyers to use the service. Buyers can use PayPal to pay any seller within the United States (and around the world in over 55 countries). Some international bidders can pay for their eBay auctions from sellers in the United States. To see a current list of PayPal’s international services, go to

www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/approved_countries-outside

PayPal deposits the money directly into the seller’s checking or savings account. The service charges the seller a small transaction fee, so the seller absorbs the cost.

Your credit card information is known only to the PayPal service. The seller never sees your credit card info. Another major advantage is that you have protection behind you when you use PayPal. And you have the right to dispute charges if the item arrives damaged or doesn’t show up at all. When you use PayPal to pay for a qualified eBay item from a Verified PayPal member, you are covered by PayPal’s Buyer Protection program for the full purchase price. To find out whether your item is protected in this program, look for the information below the pricing information (refer to Figure 6-3).

For more details, check out the PayPal Web site (
www.paypal.com
).

Money order:
My second-favorite method of receiving payment is the money order. Sellers love money orders because they don’t have to wait for a check to clear. When you ask to pay with a money order, they will almost always say yes.

Money orders are the same as cash. As soon as the seller gets your money order, he or she has no reason to wait to send the item. You can buy money orders at banks, supermarkets, convenience stores, and your local post office. The average cost is about a dollar. If you’re purchasing an item that’s being shipped internationally, you can pay with an international money order from the U.S. Postal Service, which costs about $3.00.

Personal or cashier’s check:
Again, you have to ask.
Paying by check is convenient but has its drawbacks. Most sellers won’t ship you the goods until after your check clears, which means a lag time of a couple of weeks or more. Unfortunately, that means that while the seller is waiting for your check to clear, your merchandise is collecting dust in a box somewhere. This is no fun for you or for the seller. If a seller takes personal checks, you’ll have to e-mail the seller and ask. Cashier’s checks are available at your bank but often cost much more than a money order. It’s not worth the extra money — have fun and buy more eBay items instead.

Before you send a personal check, make sure that you have enough money to cover your purchase. A bounced check can earn you negative feedback — too many negative transactions will bounce you off eBay.

The good news about checks is that you can track whether or not they’ve been cashed. Personal checks leave a paper trail that you can follow if a problem occurs later on. The bad news about checks is that you’re revealing personal information, such as your bank account number, to a stranger.

C.O.D.:
I know of no eBay seller who will accept your request for an item to be mailed via cash on delivery.

Most business on eBay is conducted in U.S. dollars. If you happen to buy an item from an international seller, you may need to convert American dollars into another currency. eBay has a currency converter, located at the following URL:

pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/currencyconverter.html

Just select your choice of currency, type the amount, and click Perform Currency Conversion.

Never use a form of payment that doesn’t let you keep a paper trail.
Don’t wire money, and never send cash in the mail!
If a seller asks for cash, quote Nancy Reagan and just say no. Occasionally, I hear of international buyers sending U.S. greenbacks in the mail. But if a seller asks for cash, chances are that you may never see the item or your money again. Oh, yeah, here’s something else — if a seller asks you to send your payment to a post office box, get a phone number. Many legitimate sellers use post office boxes, but so do the bad guys.

Using an escrow service

Even though most sales on eBay are for items that cost $100 or less, using an escrow service comes in handy on occasion — such as when you buy a big-ticket item or something extremely rare.
Escrow
is a service that allows a buyer and seller to protect a transaction by placing the money in the hands of a neutral third party until a specified set of conditions are met. Sellers note in their item descriptions if they’re willing to accept escrow. If you’re nervous about sending a lot of money to someone you don’t really know (like a user named Clumsy who has only two feedback comments and is shipping you bone china from Broken Hill, Australia), consider using an escrow company.

Using an escrow company is worthwhile only if the item you’re bidding on is expensive, rare, fragile, or traveling a long distance. If you’re spending less than $300.00 for the item, I recommend that you purchase insurance from your shipper instead — just in case. eBay has a partnership with Escrow.com to handle eBay auction escrow sales in Canada and the United States. After an auction closes, the buyer sends the payment to the escrow company. After the escrow company receives the money, it e-mails the seller to ship the merchandise. After the buyer receives the item, he or she has an agreed-on period of time to look it over. If everything’s okay, the escrow service sends the payment to the seller. If the buyer is unhappy with the item, he or she must ship it back to the seller. When the escrow service receives word from the seller that the item has been returned, the service returns the payment to the buyer (minus the escrow company’s handling fee, of course).