eBay is one of the most used portals to buy and sell all kinds of products on the Internet. This platform, now owned by Google, allows us to buy both new and used products at very competitive prices. We explain the best tips and tricks you can use to buy safely on eBay, and avoid being ripped off.
The massification of the Internet has put thousands of products at our fingertips. With this we have the possibility of acquiring a wide variety of products, which before it was not possible to find, in addition to being able to do so for much lower prices, than we would have imagined a few years ago.
However, buying over the Internet also has its risks . Fortunately, we can minimize the dangers by following a series of precautions and recommendations. Here are a number of tips and tricks to help you shop on eBay more safely and successfully.
Check the condition of the item
As we have said before, within eBay you can find thousands of new and second-hand products. Therefore, the first step you should do before making a purchase is to make sure if the product you want to buy fits what you are looking for .
This is especially important with products that are sold second-hand . It is very important that you read the description of the product carefully, since in it the seller will tell you everything you need to know about the product in question, including its status.
You should also pay attention to whether the seller accepts product returns or not. The possibility of returning your purchase can be very useful, if finally the product you receive is not what you were expecting.
Always use PayPal as a payment method
PayPal is the safest platform we have to make payments over the Internet. The advantage of paying with this system is that we have a period of six months, in which we can make a claim, if the product we receive does not correspond to what the seller promised.
PayPal's claims system is more oriented to protect the buyer than the seller, so if we are victims of a scam attempt, we will have a good chance of being victorious in the claim that we put on the seller.
Check the shipping costs
This point is just as important as the previous one. Often, sellers try to attract the attention of potential buyers, putting much lower than those of its competition prices.
The secret in these cases is usually that the shipping costs are much higher than what other sellers offer, causing the final price of the product to be even higher.
It is not strange that you see a t-shirt for sale for a price of € 5, when the same shirt is being sold by someone else for a price of € 15. However, it is possible that in the first case the shipping costs are double or even triple what the seller who offers you the shirt for € 15 asks you.
For this reason, you should always check the total price of the product , because it is useless if they offer it cheaper, if in exchange the shipping costs have an exorbitant cost.
Ask all the questions you have
Do not forget that you have the right to ask the seller all the doubts you have about the product, in which you are interested. If after reading all the information that the seller provides you, you still have doubts, do not hesitate to ask them.
Most eBay sellers will reply to you courteously, and as quickly as possible. This is the best way to avoid a misunderstanding, which can lead to a major problem.
Check the seller's reputation
Something very interesting that eBay offers is that it allows us to assess the seller after having made a deal. All the evaluations that are made are saved within the platform, and are accessible to all users.
This means that you can check a seller's review history before deciding to buy one of the products they are offering. This is a very important step that you should always do, to check if it is an honest seller, or if it is a person who is trying to scam users.
Don't push without thinking
A differentiating feature of eBay compared to other trading platforms between individuals, is that it offers the possibility of selling products in auction mode. This means that interested users will have to bid to offer the highest amount of money.
Obviously no one can force you to buy anything, so you can always back out after bidding in an auction. However, this is a reason for receiving a negative feedback within eBay, which can seriously affect your credibility within the platform.
Therefore, you should always think twice before placing a bid in an auction, in this way you will avoid earning negative votes that can hinder future sales and purchases within the platform.
Take advantage of the "Buy it now" option
EBay auctions also provide the ability to purchase the product directly . If the seller has enabled this possibility, you will see an option called "Buy it now", and a direct sale price.
If you think the price that the seller is asking is adequate, you can use the direct purchase option to avoid entering a bidding system. Normally this direct sale price is much higher than the minimum bid required by the seller, but entering the bidding system can make you end up paying much more money than you would have paid for the direct purchase.
This is our article with the best tips and tricks to buy safely on eBay and avoid being ripped off. Remember that you can share it on social networks so that it can help more users who need it.