New to EBay - Safest method of payment

J

justsally

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I want to adventure into the world of buying online through EBay. How safe is Paypal - are there are any security steps I needs to take when using it. What is the difference between paying by Credit Card and paying through Paypal.

Thanks
 
very safe it's a part of ebay the fees are steep enough but you are guaranteed if the transaction goes funny
 
make sure you use different password for your eaby a/c and paypal a/c
use something like 1234askmeNOT
paypal work lik this, you pay payal, then paypal will pay the seller, once seller got the funds they will deliver goods, seller willl never seen your card details, so thats way safer than giving ur card details to some joschmuck who might pass it on to someone..
 
I've had a Paypal account for a few years which I mainly use for Ebay purchases. I find it great, payment is instaneous which means you normally receive your purchases soonest.
You register your details with Paypal and pay them not some unknown.
Be very careful of giving your credit card details on the internet.
 
I've used bank drafts or electronic payments for over 150 ebay transactions to the UK, Germany, France and the USA.

Never had a problem ever. All sellers shipped the goods as soon as they got the draft.
 
Have also recently become a frequent eBay buyer (have no experience of selling there) but just be aware of two things; check the postage charges (especially to Ireland, as most sellers tend to be in the UK) and also remember the sterling/euro conversion! E.g., an item I recently bought at auction for GB£7 eventually cost about €30 due to expensive postage plus FX conversion. A seller can charge whathe sees fit for postage and handling, and therefore the charge does not necessarily relate to what it costs to post from the UK. Just be aware! Have also found PayPal to be fine, but read the small print re the limits to how much they will refund you if your purchase does not arrive! My first one did not, and I got a partial refund from PayPal (eventually) and got the balance via MasterCard (which I used to fund my PayPal account). MasterCard were very good at sorting out the matter and settled quickly. Happy eBaying!
 
YES. a lot of indecent seller put a low price for their commodity and a crazy postage charge claimed to be a register post but in fact its not
 
Another tip from a hardening eBayer (3 purchases now - not counting my first and most painful experience!) is to check out sellers' feedback references. If they've loads of positives, they've been doing it for a long time and have few or no complaints and nothing to hide. Some sellers will also advertise that if you have less than, say, 10, feedbacks yourself, ie, you are new to eBay and do not have a track record, do not bother bidding unless you contact them first. I hate to sound paranoid, but just be cautious, and only pay through PayPal, ie, do not give CC details for a private purchase (although I think eBay forbid this anyway!?) Remember too, if you win an auction, you have to pay! Good luck.
 
that is great point.and at the end of the day.never expect a super bargain from ebay..maybe a 32" lcd for 100 euro...its just too good to be true!

you can figure it out, either its stolen or just another scam
 
At the risk of sounding like I just want to keep adding to this, my 2nd (1st completed) purchase was a pleasure. I won an auction for the same type of golf clubs that never arrived the 1st time (you'd think I'd learn!) and for a lower price. The seller then failed to notice that I was in Ireland, but nonetheless, said he wouldn't charge anything extra for postage over teh Std Royal mail parcel post to the UK, even tho it cost him a little more. They arrived in 4 days, I emailed him & told him how they had helped me to my 2nd best ever score on their maiden voyage, and he invited me to be his guest at his golf course if I was ever visiting his area! There are some genuine folks out there too!
 
Youre right. Most are genuine, but some are not. That's why you should use paypal. Fees are steep as mentioned earlier (4% of sale price)- but remember the seller is the only one who pays the fee.
Be careful of those who say item is in UK but they are based in Hong Kong or somewhere. You may have a long wait.
 
IMHO Paypal is the one and only way to go but I would wonder about how quickly/efficiently claims are met under their Standard Purchase Protection Programme.

I have raised a query with e-bay over conflicting information on their website about payment methods. They mention on their Sending Payments: Benefits and Risks section that they allow postal order payments whereas one of their ineligible payment methods is postal order! I raised this matter with them in September and they confirmed that they referrerd it to their Product Development Department who do not appear to acted upon it and this is November but unfortunately I have found ebay to be very inefficient and slow when it comes to dealing with queries.

Reading some of the previous threads on this board leads me to believe I'm not the only one.
 
Paypal is great, I have used it a lot with no problems. Only way to go.
 
There is another thread here on AAM about good/bad experiences with PayPal. Personally I have never had any problems with it and even managed to get a refund via their complaints process when an eBay seller never delivered the goods. Given the different choices for paying for eBay purchases I would recommend PayPal over all others as the safest way to pay regardless of (a) genuine bad experiences that some people may have had and (b) anecdotal scare stories.
 
hi folks
this is a few points i think may help when shopping on ebay.
1. Only use Paypal as a way of paying the seller/accepting money, never pass on credit card details even the seller prompt that may speed up the transaction.
2. if an item is too good to be true, think twice, theres no such thing as free meal or big bargain.
3. Read the sellers feedback, most of u probably know this pretty well
4. some seller may advice you to buy directly from their web site, this can be a scam as they got hold of u card number as well
5. check the item for sale if the picture is not generic, most of the time the actual items is completely different and u can't argue with seller as they claim that is wat posted on site
 
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