SolveYourProblem
Article Series:
Small Business Guide To Buying Items:
eBay Auctions
Advantages
and Disadvantages of Buying on eBay
by Jeff Cohen
The
Case For
Whatever you want to buy, whether it’s large or small, cheap
or expensive, everyday or just plain weird, the chances are
you can find it on eBay. It’s the largest auction site in the
world, and when it comes to the variety of what’s on sale,
size is vital. When was the last time you heard of someone
getting a great deal on a weird and wonderful item at uBid
or Yahoo Auctions?
People who’ve got used to eBay don’t often stop to think how
amazing it is – an online marketplace where you can buy things
from all over the world, without leaving your home. You can
get things that you would never think anyone would bother to
sell, and you can get them cheaply. The powerful search engine
means that you can find things you’ll like without even knowing
exactly what you’re looking for.
Not only that, but you can send money quickly and electronically
to almost all of these sellers, without worrying about currency
conversion or exchange rates or anything else.
If you’re looking for rarities or bargains, eBay is an ideal
place to buy.
The
Case Against
However much you might dream of a truly international marketplace,
international postage costs will always bring you back down
to reality with a thud. Do you have any idea how much it costs
to send even the smallest thing to the other side of the world?
Then there’s the fact that eBay is packed with fraudsters
and scammers, preying on the innocent users who’ve heard that
eBay is a great place to buy stuff but don’t know the risks.
People can lose thousands of dollars, and eBay do nothing.
Is that fair? It is hard to even leave negative feedback for
the very worst sellers, for fear that they will retaliate and
leave a black mark against your own account.
eBay is unfair to buyers when other buyers don’t play fair,
and unfair to sellers who end up selling things for a very
low price, only to have eBay’s fees take away the last part
of their profit margin.
The
Verdict
Those are the arguments for and against. So is eBay good,
or bad? I’ll leave it up to you to decide. For me, though,
the answer is this: as long as you’re aware of the downsides,
and you know how to protect yourself from scammers and fraudsters
and how to get ahead of the competition, eBay is one of the
best places in the world to shop. Having followed us this far,
of course, you now know all these things, which means that
for you, eBay is a great place!
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
> Home > Buying
On eBay Articles:
Main Page
|
