Hello Chris I have bought off Ebay before when a bargain has been too good to miss but all the worries you have are possible and do happen. I only pay by cheque so that I know the address of the seller (hence can always pay a visit if I was ripped off for a large sum). I am sure some do arrange bidding up ont heir products but you must know and stick to the max you are going to buy for. Do not get auction-fever (I have done before !). If buying something and bidding a lot of money only use people with plenty of good feedback - these can normally be trusted - more than 3 negative feedbacks puts me off if they are a seller. The not sending of goods does happen - it has happened to me though it is more usual not to receive all the goods or that they are not as described - EBay's protection policy is completely useless here - you can file a report but very little happens until about 50 reports go in, the Ebay insurance is crap as well and designed to make you give up your claim - your local Ebay insurance office is always abroad and the paperwork you have to complete and fax to them is not the sort of paperwork you get from an online auction ! So take your chances, I have had many good transactions as a buyer and only a few not so good (been lucky) but I always check the sellers feedback if buying - watch out for sellers who leave retalitory negative feedback after they have ripped some one off - they will do it to you as well! Simon
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As the person in question on the sale of the business, in terms of selling, you don’t ship until you have been paid, and the payment has been cleared. Therefore no risk to you. I normally ask for bank transfers as they are quick and easy. If you are buying, you have little protection other than looking at that person's feedback, although as above you get their name and address = CCJ threat and big boots visit if required. In general I don’t buy from anyone on ebay without a good number of transactions to their name, so they have good reason not to mess you about. Between myself and my good lady we have bought and sold a number of things on ebay, and generally most people are honest. We only ever had one problem (some badly packaged items which where damaged in transit) which was resolved by sending them back and asking for a refund - which we got after some haggling and threats to their feedback rating. If someone fails to buy, you just ask the second bidder if they will buy instead. It’s not a big issue. However its not a risk free environment, so if you don’t like to take a small risk, don’t use ebay. Im sure all the scams you mention are perfectly possible. It’s a bit like buying from a car boot sale. Some of the sellers are dodgy, but most are legitimate, you pay your money and you take your chance. James Smith Chartered Accountant [url]www.jamesesmith.co.uk[/url] [url]www.uktaxshop.co.uk [/url] 01284 764436
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James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.jamesesmith.co.uk

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Your indispensable guide to Small Business Bookkeeping, Self-Assessment & VAT

I bought an item off ebay paid for it with my credit card via paypal, and then didn't here from the seller for 2 weeks. After the 1st week I contacted my credit card company who advised that VISA (even though they weren't the seller) cannot have the goods and your money. So they advised to wait a couple more weeks and if no response from seller to make a complaint to VISA who would refund my money. Thats why I always use payment by credit card as it offers better protection than a cheque. The seller did get back to me once i told him I'd be reporting him for fraud as I had his address. he decided to refund my money himself. Seems like he never had the goods to sell in the first place. Paul
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www.dessous.co.uk
Bringing down the price of lingerie

That's exactly what I am warning about.....
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chris
www.oxford-conferences.com

NEver use paypal or any other digital transaction on ebay.... The funds can be removed by the payee even when you can see it in your account!!!! Cash or cheq!!!!

How can they remove the money from your paypal account, that would be deemed as theft and I'm sure Paypal would start to have lots of problems if they let that happen. Cash or chqs have no comeback at all and are very very risky, at least with credit cards, your card company can help, mine were very helpful. Paul
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www.dessous.co.uk
Bringing down the price of lingerie

That isn't true at all, PayPal is a much better way to go, no charges for rubber cheques. Of course you should check that a transaction is Completed before you send anything off. There did used to be a scam where someone would pay too much for an item via a credit card which required more validation, the seller got an email from paypay saying they'd got paid. The buyer would say, oops sorry I paid £300 too much, slip of the fingers etc, the seller would then refund the £300 and the original transaction would collapse. That said I buy and sell via eBay, never had a problem, and I use PayPal to sell my software, again, no problems. Cheers, Phil
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Phil Royall
http://www.beardedfrog.com

I only use cheques now. One of the reason is having a read of this website http://www.paypalsucks.com/ Regards Simon
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looks like they've closed it down, the site is missing... www.yetmore.com - amazingly cost effective websites, design and copy writing [url]www.YetMoreTraffic.co.uk[/url] - Web traffic tips and tools www.musosguide.com - for music lovers everywhere
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That site's been running for a long time - it's probably just that the server's down temporarily. Aaron Pollock Making your website your best team member http://www.aarpol.co.uk/ Join the Online Business Success club http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=club&c=692&xref=32858
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Aaron Pollock
BoSPEAK">href="http://www.bospeak.com">BoSPEAK Ltd

Yes the site is still fine - I just accessed it today ! Si
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Probably just a blip then! I'll try again later as it sounds v. interesting! Holly www.yetmore.com - amazingly cost effective websites, design and copy writing [url]www.YetMoreTraffic.co.uk[/url] - Web traffic tips and tools www.musosguide.com - for music lovers everywhere
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It is true, however that PayPal are still suffering from the poor image they developed in the early days. I have been a customer of theirs for over two years now, and haven't even had a sniff of a problem. I do, however know that many, many people had a lot of problems with them in the earlier days. Phil
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Phil Royall
http://www.beardedfrog.com

Hi Folks, Just a quick few remarks because I work on eBay so I know all about this. 1. Look at the auction. Look at its location, look at the auction closely. If its a 3 day auction with a dodgy looking photograph dont bid. These people's ip's may go to Romania. 2. If in doubt don't bid. There are enough idiots out there that do. Believe me i know. It makes me cry each day looking at the sob stories. eBay can't stop every fraudster. We stop the most but not all. 3. Like Simon said there is very little fraud on eBay. It is calculated as just over 1%. 4. Ring member if unsure. The insurance policy is crap so don't just give 3000 pounds away and then find the guy is in Indonesia and has no intention of sending the goods. Beware of wire transfer payments etc. There just some points. However eBay cannot help you if you are a idiot who bids on a auction when it is obvious from the auction that the other person is fraudulent. J