I am a regular on Amazon and play and have found both services very satisfactory, but I went on Ebay the other day and bought an item, when it came to payment I got an email from the seller about how legal action would be taken against me as I hadn't replied in 2 days for the details when I had 7 days to complete the transaction.

This has put me off buying anything else from Ebay now.

Has anyone else had any problems with any of these?
Which do you prefer?

Neither.

Both are fairly sad...

I've used Amazon for years now, and never had a problem.
I'm a new E-bayer......joined in January, bought a 70p teddy bear to start me off. But the difference between Amazon and E-bay is that E-bay is an auction. I think that some people who have agreed a price for an item have been let down, and all that most sellers want, is an acknowledgement that you're going to pay the winning bid price, within 2 days...not actually pay the money, just say that you will pay, within the agreed timescale.
I've just completed my first 7 days of selling 6 items that would have been put in the bin, but I thought I'd give it a go, and I've made £98.00 (less approx £6.00...E-bay charges).I've bought 4 items... all by cheque, you know you're obligated to pay if you're the winning bidder, just like in a real auction( I've never done a real auction). I had an email as soon as the bidding had closed, and had three days to say how I was going to pay, already being given a choice of options. I have received all the items I won, and am just waiting on one cheque clearing before I post my last sale off.:D
E-baying could be catching;)

Glad i'm not the only one put off Ebay. I sold an old vinyl picture disc there a few months back, just to see how it worked. I got a seriously hard time off the purchaser for taking so long to send it (about 14 days). Don't reckon I can be bothered again.

I've bought from Amazon and they have been pretty good, though. I guess with it being more like a regular shop they are a bit more professional.

If you are after cds, cd-wow is pretty good, imho.

Originally posted by duffman
I am a regular on Amazon and play and have found both services very satisfactory, but I went on Ebay the other day and bought an item, when it came to payment I got an email from the seller about how legal action would be taken against me as I hadn't replied in 2 days for the details when I had 7 days to complete the transaction.

This has put me off buying anything else from Ebay now.

Has anyone else had any problems with any of these?
Which do you prefer?

I've been using ebay for a few years now, as each sale is not from the same seller, it sometimes can be a bit hit and miss, but a good rule is to check out the sellers feedback before you bid, I tend not to purchse from someone if they have less than say 95% feedback. Also another good thing is to read through the sellers terms and conditionds fully before you bid, they usually tell you how quick they expect you to respond and pay after the close of auction and also their prefered method of payment. You can also reflect the sellers attitude in the feedback you leave after the sale. Im sure this is probably just a one off, most people are pretty good.

I once tried to buy a wrestling video off Amazon Marketplace, but the seller started being an arse, not replying to emails, even after I'd paid him and everything, then next thing he turned round and decided he'd changed his mind and didn't want to sell me the video... Put me off auction sites altogether.

I rarely use Ebay nowadays either, only if I want a really rare Xbox or other game that I can't get in GAME on Fargate or Meadowhall, or some other item I can't get in Town/Meadowhall or elsewhere on the net.

I've bought a few items from both Amazon and eBay..
Personally, I've had few problems with either of them. Actually, I've had no problems at all with Amazon (not the market place, don't trust it for some reason).

However, my most recent purchase from eBay was Terminator 3 on DVD, and it arrived in a very badly conditioned case, although the auction stated it was new and sealed. The problem with eBay is that you can't simply return the item and ask for another, the blame is landed on Royal Mail and you just can't do anything about it..

Originally posted by Smiler
Glad i'm not the only one put off Ebay. I sold an old vinyl picture disc there a few months back, just to see how it worked. I got a seriously hard time off the purchaser for taking so long to send it (about 14 days). Don't reckon I can be bothered again.

I've bought from Amazon and they have been pretty good, though. I guess with it being more like a regular shop they are a bit more professional.

If you are after cds, cd-wow is pretty good, imho.

That begs the question: why did you take 14 days to send the item? If you were buying something, I expect you'd like it to be sent faster than that?
The problem with eBay and similar sites is the number of amateurs on there who don't behave professionally.

I am going to purchase the item as I read all the conditions of the site and the seller, it was the attitude of the guy that got me. I will leave it in the feedback.

I use amazon market place all the time and have had no problems at all and I have bought from a seller in the states who was very good as they have a store with items you can't get over here, postage is cheaper on amazon aswell I have found.

Originally posted by mojoworking
That begs the question: why did you take 14 days to send the item? If you were buying something, I expect you'd like it to be sent faster than that?
The problem with eBay and similar sites is the number of amateurs on there who don't behave professionally.


I think I can answer this for Mojo, it does take around 2 weeks.

4 Days ish for the buyer to post the cheque and the seller to recieve it.

7 Days for the buyers cheque to clear

3 more days for the parcel to be sent and received by the buyer.

7 days for a cheque to clear?! what bank are you with? Normally takes a day max with mine.
I've been both buying and selling on eBay for ages now and have to say i wouldn't be too impressed if it took a fortnight for something to come that i'd bought. I try to have as fast a turnaround as possible and keep buyers updated with emails to (a) tell them I've received their payment and when it's getting banked (b) that the payment has cleared and (c) when the item has been posted.
Don't get me wrong there are some arses on eBay who bid and don't pay but they're in the minority.

Well I don't know which bank your with but a day :o I hope you mean it registers on your account but is still in the process of clearing.

Standard is normally 4 working days for a cheque to clear. So you put it in on Thursday before 3pm.

Thursday Friday, Monday and Tuesday (that is 6 days waiting)

Originally posted by Skatiechik
I think I can answer this for Mojo, it does take around 2 weeks.

4 Days ish for the buyer to post the cheque and the seller to recieve it.

7 Days for the buyers cheque to clear

3 more days for the parcel to be sent and received by the buyer.

Thanks for that, but it doesn't tell the full story. I've been trading on eBay for 6 years and have some experience in these things:

Smiler didn't say which method of payment the buyer used, but payment can be instantaneous if you use PayPal or online banking.

As spook1210 says, communication is everything on eBay. If the buyer & seller let each other know what's going on, it makes all the difference. Those long email silences lead you to think the worst.

A new law is being introduced to banks where a cheque must clear in 1 day or less, as its just a way of the bank making extra intrest at our expence!

:mad:

Originally posted by Lickable
A new law is being introduced to banks where a cheque must clear in 1 day or less, as its just a way of the bank making extra intrest at our expence!

:mad:


Ooh sounds good! Will be able to get at money quicker :D

I think Ebay is highly addictive.

Originally posted by cazzaworld
I think Ebay is highly addictive.
Yes it is.. Which is rather unfortunate if you don't have the money to spend in the first place. It can all end up getting rather messy..

If you're worried about buying off Ebay, just buy off buyers with a high number of feedback, and ask them to send it recorded, so if something goes wrong you are both covered. Also NEVER send cash!!

The problem with Ebay is the new sellers and buyers who don't know what they are doing, and don't contact the other person.

Thanks for the support Skatie!

It was a cheque but yes I could have sent the record quicker. But my real beef was I had e-mailed the buyer and said 'I'm new to this...might take me a few days to get sorted...etc' and he still gave me a hard time. The whole thing didn't seem worth the effort to me, unless you were keen and desparately wanted the cash.

And all over a crap picture disc from a long forgotten band!

Originally posted by Smiler
Thanks for the support Skatie!

It was a cheque but yes I could have sent the record quicker. But my real beef was I had e-mailed the buyer and said 'I'm new to this...might take me a few days to get sorted...etc' and he still gave me a hard time. The whole thing didn't seem worth the effort to me, unless you were keen and desparately wanted the cash.
And all over a crap picture disc from a long forgotten band!

A strange attitude, especially considering you're asking a complete stranger to send money to you! This is what gets on-line auction sites a bad name - newbies who have no idea what they're doing and don't give a stuff about the customer, or the product they're selling.
:(

Originally posted by Skatiechik
I think I can answer this for Mojo, it does take around 2 weeks.

4 Days ish for the buyer to post the cheque and the seller to recieve it.

7 Days for the buyers cheque to clear

3 more days for the parcel to be sent and received by the buyer.

Quickest Ebay deal so far......from posting cheque to receiving item......2 days:thumbsup:

Originally posted by claycraft
Quickest Ebay deal so far......from posting cheque to receiving item......2 days:thumbsup:

I've had some quick deals like that, if your a regular and you've got like 100% feedback and good attitude people will trust you more and speed things along for you.

Ive used ebay for a while now,not had any problems to speak of,also got some good quality stuff at good prices.
Ebay is just like everything else in life...pay on time and you get what you ask for...try and stall it and you get the same back.

As a rule all goods ive bought have been sent out to me as soon as paid for and recieved quite quick.

I've only bought on ebay. The fastest purchase arrived 18 hours after auction close!

I agree with everyone else about checking the person's feedback very carefully. Even if they have 100% positive feedback, be careful:

* Was their feedback all when they were a buyer, or for selling small items, and now they are trying to sell a laptop?

* Some scamsters are out there who put an item on (eg a laptop or monitor) with a huge description and bury somewhere in the middle "this auction is not for the item itself but for information on where you can purchase the item" ! Other people spot that and deliberately make very high bids (that they have no intention of paying) just to protect other bidders.

Ebay is now the first place I look for many things. I work as a freelance software developer so spend all day sat on my posterior. I recently bought a second hand swivel chair for £300 that are £700 new (these are superb chairs and an investment against future medical bills).

My scariest purchase was £1300 on a new computer. The guy had lots of very good feedback (and I followed the links to see what feedback those people had), I asked him to scan in some proof of address, I phoned him to make sure his number was legit and looked him up in directory enquiries. It was still a nerve-wrecking 24 hours from the time I deposited cash in his bank account to the time I received the goods!!

If you're dealing with a lot of money, you can always use the official ebay escrow service (see http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/escrow.html). But be wary of using unofficial escrow services as there are many bogus ones.
If a seller refuses to use the escrow service, then you're probably best avoiding them in the first place.

Or if you are buying a large item, try and search for local items so you can pick them up and see the item before you pay. My boyfriend did this the other day with a mobile phone.

For dvd's, cd's, games, etc, you simply cannot beat PLAY.COM.

Amazon charge VAT and postage. Play are Guernsey based, so no added extras, VAT, or postage and they are the cheapest around, especially for dvd's. Have seen people paying over-inflated prices for dvd's on e-bay which are available for 6.99 on Play. i have personally purchased well over 30 dvd's from Play.com. they always arrive within 2-3 days and have had no problems whatsoever.

as an example, Terminator 3 is currently 7.99 for the single disc edition and 9.99 for the 2 disc 5.1 sound edition. both postage&packing free.

The problem with Ebay is that people don't stick to time scales. There is nothing worse than having to wait 3 weeks for payment. I don't like how the feedback system works on ebay either. I've used Amazon a few times and always been satisfied so far.