Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/08/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ric, really, you've never been tempted? As you will read it is a VERY large marketplace. It also makes available quite a deal of gear that you might otherwise not see. (Especially if you live away from the big population areas, or countries)! My personal rule is that I would hope to pay say 20% or more less than a shop price. Occasionally you might score a real bargain or be happy to pay more for an item you really desire. That's all part of the adventure. There are various tutorials on getting started. The best way is to just sign up for free and browse to your heart's content until you are comfortable with how it all works firstly. Pick an item type of interest, do a search and watch as many auctions for it as you want. You will soon see trends. Bidding wise, often most of the activity is at the very end. There are various strategies. Treat it like a big garage sale where you might find a bargain and also accept that there is higher risk of buying a disappointment. The most common payment method, although not universal, is PayPal. Basically you set up an account with them with a legitimate e-mail address, and at least one bank account/credit card linked to it. There are reasonable safeguards, but it's not bullet-proof. That might be said regarding any on-line shopping. You need to be comfortable with this for yourself. The convenience for buyer and seller is that it's a very fast and reliable means of money swapping hands. There are fees for selling and commissions on PayPal payments. The basic premise is that most people genuinely want to trade with good will and honesty. There is a feedback system that reflects the trader's history. A genuine eBay member will progressively build a good reputation. Be warned it can be quite habit forming. Three years ago, I shopped for a replacement slr for one I lost in the 80's. 212 buys later, I'm still going! Some people have had bad experiences, certainly. I can only quote from my own. I have NEVER lost a parcel (many of them from USA, Canada etc to here in Australia). I have been disappointed with only three items out of my totals so far. I have also saved hundreds of dollars and acquired gear I would never have located otherwise. Best of luck checking it all out. Cheers Hoppy -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+hoppyman=bigpond.net.au@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Ric Carter Sent: Thursday, 3 August 2006 11:33 To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Interesting 50mm variation (eBay shame?) Okay, Hoppy. You've got me thinking. I've never bought anything from that site. I'm just chicken s*** with my money. How does one shop safely there? Is there a way to pretty much guarantee safe transactions? Thanks to any of you for advice. Ric Carter http://gallery.leica-users.org/Passing-Fancies On Aug 2, 2006, at 8:38 PM, G Hopkinson wrote: > John, > 1. Did Oscar Wilde have a good feedback rating? > 2. May I borrow your pseudonym on occasion? > 3. I've got 27 items on my watch list today and five items in transit > > Cheers > My name is Hoppy and I'm an eBaholic > > -----Original Message----- > Subject: Re: [Leica] Interesting 50mm variation (eBay shame?) > > At one time the word eBay in a message to LUG would result in the > message not reaching the list. That filter is no longer active but > some people got into the habit of using pseudonym. I use "the auction > site that dare not say its name" as I am fond of Oscar Wilde. I plan > on continuing to do so for the same reason. > > John Collier > > On 2-Aug-06, at 10:48 AM, David Keenan wrote: > >> What is there to be ashamed of??? > > > __________________________________________ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information