Ebay Help!

greenie · 03-30-2006, 12:05 AM

I am new to ebay and recently placed an offer for sideshow 12" and was accepted. I was thinking of getting another from the same store with a "buy it now". When I sent the seller a question, he tried to get me to buy them off ebay saying the shipping would be cheaper. This is what he wrote:

"...and if you let me sell you one thats not on ebay it would be a little better shipping rate cuz i wont have to end one of my listings"

This raised a red flag because not only is that an ebay "nono" but also the seller had multiple available under the same listing. The seller has a 99.9% feedback but my gut is telling me something is shady. Also. unlike sellers like d, he doesn't have a different business site that you can order from. In fact his site's store is thru ebay. I don't really want to follow thru with the offer I won via ebay now because of this.
Is this something that is common for ebay(buying outside of ebay)???
Any feedback from experienced ebay'ers would be great.

pablocruze · 03-30-2006, 12:11 AM

That's a tough one...eBay warns not to accept offers because you won't have eBay's protection...but then their protection isn't all that great anyway...and they want their share of every sale, so if you made a deal outside of their site, they wouldn't get their commission...the commission may be why he offered to give you a better price...

That being said, there are plenty of scammers out there...if you pay with a credit card or personal check, you have your bank or CC issuing company to back you up which is better than eBay's protection in my experience...go with your gut

superash · 03-30-2006, 12:14 AM

i am bad at that kind of thing. if they offer to sell me something outside of ebay...i look at their feedback, and if good i usually go with it. it kinda like buying off of a site you don't know much about.

but like pablocruze said go with your gut..........

Doc Sonic · 03-30-2006, 12:14 AM

It's entirely possible this guy is telling the truth. Problem is, I've learned to take everything with a grain of salt when dealing with eBay.

If you really want the item go through the BIN and pay via Paypal with a CC if possible. That's the best protection you can get on eBay.

The peace of mind will be more than worth the few dollars you would have saved dealing with this guy privately.

BTW, if the item's a presale totally forget about it. Pre sales are a big no-no on eBay.

**Vince-Vell** · 03-30-2006, 12:15 AM

I have delt with a few guys outside of ebay and have had some great deals. I just deal with the person a few times thru ebay first, and if they are around for awhile and have some good feedback i start small then work my way up to bigger deals.

i dont make a habbit of it, but like Pablocruze said go with your gut and cover your a** with credit cards etc...

03-30-2006, 12:22 AM

personally, i would be OK with this...IF his feedback is OK. and just pay with a credit card. if there is a problem, just dispute the charge. i have bought (and sold) "off eBay" quite a bit and have NEVER had a problem.

eBay tells you it is against their rules and you should report it and blahblahblah, but they just don't want to lose their cut...greedy bastuds!!!

**d rod** · 03-30-2006, 12:52 AM

i wouldn't sweat it too much. ebay takes a huge chunk. i don't blame him for wanting to save a couple of bucks. pay him w/paypal but make sure it's an item that he can ship early enough to be covered.

kar-kar · 03-30-2006, 01:33 AM

Stay away from pre-sells

Hellboy · 03-30-2006, 02:33 AM

I've purchased things this way in the past and have yet to get burned doing it but that doesn't mean there aren't scammers out there. His feedback rating is high enough though that you're most likely safe. In the end it boils down to what you the buyer are comfortable with but if it were me I'd probably buy it.

perfusin · 03-30-2006, 08:46 AM

If he has quite alot of sales and his feedback is good buying outside the auction is very safe.