I wondered if someone here could offer suggestions on buying more expensive items on Ebay. Over the years I've been able to save money on cheaper parts, clothing, etc. on Ebay, but what about fully setup bikes? I've noticed there's some amazing deals and that a lot of people bid. However, what are some of the disadvantages/pitfalls? Personally, I'd be worried about warranties, service, scams, etc. Suggestions?

Thanks so much!

:)

The most expensive item I've gotten on eBay was about $3000 and I've bought 2-3 things over $1000 and probably another 3-4 over $500 over the years... never a problem.

The feedback system is very, very helpful to knowing whether a seller is a scam or a risk. So, with a seller with lots of feedback from BUYERS (not just from sellers), especially buyers of similar products, I purchase with a reasonable amount of trust and in 6 years of eBaying haven't been burned.

If it is too good to be true, it is. Greed will cost you lots of money. I think there are some articles on Ebay to give you some pointers. Buy from the US-maybe Canada . Send the seller an email by asking a question. Check out the history. Check to see if the item looks like a pic. posted by someone else. There is getting to be a number of stolen Ebay IDs and that is a problem.There is a good escrow service-I forget the name. Don't go with some escrow service you can't verify. Don't communicate through your email account. use the ebay email system. Most sellers are honest. I've had mostly good experiences on Ebay.

I've bought a couple dozen things on eBay, and I've had only two glitches. The first was a seller who was incredibly slowly in getting the frameset shipped to me, and did not responed to any emails that I sent. I finally had to initiate the dispute resolution process, and eBay apparently scared him enough to get off his keister. The other occasion was an auction I won, only to find that someone else had bought the bike through another venue, at a slightly lower price, and had already made payment. The seller tried to play us buyers off against each other, but I decided I didn't want to do business with this clown, no matter how badly I wanted that bike.

I've never used an escrow service, and I refuse to use PayPal anymore, so I've paid with USPS money orders for years without any issues. I think most sellers are on the up-and-up, and are interested in making the transactions as hassle-free as possible. Sure, everyone's heard horror stories about scammers, but you can limit your exposure to them by following the recommendations above, i.e., stick to U.S. or Canadian sellers, watch out for the too-good-to-be-true auctions, communicate with the seller to get a feel for what type of person you're dealing with, and be as agreeable and forthright with the seller as you expect him/her to be with you.

is pretty good, I have had over 250 transactions and no hangups that weren't pretty quickly resolved

Seller's feedback means a lot. 99%+ AND >100 total positive sellers are usually always a safe bet.

Buy only from the US.

Don't use a third-party escrow-service. If someone asks you to use an escrow service it is probably a scam.

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is because it's got a low starting bid and people are waiting for the last day.

Expect people to over-hype their stuff: Items are usually more used than described, don't include a thing that's not mentioned in the auctions, etc.

Watch out for silly shippping prices.

Many companies won't honor warranties on products bought on eBay, even if new.

ebay is generally fine but ignore 2nd chance offers and early auction end offers unless you see them in your account at the ebay site. You will often get bogus scam ebay emails for higher priced items that may look indistinguishable to real ebay screens. Read the ebay safety policies.

I've bought a couple dozen things on eBay, and I've had only two glitches. The first was a seller who was incredibly slowly in getting the frameset shipped to me, and did not responed to any emails that I sent. I finally had to initiate the dispute resolution process, and eBay apparently scared him enough to get off his keister. The other occasion was an auction I won, only to find that someone else had bought the bike through another venue, at a slightly lower price, and had already made payment. The seller tried to play us buyers off against each other, but I decided I didn't want to do business with this clown, no matter how badly I wanted that bike.

I've never used an escrow service, and I refuse to use PayPal anymore, so I've paid with USPS money orders for years without any issues. I think most sellers are on the up-and-up, and are interested in making the transactions as hassle-free as possible. Sure, everyone's heard horror stories about scammers, but you can limit your exposure to them by following the recommendations above, i.e., stick to U.S. or Canadian sellers, watch out for the too-good-to-be-true auctions, communicate with the seller to get a feel for what type of person you're dealing with, and be as agreeable and forthright with the seller as you expect him/her to be with you. I've had My disagreements, with Paypal in being pro-seller. Which made Me make more payments via m/o. But, what's this with Buyers having more "strength" for recourse when using Paypal, that others speak about. Then on My last bid that I won -- (complete) Campagnolo 50th Anniversary Groupset: ONLY Paypal be accepted. As seller said on the ad, and consistently during email after the bid be won: "ebay scams, fraud." My negotiation attempted, but no success.