[TenTec] Buying on EBay

[n0ost at cox.net]

I haven't read the whole thread so please excuse if this has been mentioned.

Ebay is really not too bad, at least you have feedback to look at. 

I always look for 100% positive feedback, on at least 20-30 sales. then check and make sure a lot of that feedback is from selling not just buying. That's a big one because it's easy for someone to run up a lot of positive feedback by buying a lot of cheap stuff and it looks good until you look closely.

Then email him and politely ask few questions about the item, ask for additional pictures if they have them. Sometime I'll ask a question that is answered in the ad just to see what kind of reaction I get.
If it sounds like he's a jerk or he goes off about why don't you read the ad then he probably is, a jerk. 

If the guy is polite, respectful and tries to answer your questions then that’s another mark in the plus column.

Ask for his Callsign and do a search on Google and Yahoo it will show you a lot of history on the Callsign like post he's made in forums other ads he's placed and what others are saying about him and how he responds.

Use PayPal and pay with a major credit card. Then if something goes wrong you have two avenues to try. Contact PayPal and then try and have your credit card company reverse the payment if they will.

It seems to me that's a lot better than buying from some guy you don't know anything about. It used to be if he was a ham he was probably a good guy. Today you have to be more careful.

I usually try and sell items on the ham sites first but I am always willing to give someone my ebay ID so they can check my feedback there. Also check the feedback in the ham sites also. Usually if a guy burns someone there will be something about it posted on the site.

Most important is let your gut be your guide. If you get a bad feeling from the guy then pass on the item. There will be another one come along.

Good luck!
73, Jeff
N0OST



---- Michael Goins <wmgoins at gmail.com> wrote: 
> I strongly agree with a preference for the ham sites like qrz, eham,
> and qth (especially), but ebay is now seriously established with a lot
> of people as a good ham site and I have found good things there. I
> also have had great luck buying and selling at qth.com.
> 
> Michael Goins, k5wmg
> Professor, Writing
> University of Texas at San Antonio
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 6:01 AM, Paul Gates <kd3jf at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I hve actually sold radios in 2 to 3 days on qth.com. I do not advertise on ebay. I hve bought small items on Ebay like a Drake Wattmeter, etc.
> >
> > Paul Gates
> >
> >
> >
> >> Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:57:06 -0500
> >> From: k9ew57 at gmail.com
> >> To: tentec at contesting.com
> >> Subject: Re: [TenTec] Buying on EBay
> >>
> >> My preference is to look on eHam.com, QTH.com, QRZ.com, and the
> >> various lists available on QTH.net. I have found these people more
> >> interested in finding a good home for their radios, than making as
> >> much money as they can on a sale. That said, I admit to selling
> >> equipment on eBay. But in my defense, I'll say that it was before I
> >> got acquainted with the other places mentioned earlier. Now, I'd
> >> prefer to sell a radio to someone on these lists because they are more
> >> likely to use the equipment than to turn around and sell it for a
> >> profit. There's nothing wrong with eBay if you follow the advice
> >> you've seen on this thread. I have never had a sale go bad as either
> >> a Buyer or a Seller in the 10 years I've been using eBay. And I think
> >> it probably has a wider audience than the various ham lists.
> >>
> >> 73,
> >> ed - k9ew
> >> www.k9ew.us
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> TenTec mailing list
> >> TenTec at contesting.com
> >> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TenTec mailing list
> > TenTec at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec
> >
> _______________________________________________
> TenTec mailing list
> TenTec at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/tentec