Buying on eBay: A Savvy Guide to the World’s Top Online Auction Site
By Jason Schneider
eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. Sales occur either via online auctions or "buy it now" instant sales, and the company charges commissions to sellers upon sales. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which were in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of an incredible 13.81%.The company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and is a component of the S&P 500..
Original eBay logo of the late 1990s, which many consider the "golden years of opportunity" for great deals.
A true and funny eBay story
eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California on September 3, 1995, by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as a hobby to make some extra money. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder (a Canadian) to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken; the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers."
The current eBay logo is considered a masterpiece of graphic design.
A persistent eBay myth
The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade Pez candy dispensers was fabricated in 1997 by then “public relations manager” Mary Lou Song to give the media a human-interest story and to generate publicity with toy collectors, an important demographic. People docollect Pez dispensers, and you can even find them on eBay, but back then most purchased and sold items on the website were Beanie Babies, an avidly pursued item that helped propel eBay’s popularity among collectors.
According to the official eBay stats, I’ve been an eBay member since 1998, but in fact I had joined a couple of years earlier, but my original account was mysteriously deleted, and I had to rejoin. In any case I’ve been an avid eBay buyer and an occasional seller almost since its inception and I’m still a fan.
The rising cost of selling on eBay also affects you, the buyer
When eBay first started, it charged sellers a flat rate of 10% of the final sale price as a final value fee. This was later increased, and now the final value fee is typically between 10% and 15.55% depending on the item category. Additionally, a flat fee of $0.30 is charged for orders of $10 or less, and $0.40 for orders over $10. It all adds up, and many sellers likely increase their asking prices, Buy It Now prices, and “accept offer” prices to cover the hefty eBay bite. On the plus side, eBay does stand behind buyers and sellers when it comes to legitimate complaints and will even refund the purchase price directly (and bill the seller) when a recalcitrant seller refuses to adhere to eBay’s rules.
Despite its robust system of buyer and seller protections, eBay is fundamentally a capitalist enterprise, and its primary objectives are to protect itself, and to maximize its profits. As a result, you can run afoul of its algorithms. This happened to me about 5 years ago when my buying and selling privileges were summarily suspended for 90 days for the “infraction” of making 3 damage claims on eBay items I had bought within a 3-month period. My claims were legitimate, the result of poor packing on the part of the sellers, but I was nevertheless punished for being a bad actor. I was eventually able to clear up my eBay record, but only after the 3-month suspension period had elapsed.
There’s an implicit lesson for eBay buyers in this little tale of woe. Since eBay is a “universal” platform, many sellers are inexperienced. Some don’t have the blindest idea of what they’re selling, others are unable to check whether the camera they’re selling is working or not, even if that means simply winding the film advance lever and pressing the release to see if the shutter fires (!). And a fairly large percentage of all sellers are clueless about proper packing. If I had 5 bucks for every eBay posting I’ve run across where the camera offered is inaccurately described I’d be a millionaire (I occasionally notify such sellers, and most of them are thankful for the heads-up). Packing is a story unto itself, so here goes
The Principles of Proper Packing
The basic rule of shipping any delicate object such as a camera, lens, or photographic accessory is to assume that the package will be dropped, struck, or otherwise mishandled once it’s consigned to the tender mercies of USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. The only way to prevent damage (well, at least 99% of the time) is to immobilize the object in the center of a sturdy box with enough packing material on all 6 sides (yes, the top and bottom count!) to prevent any foreseeable impact from causing damage. Here’s a copy of the message I send to all eBay camera sellers before the item is shipped: “Please pack this camera very well, wrapped in at least 2 layers of bubble wrap and secured in a hard box with enough packing material on all 6 sides to protect it from impact and prevent it from shifting around in transit. Please also ship it as soon as you can and provide a tracking number. Thanks very much for your kind attention, and best regards, Jason Schneider. Most upstanding sellers honor these wishes and more than 90% of the cameras, lenses, etc. that I receive are well packed. The most common lapse: not ensuring that the wrapped item is truly immobilized within the box.
The inherent perils of buying used cameras online
The very best way to buy a camera, is in person, where you get to hold, handle, examine it, look through the viewfinder, fire the shutter, and generally put it through its paces. It’s still possible that hidden defects or issues may emerge once you get it home and shoot with it, but if you’re buying from a reputable dealer, even used cameras are typically covered by a warranty. When you’re buying a used camera on eBay or another online auction site, your only tools for assessing its condition are the posted photos of the camera and the seller’s verbal description of its cosmetics and functionality. It’s crucial to study both very carefully before you bid or buy because they can often reveal enough information to let you separate the sheep from the goats. That’s why it's important that the photos are sufficiently sharp and contrasty and show the camera from all sides as well as the interior, and that the verbal descriptions are detailed and specific rather than generic puffery, which is all too common in eBay listings. Not all sellers are equally proficient in shooting pictures of or describing what they’re selling, and a few unscrupulous sellers deliberately omit photos that show defects or soft-pedal their descriptions. That’s why I seldom buy or bid on items described as “not tested” (often a euphemism for “inoperable”) and eschew cameras sold “As Is” or “No Returns” unless I’m prepared to take a chance of taking a total loss on the purchase price.
Praktina IIa with 50mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Tessar bought "As Is" on eBay along with a Canon AL-1 and 2 lenses.
It never hurts to ask for more info
Another effective strategy that will improve your chances of snagging a good deal on any camera you’re unsure about it to ask the seller questions about it. You can often obtain crucial information not contained in the listing, and if the seller doesn’t respond at all, that’s a pretty good reason to write them off.
Canion AL-1 with LED focus confirmation I bought "As Is" on eBay along with Praktina IIa above,
eBay gripes: policies I love to hate
Sellers on eBay are allowed to list the condition of the item as “used,” which tells you precisely nothing you didn’t already know. In any case “Used” is a status, but not a condition, like “Very Good” or “Near Mint.” And even an inexperienced seller should be able to denote obvious defects such as a cloudy viewfinder, a dinged-in filter ring, or a stuck film-wind lever. See more on condition descriptives below.
eBay has no requirement that the posted photos or the text of a listing show or mention all cosmetic defects such as a dinged in bottom plate or a scratched back cover. This is particularly troublesome when the item is listed as an “AS IS” or “No Returns” purchase. As noted above, unless you’re prepared to take a total loss on the purchase price, I strongly suggest you avoid “No Returns” purchases altogether unless the seller is willing to give some additional information, say that the shutter is firing, the lens is clear, etc.
eBay has no standards for the general descriptions of an item’s condition, so those listed on eBay are inherently subjective. In short, unless the item is listed as new or in mint condition, you’ll have to take the seller’s word that “Excellent +++” really means it’s clean and functional. Indeed, one wag has suggested that “Excellent +++” really means fit for the scrapheap and “Near Mint” means nasty but functional. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s especially true on eBay. So, as previously noted,make sure all the posted photos are clear and detailed ad show the object from all sides. While photos alone cannot confirm functionality (though some sellers thoughtfully include short videos) you can judge a book by its cover and cameras with visible defects are likely to seen hard use or abuse.
eBay immediately charges your account immediately once a seller accepts your offer. Ordinarily this isn’t a problem, but you’d better make sure your PayPal paying option is set correctly or your credit card or bank account on file may be charged instead. This recently happened to me when I selected PayPal Credit as my payment option, but my American Express card was charged for the purchase instead because I had a zero balance in my PayPal account! Adding money to my PayPal account solved the problem.
Not all eBay problems are eBay’s fault, and in a way, eBay is a victim of its own success. Because so many ordinary folks are now selling things on eBay, many listings contain inaccuracies in the headings and detailed descriptions. To put it bluntly many sellers don’t know what the heck they’re selling! Over the past two weeks I’ve notified 10 eBay sellers that their listings are inaccurate and suggested changes or additions. Nine of these folks thanked me profusely and one told me to pound sand and—not bad stats. If someone paid me for this “listing correction” service, I could easily do 10 times as many and make it a fulltime job with benefits!
eBay order form for Praktina IIa and Canon AL-1 I purchased "As Is" on ebay for $75. With tax and shipping it came to $102.59, whach was auto-paid via my PayPal account.
Leave BAD FEEDBACK?
Think twice. Is it really worth it if they are the sort that will make it their job to haunt you and taunt you across the web?
Malevolent seller? Not many, but beware!
Of course, not everybody who creates an erroneous eBay listing does so in error. There’s a much smaller percentage of malicious folks who do so on purpose with the intention of misleading potential buyers. Some have criticized eBay for not cracking down more forcefully on such bad actors. However, to initiate such action, they rely on the complaints of eBay users to identify the miscreants and if they receive enough of them, they do take decisive action, including banning bad actor from eBay temporarily or permanently.
New costs in 2025 on Foreign Purchases to US
As this is written foreign purchases are generally no longer free of customs duty as they were last year.
Exactly the mechanics of how Ebayers will pay those extra fees is presently unknown.
Is eBay still the greatest? Probably yes.
Also, while most camera buffs, including yours truly, (mostly) love eBay, it isn’t the only game in town. There is of course Etsy, eBay’s well-known rival, and Amazon.com., which sells everything known to humankind, and maybe a few aliens. Conducting a plain old internet search may also turn up a few unexpected sources for what you’re looking for. Nevertheless, eBay, with all its flaws, is still the world’ greatest site for camera collectors and photo enthusiasts. Yes, it’s much more competitive and costly than in was back in the palmy days of the late ‘90s an early 2000s the “era of great deals” and minimal competition from savvy buyers, but eBay is still worthwhile, exciting, and a lot fun.
,
By Jason Schneider
eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. Sales occur either via online auctions or "buy it now" instant sales, and the company charges commissions to sellers upon sales. It has 132 million yearly active buyers worldwide and handled $73 billion in transactions in 2023, 48% of which were in the United States. In 2023, the company had a take rate (revenue as a percentage of volume) of an incredible 13.81%.The company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and is a component of the S&P 500..
Original eBay logo of the late 1990s, which many consider the "golden years of opportunity" for great deals.
A true and funny eBay story
eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California on September 3, 1995, by French-born Iranian-American computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as a hobby to make some extra money. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder (a Canadian) to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken; the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers."
The current eBay logo is considered a masterpiece of graphic design.
A persistent eBay myth
The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade Pez candy dispensers was fabricated in 1997 by then “public relations manager” Mary Lou Song to give the media a human-interest story and to generate publicity with toy collectors, an important demographic. People docollect Pez dispensers, and you can even find them on eBay, but back then most purchased and sold items on the website were Beanie Babies, an avidly pursued item that helped propel eBay’s popularity among collectors.
According to the official eBay stats, I’ve been an eBay member since 1998, but in fact I had joined a couple of years earlier, but my original account was mysteriously deleted, and I had to rejoin. In any case I’ve been an avid eBay buyer and an occasional seller almost since its inception and I’m still a fan.
The rising cost of selling on eBay also affects you, the buyer
When eBay first started, it charged sellers a flat rate of 10% of the final sale price as a final value fee. This was later increased, and now the final value fee is typically between 10% and 15.55% depending on the item category. Additionally, a flat fee of $0.30 is charged for orders of $10 or less, and $0.40 for orders over $10. It all adds up, and many sellers likely increase their asking prices, Buy It Now prices, and “accept offer” prices to cover the hefty eBay bite. On the plus side, eBay does stand behind buyers and sellers when it comes to legitimate complaints and will even refund the purchase price directly (and bill the seller) when a recalcitrant seller refuses to adhere to eBay’s rules.
Despite its robust system of buyer and seller protections, eBay is fundamentally a capitalist enterprise, and its primary objectives are to protect itself, and to maximize its profits. As a result, you can run afoul of its algorithms. This happened to me about 5 years ago when my buying and selling privileges were summarily suspended for 90 days for the “infraction” of making 3 damage claims on eBay items I had bought within a 3-month period. My claims were legitimate, the result of poor packing on the part of the sellers, but I was nevertheless punished for being a bad actor. I was eventually able to clear up my eBay record, but only after the 3-month suspension period had elapsed.
There’s an implicit lesson for eBay buyers in this little tale of woe. Since eBay is a “universal” platform, many sellers are inexperienced. Some don’t have the blindest idea of what they’re selling, others are unable to check whether the camera they’re selling is working or not, even if that means simply winding the film advance lever and pressing the release to see if the shutter fires (!). And a fairly large percentage of all sellers are clueless about proper packing. If I had 5 bucks for every eBay posting I’ve run across where the camera offered is inaccurately described I’d be a millionaire (I occasionally notify such sellers, and most of them are thankful for the heads-up). Packing is a story unto itself, so here goes
The Principles of Proper Packing
The basic rule of shipping any delicate object such as a camera, lens, or photographic accessory is to assume that the package will be dropped, struck, or otherwise mishandled once it’s consigned to the tender mercies of USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. The only way to prevent damage (well, at least 99% of the time) is to immobilize the object in the center of a sturdy box with enough packing material on all 6 sides (yes, the top and bottom count!) to prevent any foreseeable impact from causing damage. Here’s a copy of the message I send to all eBay camera sellers before the item is shipped: “Please pack this camera very well, wrapped in at least 2 layers of bubble wrap and secured in a hard box with enough packing material on all 6 sides to protect it from impact and prevent it from shifting around in transit. Please also ship it as soon as you can and provide a tracking number. Thanks very much for your kind attention, and best regards, Jason Schneider. Most upstanding sellers honor these wishes and more than 90% of the cameras, lenses, etc. that I receive are well packed. The most common lapse: not ensuring that the wrapped item is truly immobilized within the box.
The inherent perils of buying used cameras online
The very best way to buy a camera, is in person, where you get to hold, handle, examine it, look through the viewfinder, fire the shutter, and generally put it through its paces. It’s still possible that hidden defects or issues may emerge once you get it home and shoot with it, but if you’re buying from a reputable dealer, even used cameras are typically covered by a warranty. When you’re buying a used camera on eBay or another online auction site, your only tools for assessing its condition are the posted photos of the camera and the seller’s verbal description of its cosmetics and functionality. It’s crucial to study both very carefully before you bid or buy because they can often reveal enough information to let you separate the sheep from the goats. That’s why it's important that the photos are sufficiently sharp and contrasty and show the camera from all sides as well as the interior, and that the verbal descriptions are detailed and specific rather than generic puffery, which is all too common in eBay listings. Not all sellers are equally proficient in shooting pictures of or describing what they’re selling, and a few unscrupulous sellers deliberately omit photos that show defects or soft-pedal their descriptions. That’s why I seldom buy or bid on items described as “not tested” (often a euphemism for “inoperable”) and eschew cameras sold “As Is” or “No Returns” unless I’m prepared to take a chance of taking a total loss on the purchase price.
Praktina IIa with 50mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Tessar bought "As Is" on eBay along with a Canon AL-1 and 2 lenses.
It never hurts to ask for more info
Another effective strategy that will improve your chances of snagging a good deal on any camera you’re unsure about it to ask the seller questions about it. You can often obtain crucial information not contained in the listing, and if the seller doesn’t respond at all, that’s a pretty good reason to write them off.
Canion AL-1 with LED focus confirmation I bought "As Is" on eBay along with Praktina IIa above,
eBay gripes: policies I love to hate
Sellers on eBay are allowed to list the condition of the item as “used,” which tells you precisely nothing you didn’t already know. In any case “Used” is a status, but not a condition, like “Very Good” or “Near Mint.” And even an inexperienced seller should be able to denote obvious defects such as a cloudy viewfinder, a dinged-in filter ring, or a stuck film-wind lever. See more on condition descriptives below.
eBay has no requirement that the posted photos or the text of a listing show or mention all cosmetic defects such as a dinged in bottom plate or a scratched back cover. This is particularly troublesome when the item is listed as an “AS IS” or “No Returns” purchase. As noted above, unless you’re prepared to take a total loss on the purchase price, I strongly suggest you avoid “No Returns” purchases altogether unless the seller is willing to give some additional information, say that the shutter is firing, the lens is clear, etc.
eBay has no standards for the general descriptions of an item’s condition, so those listed on eBay are inherently subjective. In short, unless the item is listed as new or in mint condition, you’ll have to take the seller’s word that “Excellent +++” really means it’s clean and functional. Indeed, one wag has suggested that “Excellent +++” really means fit for the scrapheap and “Near Mint” means nasty but functional. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that’s especially true on eBay. So, as previously noted,make sure all the posted photos are clear and detailed ad show the object from all sides. While photos alone cannot confirm functionality (though some sellers thoughtfully include short videos) you can judge a book by its cover and cameras with visible defects are likely to seen hard use or abuse.
eBay immediately charges your account immediately once a seller accepts your offer. Ordinarily this isn’t a problem, but you’d better make sure your PayPal paying option is set correctly or your credit card or bank account on file may be charged instead. This recently happened to me when I selected PayPal Credit as my payment option, but my American Express card was charged for the purchase instead because I had a zero balance in my PayPal account! Adding money to my PayPal account solved the problem.
Not all eBay problems are eBay’s fault, and in a way, eBay is a victim of its own success. Because so many ordinary folks are now selling things on eBay, many listings contain inaccuracies in the headings and detailed descriptions. To put it bluntly many sellers don’t know what the heck they’re selling! Over the past two weeks I’ve notified 10 eBay sellers that their listings are inaccurate and suggested changes or additions. Nine of these folks thanked me profusely and one told me to pound sand and—not bad stats. If someone paid me for this “listing correction” service, I could easily do 10 times as many and make it a fulltime job with benefits!
eBay order form for Praktina IIa and Canon AL-1 I purchased "As Is" on ebay for $75. With tax and shipping it came to $102.59, whach was auto-paid via my PayPal account.
Leave BAD FEEDBACK?
Think twice. Is it really worth it if they are the sort that will make it their job to haunt you and taunt you across the web?
Malevolent seller? Not many, but beware!
Of course, not everybody who creates an erroneous eBay listing does so in error. There’s a much smaller percentage of malicious folks who do so on purpose with the intention of misleading potential buyers. Some have criticized eBay for not cracking down more forcefully on such bad actors. However, to initiate such action, they rely on the complaints of eBay users to identify the miscreants and if they receive enough of them, they do take decisive action, including banning bad actor from eBay temporarily or permanently.
New costs in 2025 on Foreign Purchases to US
As this is written foreign purchases are generally no longer free of customs duty as they were last year.
Exactly the mechanics of how Ebayers will pay those extra fees is presently unknown.
Is eBay still the greatest? Probably yes.
Also, while most camera buffs, including yours truly, (mostly) love eBay, it isn’t the only game in town. There is of course Etsy, eBay’s well-known rival, and Amazon.com., which sells everything known to humankind, and maybe a few aliens. Conducting a plain old internet search may also turn up a few unexpected sources for what you’re looking for. Nevertheless, eBay, with all its flaws, is still the world’ greatest site for camera collectors and photo enthusiasts. Yes, it’s much more competitive and costly than in was back in the palmy days of the late ‘90s an early 2000s the “era of great deals” and minimal competition from savvy buyers, but eBay is still worthwhile, exciting, and a lot fun.
,
