Sorry for purchasing difficulties in this particular instance, but my overall view of eBay is that it has opened up a world of opportunities to me that are not remotely available anywhere else. The occasional downside I have experienced, a couple of which have been significantly expensive, don’t change that.
Just the ability to acquire parts for long discontinued cars, dvd’s of long out of print movies, obscure cameras and lenses, etc., from all over the world, has been well worth the occasional hiccup, all things considered. Then add in the ability to offload said obscure camera, at not much of a loss, once you learn for yourself why it was obscure.
Regrettable transactions resulting from seller dishonesty and stupidity are with problems humanity, not eBay itself. It’s individual humans who lie, cheat, and steal, not eBay. eBay doesn’t sell me a lens with fungus while telling me it’s perfect, then ship it in a plastic sack. As Sartre said “Hell is other people.”, something one is tempted to agree with if one neglected to check the seller feedback before hitting the “buy now” button on that excellent deal.
Never buy from a seller with less than 100% positive feedback, just because the item is tempting. This, in keeping with the dictum “Never run for a bus, there will always be another.” And read the actual feedbacks, sometimes it is obvious that the one negative feedback is from an idiot.
eBay isn’t a friend, but it isn’t an enemy either. It’s just another big company. Dealing with “customer service” at eBay or Paypal can be a really bad, Kafkaesque experience, one which you will lose at, if you don’t quite understand all the arcane and changeable rules of how the buying or selling game is played, and played it poorly, but it’s not any worse or different than dealing with customer service at any huge, faceless corporation. Yes, it’s better to deal with friendly old Sam at the local camera shop because he’s nice and won’t lie to you, but he doesn’t have an original hood for a ltm Canon 50mm f1.2, never did, and if he did have one he wouldn’t deliver it to your door. Plus he’s been dead and gone for 20 years, and the shop as well.
As a seller these days, though, you are completely at the mercy of anyone who buys from you, there really are no “seller protections” any more. Them’s the rules, as long as you understand that, and are willing to live with it, you can offload a lot of what used to be thrown away as useless junk, because it is useful to somebody.
For what it is worth, my worst dealings, and one of the most expensive, with dishonest people have happened here, with long term members. And because it’s not eBay, there was no recourse. Small sample size, not saying that’s the norm, but the problem is individuals, not eBay. You pays your money and you takes your chances, but eBay is the world’s biggest open air bazaar, fun and exciting, if a bit dangerous.
