[Question] Buying from people with 0 or low ebay feedback

[mikekelley]

Anyone take these risks? Seems like a good offer, he accepts paypal, but i'm still weary. Any horror stories or success stories of buying some higher-priced items off of people with no feedback? He's based in the states and offers tracking and paypal, so i'm not that concerned, but still.

i am usually way too much of a trusting person.

[Nightmare]

I'm always wary, but it depends on what you're buying. I don't mind buying low-$ cards from new sellers ($5-$10 foils, staples, etc.), but under no circumstances will I purchase anything I think has the remote possibility of being fake from anyone with under 500 positive feedback, and a 98.5% rating (sometimes people screw your rating just to be assholes).

[cdr]

How do people mix up weary and wary? Not to pick on you - I'm curious since wary is a straight phonetic spelling.

Tracking and paypal don't help you if he takes the money and runs.

You're going to have to decide how likely it is he's trying to rip you off. Take into account how expensive the item is, how many other auctions he has going at the same time (the more the worse, probably), etc.

You can also contact him and feel him out that way. You can ask for his address/phone and call him. You can even ask him to send first before you pay - I've done that successfully before.

[mikekelley]

I'm talking more in the value range of Force of Will, revised duals, Resets, that sort of thing. The 15-35 per card range, I guess. I have used paypal to file a claim and get my money back before though, so I have faith, maybe I'm just naive.

[Nightmare]

Duals are in the "possibly faked" category. There was a guy on eBay last year selling tons of fake revised duals. Also, be suspicious of anyone from Singapore. There are lots of bad fakes (look good in scans, little more than paper irl) coming from there.

[cdr]

15-35 isn't much, unless you're buying in quantity. Doesn't seem like a big deal.

And yeah, don't buy from outside of North America stuff that they shouldn't have outside of NA. Most european countries might be ok too.

[mikekelley]

He's got a lot of auctions running, 6-8 or so, and they are all decent items. I messaged him and he said he'd include tracking and confirmation, so i'm leaning towards a good guy.

[Volt]

I used to buy a lot of Magic cards on e-bay. After getting burned a couple times (despite being careful), and having to wait 2-4 weeks for cards to arrive on numerous other occasions, I've mostly sworn off e-bay. I prefer to use on-line stores that may be a little more expensive, but are reliable and fast.

Btw, 98.5% is way too low of a threshold. On the rare occasion that I do reluctantly resort to using e-bay, I absolutely will not deal with anyone who has less than a 99.5% rating.

[Tacosnape]

Read his recent feedback if the rating's low. If his feedback's just like, 0, then go ahead and buy from him if it's a good deal and you don't need the cards immediately. Just document all communication and go through Paypal's dispute thing if he jips you. And when you file the dispute, bombard Paypal with every detail ever. I'm 4-0 in Paypal disputes for getting all my money back, and twice I got the cards in addition to the money back just so I wouldn't give negative feedback (Getting 4x Tropical Island and 2x Twincast for free is some sweet shit.)

EDIT: I generally allow within 98.5% if they're at under 200 rating. I had my first negative feedback at 72 on eBay, and it was from a seller who jipped me for the cards. So not all negative feedback is created equal.

[Volt]

Read his recent feedback if the rating's low. If his feedback's just like, 0, then go ahead and buy from him if it's a good deal and you don't need the cards immediately. Just document all communication and go through Paypal's dispute thing if he jips you. And when you file the dispute, bombard Paypal with every detail ever. I'm 4-0 in Paypal disputes for getting all my money back, and twice I got the cards in addition to the money back just so I wouldn't give negative feedback (Getting 4x Tropical Island and 2x Twincast for free is some sweet shit.)

EDIT: I generally allow within 98.5% if they're at under 200 rating. I had my first negative feedback at 72 on eBay, and it was from a seller who jipped me for the cards. So not all negative feedback is created equal.

I went through the PayPal dispute process on a transaction where the guy simply never sent me the cards or responded to my emails and phone calls. In the end, I "won" the dispute, but didn't get my money back because the guy had closed the bank account connected to his PayPal account. So, really I lost.

Btw, I have a perfect feedback of 288. About 40% of that is as a seller. I realize that bogus feedback does occur, and that one bad comment can have a relatively large effect on a relatively small feedback sample. However, I am leary of dealing with people with low feedback counts anyway. The guy who screwed me in the transaction I described above had a perfect feedback record of about 80.

[mikekelley]

I did it, I'll keep everyone posted.

[Slay]

Only spend however much you can afford to lose.

[scrumdogg]

Only spend however much you can afford to lose.

Excellent point & never send via MO or check ever if you can avoid it (got shafted by someone with 150 100% feedback on the Dissension pre-ordering, still have to try & file mail fraud on his ass). Feedback, as demonstrated above, is a guide, not a guarantee. My feedback, seller & buyer, is almost 400 (well over 500 total) and 97.7%. I have no hesitation about leaving neutral or negative feedback for cheating, imcompetence, lying or other general scumbaggery - if I don't don't point these people out, who will know? Not surprisingly they often aren't grateful for the exposure. Does my % make me an unreliable Ebay source? I would like to think not.

[mikekelley]

I talked to him last night on the phone, seems legit, I got an email from paypal today saying my item would be shipped via paypal/usps with confirmation and tracking.

Things are looking good thus far. If you can guage their reaction and intent, I think it goes a long way. I'd rather buy high end cards from someone with 35 feedback who is willing to be helpful and communicate, than from a power seller with 35000 feedback who doesn't say a word and just sends the cards with no interaction.

I absolutely hate being left in the dark.

[mikekelley]

update:

transaction went well. 60 dollar playset of tundras ftw.

[MattH]

If I am concerned about a feedback rating being too low, I check the actual negative comments and see how recently the negative feedback occurred, and what type of negative feedback it was.

If someone (97.5%) had a couple negatives but they're from five years ago and has been perfect since then, they're probably a safer bet than another 97.5% who had one negative feedback from yesterday.

Similarly, negative feedback for "item was not in advertised condition" is not the same as "item was not sent."

[dahcmai]

If you can afford to lose it, I'd do it just because you can get some really nice deals that way. Use a credit card and you're safe because you can have the credit card company go after them instead of you and they're a tad more serious about it than most people.

[freakish777]

If you can afford to lose it, I'd do it just because you can get some really nice deals that way. Use a credit card and you're safe because you can have the credit card company go after them instead of you and they're a tad more serious about it than most people.

Not receiving when you make a purchase with a credit card through PayPal means you're not out a single cent (you'll be out your time). Look at their Chargeback policy:


A chargeback occurs when a buyer asks a credit card company to reverse a transaction that has already cleared. Although a chargeback may appear to be similar to a PayPal claim, it is actually a process initiated outside of PayPal.

When a buyer files a chargeback, the card issuer* contacts PayPal and asks for information about the transaction. PayPal, in turn, asks for this information from the seller. The card issuer uses that information to decide whether to return the money to the buyer.

*= your credit card company.

There was recently an auction for several pieces of power along with Grim Tutors, Bazaars, Drains, duals, etc, and 17,000 other random cards, I contacted the seller to see if he wanted to shut down his auction early if I made the right offer, he agreed to end it early and sell me the cards directly. He then changed his eBay name, and told me that the cards would take 10-14 business days to get to me. 15 days later, I ask what's up, he says he sent to my address but the Post Office delivered to the wrong address. I smell BS, and talk with my credit card company. Seeing as how that charge is no longer on my online statement, it looks like everything's good.

I hope this guy gets nailed regardless.

[Afro]

JP's guide to ebay!

1) Pay through paypal only.
2) When paying through paypal only pay with a CC that you have fraud protection on. Paypal says they can get your money back but trust me I have been screwed more than I have been helped. If they say they can't reverse the sale or the seller doesn't have enough money in their account (which they won't because they would have already sent it to their bank account) your only option will be to call your CC and have ZERO problem reversing the transaction.
3) I personally do not spend more than $50 on auctions with someone with less than 50 feedback.
4) If someone has 0 feedback and has something at a good price check to see if they are selling other things at the same time. If it is 30+ auctions of all P9 and beta duals then prolly scammers. If you see 30+ auctions of things like 4x sengir vampire and 4x rancor you should be fine.
5) Leave feedback =D

It really helps to have a CC on paypal. I know for many members on the source they are under the age to get a CC so this can hurt.

Hope this helps.