eBay
is one of the safest places to trade online! Follow our guidelines
below and use your common sense to ensure you have a great experience!
1. Visit the eBay Safety Centre
The eBay Safety Centre was developed to help provide you with all the
help you need to trade safely on eBay. Take some time to read through
the advice available before bidding on your first auction. Click here to visit the Safety Centre.
Learn more about eBay's Safety Centre
2. Review Feedback
Every time you buy or sell successfully on eBay, your trading partner
will leave you feedback. This will positive, neutral or negative
depending on how they feel the transaction went and how you conducted
yourself. Feedback is your reputation on eBay.
Whether you're placing a bid or you've successfully sold an item, reviewing
your trading partner's feedback about previous conduct on eBay will give you
a good idea of what to expect in the transaction.
3. Find out who you're dealing with
If you are uncertain about the item you are about to bid on or buy, do not hesitate to ask the seller a question. Genuine sellers will welcome enquiries. If you like, you could also email previous buyers to ask them about their experiences with the seller. Each auction on eBay provides you with an option to easily ask the seller the question.
Learn more about your Trading Partner
4. Confirm what you are buying and pay safely
The most important aspect of buying an item on eBay is being sure about the item you are buying. Knowing the condition of a used item, the authenticity of a collectable or an items model number are important factors that can influence price greatly.
Sellers offer a wide range of payment methods. Within the UK and Ireland, many sellers will be happy to accept postal orders and cheques which is ideal for most cases. Alternatively why not use an online payment method such as PayPal, which is quicker and more convenient. PayPal is free for buyers and your financial details are never shared with anyone else, payment is instant and on qualifying items where PayPal is offered, you are covered up to £500 should you be defrauded.
Learn more about Paying safely
5. What if something goes wrong
The vast majority of buyers and sellers on eBay are honest and reliable.
Millions of transactions take place every day on eBay without any problem,
which makes it one of the safest places to trade online. However, should
things go wrong, you will not be left on your own.
Your first option should be to contact the buyer/seller - The vast majority
of disputes on eBay are the result of misunderstandings or lack of
communication. If there are problems with your transaction, contact the
seller with a patient and friendly email or telephone call. This usually
resolves most disputes.
If you need further help, you can enlist a third party Dispute Resolution
service like Square Trade to help you and the seller sort out the
transaction. SquareTrade has an excellent reputation of resolving disputes
quickly and fairly.
If you still are not able to resolve the issue, you may be covered by eBay's
Standard Purchase Protection Programme which allows buyers a reimbursement
of up to £105 should fraud occur.
Also, if you paid for your item through PayPal, you could be covered by
PayPal's Buyer Protection Programme. This programme covers you for up to
£500 on qualified items, if fraud happens
Although rare, if misuse is suspected, eBay users are encouraged to report
it to our dedicated Trust and Safety Team.
Learn more about what do to if something goes wrong
Click here to start buying now!