Ebay Virgin at my age.
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Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 8:23 AM
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Even then you have to be careful. because you get charged import duty on what the item is deemed to be worth - NOT by the price you paid for it.
So you can get stung for additional excise charges on something that you thought was a bargain when you won the bidding at well below the going rate.
I agree with artmo about contacting the seller first, it is a good idea to ask a simple question (even if you don't care what the answer is) - such as "does the item come complete with an instruction handbook ?"
If the seller does not reply, then be much more cautious about bidding.
It is also worth reading between the lines of what has been stated in the auction listing, as you are buying based on what has been said, and it is sometimes the case that the seller has carefully NOT mentioned something (like "good working order"), so you don't have much comeback - as the seller will say the faulty or incomplete item they sent you is as they described it - which of course it is !. So again, send the seller questions about, "is it complete", "does it work", "is it in good enough condition that the item could be given as a gift", and if you don't get a straight answer then don't bid.
Vigor 130 modem, pfSense 2.4.5-p1 router, 5 WAPs, Devolo dLAN 500, Gigaset N300A-IP VoIP DECT
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 9:51 AM
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Quote from: artificer beware bidding frenzy.
As someone has said earlier (paraphrased), "there'll be another along soon".
I've almost given up bidding and tend to select only Buy-it-now, usually from a commercial seller.
(Except obviously for the occasional weird-and-wonderful item that is only ever sold privately.)
I also select only UK items unless the saving is significant by buying abroad and I can afford for the transaction to go wrong.
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 11:46 AM
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If when you search, you include all the plausible ways a name can be incorrectly spelled, then you have a MUCH higher chance of winning that misquoted item, as most people will only find items spelt the way they searched for.
To list alternative spellings or choose between a collection of words, you use brackets to group the options.
So for example if you wanted an "occasional table"
your search might be - "(occasional, ocasional, occasionel) (table, tables, tabel, tabels)"
Sometimes searching for something using the key words you think of, may not give the results you want.
It is worth widening the search and then using the minus sign to eliminate words that you don't want included
So for example -
"hessian (pants, underwear) -used -stained -pink"
Vigor 130 modem, pfSense 2.4.5-p1 router, 5 WAPs, Devolo dLAN 500, Gigaset N300A-IP VoIP DECT
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 12:28 PM
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That's disgusting, I think I'm going to throw up!
Quote from: purleigh So for example -
"hessian (pants, underwear) -used -stained -pink"
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:06 PM
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There isn't much from private sellers I am after, but my theory is just bid what its worth to me and leave it at that. Tried adding my bank details to my paypal account but it says they can't because there already attached to another account. That will just be when I was going to have a dabble about 5 years ago and never got round to it, now I can't even remember the login details and the email address. I have contacted Paypal about it but I think I'll go with the topping up with a credit card rather than my bank details.
What generally happens with a successful bid, at what point does money change hands then?
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:13 PM
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Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:16 PM
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You will get an email saying that you have won, and that email will have a link to "Pay Now".
That will take you to an eBay page, where you check the details, confirm what delivery option you want (if any given), then select pay by PayPal.
Now press whatever the "Pay Now" button says.
That will open a PayPal login page.
You enter your PayPal username and password.
You are then presented with the payment details, where you can choose your payment method (bank, credit card, etc).
You press "Confirm Payment", the money gets transferred.
A "thanks for your payment" screen appears.
and that's all there is to it !.
Vigor 130 modem, pfSense 2.4.5-p1 router, 5 WAPs, Devolo dLAN 500, Gigaset N300A-IP VoIP DECT
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:20 PM
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Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:23 PM
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Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 2:46 PM
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When looking to buy an item, do a search and save it in 'My Ebay'. You will get an email each day with new items in the search. I always do this and watch for a few days to learn what the pricing and postage costs are before I start to bid.
Use Paypal for your purchases which allows you to use the protection that it offers if there is a dispute.
I made the mistake of paying cash on collection once, had a dispute and lost out.
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 3:07 PM
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I notice that in my linux there's a little app there called ebay assassin which monitors the price and sets your highest which will auto put a last minute bid in if you can't get near a pc in time. That could prove to be a little gem

Ebay themselves have a similar thing not sure if they charge for the service but it means doing it a 3rd party way is not illegal or immoral.
Maybe I'll get to pop my cherry soon

Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
25-08-2010 3:17 PM
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Don't be fooled by the fact that you are the only bid to date. Many bidders will simply watch the item and may not become active until the last few minutes. Many times my first bid has been in the last few seconds on the auction and it's surprising how often you win the item.
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
26-08-2010 3:52 PM
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Quote from: artmo Customs and Excise are aware of the dodge mentioned by David W so beware. Generally items of £18 or less do not get charged. Higher prices could attract a charge.
Indeed, reading back I could have been clearer. Importing goods from outside the EU could lead to the postman opening them and hitting you with duty (import duty?) which the postman will collect. My Aunt sent a cheap calendar or something from the US and put "value $25" on it so the postman charged us £5 to deliver it. That's why I said it was an issue, but taxation from abroad should be accounted for too.
Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
26-08-2010 4:08 PM
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Re: Ebay Virgin at my age.
26-08-2010 5:01 PM
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The parcel arrived in about three or four days using DHL via Heathrow airport - I was VERY impressed !
Unpacked it and it had the usual minimal eBay paperwork.
I was extremely pleased with the bargain I had won, and fitted it immediately into the car - and have enjoyed it ever since.
Then about two months later I got the "IMPORT VAT / DUTY INVOICE" from DHL Express,
stating "REIMBURSEMENT OF CUSTOMS CHARGES" demanding immediate payment of VAT.
It also said -
"This is an invoice for the Duty & VAT we were required to pay Customs on your behalf to enable clearance of delivery of your goods.
Import taxes are the responsibility of the receiver, unless the agreed delivery terms on the Air Waybill state otherwise".
This form had the payment slip attached which required sending with a cheque to DHL International in Middlesex.
So I originally paid about £20 for the radio INCLUDING the cost of shipping.
Customs valued the item as being worth £81 for VAT purposes.
Then I paid the extra £15 for VAT.
However I still got a real bargain, as I paid a total of about £35 for a car media system that would cost at least £150 in this country.
Vigor 130 modem, pfSense 2.4.5-p1 router, 5 WAPs, Devolo dLAN 500, Gigaset N300A-IP VoIP DECT
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