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bigpoppamac31

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
2,464
449
Canada
I never bought anything on eBay but have wanted to many times as I've seen things I want (usually rare items). Is it safe using eBay and PayPal?? It seems PayPal is the only way to pay someone on eBay but I've often questioned how secure it is. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Anyone with personal experience? Thanks for the feedback.
 
Millions of people use ebay without any problems. The main thing you want to look at is the seller's rating to see if they are reputable or not. Don't buy from people who have poor or no rating. Paypal is the least of your worries. I even use Paypal for nonebay relating things because of how wide spread it has become.
 
Millions of people use ebay without any problems. The main thing you want to look at is the seller's rating to see if they are reputable or not. Don't buy from people who have poor or no rating. Paypal is the least of your worries. I even use Paypal for nonebay relating things because of how wide spread it has become.

Hmm okay. I think I just worry about PayPal cause I thought I heard something before (can't recall when) of PayPal being hacked and many peoples account info being stolen. I've bought things before online like on Amazon but for some reason I've always been skeptical of eBay.
 
Most PayPal issues are because the person buying into the transaction is too clueless to understand that the seller is running a scam. You have to realize that most of them don't happen on eBay, but on places like obscure web stores, internet marketing message boards, and other weird places.

eBay is safe as long as you READ. Read the description, read the existing feedback one by one, and look at the photos and compare them to the ones found on the web. Don't be afraid to try someone with 0 or very little feedback, but make sure that their listing sounds legit and maybe send them a question to make sure.
 
Yes, depending on what you want to buy, it can be worth it. However, last time I looked into it, you have to be very cautious about buying any designer labels. Several years ago, fraud was rampant.
 
I would say the biggest thing is to read the sellers description thoroughly. Then if you have any further questions, contact the seller. A lot of peolpe do not fully read a sellers description or terms & conditions, then end up buying something that was not what the had thought it was.

Also check a sellers feedback which is another good indication of what a seller is like. I have bought and sold on Ebay for 14 years and have been fortunate to have never had a serious problem. But I do follow the advice I have offered you.
 
Yes, depending on what you want to buy, it can be worth it. However, last time I looked into it, you have to be very cautious about buying any designer labels. Several years ago, fraud was rampant.

Well I think I'm safe on that. I can't imagine buying any high end designer goods. LOL

I'm mainly asking this question cause there's a decent number of classic WWF DVDs I want to get. Not ones re-released under the WWE name but original WWF versions. eBay seems to be the best place to find them. I've looked many times on Kijiji but no one in my city seems to be giving up the titles I'm looking for. And with Kijiji they say to always buy/sell in person.
 
I've been buying and selling on ebay for 10 years. My experience had been 99.9% trouble free. I had to make a claim against one seller who never shipped my item several years ago. That's about it..
 
The worry I have with PayPal is that you have to link it to your bank account. That part bothers me cause it makes it seem easy for PayPal to simply go into my bank account and take money whenever they want. That's like giving a stranger a key to my house.
 
The worry I have with PayPal is that you have to link it to your bank account. That part bothers me cause it makes it seem easy for PayPal to simply go into my bank account and take money whenever they want. That's like giving a stranger a key to my house.

Thats like telling the bank, college, and wherever else they need it your social security number. It's just not something you worry about. But as it is a legitimate company, fifteen years old, and used by millions I think your money is safe.
 
Thats like telling the bank, college, and wherever else they need it your social security number. It's just not something you worry about. But as it is a legitimate company, fifteen years old, and used by millions I think your money is safe.

Well anyway. I don't want to turn this into an argument. In any event trust is earned. Not given.
 
The worry I have with PayPal is that you have to link it to your bank account. That part bothers me cause it makes it seem easy for PayPal to simply go into my bank account and take money whenever they want. That's like giving a stranger a key to my house.

I have mine linked to my online HSBC account which has a $5 balance. In a worst case scenario I might lose that, but that's never going to happen.
 
The worry I have with PayPal is that you have to link it to your bank account. That part bothers me cause it makes it seem easy for PayPal to simply go into my bank account and take money whenever they want. That's like giving a stranger a key to my house.

It is a slight concern, but you could open another checking account just for the account.

I bought and sold a few items on eBay with PayPal in 2007-08 linked to my main checking account. I then never used PayPal, eBay, or had my email account compromised in any way.

In September 2010, I received an email saying my password was reset and immediately after I saw a half dozen transactions totaling $495.00 taken from my checking account. It took about a week and a half from that point to get the funds back into my account. Luckily I didn't have an immediate need for it. I then promptly unlinked that account and closed the PayPal account after I received my funds.

PayPal's great response has not stopped me from using them, but I made sure to split it off from my main checking account.
 
Hmm okay. I think I just worry about PayPal cause I thought I heard something before (can't recall when) of PayPal being hacked and many peoples account info being stolen. I've bought things before online like on Amazon but for some reason I've always been skeptical of eBay.

Anything can be hacked. Why do you feel amazon is any different?
 
Never had an issue with Paypal security.

Think eBay and paypal fees are too damn high for sellers though.
 
I've bought and sold on ebay for a few years now. No issues as of yet.

A couple of years ago I got an insufficient funds alert from my bank. There were 2 withdrawals from paypal totaling a little over $1600. I called my bank and told them it wasn't me. They closed my account and made a new one. I also called paypal and they also froze my account and reversed the transactions.

I was actually surprised how simple it was. I realize I got lucky, but all it took was 2 phone calls. Of course I had to update all the security info on paypal but they helped me out so much over the phone.
 
Well if I could link to just my pre-paid credit card that'd be the best but it seems like you'd need to link to a bank account also.
 
Really though, it's about the same security you get from a credit card company... You trust them with your money. That being said, trust cannot be "earned" in a sense until after you have tried it. Just be smart about it, watch your transactions, and call if you see anything suspicious.

Fees kill though... :( Between paypal and eBay together its 10-15% of sale sometimes!)
 
Really though, it's about the same security you get from a credit card company... You trust them with your money. That being said, trust cannot be "earned" in a sense until after you have tried it. Just be smart about it, watch your transactions, and call if you see anything suspicious.

Fees kill though... :( Between paypal and eBay together its 10-15% of sale sometimes!)

My impression is there is no paypal fee to purchase items. Wrong?
 
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