Why so critical of Ebay.

[JerryEAL]

Noticed Ebay does get some attention on the forums and many are critical of the prices,provenance or just agitated with how an item is described. I am not totally happy with the surcharges however when it comes to buying or selling Ebay has no comparison. Enjoy and be thankful you can buy No4 Mk1 extractors from the UK in new condition for peanuts.
There is no other option for fine parts!!!
The members here will help you make a good decision if you only ask.

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[Ridolpho]

I agree JerryEAL. I've made literally hundreds of purchases on E-bay with hardly an issue. Everything from PH target sights to Cylinder barrels for a Triumph twin from the UK , Australia, and US of A. Our own Peter Laidler is an example of the sort of quality sellers that use E-bay. Where I've been most commonly stiffed is at the typical gunshow in seedy, poorly lit town hall from individuals with no transaction history who you may never see again. Thank goodness for E-bay!

Ridolpho

[Peter Laidler]

I'm not an economist of any sort but just happen to believe that the auction, especially a world wide one is the only guide to the price/value* of something. Any other method of valuing is the economics of the mad house or the opinion of one!
* not necessarily the same thing.

To be fair, forumers should already have a good idea about what's what..........

[Aragorn243]

I love ebay and use it all the time. I only ever had an issue with one fellow who "lost" the item I bought before he could ship it. I'm thinking the bid wasn't high enough but it wasn't important enough for me to pursue. Out of maybe 1000 transactions, that isn't a bad record. Occasionally an item isn't quite what I expected but that's my own fault for not asking more questions or looking at the photos carefully enough. Never had a guy intentionally try to mislead what he was selling.

I've heard the horror stories and I'm sure they occur, just not with me so far.

It is what it is concerning prices. If you get two guys on there that want something bad enough they will bid incredibly high prices on it. I just sit back, laugh and wait for the next one. It's taken me a year at times to get something I want at the price I want to pay but I'm in no rush and it eventually shows up again.

I've bought a few gun parts, a lot of bayonets and a lot of NASCAR items along with a few odds and ends in there.

You have to be very careful of shipping. Some guys have low prices but the shipping it out of this world. Most of these seem to be shady dealers in China. They list a bayonet or sword that may or may not be real for $15 and then have a $90 shipping fee. If you total the two, it may be worth that price but what this does is help them avoid paying ebay's fees. But if you aren't paying attention and bid it up like you would a normally shipping priced item, you're in a world of hurt. I try to stay clear of dealers in China. Did buy one item from one one time and had no problems but it seems a lot of the horror stories originate from these guys.

[armabill]

I have had no problems with Ebay purchases.

[Mikesm44]

I think e-bay comes up a lot for similar reasons to Gunbroker or Armslist, mostly when something is being misrepresented. In some ways it is a little harder to tell what you are looking at through the computer rather than when you can pick it up and look, but you can still search for info. If you are willing to put the time into research I don't think buying from online venues is any worse than buying in general. I guess some people get scammed, but I've had my C&R for 2 years and I have yet to have a bad experience. I've never had any problems dealing with e-bay that's for sure. I thank a lot of people also get bent when something prices out of their range, but that isn't really the seller's fault. Things cost what people are willing to pay for them. I've sold things on e-bay and have never felt bad about them getting top dollar.

[Faulkner]

I can remember shopping for needed or rare gun parts before the days of eBay or Gunbroker.com. Though I still enjoy sifting through gunpart bins at gunshows, shopping on line is really the way to go.

[Kiwi]

Can't say I've really ever had a problem with it either. Ebay has helped fund quite a few rifle purchases and projects, so I'm all for it (fees could be a bit lower though!). I use to list at fixed prices or with higher reserves, but now sell with no reserve. Some great people out there. I enjoy helping out people source old enfield parts from NZ and in return I've had that paid back by buyers sourcing parts from their local area for me. Sold a reasonable amount to members on this forum as far as I can tell. Decided this morning to give current 'contibuting members' of this forum a 10% discount off the purchase price of my current listings.