Buyer beware

[200roses]

I bought an I phone off of  eBay and thought I took necessary precautions

to weed out frauds:

1-Only US sellers

2-New items

3-Some one who does not sell often but has 20-50 reviews

4-100%  feedback  or so I thought

After I MADE the purchase a series of revelation made me suspicious

1-I actually read a review that mentioned they were outside the US and that was a neutral feedback,

however since it did not show in their 100% rating I am assuming it was reversed by eBay

2-There was nothing selling, but the recently sold showed 3 phones with same photo MEID #

sold over the past 5 days

3-The MEID # is not for a GSM phone which is advertised

BOTTOM LINE I AM WORRIED THAT:

1-phone will arrive in 3-4 wks (14 business days) from overseas not a week ( right now it says shipping but no tracking)

2-phone is not new

3-phone is not GSM

Yes I should have been diligent hindsight is 20/20

however if any of my suspicions come to fruition I will never buy anything again on eBay

Now I pay taxes and I barely saved $15 assuming it is a brand new phone.

Had I known I was going to pay taxes I would not have bought it for that price!

So Buyer beware

[jame234]

eBay is required by law to collect tax if your state mandated that you pay sales tax on internet sales and eBay remits it to the state.

I guess you missed a couple announcements about states that their legislators have required to collect internet sales tax.  Also, when you review a seller's feedback profile, look at the location of the seller.

Here is the most recent announcement regarding Online Internet Sales Tax.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/New-Internet-Sales-Tax-changes-that-impact-you/ba-p/3028...

And of course you know that if you don't receive an item or it is not as described, you have eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

Read about your eBay Money Back Guarantee
https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

[bonjourami]

Its surprising that so many people are so unaware that this tax was coming, its been all over the news for at least two years,and Ebay sent out so many updates on it.

[jame234]

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@bonjourami wrote:

Its surprising that so many people are so unaware that this tax was coming, its been all over the news for at least two years,and Ebay sent out so many updates on it.

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Yes, and many buyers blame eBay and think it is eBay charging the tax.  eBay rallied against the tax law.

[myboardid]

Don't blame eBay for your choice of sellers.  There are thousands of legitimate sellers here. 

There are certain items I would not buy on any marketplace platform, and cell phones are one of them. 

[200roses]

Like I said BUYER BEWARE

[woodland_gnome]

1-I actually read a review that mentioned they were outside the US and that was a neutral feedback,

however since it did not show in their 100% rating I am assuming it was reversed by eBay

Neutral feedback does not affect the %, only positive vs. negative for the past 12 months.

While you are assuming, you need to assume you will be paying taxes on any purchase no matter where it is coming from.

[200roses]

YUP and their are 1000s of frauds too.

They violate eBay's own policies and nothing is done about it.

From using stock photos

to labeling used items as new , etc

And nothing is done about them!

eBay has become too hostile with 1000s of frauds

yeah money back guarantee! wait a month for the phone to arrive

then it is too late to file a claim and if it is not, then file a claim and fight it

and if you lose, go fight a battle with pay pal!

Meanwhile you are still without something you need that you paid for

I don't need this aggravation

[200roses]

Well that was not the case 2 months ago,
so now I have to consider that in the purchase price
And hence BUYER BEWARE

[7606dennis]

Actually, buyers should always be cautious when making a purchase, especially online.

I'm not sure that using a stock photo is a bad thing if selling brand new items still in their boxes from the manufacturer though.  Seems to me that it would be better to do that than remove the item from its packaging to photograph an then repackage.

Alas!  The only way to avoid long transit times is to not order from sellers with a long handling time.  

[200roses]

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@7606dennis wrote:

Actually, buyers should always be cautious when making a purchase, especially online.

Unscrupulous sellers always find a way, it is also the duty of the establishment that showcase the merchandise (ebay) to make sure sellers with multiple complaints get flagged. The feedback system has serious limitations

I'm not sure that using a stock photo is a bad thing if selling brand new items still in their boxes from the manufacturer though. 

I disagree, a photo of the box in the sellers possession will go a long way. No need to open the box.

In addition it is against ebay policy to use stock photos or at least thats my understanding

Alas!  The only way to avoid long transit times is to not order from sellers with a long handling time. 

You can do that but there are ways around that to deceive the buyer

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[bonjourami]

Are you mad at Ebay or yourself?

"Yes I should have been diligent hindsight is 20/20."

[7606dennis]

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@200roses wrote:

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@7606dennis wrote:

Actually, buyers should always be cautious when making a purchase, especially online.

Unscrupulous sellers always find a way, it is also the duty of the establishment that showcase the merchandise (ebay) to make sure sellers with multiple complaints get flagged. The feedback system has serious limitations

I'm not sure that using a stock photo is a bad thing if selling brand new items still in their boxes from the manufacturer though. 

I disagree, a photo of the box in the sellers possession will go a long way. No need to open the box.

In addition it is against ebay policy to use stock photos or at least thats my understanding

Alas!  The only way to avoid long transit times is to not order from sellers with a long handling time. 

You can do that but there are ways around that to deceive the buyer

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Frankly, if I were sitting on a pallet of something that was packaged by the manufacturer, I doubt I would take the time to individually photograph each item's package before listing it.  Besides, just showing the package doesn't really show the product.  There is no reason not to use stock photos of the item if legally available.  Naturally, you can't use pictures without permission of the copyright owner.

Personally, I have, when I purchased a large lot of the same item, sacrificed one for photographs and display.  However, if I had permission from the manufacturer to use stock pictures furnished by them, I would.

You are correct in that unscrupulous sellers will find a way.  Unfortunately, the same holds true for unscrupulous buyers.  Alas!  Criminals have taken to technology like pigs to slop.

Frankly, if I had as much distrust in the site as you appear to have, I probably would do business on here either.  Of course, I'm not sure that any of the other sites would be any better.  

[bonjourami]

"In addition it is against ebay policy to use stock photos or at least thats my understanding"

Your understanding is incorrect, as are some of your other assumptions, Ebay has a data base of stock photos for new items that sellers are allowed to use.

[200roses]

"Ebay has a data base of stock photos for new items that sellers are allowed to use."

TRUE however unless in ebay database, use of stock photos are PROHIBITED

www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/images-text-policy?id=4240&st=12&pos=3&query=Images%20an...