Hi Bernard

i suggest you just look at each sellers history and otehr items to check they have good feedback, and build your confidence and discrimination by buying a few cheaper items or items from big sellers (who value the feedback from good customer care) first.

But real bargains often come from inexperienced sellers who don't describe their items very well.

Neil

I've been using Ebay since 2001. Unlike Norman I've also sold items as well as buying. I have bought some expensive items. My power guillotine and cylindrical grinder were both over £1000, and the box & pan folder was £800. However, these were from sellers with secondhand machinery businesses that had a presence on the internet outside of Ebay. For expensive items I always asked a question to see if I got a sensible reply. Something along the lines of the seller doesn't know much about the item is a deal breaker. They're almost certainly a dealer who knows exactly what's wrong with the item!

Ebay has changed drastically over the years. At the start it was mainly private sellers, but I would say that the majority are now selling on a commercial basis, and Ebay is heavily biased towards the commercial seller. Many items are 'Buy it Now' rather than auctions. I would agree with Norman that bargains are much rarer now, largely because of commercial sellers. Also, there are so many items on Ebay that it is very difficult to find specific items. Not helped by the irritating habit of sellers putting 'Harrison' for instance, in the title of something like a drill that is not Harrison specific.

I use Ebay a lot less than I used to; I might do a search for specifics, eg, 'Harrison', 'Bridgeport', 'Clarkson', every couple of weeks. I also occasionally use 'Buy it Now' for things from recognised sellers. For instance I've just bought a couple of R8 collets from Gloster Tooling. It's always worth checking the external websites first though, as a company's Ebay store isn't always cheaper.

I've had very few issues buying on Ebay, a couple of items never turned up, and the odd item was not as described, but I've always got my money back. One or two sellers have been very slow and a bit evasive in dispatch. I bought an AVO coil winder a few years ago and it took about a month to get it, with all sorts of excuses about the courier refusing to pick up the item, or returning it to sender. I've had a few problems selling, mainly in getting payments out of people. The only big problem was selling my old car. In the end I refused to sell it to the winner, as they couldn't provide a UK address. Never heard from them again, so I assume it was a scam. After all, why would someone from Poland pay over the odds for an ordinary car that was listed with specific faults, including not starting properly? When I later sold my mother's old car I specifically stated UK buyers only!

I'm currently selling a few things on Ebay as part of my massive workshop clearout to make room for new machinery, but in reality it's not really economic, taking into account the time taken.

In summary I'd say Ebay still has its uses, but it is now essentially a commercial selling channel and as such is rather less useful to the home workshop than it used to be.

Regards,

Andrew

Edited By Andrew Johnston on 07/09/2012 11:29:09

Edited By Andrew Johnston on 07/09/2012 11:30:12