Buying things from Ebay… Is it worth it?
Embed from Getty ImagesWell, it depends… A lot. Let’s just suppose for the sake of this post you already have a PayPal account, it’s been verified, so you can simply go online and order your brand new Naikan D815 chinese copy from Ebay.
1. Shipping
Here is the big factor: Shipping times and costs from Evilbay do vary. A LOT! If the item is on the same continent as you, this might speed up the process a little. But if not and if, let’s say you’re ordering from the UK an item thats curently in China, well, you’ll have to wait. Don’t get me wrong, Most likely your product will arrive in the time limit, but sometimes that time limit is really big. For example, I’ve been waiting for two M43 lens adapters from Hong Kong for about a month now… And they’re still not here. Sure, I made a 5 dollar saving from the 10 dollar price, but is it worth it?
2. Cost
Embed from Getty ImagesI have laying around me 3 nice Canon FD lenses that are waiting for my atention, but, without an adapter, they are useless… In this case, the savings were too small for the HUGE time wasted while waiting for them.
Ebay does accomodate some really nice offers, though. The end point is, don’t expect small, under 100 dollar items to be shipped super quick or to get incredible out of the ordinary deals, it’s usually not going to happen. I was browsing the web looking, out of curiosity, for some laptops. I found a Dell XPS 12 for about 1300-1400 dollars shipped! Great price, especially because the equivalent in my country costs more than 1500 euros… Do the conversion, and you’ll see why I’d be OK with waiting for a couple weeks to save a good amount of cash.
3. Is it a money waster?
When browsing Ebay, you must be carefull not to be atracted by small, shitty 2 dollar items. They can add up, especially with shipping, and can eat a biggish chunk of cash really quick. If used smartly, Ebay can turn into a great place for looking up deals.
4. Final thoughts…
There are some rules with Ebay as with any online shopping activity. If you follow them, you basicaly can’t get scammed… almost… First, look for sellers with good, positive feedback. Next, if anything looks dodgy even the tiniest bit, avoid it. 10 dollars in minus are not much, but you still have 10 dollars in minus. Next is don’t spend your money on useless nick nacks. I know, that teal bottle opener you saw last night was a steal for 15 dollars, but, since you already have half a douzin bottle openers, they are still 15 $ out of your pocket…
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