Have to say, having punted out a bucketload of money on both Ebay and, bizarrely, sent £1300 by wire to Florida for a camera rig based on 6 emails and some uploaded pictures, sold a £17k car on ebay, I am looking at my buying habits and revising them now. i.e. no way unless certain security measures in place.
I did get an absolute bargain recently from an ebayer with no rep selling an expensive Gitzo tripod from Norn Iron, but only after a lot of email passed back and forth, including some quite in-depth questions. Even then, the type of emails coming from the seller indicated a potential scam (can't get ebay checkout to work, having difficulty uploading pictures, not sure how paypal works etc). Was waiting for the "why don't you just send me a cheque/bank transfer/cash" email....but seller checked out and item is in top class condition....and an absolute steal!
If the seller responds with the appropriate answers, serial nos, knowledge etc, will take paypal payment, then may be a bargain to be had, as most buyers on ebay steer clear of new ebayers with expensive items.
I for one will not do another transaction for serious money without having item in hand or some form of protection i.e. credit card payment when cash is handed over - too many scammers catching onto specialist high value item websites e.g. cameras, diving, music etc.
Choose items with your heart, buy with your head screwed on right. If it is too good to be true.....unless it's a Gitzo from Londonderry!! Or maybe an Inspo from Unst ....... :teeth:
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