How Many Buy Gears From ebay? Good? Bad? - Share With Us Here

RudimentalDrummer

RudimentalDrummer

Moderator
Dear Brothers / Sisters


How many of you Brothers & Sisters buy some of your Gears from ebay?.. Is it good. Is it Bad? Tell us your experiences.

There are plenty of Great Stuffs at ebay (but the freight charges will make purchase higher for us Singaporeans) - but there are many items we can't source here locally or around SEA.

Trading at ebay must take careful precaution, knows the steps by steps to go about Buying (then everything will go smoothly). I have now Won 4 Biddings (and My Ludwig SpeedKing Pedal just arrived today) - and I still remember, when I first started Bidding - after winning - I got loss - call Lennat, call Hosea for help...wah stressful man...

So, it's good that if we can share our experience buying at ebay will help many who contemplate to do so.



Eric
 
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I got an old AAX China and now expecting a 12" export tom.

I did notice that I am only likely to win if the seller is new. This is because very few bidders risk on buying from them.
 
Bought quite a lot of things off ebay. Drum and things for my bike. Great place to source for good deals. So far I've been lucky which is a good thing.

A suggestion is to contact the seller before even bidding. You'll be able to suss out if the chap is friendly enough for you to deal with.

Vpost is also essential for getting items which cannot be shipped overseas.

Paying by Paypal is the best way to protect yourself. If the item never reaches your house, call them up and they'll help you out. Of course this means that you only buy from ebayers who accept Paypal.

Most importantly, always have a clear limit on how much you are willing to spend inclusive of the shipping. Never get sucked into a price war.

Also, most bids happen in the last 10 minutes. If you want it bad, wake up at 4am in the morning and click away. Totally adrenaline pumping and dangerous if you can't control yourself though.

Never ever bid for an item when there's more than 1 day left to the end of auction. You'll spoil market and might end up paying more if there's a bidding frenzy.

When you win an item, ask for a USPS tracking number. With big ticket items, this is the best way to protect your investment. If the seller is friendly enough, he'll update you on the status of the item and when he sent them. You can sort of calculate when its gonna arrive. If it ain't coming, alarm bells go off and do call Paypal.

Always leave feedback. Ebayers live off feedback. Don't hesitate to put a negative feedback if the deal goes awry. The morons deserve it.

Hope the advice helps....happy ebaying folks.
 
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I think paradiddle covered most of the major stuff. For me it's:

1) Never in doubt, always check with the seller. Ask until you get all your answers and you are in full understanding of the product, how the seller is going to pack and ship it, etc. If it's a good seller, he/she will answer all your question. Place your bid only AFTER you have clear all your doubts.

2) Factor in VPOST cost. It might seem cheap on eBaby. But once you factor in the shipping cost to Singapore, you might want to think twice. A snare drum usually costs like SGD $60 - $100 depending on how the seller packs the thing. $100 is the norm. I got a $60 because seller simply shipped the snare in it's plastic carrying case without any box. It was dangerous but the lucky break was that the snare came to me in one piece.

3) Check eBay payment method. Always pay via Paypal as there's a buyer/seller protection plan.

4) Don't bid to keep track. Make use of the WATCH function to keep tracks of the auctions that you are interested in.

5) Try not to get too "hot-headed" during bidding. Don't try to "sabo" on an item by jacking up the price with no intention of getting it too. Chances are, you might just win the auction because the highest bidder can always retract their bids.

Have fun!
 
i bought a overdrive pedal from ebay before. quite ok.


prefer to buy from amazon and ship direct whenver possible though.

also, musiciansfriend.com and ship thru vpost also quite good.

another favourite of mine is buy from ishibashi. excellent service, shipping.




for ebay, must be careful.

my advice is take your time, bid for a few items modestly to get the hang of things first.

choosing sellers who have at least few hundred positive reviews is a good safety check.



cheers
 
Killerbee & Weck_x taught me what to do & how to get Started:-

1st Step - Register with e-bay

2nd Step - Register For A PayPal Account
Follow the Steps - key in Credit Card Number
Fill-In Data (halfway only here - Paypal tells you to fill in the last part to verify address your address is correct)
Wait For Your Credit Card Account Statement to Arrived - Key In the 4 Nos Provided/Charged by PayPal (a S$3.00 - this is to verify your address is correct) - they will credit it back later)
Continue registering PayPal and finished it here....Done !

Link PayPal to ebay account
Make sure Ebay Account Address tallies PayPal Address

3rd Step - Register with vPost
There is 2 address for vPost at US you can ask seller to send it to.

Now Let's Start Bidding at ebay


Much had been covered here by above Bro & Sis. It is important to send a question to the seller before bidding asking eg

Can I bid For It ? Some never stipulate that they trade Internationally (sometimes they allow you)

Can You send to vPost? - some won't

How Much Is The Freight cost through USPS? If they dont have a Shipping Calculator

Can I Pay through PayPal (some US Buyers wants Money Order/Western Union Transaction) = This is dangerous as ebay will have no records since it is transacted outside of ebay - What if that fellow received your money but dont send goods?


1st Few Bidding At ebay - I lost all the Bidding and some by a mere few dollars differences only - Last Minute always when I was sleeping - Plenty of people outbid me - Woke up next morning - very sad.


When I see something I Like Nowadays: - I place a Low Bid Price (even I lose this bidding -not a winner it's ok) - so that it goes into my "Bidding" so I can just Keep Track - and see how it goes.

When I really want a thing Badly: - I put above Market-Bidding Price (eg a put a price in Maximum Bid of a Snare for a Pearl equivalent to that of a Gretsch Vintage Snare - that I'm am willing To Pay - though OverPrice) then I go to sleep wake up next morning - You've Won...now I am Happy.

Note: - Here I will definetely check (1) the seller Feedbacks he received from Buyers to safeguard myself if item is to cost a lot. (2) Check items he sells - is it all Drums item (3) or Rojak here and ther (4) How long he is trading in ebay already since.

When I see something I Feel Win good lah - Loose also nevermind: - I bid Low Price - surprisingly = I WON 2 of these again...Lucky Maybe.

Screening through the Pages in Drum - Click "Watching" during my Free-Time - is a good practice - I will know the Rough idea of the cost of what I want.....when Bid ended - I see it's final price.

After Winning A Bid: - - Dont make Payment Immediately. It good to send the Seller a note - ask them to send you an Invoice.

When you received the Invoice (through e-mail always) - Click Pay Now.......

Important: - If you click the Pay-Now Button (It shows you total Freight plus Item Price you have to pay) click again to continue - - - and if dont see PayPal (assumming the transaction is agreed on PayPal) - DONT CLICK...Confirm..

Go back and send seller an email telling him that.

He will send you again another invoice - says this time it's Payment By PayPal - click & key in your Password - check the figure the address is correct - confirmed it - and ebay will state - You Have Make Payment.

At the same time PayPal send you a message directly to your e-mail confirming - money had been paid to so&so..... and if you now go into your PayPal Account record immediately - all this Transaction is stipulated eg Payment to whom, how much, item no etc - Makes you feels safe. If you call your Credit Card Company - The transaction of money is immediate - Credit Card company tells you - PayPal has invoice you the same amount.

Send a note to your seller asking him if he has received the money you have send and ask him to confirm this and advice shipping date by return to you. (Seller like this - cause you show that you are responsible buyer) - and he will have to respond to you - if you did not receive a reply from him withiin 24 hours send him another reminder.

Usually one day or a few days later - (USPS here) - When seller send the items through USPS - USPS send to your email a Track & Confirm e-mail on where(which States) & when (date & time) the item leaves for the US to you.

Now - - - ebay will ask you to give feedback on seller - dont give feedback till you received your items (you cannot cancel a feedback once made). If the item received is as describe as the pics and in good condition - now - Give the Seller a good Feedback - a 100% would be nice.

Normally Seller will also give you a 100% feedback - If you give them a 100% Feeback (This is True). They dont seldom give you a feedback once they received your money even though it's prompt payment to safeguard what feedback you will give them back. remembering feedback cannot be admended.

PS: - My seller undercharge me US5.00 for the freight for the Ludwig Pedal and item is in perfect condition.

These feedbacks are important..in fact very very important - to show evidence of Seller & Buyers Credibility - - - Some sellers will not sell to Buyers who have less than a certain numbers of feedback.

Favourite seller: - I will update the seller into my Favourite Seller Listing - if his service is really good & can be trusted...so I can view what he has at times at a click of a button.

Note: - There will be no Physical Telephone Number you can contact in ebay - All is through e-mail and they will respond to you - - I have checked. Remember to always communicate and reply your seller - a good seller always respond to your question - that's how Parties view each other credibility & responsibility at ebay - RESPOND WELL & COMMUNICATE WELL.

Retracting Bid:- I did it once (not to Sabo) but I key in a wrong Maximum Bid. In Retracting a Bid - One has to have a good reason to justify for the Retraction. (24 hours before Auction end - you cannot retract a bid - it's a rule). In Retracting a Bid - if you have Bid Wrongly - all your Bids you've made on the particular item will be Retracted - To have a good reputation/Image as a buyer at ebay (as Retraction will be recorded) - you must now BId on the same item and key in the correct amount you want to bid by keying in the right figure now - - If you are still winning after retracting & keying in the New Bid Amount (after retracting the old one due to Maximum amount you key was too high - like what I did) it's ok - Reason well accepted - If someone now bid higher than you (you can decide to drop this item as you dont think it's worth that much - but if the Maximum bid you put is too high - most likey you will have it at end of day ) .... this is one reason why I retracted mine - I saw a better one and I want to bid on that one.....(That's my Pedal I WOn at the below Pics).

Initial 1st Time Bidding At eBay & Following: - Initially it's stressful - as we don't know what to do - once you have your 1st successful Bid - It becomes "Shiok" after we get a Hang Of It, and this can be Very Dangerous (must have Self-Control here) I remember I was staring at the PC every nite after I won my 1st Bid. - as there are so many nice drumming items at ebay (seems like we will come across many - we call good deals) - We Bid and Bid loose control - - Na-beh End of month have to pay Credit-Card Bills.....so bid only what we really NEEDS not WANTS - - - Cause everything we will want there - lots of nice.eeeeeeeee stuffs BEWARE.



Freight Charges Through USPS:- - All Items received through USPS (Door-To-Door) has a copy of the invoice from USPS - We will know if the Seller had OverCharge Us or not - If yes(provided the Variance is alot) - we can write to them for a refund.

Foot-Pedal = USD40.00 actually USD45
Snare Drum: - USD89.30 (should be around USD60.00)-I was being overcharged.
Snare Stands:USD40
Hi-Hat Stands:49.10
4 pcs Drum Kit: USD400 to USD500
 
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Sometimes Strategies Is needed also in Bidding

There is another Buyer bidding for my above Pedal & another same Ludwig Pedal that is not so nice (Because I have a Maximum Price Bid - I know how much he bidded-up)...This guy push my price up to USD85.00(though it ended at USD127) not by him but someone else. This is the most beautiful mint condition 1960s Speedking pedal I saw - and I want it badly.

The other Pedal he is winning is atUSD35 - and because I wanted this Pedal - I jack up his Bid to USD75 (then I leave him alone) and this Pedal will end a day before mine....If he wins - hopefully he leaves me alone for this one I wanted.Kekeke. and yes he WON.

and so - he did Won....I did that because I dont want him to snatch my pedal with me - But because I wanted it so much - My Bid was a USD250 Maximum - that I know - no-one will pay this kind of price for it If the guy Bid for this (what if he got play out by me again - he wont know how much I had bidded at Maximum) ...If I kenna I suay lah at USD250 (over-price) , if not I can sleep well and still win happily next morning.
 
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bro ur knowledge of bidding help u to learn fast and get good deals on ebay ;)


internet or no internet, bidding skill is impt!!!! :mrgreen:
 
Finally - my WFL 1950s-60s Snare Stand had arrived - Here are the pics

Note: - I realise that most of the Vintage Drum Kits & Hardwares in the States are pretty well preserved. This could be because of the Climate there (as it is not so Humid over there) - These also means we need to have a Humidifier or Humidifting Agent (like Hippo) to keep our HardWare from getting rusty easily in Singapore...

Whatever it is - I really notice that Chroming on older hardwares (regardless of Brand) are much better than nowadays chroming, though I have to admit they look more flimsy (like easy to break) - Where kits is concern - I think the newer Kits sound much better...besides those Gretsch Vintage Kits mean't for Jazz (maybe Jazz Drummers want a particular type of sound from them)
 
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My iceman was from ebay. Even with UPS airmail, it was still considerable cheaper than buying from those sweelee ripoffs.

EDIT: OOPS I FORGOT THIS WAS THE DRUMS SECTION, sorry!
 
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don't mean to rain on your parade, but i thought this thread was for useful information about buying from eBay. editing the topic and adding "can put pics too" is turning this into a gear-whoring thread, which already exists in the Gear section.

think about it: someone coming here in the future to look for info has to sieve through page after page of pics to find useful information.

as for my contribution, here's what i find essential for playing the eBay game:

1) Auction Sniper (www.auctionsniper.com) or equivalent to reduce sleepless nights waiting for bid closings
2) vPost or CGW Concierge for sellers that don't ship international
3) Liberal use of the "Ask Seller A Question" function - you never know if they may agree to ship direct to you
 
to answer your questions:

1) the difference is that you don't have to be online, at your computer when the bid closes, because auction sniper automatically logs in and places your highest bid for you at a fixed lead time (it could be 5 seconds before the auction ends, 10 seconds, whatever). you have three free snipes, with the option to earn credits by referring friends. subsequent successful snipes will be charged a small admin fee which is tied to the value of the item you won. there's no charge for unsuccessful snipes.

2)perhaps you'd like to try asking sellers to ship directly to you first, instead of trying to explain to them how vPost works and then trying to get them to cooperate. i've had items shipped via both methods (direct and vPost) and honestly i don't find that much of a difference overall in shipping charges.

even if a seller says "USA only", that shouldn't stop you from asking if they can ship direct to you. i've had success with this a number of times, and even if they are unwilling or (in your case) insist on Paypal verified addresses, or are plain rude, you're just a faceless nickname to them anyway. don't take it personally.

bottom-line is: if you're a nice and personable seller/buyer, you'll be surprised that even strangers go out of their way to meet your needs. i've had one seller even include a personalised greeting card in my purchase, thanking me for my business and leaving an email address should i need any further help.

good luck.
 
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for me, i've never had to tell sellers about vpost. those that don't ship international, are very happy when i provide them the vpost address. no questions asked. if u buy from an online retailer, then that's probably where your paypal address needs to be verified and all. but not all the time cos i've bought from a couple retailers, no prob.

and i think the issue about contacting the seller directly, is that if u deal with the seller directly, meaning outside ebay, then u're both liable for anything that goes wrong. it will be out of ebay's hands. of cos, if there are other bidders, then it's not fair to them either. but otherwise, in ebay, when u "contact a seller directly", there's nothing wrong with that. u can call them if u want, if they have provided a number. nothing taboo about it.

my only problem with ebay so far, is figuring out whether vpost or direct shipping is cheaper. it's like a gamble, basically, cos u dunno how your stuff has been packed. other than that, relatively pain-free process. hmmm...of cos, there's also the tendency to overbid or buy stuff u dun really want when caught up in the frenzy...had my fair share of burns already :mrgreen:
 
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