4MIDLIF

As some of you know, I buy and sell on eBay, and try to keep people informed of both questionable sellers and good deals I come accross. After reading some other posts and replys, I thought it might be a good idea to give eBay novices some insight into buying at auction

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Number of transactions. Check the number of transactions the seller has had. A high number can indicate some legitimacy.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Check Feedback. The feedback feature helps, but is not foolproof. A high number of transactions, with a high number of positive feedbacks is an indicator of a good seller.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Check the terms. Requesting a Money Order only can be a red flag. Using PayPal or BidPay gives you more protection.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Ask the seller a question. Often times I get a "feeling" from the responses I get from sellers. This is very subjective, and a con man is a con man, but it is part of the overall picture.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Watch the auctions for awhile. You'll become familiar with who's selling and who's buying. Other, experienced, buyers who are bidding can be a positive indicator.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Check the seller's "About Me" page. Look for known affiliations like Rennlist, etc. This helps you get to know the seller, and whether or not they are serious about Porsches.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." 'Nuff said.</font></li>

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• <font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Ask/Check the forums. If you are buying a car, ask here if anyone is familiar with it. Many times you'll get a more accurate history here than from the owner. Search for eBay topics to help root out the bad guys before you buy.</font></li>

<font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I'm sure there are things I'm missing, but I am eqaully sure others will post their suggestions. eBay has proven to be a wonderful resource for our community, but, as in any community, there are bad guys.
Hope this proves useful. <img border="0" alt="[byebye]" title="" src="graemlins/wave.gif" />

Randy V

Good stuff Rob.

Perhaps you might post a copy of this in the "A New Visitor?..." topic.

4MIDLIF

Done. Linked to this thread.