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Cheers,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Hi! My name is Jeff Chen and I am a Policy Manager working on Account Protection Strategies. At eBay, I am responsible for ensuring our members are protected from account theft. A key element in protecting your online identify is education, and the Account Protections Tutorial is our latest product designed to educate members with tips and information to ensure they are protected against online identity threats.

Let’s talk about Buying Safely. If you are a new buyer or an experienced buyer on eBay, there are some key points to remember to avoid a bad buying experience. These key points are now covered extensively in the Buying Safely Tutorial.

1. Always read the entire item description before bidding and buying. Pay close attention to shipping costs, where the item is located and if international shipping charges and lead times apply, payment options offered, and if the seller has a return policy. Consider all of these prior to placing a bid or buying an item.

2. Review the seller’s feedback in detail before you bid or buy. How much feedback does the seller have? What is the % of positive feedback? Has the seller sold items similar to the item you are interested in buying and at the same price point? Again, all factors you should consider before making a purchase.

3. Always use a safe payment method to pay for your items. Do not use Western Union or MoneyGram to pay for your eBay purchases. These payment methods are unsafe when paying people you don’t know. A seller should never ask you pay using a method not included in a listing you have won. If the seller said "PayPal, Credit Card or Check" in the listing, but later asks you to pay by cash or "instant cash transfer” — don't!

4. If an item is listed on eBay and a seller solicits you to purchase the item “outside of eBay”, don’t. These “outside-of-eBay" offers may be unsafe, and sending cash or using "instant cash transfers" is always unsafe. When you buy "outside of eBay", you also lose the benefit of eBay services including: buyer protection coverage, access to seller contact information, and feedback.

5. Buying safely includes communicating safely – use Ask Seller a Question to communicate with a seller. Use caution if the seller asks you to communicate via an email address instead of going through the eBay member-to-member message system.

6. Confirm a Second Chance Offer is legitimate before accepting the offer and purchasing the item. A copy of any real Second Chance Offer will appear in My Messages in My eBay. It will have a blue background with a message saying, “eBay Second Chance Offer for Item…”. If you receive a Second Chance Offer in My Messages with a different subject line (for example, “Message from eBay Member”) — it is a fake! It is also a fake Second Chance Offer if you receive it outside of eBay and you can't find a copy of it in My Messages.

Christine

In fact... just the first three points are the true "basics" of buying safely... 1) READ the item description... 2) EVALUATE the Seller's feedback... and 3) use a SAFE PAYMENT method to complete your transaction.

In almost all instances, Buyers who follow these three basic steps are happy with the outcome!

By the way... for everyone who would like to see the Buying Safely tutorial... here is the link:

Link

Completing the tutorial takes only a few minutes!

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