Should I buy from ebay or other sites simular

[guyu]

I saw some nice deals on ebay from some reputable dealers (based on their lengthy amounts of time of ebay and their comments) any good or bad luck from this? I have purchased one 330$ lamp for 150$ on a forum like this but that is my only experience. Any ideas? I have paypal or whatever too

 

[nzxtlexa]

Personally I would avoid ebay for PC hardware. It's just too much hassle if something goes wrong - theres rarely any proper customer service or support. I don't know where you are in the world butif you are in the US then go with someone likw newegg or other big companies who also offer good deals.

 

[nvalhalla]

ebay is fine for new-in-box and for cheap stuff, but be cautious otherwise.

 

[StevieD]

Reputations are worthless. So is the length of time the vendor is on the site.

Way too many scam artists are developing good reps and lengthy service records for the sole purpose of having one very good month of free money and no shipped goods.

Wanna buy a used piece of junk, then ebay is perfect. But for electronics the risk - reward ratio is not in your favor.

 

[brett_monkey]

Newegg.com <--- The only site you will ever need...almost.

zipzoomfly.com and clubit.com are pretty good too.

I also would avoid Ebay for computer goods.

 

[blue_wister]

I have had no problems with ebay. IMHO it's a great way to buy specific used items such as ram and graphic cars. But you also want to use due caution when buying things - ask lots of questions and make sure you're happy with the answers (i.e. why is someone selling a brand new graphic card for 1/2 its value when they could have returned it to the merchant for full value?).

Depends on the product you're buying too. I bought a used ATI card a couple of years ago and the fan on it pooched. Sent it to ATI and they sent me a brand new card 2 days later, even though it was used and I had no receipt. So I'll always be confident buying used ATI cards now because I know ATI stands behind their product.

Always consider the risk/reward ratio. Is it worth saving $10 on a $200 item to buy from someone with a questionable rep or with a problematic return policy? Probably not. Is it worth getting something for half to 2/3 what you'd otherwise have to pay for it? Quite possibly yes. You have to be the judge of that.

As far as ebay merchants screwing you and not shipping you anything or shipping you products that don't match the listing description, that can be avoided. Always use a major credit card which have buyer protection programs, or with Paypal which also has a buyer protection program.

 

[dragonsprayer]

i have been selling pc's on ebay for 5 years - you find the best deals on ebay. you can buy systems prebuilt for lower cost then the parts at new egg if you look hard

recent item was 3 8800GTx cards - a complete system for $1700

i charge alot on ebay but you can find great deals from people who need to move stuff.

warning: i bought over $20k on ebay this year ( i sell around $8000 month) - every system i bought on ebay - these are high end, used, each was broken and advertised as fine.

I bought an evga 680i system with dual 8800gtx - bad mobo (whistling mobo)- other issues
i bought a striker system with dual 8800GTS - striker had cpu int bug - locked up first oc

i bought 2 computers - they had broken case windows from a bad mod job

i returned to bad parts and fixed them - part them out or resold them fixed

good luck!

check out my stuff at isold4u - i have some nice velocity micro systems i modded really cheap

 

[geofelt]

The best deals will not come from dealers; they have to buy new things from wholesalers, just like newegg does. ...unless they are stolen...

Look for individuals like you and me that have something extra that they do not need anymore. Read between the lines to find them. Look at their reputations, and what they have been selling recently.

I have had good experiences, both buying and selling.

 

[zenmaster]

I have never had a problem on eBay, but I've never bought computer parts. I frequently buy sub $100 collectibles and other misc gifts from folks with good reputations.

I would never pay a large amount for an ebay item.

Craigslist is another option is looking for older servicable equipment cheap. I picked up (3) 17" CRTs for $10ea this past year and a couple other misc items. The nice thing about CraigsList is that you can buy local and see the items before purchase.

 

[runswindows95]

The sites I buy my hardware from:

Newegg
Zipzoomfly
Tigerdirect

I never been to Ebay and will never go there for parts. Like, zen, I have looked at Craigslist though.

 

[teh_boxzor]

The best deals will not come from dealers; they have to buy new things from wholesalers, just like newegg does. ...unless they are stolen...

Look for individuals like you and me that have something extra that they do not need anymore. Read between the lines to find them. Look at their reputations, and what they have been selling recently.

I have had good experiences, both buying and selling.

yup look for the average joe's selling them....
i got a 2 x 512mb corsair RAM for only 15 dollars. came like new and OC's real good.

 

[FSXFan]

I've bought several computer related items on ebay, also sold a few with pretty good results. I generally stick to cheap parts when I look for stuff there though. I've got a KVM switch, keyboard & mouse, TV tuner, a video card and a few cheap used games. The only thing I haven't been happy with was the TV tuner, but I paid less than $20 for it so I can't complain much. I knew it was a high risk. I generally don't even look at complete systems or most of the components that go into a tower. I have been looking for a cheap video card for my kid's PC lately and have noticed a lot of stupid people paying well over $100 for used 256m 1950pro's. Make sure if you look at things like that on ebay you check Newegg also because they have some for $120 (or less if you count the rebate). Yeah, the kid's PC is still without a video card. I usually consider anything much over half retail price (current price, I don't care if you paid $300 for it 1.5 years ago) to be too much to pay for used computer components from ebay, not knowing the true history of the item. The seller could be telling you anything.

Ebay is a wonderful place to shop as long as you recognize it's limitations and use a little common sense. You also will need lots of time on your hands to find the best deals. If you're in a hurry to get something just go to Newegg, chances are you're not going to find many sweet deals in a few minutes of browsing. Also, not all sellers are quick to get the item shipped either. I've waited so long on an item before that by the time I got it I had already forgot it was coming.

Edit: Holy crap Dragon, I just seen the 1950 you have for sale. I, uh, hope you get what you want for it. From someone else.

 

[kellytm3]

I agree with yall...The only pc parts you should think of buying off Ebay,are spare parts average joe's are selling

 

[gone fishin&#039;]

I've been buying all kinds of stuff off ebay for the last 5 years,from motherboards and processors to turbo's and fuel injection stuff,and the motherbord (Epoc 9NPA Ultra and 3G AMD Athlon 1 GIG mem and the 7600GT and Samsung 300LD HDD, only the HDD died after a month,so I bought a 500GiG from NewEgg) and the best single thing to do is use PayPal, if there is a problem it's no problem,just use your head and ask questions first