The Energon Pub

I'm tempted to get on eBay. I'm sick of the high prices and limited selection of online sites. I want to be able to get stuff like reissue Predaking or the Botcon 06 set at a reasonable price. But I don't want to get ripped off. I've heard so many eBay horror stories. But I'm sick of waiting for stores like BBTS or Amazon to get what figures I want. So, should I sign up? How risky is it?

Well you can certainly find bargains, but you do have to be careful not to get too bidhappy and overshoot what you want to pay for things. I've never had any problems but I am careful to check sellers feedback, actually read comments left by others, particularly any negatives, and not just look at their scores. The feedback system has been much maligned over the years but has recently been changed so that sellers can no longer leave negative feedback for buyers who have paid for their items (thus completing their side of the contract) and as such feedback should become ever more reliable from here on out. Buyers essentially will no longer have to worry that in not leaving negative feedback for a less than ideal buying experience they'll then have negatives levelled against them for no fault of their own.

In any case it's free to set up an account. You could always set up and just watch auctions for the first few weeks, see what prices things are going for and watch how well sellers that you like the look of deliver on the items that you're looking at. Once you're set up there's no requirement to actually bid on anything if you don't want to but having an account can't really do any harm, well asid efrom getting addicted but that's never happened to any of us level headed Seibertronian types now has it?

It comes down to trust, and in theory, it's based off of the sellers feedback. I consider myself having been lucky so far.

Hopefully you use Paypal with credit card for maximum protection for you, the buyer, on expensive stuff. I'm told that is the best bet to prevent problems.

People are so fond of dissing on eBay...

...and I have not seen much reason why.


I have scored many a figure off of eBay with great success and convenience...and you can find great deals if you take the time to look long enough! All my MPs were scored off of eBay for rather good prices...


....my first stop for window-shopping for my plastic crack is indeed eBay!

eBay's generally safe, providing you pay attention to item description and their feedback.

I've never had a problem with it, and I've bought tonnes of crap from there.

I've had problems with eBay, but very little. But I use it mostly for DVDs and CDs and the occasional comic book, not figures (well, very rarely figures). I trust it for the most part, but as it's been said, check people's feedback.

You can get some really great deals on there.

I've had a few problems with some unscrupulous sellers on ebay, one moron tried to sell me some fake Abominus but he had applied paint to more accurately match the true colors so nobody could tell in the photos online but when it got to me it was clearly hand painted on, you could clearly see the brush strokes very poorly painted on and it still wreaked of fresh paint.

He actually had the nerve to claim it was still real haha so I demanded my money back and he gave it then I reported him for fraud...he got kicked off ebay several months later.

I had another seller try to say he mailed out my package just before the fourth of july holiday and gee it must have got lost in the mail...the auction had ended nearly a full month before that and I paid for shipping and sent a few emails with only one response from him ever of "oh I had an emergency" and that was all the communication I ever got.

I reminded him of the sellers shipping responsibility at the time was it had to be mailed out in ten days or less so he violated another policy...he states in his auctions that he buys priority mail boxes to "get a better box" charges those rates but then mails it out slow boat to china method.

I opened up a claim as he did not respond to any further emails...he never responded to the ebay claim and I got all of my money back...I left a negative and he retaliated and said "oopps my finger slipped to the negative" I replied in an email and said my middle finger seems to be doing the same ...I had the negative expunged from my account and he was soon after kicked off ebay.

There is a measure of trust with all members even ones you've done plenty of business with...this one seller I've dealt with many times I sent an email asking a totally reasonable question and they did not reply. the auction ended many days later with it not being sold and they re-listed it...I sent the question again thinking maybe they were busy or never got it but I never had those problems before but they did not respond again so now I don't feel comfortable doing business with a seller that won't respond to a simple question when they did not specify the condition in the auction.

Someone else will be happy to take my money and business.

There are some real jerks on ebay but you have to watch the terms of the auction and their descriptions...if they are constantly shouting in caps it's a turn off to me and ask questions always and check their feedback even if it says 100% sometimes there are things said that may be a warning of things to come.

Never go in to an auction where there is no pic or really fuzzy pics! there are still people trying to sell stuff without any pics at all.

Do always get insurance if offered, if it's not either ask to have it added or don't do business as it increases your rights and chances of successful monetary recovery if something goes wrong.

These are some bad cases yes but over all my ebay experiences have been mostly positive and there have been a lot of sellers who go the extra mile to help in certain situations.

I've sworn off ebay. Everytime I bid on something I get sniped at literally the last second. Plus I always end up in a bidding match with some moron with more money than brain. He may be willing to pay $60 for a movie Starscream, but I'm not.

Evil_the_Nub wrote:I've sworn off ebay. Everytime I bid on something I get sniped at literally the last second.

I am SO guilty of this it ain't even funny! I just may have sniped any of you on a thing or two in the past! I will sit on auctions that have 30 min or less on them and watch.....I will wait til the last second and, if it's economically feasible, I will snipe it! I am not the only one that does this either, because I myself have been sniped a few buttzillion times too! Tis the nature of the eBeast!

Bid sniping is a way of life, and my preferred way of eBaying. Wish you could do it on Yahoo Japan, but any last second bids add on to the timer, it's frustrating!

As far as bid snipping goes this is how I feel...I've done it too and been sniped at the last second many many times as well but I don't cry like a three year old when it happens...if it's something you really want then it is your responsibility to watch the auction either in front of your pc or even on your cell phone you can get bid alerts...if you've been outbid then you've most likely reached your absolute max, that is why they are there and probably won't want to go any higher.

If someone wants to pay a million dollars for a figure or whatever it's their business so long as it does not hurt anyone else...look at the person last year in Australia who paid six thousand dollars for a copy of the Rock Star game...definitely I would not do that but to each his own.

I've gotten some pretty good deals on eBay like a complete G1 Octopunch for under $35 shipped. Even had the card and bubble (was beat up though). Usually what I do is go to a site like http://www.tfu.info when I find a figure I am interested in to make sure it is complete and with the right parts. Sometimes people put the wrong part or gun in with the auction on accident and some do it to rip you off. Always check out their feedback. And read their comments. I always read the negatives and neutral feedbacks. I usually glance over the first page of positive though. If their feedback score is really bad, I usually avoid them, no matter how much I want the figure; there will always be another one later. Next I check the shipping charges and where the item is located. If I see a G1 mint Optimus Prime for $20 with a shipping charge of $100 I stay away. Basically the seller is swindling eBay by listing the actual cost lower but recovering the cost thru the shipping. If they are doing this then chances are they aren't going to treat the customer too well. It is better to avoid them completely. Location is also important to look up. If the price seems outrageous, make sure the seller isn't international. There were a few times where I thought the shipping was too high but the seller was from another country. The shipping companies have online tools to guesstimate the shipping on their websites so you can see if they are honest or not. Then I come up with an amount that I think the figure is worth/most I will pay and stick to that. Sometimes I bargain shop and put in X amount and wait to see if I win. Sometimes I do and I end up with a great deal. Other times I don't and oh well life goes on. If I win then I always send them an email asking for an invoice with the price, plus shipping and insurance (I already know the total btw). This way they send me an email with the total amount so they can't take my money and say I under paid them. Plus it is good to communicate with them right away. It shows you are really interested in the item and not a "non paying bidder" which is somebody who wins then backs out at the last minute. After you get the item then leave feedback as you see fit on the transaction.