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 Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:35 am
Alright, so this is a "General Discussion" sort of topic, but I've decided to place it here in the Main Forum.
For quite a few years, we've lived in a time where buying something via your computer is literally just a click away. Overall, it's simple, fast and convenient... as long as you've avoided fishy looking stores and sellers with -9000 feedback. :B
Online stores/auction sites are amazing. You don't have to stand in long lines at the supermarket or search endlessly to find someone to make a custom Cosplay costume for you... You just scroll through pages of items, read descriptions and click "Buy Now". MAGIC!
But, of course, there is the horror of buying online. You'll buy something off of them and they hide addition charges, only give partial refunds even if they are to blame or give you hell when you're trying to fix things as calmly as possible. Let's face the facts, people buying/selling online can be real assholes. Online people don't have a face, unless they choose to show it. They are pretty much anonymous.
Also, due to the high demand of International Auction purchasing, there have been companies such as "Japan Auction Center" who play the "middleman" in foreign exchange. Because many sellers refuse to ship internationally, a "middleman" company, who is usually located in the foreign country, will make a purchase for their client (the buyer) and ship the item to the States. For a fee, of course.
It's amazing how our ability to purchase items within the US and internationally has infused with the endless possibilities of the interweb.
So, with that said, here are some general questions for you, my lovelies:
~ Have you ever bought something online? Through a store? Or an auction site such as eBay or Amazon?
~ What are the Pros and Cons of purchasing/selling online? Suggestions?
~ If you've purchased with eBay/Amazon/Craigslist, have you had any problems in the past or presently? What was your MOST AWESOME scored item?
~ Have you purchase something internationally using a "middleman"? If yes, was the experience pleasant or unpleasant for you?
If you can think of anything else to share, please do. Discuss anything related to Online Purchases! Yes, that also means you can post fotos of the shtuff you bought online. :]
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:37 am
I've been a longtime online purchaser on eBay, Amazon and Gaia.
Originally, it started with my Dad who's been on eBay for quite a number of years. He'd buy me mah Sailor Moon stuffs, which I'm so very grateful for.
My first online purchases came from Amazon.com. Overall, my experience there has been good. I've bought a comic book and a book I wanted for many years. I had no problem with the comic book. It was in great condition and arrived in Hawaii before I left for Chile. It was a gift. <3 The book I ordered looked like a cheap paperback copy. Not a copybook, but the text was really pixelated and large. The seller, who owned a used book store, gave me a full refund since they couldn't find a replacement and said I could keep the book. I was very pleased. :]
I recently joined eBay last year, and only started buying this year. In the few transactions completed, I've had my share of good and bad experiences with sellers. I'm probably going to take a break from buying for a while, unless I see something really good and the seller has 100% positive feedback. I'm tired of those "You're the first person I've ever had problems with" responses. scream
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:06 pm
I have actually bought a few things online.
I got my Runaways hat from GenkiHats. The lady who runs it is AMAZING and extremely nice. She was able to make my hat and send it to me in time for comic Con, and her prices were very reasonable.
The other item was ur b-day shirt!
I got it from...um, the website was...THINKGEEK! that's right, thinkgeek.com. They have soooo many cool shirts! There are like a dozen I want to buy. Prices of shirts and shipping were reasonable and it arrived within a fair amount of time. They also have a points system, where u can accumulate points when u buy items and get free stuff.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:29 pm
I personally have never bought anything off of eBay. My dad would do those purchases for me back way in high school. I would send him an item I was interested in and he would find it and buy it from a person he thought had a enough positive feedback to buy from. The only thing I got one time that wasn't what I was expecting was Gundam Seed burned onto cd's... I was not expecting that... But my dad didn't even realize that when he bought them.
I of course now buy stuff on my own. I will usually only stick to stores. I have bought from BestBuy.com, Amazon.com (which can also be from private sellers if your not careful), and Newegg.com (for all my computer related needs!). But after too many bad stories from other people and insane prices, I have decided to steer away from the private sellers and websites... Too much crap going on that I don't trust... Hell, I have a hard enough time actually trusting the sites I do buy from... CAUSE I BE PARANOID!!!!!!
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 6:38 pm
:] I likes mah shirt, sis! And your hat is soooo cute. Did you ask for a custom hat or did she make hats like that?
OHMAHGAWD, Gerzson. I just recently dealed with a seller who sent me burned copies of a Japanese Drama series I ordered. GAH!! I calmly told him that they should have been advertised as home burned copies, hinting that I didn't know it was legal to sell copies of copyrighted DVD's on eBay and requested a full refund, if I were to send them back. I sent them, and got my money back ($12.99), except that I paid the return shipping, which I don't really mind.... considering it was only $2 and I burned copies of his copies. >D BWAHA!!!! That's the only reason I didn't turn him in for selling me copies.
Also, I was unaware of the difference between Resin Kits and Recast Resin Kits. For those of you who also don't know, Recast Kits are basically cheap copies of original Resin Kits (Models that people paint and put together). I bought a Sailor Neptune Resign Kit from a seller in China. It was not advertisted as a "recast". When I got it, I figured it was decent... but only recently I researched and found out it's actually a recast. $30 for a copy. Boy, do I feel cheated. People like that need to be turned in to eBay and banned from selling. They're making money for something that isn't theirs, like burned DVDs.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:07 am
I have made many a purchases online. I've bought from Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist, as well as several other websites. This is Hawaii, there are a lot of products that you can't find on sale in retail stores here...and somethings are just too damn overpriced.
Recently; I imported an EAA MP-661K Drozd 2 Blackbird from Russia through airgundepot.com. I got it for pennies compaired to what it is going to be selling retail by FFL dealers.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:05 am
Little Lilo :] I likes mah shirt, sis! And your hat is soooo cute. Did you ask for a custom hat or did she make hats like that?
OHMAHGAWD, Gerzson. I just recently dealed with a seller who sent me burned copies of a Japanese Drama series I ordered. GAH!! I calmly told him that they should have been advertised as home burned copies, hinting that I didn't know it was legal to sell copies of copyrighted DVD's on eBay and requested a full refund, if I were to send them back. I sent them, and got my money back ($12.99), except that I paid the return shipping, which I don't really mind.... considering it was only $2 and I burned copies of his copies. >D BWAHA!!!! That's the only reason I didn't turn him in for selling me copies.
Also, I was unaware of the difference between Resin Kits and Recast Resin Kits. For those of you who also don't know, Recast Kits are basically cheap copies of original Resin Kits (Models that people paint and put together). I bought a Sailor Neptune Resign Kit from a seller in China. It was not advertisted as a "recast". When I got it, I figured it was decent... but only recently I researched and found out it's actually a recast. $30 for a copy. Boy, do I feel cheated. People like that need to be turned in to eBay and banned from selling. They're making money for something that isn't theirs, like burned DVDs. Yeah, I have heard of things kind of like "recasts". My dad is a huge airplane model buyer. He's told me that people send their designs (in this case I believe they were Gemini models) to China to be made. When they aren't looking, the Chinese contractor will copy the design and make cheaper models and sell them behind the back of the other company. Apparently though, this kind of thing is actually completely legal (in most ways) in China... It's crazy!
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 12:27 pm
I mostly buy things from Amazon. I love that place.
I tried using eBay once. I was trying to buy a button maker. I lost the bid I guess, and never got my button maker. emo
Ever since then I have not used eBay. I find it shady.
Like recently Matt bought some stuff for his bike off eBay, and the people took the money, but never gave him his stuff. Now he has to deal with trying to get his money back.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:11 pm
I've purchased goods online from clothes, electronics, and even food from many different sites. Other than Ebay and Amazon, I purchase from Etsy (OOAK clothes, accessories, yarn, and food!) and various fashion sites.
A lot of the time I don't feel like driving to the location to buy things and sometimes the store itself doesn't stock what they have online (Forever21). I think the only poor experiences I've had was when a seller on Amazon never sent me my book and responded to my mails, however I did get a full refund. I bought a pair of cute mary jane shoes for cheap (there are many cute $10 shoes on ebay) but the fitting and materials were poor and I should have expected that so that was my fault.
And I've never purchased from a middleman before.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 5:42 pm
I absolutely love shopping online although I don't do it too often because then I would want to spend all of my money gonk
I've bought from Amazon before and have always had good experiences with them, I'm sure partly because I only buy from people who have really good reviews because I am a paranoid person. I've never actually gotten anything from Ebay...thinking about buying a camera from there but I'm a little wary.
Mostly I like to order from places that have store locations nearby so if there is something wrong with what I've ordered I can return it at the store because I would rather do that than have to ship the thing back.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:20 pm
I am far too paranoid and impatient to order things online for the most part, although I've done it many times. I try to buy from official sites and avoid ebay at all costs.
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:49 am
I've dealt with e-bay quiet a lot, I haven't had any real trouble with the service. Some guy did try to scam me when I was selling my PSP but it was such an obvious scam that I just chuckled and reported him. Everything I've ever bought off the auction site has arrived in advertised condition...at least thus far.
I just opened up the package I ordered off ebay, now Michael can finally have a fuel tank for his motorcycle.
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 8:34 pm
Gerzson Apparently though, this kind of thing is actually completely legal (in most ways) in China... It's crazy!
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:13 pm
Little Lilo :] I likes mah shirt, sis! And your hat is soooo cute. Did you ask for a custom hat or did she make hats like that?
OHMAHGAWD, Gerzson. I just recently dealed with a seller who sent me burned copies of a Japanese Drama series I ordered. GAH!! I calmly told him that they should have been advertised as home burned copies, hinting that I didn't know it was legal to sell copies of copyrighted DVD's on eBay and requested a full refund, if I were to send them back. I sent them, and got my money back ($12.99), except that I paid the return shipping, which I don't really mind.... considering it was only $2 and I burned copies of his copies. >D BWAHA!!!! That's the only reason I didn't turn him in for selling me copies.
Also, I was unaware of the difference between Resin Kits and Recast Resin Kits. For those of you who also don't know, Recast Kits are basically cheap copies of original Resin Kits (Models that people paint and put together). I bought a Sailor Neptune Resign Kit from a seller in China. It was not advertisted as a "recast". When I got it, I figured it was decent... but only recently I researched and found out it's actually a recast. $30 for a copy. Boy, do I feel cheated. People like that need to be turned in to eBay and banned from selling. They're making money for something that isn't theirs, like burned DVDs.
It's my new winter hat 3nodding
I think I will wear it in Disneyland!
Adam buys lots of stuff from eBay and says that he hasn't had any problems. He also likes Amazon.com and got his textbooks from there.
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