Sublime
12-02-2004, 10:47 AM
I know this is long but it is something I have been working on for for about a day now. Enjoy and I hope it is helpful!
Purpose: To inform the Focus community on how to effectively buy from E-bay without losing your mind and getting ripped off. Also included will be some of the more common parts purchased from e-bay that often get trashed and don’t work.
Research: I always research any product before going to e-bay to purchase it. In the case of my wife’s CD player for her car, I researched the model number I was interested in. I then searched the internet and made a listing of the various prices and figured in the shipping into the equation. I then went to e-bay and searched and found the model. The result was that I purchased an Alpine CDA-9820XM CD Player which regularly lists for anywhere from $278.00-$429.00 at local and internet stores for $215.00 Shipped. The same research techniques hold true for the reverse. If you find an AEM, or other model intake on e-bay, go and research the prices to make the best decision. If you have not heard of the company or brand name, come here and ask if anyone has had any experience with that brand or company. We are here to help. That is our function.
Buyers and Seller: Obviously as a buyer, you do not want to be known as a dead beat buyer or someone who bids and then does not pay for the item if won. That is why e-bay has the rating system it has. If you have negative feedback, it may adversely affect your ability to purchase items. Many sellers will deny bids or pull the auction if it appears you are a dead beat buyer.
Again the same holds true in the opposite. Before bidding, make sure you look at the seller’s feedback. If they have a good history and seem to be an honest person them logic should tell you that you can rest assured that the transaction will go smoothly. If they have a lot of neutral feedbacks from issues like lengthy shipping or communication problems, you may want to steer clear or at least brace yourself that it may be some time before you receive your item or that there will be poor communication. I only buy from sellers with positive feedback and will look closely at what their previous buyers said about them
Another issue with the feedback section is that it goes both ways. You should leave feedback for them as well as them for you. This ensures that what I stated before holds true. You also need to be honest. If you won an auction and were not overly happy with how the sale went, but the item is correct and undamaged or matched the seller’s description, then leave them a neutral feed back stating that the item was perfect but there were issues with the sale.
But-It-Now: Whenever possible, unless there are special circumstances, I use the Buy-It-Now Feature. This does away with the whole bidding process and is basically a way for you to get a good deal and be done with the purchase immediately. I consider a few issues under the special circumstances column. First is that the item may be used and the owner has an inflated view on what it is worth. In this case, the owner will often set a reserve right below what they have the Buy-It-Now price set at. Then you have to decide whether the auction is worth it. Do you want to bid and not win because the seller has set too high of a reserve? Is the item going to end up costing what it would if it were new and you bought it elsewhere? Second, is if you really feel you can get the item for less. Case in point. I recently ordered a license plate bracket/holder for the front of my wife’s Escape. Ford wanted $30.00 for it at a dealer. The e-bay seller had it advertised for a Buy-It-Now price of $15.00 plus shipping. I bid with a starting bid of $2.00 and ended up winning the auction for $8.00 shipped.
Dutch Auctions: A Dutch Auction is an auction with multiple amounts of a single item but with multiple winners. This is actually a good auction to bid on. If there are ten Intake systems going for $100.00 a piece as the starting bid and you are one of the top ten bidders on the item, you won. It is easy and is usually held by companies or wholesalers.
Payment: This is absolutely the most critical part of your purchase. You should NEVER send cash or a personal check. The best way to pay is via Paypal. Paypal has a protection system where you can get your money back. You need to file a complaint within 30 days of the day of payment if you have not received the item or there are severe communication problems. Paypal will refund you your money and then go after the seller. If the seller does not accept Paypal but will accept a Money Order, there is only one choice for payment. You should only send Postal Money Order which can be purchased at any post office. If the seller happens to cash the money order and does not send the merchandise, it is considered mail fraud and therefore they can be prosecuted for a Federal Crime.
Now for a few of the most common items purchased that usually leave the buyer unhappy:
1. Cheap Cold Air Intakes or Short Ram Intakes sold for well below the price that you should ever consider paying for the equipment. For example, a CAI for $39.95 is not going to be the same as the $250.00 AEM that it is copied from. They are usually made of cheap metal and painted cheaply, The use of cheap materials makes the unit absorb heat rather that reflecting it. They also rarely fit correctly and often come with a cheap imitation of a K&N for a filter.
2. The infamous $19.95 Strut Bar. These are generic bars that almost never line up as they should. They are made of cheap materials that could never stand up to what a real strut bar could. Additionally, they are not designed for our specific vehicles. This means that unlike the Focus Central or Focus Sport Strut Bars, they don’t actually fit around most intakes and under hood equipment. Anyone who has tried to install one with a stock airbox can confirm this.
3. SS Autochrome Headers. They are crap! They rust. They have cheaply made weak welds that often break. They rarely fit correctly without a lot of persuasion. Stay away from them.
4. Most of you have put aftermarket pedals in your car know that the stock accelerator pedal is curved. You have to either buy Focus specific pedals from Gear Concepts or another reputable company, or you have to buy a whole set-up like the SVT pedals. I purchased my fake Gear Concept Pedals from e-bay. I only did so because the seller answered my e-mail asking if they were truly designed for the Focus like they were advertised. He stated that they would fit the curved accelerator and I took the bait. They worked and are still on the car today.
I hope this helps a little with finding quality parts on e-bay. Remember to buy parts from manufacturers that you know and trust and that e-bay does not make parts. Often times I here the remark of, “I bought some e-bay lights.”, or “I bought an e-bay bumper.” This is simply not true. Also remember that some things may have to be persuaded a little to fit your car.
Purpose: To inform the Focus community on how to effectively buy from E-bay without losing your mind and getting ripped off. Also included will be some of the more common parts purchased from e-bay that often get trashed and don’t work.
Research: I always research any product before going to e-bay to purchase it. In the case of my wife’s CD player for her car, I researched the model number I was interested in. I then searched the internet and made a listing of the various prices and figured in the shipping into the equation. I then went to e-bay and searched and found the model. The result was that I purchased an Alpine CDA-9820XM CD Player which regularly lists for anywhere from $278.00-$429.00 at local and internet stores for $215.00 Shipped. The same research techniques hold true for the reverse. If you find an AEM, or other model intake on e-bay, go and research the prices to make the best decision. If you have not heard of the company or brand name, come here and ask if anyone has had any experience with that brand or company. We are here to help. That is our function.
Buyers and Seller: Obviously as a buyer, you do not want to be known as a dead beat buyer or someone who bids and then does not pay for the item if won. That is why e-bay has the rating system it has. If you have negative feedback, it may adversely affect your ability to purchase items. Many sellers will deny bids or pull the auction if it appears you are a dead beat buyer.
Again the same holds true in the opposite. Before bidding, make sure you look at the seller’s feedback. If they have a good history and seem to be an honest person them logic should tell you that you can rest assured that the transaction will go smoothly. If they have a lot of neutral feedbacks from issues like lengthy shipping or communication problems, you may want to steer clear or at least brace yourself that it may be some time before you receive your item or that there will be poor communication. I only buy from sellers with positive feedback and will look closely at what their previous buyers said about them
Another issue with the feedback section is that it goes both ways. You should leave feedback for them as well as them for you. This ensures that what I stated before holds true. You also need to be honest. If you won an auction and were not overly happy with how the sale went, but the item is correct and undamaged or matched the seller’s description, then leave them a neutral feed back stating that the item was perfect but there were issues with the sale.
But-It-Now: Whenever possible, unless there are special circumstances, I use the Buy-It-Now Feature. This does away with the whole bidding process and is basically a way for you to get a good deal and be done with the purchase immediately. I consider a few issues under the special circumstances column. First is that the item may be used and the owner has an inflated view on what it is worth. In this case, the owner will often set a reserve right below what they have the Buy-It-Now price set at. Then you have to decide whether the auction is worth it. Do you want to bid and not win because the seller has set too high of a reserve? Is the item going to end up costing what it would if it were new and you bought it elsewhere? Second, is if you really feel you can get the item for less. Case in point. I recently ordered a license plate bracket/holder for the front of my wife’s Escape. Ford wanted $30.00 for it at a dealer. The e-bay seller had it advertised for a Buy-It-Now price of $15.00 plus shipping. I bid with a starting bid of $2.00 and ended up winning the auction for $8.00 shipped.
Dutch Auctions: A Dutch Auction is an auction with multiple amounts of a single item but with multiple winners. This is actually a good auction to bid on. If there are ten Intake systems going for $100.00 a piece as the starting bid and you are one of the top ten bidders on the item, you won. It is easy and is usually held by companies or wholesalers.
Payment: This is absolutely the most critical part of your purchase. You should NEVER send cash or a personal check. The best way to pay is via Paypal. Paypal has a protection system where you can get your money back. You need to file a complaint within 30 days of the day of payment if you have not received the item or there are severe communication problems. Paypal will refund you your money and then go after the seller. If the seller does not accept Paypal but will accept a Money Order, there is only one choice for payment. You should only send Postal Money Order which can be purchased at any post office. If the seller happens to cash the money order and does not send the merchandise, it is considered mail fraud and therefore they can be prosecuted for a Federal Crime.
Now for a few of the most common items purchased that usually leave the buyer unhappy:
1. Cheap Cold Air Intakes or Short Ram Intakes sold for well below the price that you should ever consider paying for the equipment. For example, a CAI for $39.95 is not going to be the same as the $250.00 AEM that it is copied from. They are usually made of cheap metal and painted cheaply, The use of cheap materials makes the unit absorb heat rather that reflecting it. They also rarely fit correctly and often come with a cheap imitation of a K&N for a filter.
2. The infamous $19.95 Strut Bar. These are generic bars that almost never line up as they should. They are made of cheap materials that could never stand up to what a real strut bar could. Additionally, they are not designed for our specific vehicles. This means that unlike the Focus Central or Focus Sport Strut Bars, they don’t actually fit around most intakes and under hood equipment. Anyone who has tried to install one with a stock airbox can confirm this.
3. SS Autochrome Headers. They are crap! They rust. They have cheaply made weak welds that often break. They rarely fit correctly without a lot of persuasion. Stay away from them.
4. Most of you have put aftermarket pedals in your car know that the stock accelerator pedal is curved. You have to either buy Focus specific pedals from Gear Concepts or another reputable company, or you have to buy a whole set-up like the SVT pedals. I purchased my fake Gear Concept Pedals from e-bay. I only did so because the seller answered my e-mail asking if they were truly designed for the Focus like they were advertised. He stated that they would fit the curved accelerator and I took the bait. They worked and are still on the car today.
I hope this helps a little with finding quality parts on e-bay. Remember to buy parts from manufacturers that you know and trust and that e-bay does not make parts. Often times I here the remark of, “I bought some e-bay lights.”, or “I bought an e-bay bumper.” This is simply not true. Also remember that some things may have to be persuaded a little to fit your car.