Buying things from online auctions

Hi - This is a question for those of you who have shopped on eBay before.. Can you usually trust the dealers on eBay? I mean, will I risk paying money for an item I will never get? I'm looking to buy a particular pair of sunglasses for a friend of mine.

Feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

check the sellers feedback ratng. if its mostly positive. chances are everything is legit.

pretty much 90% of everything on ebay is counterfit though. so know how to tell the difference well before buying

I don't think that is true, unless it is new gear then it might be counterfeit.

I've bought and sold nearly 1000 items on ebay and I don't think couterfit items represent anywhere near 90% of items. If something is too good a deal to be true - be wary. By that I mean, if the latest style of an item, especially by a big name such as Patagonia or North Face, is being sold new with tags and at a really low price there is something wrong. You may be able to find last year's models on closeout, but you generally won't find the latest. I mostly buy/sell vintage gear and clothing so couterfit items are not an issue. I've had less than a handful of bad experiences with sellers and customers, but generally the experience has been very positive.

I buy/sell on e-bay all the time. I trust the feedback system 100%. If your concern is about shipping then just check that feedback. Sunglasses are often counterfit everywhere so it seems likely that e-bay would also have some counterfit shades. Use pay-pal, ask questions before bidding. You can tell a-lot from the answer to a question, if the seller dose not reply quickly they probably don't care to much about your buissness and you should run. Good luck!

See if the seller has taken all necessary photos of the items to prove they are authentic, such as with some outerwear jackets there are season tags which are printed in a certain font, and size tags which if you know your stuff will tell you immediately whether something is real or fake. Always do your research before bidding, and if you are looking to buy new items it never hurts to go into a retail store and carefully examine the item that you have in mind to purchase.