That said, here are some tips on how to better protect yourself when you’re dealing on eBay:

• Remember that you’re dealing with human beings. Be nice, be polite, and, above all, communicate! Send emails confirming receipt of payment or shipment of merchandise. Say “please” and “thank you.” And don’t send short, snippy emails in the heat of the moment. Be tolerant and friendly, and you’ll be a better eBay citizen.

• Realize that, in most cases, you’re dealing with individuals, not businesses. Keep that in mind if things don’t go quite as smoothly as they would if you ordered from Amazon.com or L.L.Bean. Most folks don’t have automated shipping systems installed in their living rooms!

• Know that experienced eBay users take the feedback system very seriouslyif not obsessively. Positive feedback is expected for every successful transaction, and negative feedback should be used in only the most dire of circumstances. When in doubt, just don’t leave any feedback at all.

• If you have questions about an item for sale, or about any part of the transaction, ask! Email the seller if you’re not sure about payment or shipping terms. Good communication eliminates surprises and misinterpretations; don’t assume anything.

• When the item you purchased arrives, inspect it thoroughly and confirm that it’s as described. If you feel you were misled, contact the seller immediately, explain the situation, and see what you can work out. (You’d be surprised how many sellers will go out of their way to make their customers happy.)

• If the merchandise doesn’t arrive in a timely fashion, contact the seller immediately. If the item appears to be lost in transit, track down the letter/package via the shipping service. If the item never arrives, it’s the seller’s responsibility to file an insurance claim with the carrier (if the item was insured), and you should receive a refund from the seller.

The post How to Protect Yourself on eBay? first appeared on Tips For eBay Sellers & Buyers.

You should always check a seller’s Feedback rating before you bid. If it’s overwhelmingly positive, you can feel safer than if the seller has a lot of negative feedback. For even better protection, click the seller’s name in the item listing to view his Member Profile, where you can read individual feedback comments. Be smart and avoid those sellers who have a history of delivering less than what was promised.

When you’re bidding for and buying items on eBay, you’re pretty much in “buyer beware” territory. You agree to buy an item, almost sight unseen, from someone whom you know practically nothing about. You send that person a check and hope and pray that you get something shipped back in returnand that the thing that’s shipped is the thing you thought you were buying, in good condition. If you don’t like what you gotor if you received nothing at allthe seller has your money. And what recourse do you have?

Remember, when you buy something through an eBay auction, when it comes down to making the financial transaction, you’re dealing with an individualnot eBay. And as you’ll soon learn, every person you deal with behaves differently and expects different behavior of you. In the course of your eBay dealings, it’s not unlikely that you might run into a shady seller who never sends you the item you purchasedor tries to pass off a lower-quality item for what was described in the item listing. What can you do to protect yourself against other users who aren’t as honest as you are?

Fortunately, you can do several things to protect yourself on eBayand, in general, shopping at eBay is no more dangerous than shopping at a local garage sale. This chapter details some of the standard guidelines and procedures you can follow to ensure that your eBay buying and selling experience is not only successful, but profitable and enjoyable as well.

eBay regards its Feedback system as the best protection against fraudulent transactions. I certainly recommend that, whether a transaction went swell or went south, you leave feedback about your partner in every transaction. I know that I check the feedback rating of every seller I choose to deal with; it really is a good way to judge the quality of the other party in your eBay transactions.

The post Protecting Against Fraudulent eBay Sellers first appeared on Tips For eBay Sellers & Buyers.

Phishing emails come in all shapes and sizes, many of which look extremely official. If you receive one of these phony emails, you can report it to spoof@ebay.com

If you receive this type of email, for either your eBay or PayPal account, you can be sure it’s a scamin particular, a “phishing” scam. If you click the link in the email (which looks like a real, honest-to-goodness eBay URL), you won’t be taken to eBay. Instead, that fake URL will take you to another site, run by the scammer, which will be tricked up to look like the eBay site. If you enter your personal information, as requested, you’re actually delivering it to the scammer, and you’re now a victim of identity theft. The scammer can use the information you provided to hack into your eBay account, make unauthorized charges on your credit card, and maybe even drain your banking account.

It goes without saying that you should never respond to this type of email, no matter how official-looking it appears. If you want to make changes to your eBay or PayPal account, never do so from an email link. Instead, use your web browser to go directly to the official site, and make your changes there. No one from eBay or PayPal will ever ask you for this information via email. Be warned!

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