In this day and age virtually everyone seems to shop online; it is as common as drinking a cup of coffee it seems. Ecommerce truly has come a long way over the years, and it is only getting more secure as time goes on. However, I still hear a good deal of stories about people getting ripped off when buying electronics online, especially on eBay.
Basically you are pretty safe purchasing electronics from most of the big online retail stores (walmart.com, bestbuy.com, staples.com, and so on). However, it is places like craiglist.org and eBay that you have to be a bit more cautious about, at least when purchasing electronics. But know this: these are probably the 2 cheapest places you will ever find on the internet for the most part.
Most people do not bother with craigslist, or even know what it is, so we will just go over eBay in this article (and besides, craigslist does not generally sell many electronics). So anyways, as far as eBay goes, the first thing you will want to look at, is the feedback score of the person you wish to buy from. This is just a simple number listed at the top right section of the auction/product page; you will want that number to be at least 98.8% or higher, otherwise they may not be trustworthy to buy from.
Next, be sure to read the return policy for the product that you are interested in. This is especially important when buying electronics. For example, many of the electric airsoft rifles that are manufactured in China, have an extremely high defect rate. Again, it is very critical that you read the return policy completely, and be sure to do this BEFORE you make the purchase!
One more thing worth mentioning, is that you really need to read the whole auction/product description when shopping on eBay (or on any similar website). This is because is it fairly common on eBay to list an item (especially electronics), but leave out important details in the title, such as flaws, missing pieces, or generally defects etc. This is why you need to thoroughly read the description; people like to try and hide things in the fine print of the details sometimes, so watch out. So basically just use common sense, and have a sharp eye, and you should be very safe buying electronics on eBay (or on the internet in generally, for that matter). - 31403
Basically you are pretty safe purchasing electronics from most of the big online retail stores (walmart.com, bestbuy.com, staples.com, and so on). However, it is places like craiglist.org and eBay that you have to be a bit more cautious about, at least when purchasing electronics. But know this: these are probably the 2 cheapest places you will ever find on the internet for the most part.
Most people do not bother with craigslist, or even know what it is, so we will just go over eBay in this article (and besides, craigslist does not generally sell many electronics). So anyways, as far as eBay goes, the first thing you will want to look at, is the feedback score of the person you wish to buy from. This is just a simple number listed at the top right section of the auction/product page; you will want that number to be at least 98.8% or higher, otherwise they may not be trustworthy to buy from.
Next, be sure to read the return policy for the product that you are interested in. This is especially important when buying electronics. For example, many of the electric airsoft rifles that are manufactured in China, have an extremely high defect rate. Again, it is very critical that you read the return policy completely, and be sure to do this BEFORE you make the purchase!
One more thing worth mentioning, is that you really need to read the whole auction/product description when shopping on eBay (or on any similar website). This is because is it fairly common on eBay to list an item (especially electronics), but leave out important details in the title, such as flaws, missing pieces, or generally defects etc. This is why you need to thoroughly read the description; people like to try and hide things in the fine print of the details sometimes, so watch out. So basically just use common sense, and have a sharp eye, and you should be very safe buying electronics on eBay (or on the internet in generally, for that matter). - 31403
About the Author:
This article was written by online shopping veteran, William Elmiric, who has been securely shopping on the internet for well over a decade now. When it comes to buying electronics from eBay, follow his advice, and you are sure to be safe 99% of the time or more. Just follow his sound advice given in the examples above and you will be safe.
