Check Seller Feedback. Always check seller feedback before buying. This is not just to verify the genuineness of the product, but also to ensure that the seller delivers fast and his/her reputation for sending the product in good condition. If buying from a foreign seller then check the seller rating. Sellers marked ‘Power Sellers’ should always be preferred!Power sellers are those with a positive feedback of 98% and above.
Always have a good look at the picture of the product.- Never buy a product if the picture hasn’t been included. This could mean that the product is either fake or the seller is attempting to con someone and doesn’t actually have the product.
Avoid expensive buys until you’re accustomed to online shopping - If you are buying for the first time, don’t buy products which are too expensive. Try purchasing a cheaper product. Once you have gone through the entire process of buying and have received the goods, you’ll get a good idea of how this works.
Don’t limit yourself to local sellers. Check out foreign sellers products as well through Global Easy Buy. A lot of the time you’ll find a cheaper deal there than on the India site.
Products are not necessarily overpriced. Products on GEB have shipping included in their price, so don’t write it off thinking that the product is overpriced. Do remember that even if you purchase it off another site, there are heavy shipping charges levied.
Contact Customer Care incase of any problems. Incase of any mistake during billing like double payment made or incomplete transaction, contact the customer care asap. The ebay customer care service is really prompt and courteous and will 100% help you out. Call them or chat with them through the chat feature on the site instead of mailing them. This will hasten the process.
Beware of used products being sold as new. If the pictures of the products include a picture of the swatch on the hand then there’s a good chance that the product has been opened and used. Hence, mail the seller and check this out since it’s also a possibility that the seller may have the same shade and just swatched the same for the prospective buyers benefit.
Cheap products don’t always mean fake products. At times the price of a high end product seems ridiculously cheap. Don’t discredit this right away. Check with the seller as to why this is so since a lot of the time some products get dented or the outer covering is damaged due to which they cannot sell it at the stores. So don’t miss the chance to buy a gr8 product for less.
Check Logo and Location of make. Incase of purchasing higher end products always check 2 things: the logo and the location where made. For Eg, MAC logos can be faked. Hence enlarge the picture and compare the logo with a genuine product you may already have with you. The location check is equally important since China-made fake products can be sold off whose logos look perfect.
I once bought a MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack which even had the MAC logo printed correctly. I didn’t realise I’d bought a fake. What I received was a gel line in an tub similar to ELF ones (the square dibbi) with a brush. It was later that I realised MAC Fluidlines came in round tubs and never came with a brush. When I confronted the seller I was told this was the ‘Indian MAC’…Hehe…funny right? Whats the deal with Indian MAC and Foreign MAC???
Check seller details while buying expensive products. When buying expensive products like electronics, always verify the sellers contact details and speak to them first. You can get the seller’s details on this link: http://search.ebay.com/
Never buy pigments online even if they are being sold at the price you think is high and genuine. They are 80% fake and there have been cases where buyers have received an old MAC pigment bottle filled with colored Rangoli.
Original selling price doesn’t indicate genuineness of product. Understand that just if a high end product is sold at a higher price or a seemingly genuine price, this doesn’t mean that they are genuine. MAC, YSL, Gucci are brands which have very convincing fakes which are sold at the genuine rates. So always do a comparative research. If a brand new YSL lippy is actually 1800 INR and is being sold at 700 bucks, its definitely fake.
Avoid buying expensive jewellery online. It’s never safe since sellers can also withdraw their name after selling and you may end up without much of an option to track them.
Always check the size and quantity of the product. A lot of people sell sample sizes which they have received free of cost at a high price. So this basically means that you’re buying freebies which you can get yourself. For Eg, many sellers have been selling the make up boxes, hampers and pouches received free from Revlon or Maybelline.
There was this one instance when I purchased a set of 6-7 glosses from Smashbox. By looking at the picture, I though the glosses would be short but chubby bottles with considerable quantity. But when I received them I realized that they were part of a sample collection and the tube was so tiny that the entire thing measured from the tip of my little finger to the middle knuckle
Avoid purchasing fragile items like perfumes or large electronic items. If you have to then remember 2 things:
Always check with the seller regarding which courier service they would be using. Local services treat packages very badly whereas reputed ones like Bluedart can be trusted.
Its preferable to buy such items from a seller in your your own city or a near-by city.
Check the Expiry date of products. This is important when buying cosmetics and skincare products to avoid risk of allergies or any other reactions. Always check with the seller regarding the expiry date. If the item is a new release then you need not do so, but in cases when the product picture looks a bit old or the you suspect the product is an old outdated piece, do check this.
Ebay regularly has free shipping offers. So always be on the look out for this since this offer lasts about just 3-4 days. So remember that patience does pay. If you like an item which is plentiful in stock, then transfer it to your watchlist or saved searched and purchase them when this free shipping offer comes up.
Leave feedback for items bought. This will help another buyer in the future and is a good practice to follow.
Always remember that sellers are also human and at times mistakes do happen. Cases of delayed delivery may be because of some genuine reasons so in cases of delay always check with the seller. Only in cases of no response, go ahead and lodge a complaint with customer care.
.Buyer Rights. This is specially for those who are skeptical about shopping on Ebay. Keep in mind that Ebay has buyer rights. The fundamental right is to receive your goods’ if you don’t receive them due to any reason like seller frauds, loss in transit, you are liable to get a refund or a replacement. So, feel secure in your right to buy.
Ebay is one of the most reputed online shopping portals. And the safest. I find it so because its only here that the buyer has to confirm once the products is received and here, the feedback is taken seriously and affects the feedback of the sellers. Additionally, I haven’t seen any other customer Care responding as quickly as that on Ebay.
