Ebay – Worth giving a try

Recently I bought series of products from Ebay and thought of sharing my experience on same….It was chain of event becoz every time i placed an order i thought that if this product (I am ordering) will be of good quality then I will place next order and so on…

I purchased Home Theatre, Cordless Phone, Multi Meter, BP Monitor etc etc…Let me list down the advantages of placing order with ebay

1. Largest Online Market Place in India becoz of its inherit model of bringing buyer and seller on same platform
2. Buyer Protection is top most priority….Payments are routed through Paise Pay which refund the money in case of non delivery from Seller..Till buyer receives the product, the amount is not paid to the seller.
3. Seller Ratings based on their past record e.g. Power Seller  rating so that Buyers can make informed choice
4. Competitive rates becoz of High Competition…Its an open market place
5. Robust feedback mechanism: If u observe all the genuine sellers request buyers to contact them for complaint resolution before posting negative feedback…One of my friend got some faulty instrument from ebay and to his surprise seller refunded back the amount within 3 days

Ebay has tried to plug all the loopholes of online shopping and have ensured that only genuine and serious sellers can survive in long run…Few negative feedbacks about seller can destroy seller’s reputation thus his business will suffer. Sellers are always on toes to provide best of quality and service.

Even if u r not planning to buy from Ebay, Still you can take advantage of Ebay’s Market Place by checking the price of product (u r planning to buy)….Recent e.g. is of my parents, who were planning to buy LG 32 inch LCD TV….I checked the rates on Ebay, the lowest rate quoted was 28k whereas most of the showrooms were quoting rate of 32k… Since cost of operation through Ebay is lowest so you can trust that u will not get same product @ lower price than Ebay rate….Also at the same time showrooms will not sell at Ebay price becoz of cost of operations but by knowing lowest price, u can bargain better….So equipped with this information, my parents were able to bring down the rate from 32k to 29k so Thanks to Ebay !!!

Now just to share some disadvantages of Ebay

1. Many Seller are selling products without Bill/Invoice becoz of which they can sell at much lower rates though most of them mention it indirectly that product is under dealer’s warranty which implies that  product is being sold without paying taxes like VAT etc  and Manufacturer will not cover the product for warranty…many buyers are OK with this provided u r staying in same city
2. If u have not seen the product before purchase then it’s a blind purchase, I mean customer cannot get demo or can touch & feel the product before purchase…Indian customer’s would like to touch & feel the product before purchase…This limitation is not specific to Ebay but with Ecommerce industry as a whole..In case of consumer electronics, customer can touch & feel the product by visiting nearest showroom and then can place the order through Ebay
3. If u buy product from showroom then showroom can help in After Sales Service and Support but if u buy from Ebay then u might need to run around yourself for Service and Support

It is advisable to buy from Ebay

(a)    If u r getting cool discounts compared to next door showroom

(b)   There are certain products which are very difficult to find in our neighborhood like Cordless phones (Almost Extinct now), Electrical items etc. Also Geography dependent items, Fashion Accessories, Latest Fashion Clothes etc which might not be available in ur city

(c)    You don’t have time for shopping :)

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