Ebay help!

[Darth Legolas]

Okay.... even though I have over 300 posts, I only joined about a month or two ago. So, last week was my first experience ever using ebay. (Wow! Shocker! All I've used is bricklink?) And I ordered Dooku's Solar Sailer from some random guy, and I trust him considering he has over 700+ ratings, but how can I tell if it's shipped or not?

I need to know if there's some way to tell if the item is shipping or not, so I can estimate around when it'll be arriving.

Thanks!

[Erdbeereis]

Well, it depends on the seller. Some send it through a system which sends you a tracking number when it ships, but those are usually just the major sellers.

Otherwise you have to rely on updates from the seller. I'm sure you could send an e-mail asking when it's shipped to your seller.

Hope that helps!

[Algernon]

You can always ask him. If he has %90+ positive approval you can assume he'll ship it at first ability unless otherwise specified. The arrival will depend on what shipping method he uses as well. Parcel post is rather unpredictable but standard shipping shouldn't take too much longer than three days.

[Darth Legolas]

How about UPS ground? Plus, I'm not sure... he gave the day as in "the 15th or 17th (for example,)" but he never really did say January or February. I assume he meant January since it was a couple of weeks ago, and he also has a 99% positive feedback. But still, I don't believe it 'till I see it.

Edited January 25, 2009 by Darth Legolas

[Alice]

It should be there Monday at the latest. I am sure that he will send on January 15-17. A ebay seller would not have a good feedback rating if they waited a month to ship everything. UPS has tracking numbers and I would email him and see if he will check on it or I can get the tracking number to check it. I just got some books from ebay and they took about 7 days to get here through USPS. UPS ground is usually pretty fast with their deliveries but it can take 5-7 days. It depends on where its coming from too. If it is from someone in a different country, it will obviously take longer. Hopefully, you will get it soon.

[Darth Legolas]

It should be there Monday at the latest. I am sure that he will send on January 15-17. A ebay seller would not have a good feedback rating if they waited a month to ship everything. UPS has tracking numbers and I would email him and see if he will check on it or I can get the tracking number to check it. I just got some books from ebay and they took about 7 days to get here through USPS. UPS ground is usually pretty fast with their deliveries but it can take 5-7 days. It depends on where its coming from too. If it is from someone in a different country, it will obviously take longer. Hopefully, you will get it soon.

It wasn't actually on the 15-17, I was just using that as an example...it was actually the 22nd. But that information helps! Thank you!

[Capt. Kirk]

Like Alice said: Hopefully, you will get it soon... but welcome to the world of Ebay and his sellers.

I personally had 3 bad experiences on a row at ebay… so it's bye bye Ebay for me... just Bricklink now.

[puddleglum]

Like Alice said: Hopefully, you will get it soon... but welcome to the world of Ebay and his sellers.

I personally had 3 bad experiences on a row at ebay… so it's bye bye Ebay for me... just Bricklink now.

Yeah, buying any LEGO on eBay other than something advertised as MISB by a seller with highly positive feedback is a gamble. Used LEGO, even when being sold by a reputable seller, is risky because it is likely they will not understand the importance of missing parts or figures, damaged parts, etc. That being said, prices are usually lower on eBay so if you're in the mood to gamble you can land some nice deals.

[CP5670]

I have had roughly equal luck with ebay and BL over the 9 years or so that I've used them, both in terms of part quality as well as service/communication. The vast majority of experiences have been good on both places. I think ebay is usually a better option for sets due to the lower prices, although this is not always the case.

Yeah, buying any LEGO on eBay other than something advertised as MISB by a seller with highly positive feedback is a gamble. Used LEGO, even when being sold by a reputable seller, is risky because it is likely they will not understand the importance of missing parts or figures, damaged parts, etc. That being said, prices are usually lower on eBay so if you're in the mood to gamble you can land some nice deals.

Determining the condition of a used ebay set is almost an art in itself. You have to scrutinize the (often low quality) pictures closely and take numerous factors into account. Apart from the obvious things in the item description and seller feedback, it's important to know what types of pieces (and from which angles) are the most likely to show signs of use in the photos, the amount and distribution of dust, what time period the set is from, the condition of other sets the seller is carrying and so on. I've seen cases where a set is new or essentially new, but it is not described as such and you can only deduce that from the pictures. If a seller is continuously selling a lot of items, you can also buy a small set as a test and then buy a lot more stuff if the condition turns out to be very good.

This is one thing I like better about ebay than BL actually. The auctions usually have photos of the actual item, whereas most BL items do not. Even small pictures can tell you a lot if you know what to look for.

I used to gamble on used sets on both ebay and BL in the past and have gotten some great deals (and a few not-so-good deals). I rarely do it these days though and just go with MISB or display models specifically described as such to save any hassle.