I mainly sell, but over a period of 5 years, I have had 4 items that never arrived. Sure you can dipute it through Paypal or Ebay, but even if they do decide the dipute in your favour, the waiting time to get your money back is close on 2 months.

I currently have a dispute right now with someone. I bought a Nintendo game boy and games package. I paid $90 for all of it. It arrived with acid leaking from the battery compartment, and the terminals are completely corroded.

You only have to read the forum boards on Ebay to see how rampant rip offs are on there.

If you are dead set you want to buy on Ebay. There are a few things you can do to protect yourself as a buyer.

(1) Pay using Paypal. That way, if your item does not arrive, you can dispute and get your money back. If you pay with direct debit (from your account), and something goes wrong, you can kiss your money good bye.

(2) Check the sellers feedback, not just the percentage, but you can also check there negative comments from other buyers now. Also check the star ratings in the top right corner of their feedback page. This will show you if they are slow on posting, whether they are fair with their post prices, if they are good with communicating with their buyers etc.

(3) Ask as many questions about the item as you can before bidding. That way you wont get caught out later with things the seller just “happened” to forget mentioning.

There are risks with any online shopping. If you do your homework, and check all of these things, you are still not 100% safe, but it will greatly reduce the chances of you being ripped off by far.

You pick the location you are in or near and they list things that are sale or for free.
I’ve seen a lot of cameras for sale around my area, and the best thing is that if you’re interested in something ..it’s near you, so you can go check it out before you buy. :)

I’ve bought from Ebay a lot too.. but with stuff such as cameras, I wouldn’t trust it.
Who knows if there is something wrong inside the camera? The outside could still look perfectly fine.[/quote]

truth.

you never can tell.

i bought my Nikon and my Canon both on ebay. the lens on the canon was sticky - it didn’t turn properly. i had my own lens, so it didn’t matter. and there is nothing wrong with that old lens, it just takes a bit more of an effort to zoom in - which is nothing to worry about really. it gives it personality! lol

email the seller and ask them why they are selling it.
and then its just about making the leap or not.

I’ve bought from Ebay a lot too.. but with stuff such as cameras, I wouldn’t trust it.
Who knows if there is something wrong inside the camera? The outside could still look perfectly fine.

never had a problem

go for it and have fun underwater!