Buying using Online eBay Services (2024)

FAQs

Is buying a car through eBay services legit? ›

This is a common scam, and you are dealing with a criminal who is trying to steal your money. If the item isn't listed on eBay and if you don't purchase it through the eBay listing, the transaction has nothing to do with eBay.

Vehicle Purchase Protection is a program offered exclusively by eBay Motors, designed to protect you against fraud, vehicle title issues, and undisclosed defects for up to $100,000.

How eBay works. On eBay, sellers create listings for their items which include the item description, photos, and payment and shipping options. Some listings are auctions where the highest bidder wins the item, while many sellers offer a Buy it now option so you can buy and pay for the item immediately.

Check the fine print of any listing that you want to bid on, and be sure you understand the seller's return policy along with whether the item is covered by eBay's money back guarantee. Research the seller's history and inventory for signs that they could be a scammer.

When you buy a vehicle through a fixed price listing, by winning an auction, or when a seller accepts your offer, you'll be redirected to Escrow.com from the eBay checkout. Create your Escrow.com account and deposit the funds to pay for your vehicle. Once you start the transaction, the seller is notified.

Arrange for shipping: Does eBay deliver cars? Simply put, no. Since eBay Motors delivery is not an option, you'll have to arrange to ship it yourself. You can contact a car shipping company or arrange private transport.

You can pay for a car on eBay with a credit card, PayPal, an escrow service, bank transfer, or cashier's check.

Is eBay Motors reliable? Short answer; yes, it definitely is. That said, however, there are occasional cases where buyers may not be completely satisfied with their purchase, or there may be instances of fraud, common scams, or other issues.

You'll have 5 days to test/drive the car. eBay will hold the funds until you receive the car with all the papers. Only after you confirm that you wanna keep it will release me the funds.

What are the key features of eBay's service? ›

Features of Ebay

These include product reviews, user ratings, detailed search parameters, customizable filters, and more. The platform also provides payment processing services through its own payment system, PayPal.

For orders $10.00 or less the per order fee is $0.30, for orders over $10.00 the per order fee is $0.40. The total amount of the sale includes the item price, any handling charges, any shipping costs collected from the buyer (some exceptions apply), sales tax, and any other applicable fees.

You're eligible for the eBay Money Back Guarantee when you contact the seller within 30 days of actual or estimated delivery date of the item. What happens when I ask eBay to step in? If you haven't received an item, we usually refund your money immediately via PayPal.

Heavily discounted or sold-out items: Be wary if a seller has lots of high-value items at suspiciously low prices, or a stock of hard-to-find goods that are sold out everywhere else. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

You review a seller's feedback profile for the comments left by previous buyers. If they are good, you choose that seller. If there are negative reviews or no reviews, you choose another seller. You purchase only through a listing on eBay and do not purchase off eBay.

Avoid Transaction Fraud

For used cars, ask for a vehicle identification number and purchase the CARFAX® Vehicle History Report to see if it's been stolen or damaged. Not every car makes it into the CARFAX database, so it's best to have a trusted ASE certified mechanic check out the vehicle completely before you buy.

Also, dealers (large and small) list their inventory on eBay for two reasons, first is obviously to sell it, second is to generate leads. Each motors listing generate a few leads for a dealer that they may later convert to customers.