Safe Ebay Clothing Shopping

As a seller I dislike Paypal; it is costly and time consuming and offers far more benefits to buyers than sellers. Which is why as a buyer I refuse to pay any other way.

Paypal is a method of payment owned by Ebay but recognised internationally that allows you to quickly and easily pay the seller. You can use credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers and even your own paypal balance to pay your seller without them ever seeing your financial details which massively reduces the likelihood of fraud. As a buyer you don't need a paypal account to pay by credit card.

One of the great features of paypal as a buyer is Buyer protection. This means simply that if your item does not arrive, is damaged or not as described you are able to register a claim with Paypal. They investigate and will ask the seller for proof of delivery or proof that the item was as described.

The great thing about this is that if you make a designer purchase, or indeed any purchase and the item significantly differs from the description, you can log a complaint with Paypal and ask for your money back. This effectively takes away most of the risk of buying things on eBay and is perfect for buying ebay clothing.

Keep Reading to find out how else to keep safe on ebay and the traps to avoid...

If you are considering buying an item on ebay the first thing to do is to check the seller feedback. This quickly tells you the number of transactions that the seller has been involved in and how their customers have rated their conduct in these transactions.

If a seller has very little feedback it is up to your own discretion to decide whether you are happy to trade with them. Please do remember though that everyone must start somewhere. Of course, your transaction will be safer if you use paypal.

If a seller has a lot of feedback look at the ratings that buyers have given them to get a sense of how they behave and whether the items that they sell match up with their descriptions. Don't be put off if a seller has one or two negative feedbacks. For somebody with a large number of transactions this is inevitable. There are sometimes buyers who aren't great, not just sellers!

As a rule a feedback score of 98% positive plus should make you reasonably comfortable, over 99% should make you completely comfortable. If it is lower than these levels you should read what people have had to say. Sometimes lower feedback is not the fault of the seller, but of buyers who have not read the auction terms such as delivery times correctly.

Once you have happily completed your transaction remember to give your seller positive feedback. It helps them and it helps future buyers too...

Next: Traps To Avoid!

The first thing you need to know when purchasing something on ebay is who made it, by which I mean which store or designer the item that you are buying came from. Whilst determining authenticity isn't vital to everyone for some people it's really important.

The first thing to look for is something saying "Guaranteed 100% authentic" or similar. This gives you a cast iron comeback with paypal if there is a problem. If you are interested in something and it says it is from a particular designer but doesn't mention authenticity you should use the "contact buyer" button to verify with them that the item is authentic. If they don't reply, don't buy.

Sometimes an item isn't designer but you still want it to have come from the shop that it says it has. Watch out for words such as "gap style" or "like Gap". If there isn't a photo of the label, email the seller and ask. It never hurts to overcheck.

If the pictures are blurry or unclear, or even if you just can't see enough to judge authenticity use to contact buyer button to request more pictures. Lots of sellers offer only one picture not because there is anything wrong with the item, but because it costs extra for every picture they use in their listing. They will probably be happy to email you any extra pictures that you want.

So, you've just found the most beautiful vintage dress which you purchased on ebay for a steal. You live, sleep and dream the dress until it arrives. and then... it doesn't fit.

The thing to remember with buying clothes on ebay is that sizing varies dramatically between stores and designers. If you purchase something that is a size 6, because that is ordinarily your size, and it doesn't fit you will not be able to get a paypal refund. In this case it is not the buyers fault.

The way around this is to take a similar piece of clothing that you already own. Carefully measure any parts that are important to you. Compare them to the measurements listed by the ebay seller. If there are no measurements listed contact the seller and ask for the specific measurements that you want. Remember: no reply? Don't buy.

On ebay there are several different descriptions of newness. The first of these, new with tags, is the easiest. This means that the item that you receive should be box fresh as it came from the store, with all tags attached. You might just want to check whether it was a second or in the sale, but other than that New With Tags means just that.

Then, comes the whole other grey world. The phrase "New without Tags" seems to be particularly problematic. I have received things described in this way that are literally new, but which have lost their tags. Sadly, I have also received LOTS of things which have obviously been worn but are still in pretty good condition. This isn't what I mean by new, but apparently for some sellers it is.

If newness is important to you, use the contact buyer button to clarify exactly what they mean by new without tags, or whatever other description they have used. You might be surprised how many different responses you get. I have had some very odd ones including a skirt described as new without tags which the seller told me had been worn a lot, but not in the last two years, so it was "back like new"!

As with all of these other traps please feel free to ask the seller the question. If they don't reply don't buy.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Some buyers offer a low price for the item but a very high postage price. This is strictly against ebay rules and is a way of sellers avoiding ebay fees, but it does sometimes still slip through the net, so always check the postage cost is reasonable when thinking of buying.

Another thing that buyers should be aware of is that sellers that state "I am not responsible for any items lost in the postal system" are not actually being truthful. I have had more than one seller who did not offer postal insurance tell me this. The truth is, that if you pay with paypal you will get refunded if the item does not arrive. The seller will have to prove that you did receive the item, something they can do if they use the right form of postage

Don't let all of these traps put you off. In my experience the overwhelming majority of ebay sellers are wonderful, friendly people who go out of their way to make sure that you are a happy customer. Far, far more so than many shops in fact!

Because of the ebay feedback system sellers are held accountable for every sale they make in a way that traditional shops aren't. This helps to ensure that the vast majority of ebay sellers offer honest, reliable service for fantastic items at cheap prices.

Next: Ebay acronyms..

If you can't read the auction you can't buy wisely, right? Sometimes the world of ebay can seem a little like an exclusive club with lots of crazy, hard to figure out acronyms. Don't panic! The following are the most useful acronyms for ebay clothing auctions...If you know any others please use the comment form at the bottom of the page and I'll add them!


B&W: Black and white

BIN: Buy it now

EUC: Excellent used condition

FC: Fine condition

GU: gently used (item that has been used but shows little wear, accompanied by explanation of wear)

HTF: Hard to find

MNT: Mint or perfect condition (not necessarily new)

MIB: Mint in box

MIP: Mint in package

MNB: Mint No Box

MWT: Mint with tags

NBW : Never been worn

NIB: New in box

NR: No reserve

NWT: New with tags

NWOT: New without Tags

S/O: Sold out.

The most important thing to remember is that buying clothing on ebay is meant to be fun!

So start small, follow the guidelines I have shown you on this page and find yourself a gorgeous new wardrobe! Who knows, you may even want to become an ebay seller yourself!