Is eBay trustworthy?
Economics forum
Posted on Oct. 27, 2019, 11:01 a.m. by zaneanderman
I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I don't see any other forum that it would fit in, so here it is:
I was thinking of buying a booster box on ebay, but I was worried I might get a repack. Is there any way to tell if the seller is trustworthy?
zaneanderman says... #3
Sure, but people don't necessarily know if they're being sold a repack
October 27, 2019 11:50 a.m.
It really depends what you buy, if you buy newer packs its highly unlikely no one would repack them but but older rare packs are very risky bet. Finding seller with lot of good feedback is often very safe way to buy
October 27, 2019 12:35 p.m. Edited.
ShutUpMokuba says... #5
If you get it from some guy called Rudy from Alpha Investments you have 100% chance you are gonna get repacks.
Jokes aside, buy it from high positive feedback and read the comment regarding the non-positives ones (sometimes the negatives/neutral feedback are given not because of quality issues but stupid problems like delayed shipping by a couple of days and so on). It's important that the seller has already sold a lot of products. A 97% on 1000 transitions is often better than a 99% on 100. Last thing is to be carefull with super cheat prices. A 150$ box can be found at 120$ but not a 100$. That's all i can advice you about ebay.
October 27, 2019 2:12 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #6
I second the advice about Rudy. Avoid that scumbag at all costs.
October 27, 2019 2:41 p.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #7
ToolmasterOfBrainerd never trust anyone who doesn't wear any pants at work..
Jokes aside he is one of the most reliable.
October 27, 2019 2:45 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd says... #8
Maybe he's good to buy cards from, but he deliberately mis-represents information in order to make youtube videos. He fearmongers. I will never go anywhere near him since he's basically a snake oil dealer. He doesn't care about other players, only his own personal profit. I would be wary at best about what I'm getting if I dealed with him.
EDIT: you definitely won't get a fake card or a repack from him. But I highly doubt you'll get a fair deal.
October 27, 2019 2:53 p.m. Edited.
ShutUpMokuba says... #9
ToolmasterOfBrainerd Honestly i think that Rudy doesn't have to be taken seriously. He's funny and entertaining when he unpack boxes. It's also interesting to know the position of big sellers about the market. However in the end of the day he doesn't speak for the people like me that has to think twice before buying a 50$ card. I watch his videos but when he goes too deep in the "philosophy" of the market i stop the video because for me mtg is an hobby and for him it's a source of profit. Of course, talking about YT channels, i like more the Prof who doesn't fear to say that some product is not Worth buying.
About your "Edit part" i totally agree. That was what i meant by reliable. But about single cards or collections i'm afraid you won't ever find a LGS or store like his that can get you a fair deal. They really have to pay your stuff 40% (at best) their actual value.
October 27, 2019 3:10 p.m.
ToolmasterOfBrainerd if you take his vids at 100% face value you shouldn't. And the guys a business man hes no more shady then the guys that run chanel fireball or starcity games. He emphasizes hes an entertainment chanel. And if you want to buy anything 90% of the time tcgplayer will give you the best price
October 27, 2019 3:12 p.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #11
To be totally honest i like less channels that have to push some products or they review it being super biased because of the sponsor or fearing to lose some privilegies. And i don't like channels, supposedly for non competitive players, that only do deck techs around 800$ for a commander deck. I mean sure go ahead with the good stuff but now and then you can make a 200$ "budget" deck tech. Or channels that say explicitly that "it's really hard to find budget alternatives".The reason i say this is that new players get the idea that Commander (in this case) can be played only by investing 700-800$ otherwise the deck they'll build will suck big time. And that you can't play without a Damnation or a Cyclonic Rift or worse without super expensive cards like Teferi's Protection that are great but never essential.
October 27, 2019 3:34 p.m.
TypicalTimmy that's the nature of selling stuff but OP is looking to buy stuff. Situations are night and day. And from what I understand if your selling stuff off e bay you should expect 10%-15% of the people that buy from you will make stuff up and try to scam you
October 27, 2019 6:08 p.m.
zaneanderman says... #13
TypicalTimmy that sort of thing seems like it could be avoided by looking a reviews for the buyer or seller.
October 27, 2019 6:11 p.m.
zaneanderman says... #14
TypicalTimmy that sort of thing seems like it could be avoided by looking at reviews for the buyer or seller.
October 27, 2019 6:12 p.m.
I have nearly 1,000 transactions on eBay since April of 2000 - both buying and selling - and in all that time I've had less than 10 bad experiences, and all but one of those were resolved by eBay. That said, I do my homework, look for very clear and detailed descriptions and photos, ask questions of the seller when needed and search for very specific items that I'm looking for rather than just scrolling through the masses of listings. Do these things and look closely at feedback ratings and recent activity from sellers and you'll avoid the headaches 99% of the time.
October 27, 2019 8:44 p.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #16
There are LGS that repack booster box themselfs.. Just saying that not just buying on the internet is risky.. And i'm the kind of person that would rather pay a little more and avoiding buying on the internet.. If you look carefully to what i and Azdranax said you will have enough info to buy avoiding scams.. also eBay has a system that allows you to get refunded just in case.. TypicalTimmy i'm sorry for what happened to your brother.. These kind of things happen because there are a lot of idiots out there.. That said i had no problems on eBay with all the stuff i purchased.. I just picked carefully the seller and the item. I won't stress enough that you can't find a 10$ Bitterblossom unless is in poor conditions or such things.. People is not stupid if you thing you can pay stuff 50% or less their value you are in for some big risk of getting scammed
October 28, 2019 2:30 a.m.
Rudy is definitely safe to buy from, dont listen to these cats. The guy succeeded in making a name for himself in a capitalist society, what a scum bag lol.
October 28, 2019 12:30 p.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #18
8vomit No one here said he's not safe buying from. I was joking about the repacks. The only thing we said is that you probably wouldn't get a fair deal if you sold him something.
October 28, 2019 4:18 p.m.
fadelightningmm says... #19
Rudy sucks to buy from. He shipped me the wrong card once I contacted him, and never heard anything back from him. At least eBay refunded me.
I have only had one issue with buying cards on eBay other than with Rudy. I bought a foil top once that got “lost in the mail”. Turns out that seller never sent it. eBay is pretty good at taking care of buyers. I have bought plenty of boxes online through eBay and had no issues. I bought some battlebond boxes when that came out and the seller sent me dominaria buy a box promos with it. Great way to potentially get a little extra bang for your buck
October 29, 2019 1:26 a.m.
BlackSirius says... #20
I heard alot of proxies being sold as legit cards were going around ebay, so I'll never take the chance. I buy all my cards from coolstuffinc.com and amazon, but only if I can't do it at a LGS. Coolstuffinc.com also buys singles so that might be worth checking out. Ive been buying from them for almost 10 years now. They have a reward system so the more you buy from them the higher your rank will go. I buy D&D, booster boxes, and singles from all types of games from coolstuffinc.com. If you live in Florida you can participate in their prerelease events and get cool swag and set collectibles
October 29, 2019 1:56 a.m.
Blacksirus you do know Amazon is a lot like e bay. For the most part it's just private sellers
October 29, 2019 3 a.m.
BlackSirius says... #22
shadow63 haha yes I know that it can be, but if it doesn't come from the warehouse I don't buy it. I have a tough time depending on individual sellers. Which is why I buy mostly form LGS or coolstuffinc.com
October 29, 2019 4:41 a.m.
ShutUpMokuba says... #23
The problem is that LGS are often not competitive in terms of prices.. I'm totally aware that if they close paper magic is gonna almost disappear.. But for example for a card worth 10$ (price by big sellers online) they ask 15$. And it's not that if i buy 70$ cards they'll make some discount then to get close to the prices found on online. When i asked about this at my LGS they simply said "the cards here are not going to be sold at a different price you already see". Result is that almost no one buys cards there. And they are not alone. Other LGS nearby i live they rather keep the cards there forever rather than getting close as much as they can to the prices found online. They don't get that if i come here for a couple of cards today i may come back for a tournament, a pre release event or anything that brings more money.
Long story short: in my opinion, at least where i live, you can't help buying cards online. At least if you don't buy >100$ cards.
October 29, 2019 5:34 a.m.
ShutUpMokuba from my experience if you shop at an lgs a few times and they start to recognize you they'll cut you slight deals on stuff. Still not the same as tcg player pricing but usually close depending on what your buying. If its the first time you walk in the door they usually wont give you a break
October 29, 2019 1:23 p.m.
CamNhungDinh says... #25
I think you should consider thoroughly before buy anything from eBay. You could check sellers based on their trust points & the number of people that has already bought the items and leaving the comment. Plus, you could read reviews on forums & social networks. https://couponforless.com/store/ebay.com
September 22, 2020 5:25 a.m.
CamNhungDinh says... #26
I think you should consider thoroughly before buy anything from . You could check sellers based on their trust points & the number of people that has already bought the items and leaving the comment. Plus, you could read reviews on forums & social networks.
shadow63 says... #2
Look at the feedback for the seller......
October 27, 2019 11:39 a.m.