[Rose3]

Hi
first - do I have to do the register with my real name, address, postal code that eBay asks in order to register to use eBay?

there's a book that I might like, but I find it a bit expensive, so I would probaly just make an offer

Can anybody share any experiences about using eBay?
thanks

[lenjan]

Yes, you have to register with your real name, address, etc, so that people know to whom and to where they need to ship your purchase.

However, you sign onto Ebay with a screen name, and if you sign up for Paypal as a payment method, it is completely private -- the sellers aren't able to see your banking/credit information, etc.

Both Ebay and Paypal are completely secure sites.

Good luck!

[sabby]

Hi Rose,

I've never had an issue with purchases on ebay or with paypal. As candy said, they are secure places. The best way to order or bid is to watch who is selling the item you want and make sure they have a good rating. If there are some complaints about the seller, look at them and see if they have been worked out and fixed.

Also know that there are a lot of phishers that will email stuff to you regarding your account at ebay or paypal saying they need you to sign in by following their link....the emails look authentic but they are not. Neither ebay or paypal will ask you do sign in to change a password or verify your address etc in an email. Just something to be aware of.

All in all, it is quite safe shopping on ebay and I quite enjoy it! Have Fun!

Hugsss
sabby

[Maven]

I've never had a problem with eBay, either, but one thing to remember is, while ratings are good to go by, sometimes people get false negative ratings because someone wants to hurt their rating or there's a miscommunication that angers a buyer. But if someone has a lot of negatives, it's probably a good idea to avoid that seller.

You can also use http://pages.ebay.com/wantitnow/ if you want to post a request for an item (you're not obligated to buy from anyone or accept any offers). I love Want It Now!

[Rose3]

thanks everybody

and I did more searching and found some other book sites
and found the same book for only a third of the price

(even better)

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
candybear said:
Yes, you have to register with your real name, address, etc, so that people know to whom and to where they need to ship your purchase.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Plus............................ You need a valid CREDIT CARD or BANK CARD (debit will do).

[seeker1950]

Yes, I've done a lot of business on Ebay, and you do need to register your bank account as well as a credit card.
Patty

[Maven]

As far as sites to buy books, there are a lot of them. I only have experience with Amazon and BN.com, but I hear good things about Half.com, too.

Other sites to buy or price compare on books include (PLEASE NOTE: I haven't checked these URLs in a while, so they may be defunct, but I'd guess most still work) http://www.alibris.com/, http://www.bookfinder.com/, http://www.booksense.com/, http://www.booksforabuck.com/ (this one is for electronic fiction), http://www.booksurge.com/, http://www.fictionwise.com/ (ebooks), http://www.qpb.com/, http://www.strandbooks.com/, and http://www.unclefesterbooks.com/.

Additionally, you can sometimes get good deals by ordering straight from the publisher.

You can also find genre-specific sales sites, if looking for fiction, or non-fiction sales sites that specialize in a certain type of non-fic. I have some for romance and horror, if you want them.

More general shopping sites (that include books) are http://www.overstock.com/ and http://www.froogle.com/.

And if you want to see if there are any money-saving coupon codes available, there are a plethora of sites that list those, such as http://www.allonlinecoupons.com/, http://www.couponheaven.com/, http://www.coupon-mon.com/, http://www.dealcoupon.com/, http://www.fatwallet.com/, http://www.flamingoworld.com/, and http://www.retailmenot.com/. (These are ones I've found particularly useful at different times.)