ebay vs audiogon


I have bought equipment on both audiogon and ebay this past year and would say that I am definitely more comfortable with the former vs the latter. Twice recently equipment was misrepresented on ebay. On the first one paypal helped me recover my money. On the second it wasn't worth going crazy on (some scuffing on the top of a DVD player), but still left me hesitant to buy there again.

Hat's off to the audiogoner's for greater trustworthiness and honor.
quicke
I agree with Rockvirgo on his point regarding the seller charging the paypal fees (3%). He is right as rain. I contacted paypal one time myself by phone & they specifically said it is illegal for a seller to charge the paypal fees in their ad & said if you see it, it can be reported to them. I never knew that before.
if you get caught on ebay asking the buyer to pay the paypal fee your auction will be canceled instantly.

i can see not wanting to eat the 3% fee on multi thousand dollar deals but cmom its getting down right silly when a seller asks for 3% on a $500 item & it reek's of pure greed to me.

mike.
Speaking of paypal fees; how many times do you see an item for a hundred or so that also have obo--paypal add 3%.????
So I guess I should add 3% to the listing price and say Paypal is free. This is quite common. I know many sellers who claim Paypal is free, but will give a discount for a MO. What's the difference? I guess it's safer to do business this way. No chance that Paypal will catch you if you advertise free Paypal and give discounts for cash.

The reason Ebay enforces free Paypal, is because Ebay owns Paypal.
Oh Please. There is some sort of fantasy that Agon is such a gentlemans forum, where everyone is respected, information is gladly given and everyone is on the up and up. I have bought and sold 20 items here. I have dealt a lot with flakes, people who want to buy and then back out.

IMHO this forum works best when the buying/selling function is seperated from the educational function. I find it very frustrating when the 2 are intermixed. When I sell items now, I qualify the heck out of people up front, just like I do in my business. Selling is about dealing with high probablity prospects and not about educating readers more about audio. The Forum is the place to gather and learn about audio. In fact I have learned a great deal by reading and asking questions.

Ebay is straight forward and has better safeguards built in. Agon requires more diligence.