buying off of e-bay

Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay? I'm looking at a Designer 1 ESS
Viking Machine, but am a little afraid of spending that much money and not
seeing the product, and not even knowing if it works or not.
Would love some advice.
Thanks,
Judy

"Judy W" wrote in message
k.net...
Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay? I'm looking at a Designer 1 ESS
Viking Machine, but am a little afraid of spending that much money and not
seeing the product, and not even knowing if it works or not.
Would love some advice.

The best advice is "buyer beware".

With ebay, you're not really buying from ebay itself, but from individuals
who are selling through them. I've bought many things, and had many
wonderful experiences. I've also had a couple of bad experiences.

First, I read the description thoroughly. It's never good to assume anything
about the item, especially about what is and isn't included, or what
condition something is in. If in doubt, email the seller before bidding.

I always check the feedback on any seller before I bid. I'm very cautious if
the seller is very new or has several negative feedbacks. (And I do read
what the negatives are -- some people are just whiners, and will put a
negative over things the seller had no control over, like if UPS left the
package in the dirt, etc.)

Personally, I never bid unless I can use PayPal. I appreciate knowing
there's some small amount of insurance with it, I like having proof I paid,
and I don't want to give some stranger access to my checking account by
giving them a check. Call me paranoid, but that's my comfort level. And I
never bid more than I'm willing to lose. If someone doesn't have much of a
history, that limit might only be a couple of bucks. If someone has a long
positive history, that limit would be much higher.

I don't mean to scare you too much. I've gotten some great stuff off ebay
(my steam generator was a fabulous quilty purchase, and I couldn't have been
happier). But at the same time, I'd hate to see you get burned because you
were lured in by a low price and didn't take a few easy precautions.

Let us know how it goes!

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

be careful of some of the high end machines on e-bay. Double check the
serial number with the company to make sure it is a legitimate sale.
Someone brought one into the shop where I teach (Viking shop) and they
discovered it had been stolen before being sold on e-bay. Woman is out
both her money and the machine.
Not all offers are like this, but do check to make sure. Please.
Pati, in Phx

Judy W wrote:

Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay? I'm looking at a Designer 1 ESS
Viking Machine, but am a little afraid of spending that much money and not
seeing the product, and not even knowing if it works or not.
Would love some advice.
Thanks,
Judy

I agree with everything Kathy said. I've bought some small items on
Ebay and then I bought a Janome sewing machine that I have been
wanting. I saved $300-400 over a new one, but I took a chance it
wasn't a rip off. The seller never communicated very well, except to
tell me it was shipped. I had asked a question about it's condition
before the auction ended and she answered that it was like brand new.
It's not. No big deal, but she wasn't truthful! I would also caution
that I've been told that since I didn't buy it from a dealer the
waranty isn't any good. I'd definitely check Viking's policy before
you bought, if that's important to you. I have been so busy with work
I haven't been able to really use it yet, but I plan to do some sewing
on it this weekend. Good Luck!
Regina

Thanks for the fast replies.... Still not sure what to do. I'm not
comfortable buying off e-bay, I may just pay full price for piece of mind.
Thanks again...

"Regina" wrote in message
oups.com...
I agree with everything Kathy said. I've bought some small items on
Ebay and then I bought a Janome sewing machine that I have been
wanting. I saved $300-400 over a new one, but I took a chance it
wasn't a rip off. The seller never communicated very well, except to
tell me it was shipped. I had asked a question about it's condition
before the auction ended and she answered that it was like brand new.
It's not. No big deal, but she wasn't truthful! I would also caution
that I've been told that since I didn't buy it from a dealer the
waranty isn't any good. I'd definitely check Viking's policy before
you bought, if that's important to you. I have been so busy with work
I haven't been able to really use it yet, but I plan to do some sewing
on it this weekend. Good Luck!
Regina

Judy W wrote:
Thanks for the fast replies.... Still not sure what to do. I'm not
comfortable buying off e-bay, I may just pay full price for piece of mind.
I'm with you. I don't think I'd feel comfortable buying a machine like
that on e-bay. You may want to check local dealers for a used machine.
You would still have the dealer support and service for the machine.

Of course, my e-bay experience is definitely limited. The only thing I
have bought is a quilt hanger for my DDIL for Christmas.

Julia in MN

--
This message has been scanned for viruses by Norton Anti-Virus

http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/

HI Judy,
Both my husband and I have been Ebayers for the past 9 years, buying and
selling. For the most part, it's all been positive. A few years ago when we
were interested in the Designer I we hit up Ebay. The prices seemed tempting.
My concern was help from our local Viking dealer with a machine I bought
elsewhere. I chose to go with our local dealer and I am so glad I did. The
support and classes have been super! I've become a good customer of theirs and
have received fantastic personal attention and service. They also just made me
a super offer to up grade the Designer I to the Designer SE. Offering me all
but $200.00 of the original price I paid for the Designer I. I don't think
they would have been that generous if I had purchased my machine on Ebay. So
my advice would be think about the support or lack of from your local Viking
dealer. Julie

is this a woman that is currently in Italy? I thought about it too but
didn't dare...

Judy W wrote:
Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay? I'm looking at a Designer 1 ESS
Viking Machine, but am a little afraid of spending that much money and not
seeing the product, and not even knowing if it works or not.
Would love some advice.
Thanks,
Judy




--
Dr. Quilter
http://community.webshots.com/user/mvignali
(take the dog out before replying)

I've bought a ton of fabric off of e-bay, my only complaint was a
certain person took over a month to ship my order. But I did get what I
ordered eventually. Machines are a little different I think though.
Joanna


Judy W wrote:

Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay? I'm looking at a Designer 1 ESS
Viking Machine, but am a little afraid of spending that much money and not
seeing the product, and not even knowing if it works or not.
Would love some advice.
Thanks,
Judy




--
Remove Quilt to reply

Judy W wrote:
Has anyone here ever bought off of e-bay?

Hi Judy. I've bought and sold on eBay. At first, my buying
experiences were okay; bought a handbag and when delivered was so full
of cigarette smoke I had to put baking soda in it for several days (I'm
VERY allergic to cigarette smoke). Then a few other of my purchases
went okay. I bought a featherweight machine, and couldn't get it
threaded properly, as well as I had some trouble getting used to its
smaller scale than a standard machine. The seller was so kind to take
it back; even paid for my return shipping.

However, my last purchase, and the reason why I will no longer buy on
eBay had to do with a Singer 301 sewing machine. The picture looked
fabulous; no scratches, shiny--amazing what a camera can do. The
seller had a very high score, over 1,000 points only one negative, but
not recent. So I bought. The machine arrived and it wasn't packed
properly. The handwheel was broken, as well as the foot pedal. There
were several scratches on the machine; not the shiny "excellent
condition" as the picture and description stated. The case was pretty
badly damaged and smelled very strongly of mold. Needless to say, I
sent the seller an email. The seller then changed her email address
and is no longer under that name on eBay. I also filed a complaint
with eBay and PayPal, which weren't fruitful. Although I have since
had the machine repaired locally, the nightmare I went through trying
to work with the seller, eBay, PayPal and my bank was something I won't
go through again.

My motto is: "Never buy anything on eBay that you can't afford to
lose." If you want a sewing machine, buy it from a dealer who is not
on eBay. The extra money you have to pay is insurance. This came to
light when I bought yet another sewing machine from a dealer in
California. Although I hadn't seen this particular machine, I had one
like it at one time and pretty much knew what I was getting into. I
also put the purchase on my credit card, so if anything went wrong, I
could get it removed from there. The machine when it arrived was
packed well, although it was shipped across the country upside down.
(The dealer was smart enough to put arrows on the outside of the box to
keep the box upright but the problem was the machine was in the box
upside down) When I contacted the dealer, he was very happy to oblige
when I told him I was going to get it repaired locally; even sent me
money to have it gone through. I'd buy from this dealer again, as well
as any other one who doesn't sell on eBay.