Originally Posted by neonknight0311
I never buy from private parties on ebay and I only buy from companies that have 95% or higher feedback based on 2500 or more transaction in the last six months (power seller). Buyer beware, but even a seemingly good company can sell you something they don't have and then expect you to wait while they have your money. At Walmart you can always take it back to a human, not so on ebay. With the exception of Tire Rack, if I spend more than $500 on something I want to see it in person. Sorry for the digression...but I did not care for the "smart enough" comment. Over 25 ebay purchases is on the margins of statistical significance relative to the error ratio one might expect from their ebay shopping experience.
First off, the "smart enough" comment was meant to refer to a hypothetical discerning shopper with a decent amount of common sense, it was not meant as a dig at you. I can see where you could have thought that, and for this I apologize.
Yes companies can screw you on ebay. Yes at walmart you can deal with a person. But you can too on ebay by requesting phone numbers and adresses prior to buying. I always do this, and several times when I check the adresses and buisness names online, it turns out to be a sham. Thats the steps you have to go to reduce the risk you take. And just looking at their approval rating is stupid. Thats like having unprotected sex just cause her friends say they think shes clean....
Finally, your comment about the error ratio is entirely unsupported. You have not studied ebay, you have not figured out what the margins of statistical significance are, so don't act like you have. Plus consumer behavior and depth of consumer knowledge and awareness factors into something like the probability of a bad experience with ebay, and there is really no way you can account for this. Futhermore if the the chances of getting screwed are less then 1 in 25, and you combine this with some common sense, I see no problem in using ebay as a valueable source of car parts. Sorry you were mugged by ebay in a dark alley or whatever, but let people make their own opinions. And don't make irrational and entirely unfounded claims about the probability of scoring a miss with ebay. But lets stop this stupid disagreement and allow this thread to focus on cats as it should. Sorry everyone, I'm not tryin to pick a fight, just wanted to explain myself a bit.