HMA Buyer FAQ

HMA Buyer FAQ

This is a frequently asked questions and answer page provided by HMA to all eBay bidders from our store.

How much should I bid?

HMA is great for finding motorcycle deals, as long as you know what you’re looking for and how much the item is worth. Having that information is vital to placing bids in correct amount and saving lots of money.

The first step in getting a great deal is to know the retail or going price for an item. If the item is “new” or still available through retail outlets, the best thing to do is check retail shopping sites like Amazon.com, wal-mart.com, and Buy.com or search sale price consolidation sites like Shopping.com, Price Grabber, and Froogle.com. You can also google for information about the item.

If the item isn’t available through retail outlets things can be a bit more tricky. The quickest method is to search through eBay’s “Completed Items” search engine. Using eBay’s normal search engine, click the Advanced Search link to take you to eBay’s Find Item interface. Then, make sure that the “Complete listings only” box is checked. Do the same search you normally would. The results will be a listing of recently completed items matching the search keywords. Browse through to see the closing prices of similar items. Also note that some of the items might not have sold (either through bids below the reserve price, or simply no bids). For items that did not sell, it’s possible that either the seller didn’t have adequate reputation (poor feedback), or that the items was defective in some way. If the item and seller were good, but the item didn’t sell, than the price of the item was set too high, and you may likely find it below that price. Amazon.com and Yahoo!Shopping also have sections with auctions and used items for sale. Double checking both of those sites can also help you determine the going price of an item. Lastly, there are some services that catalog eBay results and can provide sophisticated reports of auction results and pricing. However, in most cases, the price will far outweigh the benefits of a little homework.

What if the Auction/Seller seems “fishy”?

You’ve read through the auction and it at first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about the item or the shipping details, but something just doesn’t “feel right”. In these cases, we always recommend going with your gut feeling and double checking everything before placing your bid. The seller’s feedback is important here. Not just that they have a good feedback rating, but that it’s consistent with the item they’re selling. Examples on inconsistencies would be a long break before they listed this item, a large surge in listing of expensive items, a history of all purchases and no sales feedback, and just general strange or poor feedback.

In general, we always recommend caution, even if it’s a one-of-kind item. If you’re not comfortable, don’t place the bid. eBay is doing a lot of work to limit the scammers and fraudsters – as soon as a pattern emerges, they always try to stop it as soon as possible.

What’s a good shipping rate/method?

Although eBay’s stopped a lot of the “surprise shipping” charges that unscrupulous sellers used to impose, there’s still some items that carry a very hefty shipping fee. eBay requires the sellers to list the shipping expenses, but if it says “actual shipping” or “shipping plus handling” and not a specific number, you should check with the seller BEFORE bidding. I once had to pay $12.50 to ship a single magazine – due to the seller’s requirement for FedEx and for a $3.00 handling fee. Make sure you include shipping information in your decision to bid, and the amount to bid.

If possible, check with the seller to ask how they’ll pack the item. I once received a used laptop that was literally scotch-taped into a used, ripped, USPS priority box that was too small so part of the computer was sticking out – with no padding what-so-ever. If you’re getting breakable items, make sure the seller will pack it correctly.

What should I do after the auction ends?

eBay will always send a winning notification email to let you know you’ve won the item. Additionally, some sellers (especially the ones using other seller services like Auctiva, etc.), will send direct payment links. We recommend going directly to eBay (by typing it in the address bar of your browser) and signing in, then going through your My eBay links to pay for the item. Unless the seller has specific payment instructions, this is the safest way to proceed. Always check the address bar for the correct domain name and security settings – ebay.com, paypal.com, etc. Many scammers use fake domain names to confuse you, so always double check.

If the shipping amount is not specified in the item description, contact the seller and include your zip code and your preferred shipping method (UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc.). They should be able to get you a shipping rate with that information. Also, don’t be afraid to negotiate on the shipping amount – if it’s not set before the auction, you should be able to bargain with the seller. They may not budge on price, but it’s worth a shot.
What should I use to pay?

When paying for items, we recommend never using cash or checks. The reason to not use cash is obvious – there’s no record for when/if they receive the payment, so you’ll never be able to prove you paid. Checks are dangerous because they have your checking account information and your signature on them – making it easy for criminals to make duplicate checks using your account information.

Although we’ve heard of issues with PayPal, we still recommend them for nearly all purchases. Nearly all sellers accept PayPal payment, and many purchases are automatically covered for fraud protection. Please check PayPal.com for details on their account protection tips and fraud protection services.

What should I do if the item is defective/broken/wrong?

The first thing to do is to double check the item – make sure it actually is broken. You’ll probably need to go over the item description on eBay to verify that it didn’t arrive as promised. Next, contact the seller directly and describe the issue with the item. It’s always easier to contact the seller first, rather than PayPal or eBay. When contacting the seller, be as descriptive as possible and also make sure that if you don’t hear from them in 48 hours, you’ll be contacting PayPal/eBay/Credit Card company/etc. to make sure everything is resolved. The important thing is to be polite and descriptive.

If you don’t get a response from the seller, you will need to take matters further. If you used PayPal, you can follow the instructions listed on their Resolution Center web pages. It describes how to address any problems with sellers.