UBB.threads Forums General Interest Community Center Buying militaria off of eBay - better or ? 2017

Afternoon gents...so here we are 22 years into the online bidding phenomenon that is Ebay inc. Many of you here have been a member since the beginning. Do you find that your bidding/buying experience is as enjoyable in 2017 as it was in 1995?

I ask this, as I have never had more packages arrive late, go missing or had more unresponsive sellers than I did in 2016-2017. I find this especially with those selling fotos.

Is there a new breed of militaria seller that lacks scruples, or is this something that has been going on for a while?

I think USPS Registered mail that is used for many ebay transactions is to blame for a lot of this.
This mail service is a joke...totally unreliable and terrible accountability to the whereabouts of your "safe & secure" mail.

I was told by a USPS rep that rather than investigate loss/theft inside of there organization they just pay out because it's cheaper for them.
This doesn't get your irreplacable item back and just ties your money up. Plus it gives their employee's a continual green light to steal whatever they want.

JMO.

For me, eBay went down the tube when they banned authentic, historical, WWII German regalia, yet allowed the selling of fake material, helping to flood the market with phoney swastika emblazoned garbage. Thus the argument for doing so, that such objects promote hate, hardly hollow.

I miss the days of vets family's selling WW2 German artifacts bought many beautiful daggers in the day. I do buy allot of non military antiques on eBay and find it to be fantastic for that ! Love it and spend at least an hour a day looking around.

I have been buying and selling on Ebay for 17 years. I agree that buying experience is getting worse but it’s still a good place. You just need to be careful and do your homework before you buy anything.

Alex.