Buying off eBay – Things to check or remember
General Purchases / Overseas Purchases (Imports / India / Vietnam)
Before you buy a vehicle of any type from eBay, please remember to check eBay’s purchase protection policy and what is covered should things go wrong with your purchase and you find yourself wanting to return the item. Below are some useful links that you should consider reading
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/security/index.html
http://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/purchase-protection/
Buying from eBay and a UK registered user.
Remember that if you are buying a Lambretta via eBay, if the Lambretta does not have a V5 assigned to it, then it will be your responsibility to arrange one to be assigned and it will be classified as a import. You should also read the section on NOVA imports and your duty, if purchasing a Lambretta via eBay
Research your seller
I nearly purchased a SIL from what appeared to be an overseas official seller once and before I knew what the PayPal policy was (See below). When I went to pay via PayPal, the company requested the payment be made to another email address and outside eBay. When I researched the email address and company further, I found the address belonged to another company and a previous customer had such a bad experience with them that they created a website called a similar name to that of the company name and added “scammers” at the end of the name, so that when researching the company via a search engine, the customers web site came up at the top of the list as well and their story could be read on their bad experience. I contacted the company back and cancelled the order and also informed eBay that the company wanted to complete the order outside eBay. At the time of writing this (8 months later), the company is still trading and can often be seen with buyers cancelling orders shortly after securing a “Best Offer Accepted”. They also have a Low Positive Feedback score. In summary – buyer beware!
PayPal Purchases via eBay
If considering buying something like a SIL from overseas and you are asked to pay via PayPal, please remember the PayPal Buyer Protection policy and check PayPals policy area for updates. Further information can be found here: https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security
Items Not Covered
Items like real estate, motorised vehicles (of any kind), custom-made items, industrial machinery (for manufacturing), prepaid cards, or items that violate our policies, anything you buy in person, or money transfers to friends or family.
PayPal User Experiences Link – https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security
PayPal User Experiences Link – https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Access-and-security/Advice-about-selling-a-car-recieving-payment-via-paypal/td-p/273176?profile.language=en-gb
Receipt Example E-Bay
Receipt for Lambretta LD150 Mk2 Approx 1958
Seller
Enter name and full address here
Buyer
Enter name and full address here
Item:
Lambretta LD150 Mk2 Approx 1958
Ebay costs £Enter Amount
Ebay item number (Enter ebay ID number here)
Pick up address: enter here if different to the address above. This may be a storage location
Lambretta VIN number: (Example 150D * 123456)
Lambretta Engine Number: (Example 123456 * 125LD)
Note – the engine and frame may not be the same due to an engine change!
Signed (Your name and sign):____________________________________
Signed (Seller name and sign):_____________________________________