eBay for a friend

Pig Cat

Pig Cat

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Suffolk
This week a friend of mine (who is not particularly computer literate) asked if I could help him research and possibly buy some stuff on eBay on his behalf. He's a languages teacher and is after some Russian DVDs/Vids in their original language. I told him I'd be happy to help him look for them but I wouldn't use my eBay account to buy on his behalf. I would send him the links and he could buy them himself. I did this because I've heard that it is inadvisable to buy or sell on eBay for other people. Unfortunately I'm not actually clear why this might be, and now I feel a bit mean.

Can somebody either tell me I'm completely mad and a horrid friend, or that I am incredibly sensible and my friend should not be upset in the least.

Thankski veryski muchski budskis!! :D
 
If the transactions all go smoothly there will be no issue.

The question is how will you feel if you buy something on his behalf, with his dough, and it doesn't show up? Or if you buy it on the understanding that he will pay you back and it doesn't show up?

Easy (and potentially expensive) way to lose a friend.

Something else he might want to explore is getting Russian TV via satellite - I'm pretty sure there are more than a few Russian channels on Hotbird (at 13E) but a tour of a site like <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.lyngsat.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">www.lyngsat.com</a><!-- w --> might turn up more concrete information.
 
If your friend has access to a computer you should simply help him to do it himself.

If he does not, then by all means act on his behalf. If he is a true friend, and I assume he is, he will compensate you for any losses. I do quite a bit of internet buying for a friend who doesn't have a computer. It works well.
 
Pigcat, I wouldn't worry too much; I would buy them for him if he wants, but as long as he is clear that if there's a problem, it's not down to you. The main thing I do on Ebay is check feedback, and particularly negs. You can find people with a few negs, but can see sometimes that the negs may not be warranted, or can tell from the seller's follow up that they would have remedied the problem given a chance.
Anyway, Ebay is so slanted in the Buyer's favour these days that I think it's fairly easy to get your money back if you go through their complaints procedure.....if you're willing to spend that time on your friend's behalf.
And of course, check that any DVDs are for the right region.
 
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