Buying from eBay

I have had good luck buying stuff on Ebay. I have never lost any money on an Ebay purchase. I always use Paypal. I only buy stuff that is located in the US. I limit my searches to US located items. I also read the feedback on the seller. What I am particularly looking at is how the seller responds to negative feedback. Everybody is going to get some negative feedback. If the seller comes across as a jerk then I pass on the item and look elsewhere. If I have a concern I will sometimes ask the seller a question just to see how they respond. It's like anything. You need to do your homework and be careful.
 
I use PayPal for just about everything on line. The PayPal is covered by a Visa 'Debit' card issued through a bank account specifically opened for the debit card. The account is moderately insulated, I only keep enough there to cover what I spend. I don't like, don't believe in, credit cards. If I reach into my hip pocket and don't have enough to pay for something, I do without it until I can pay for it. A pain in the wazoo, but I don't have any bills hanging over my head.

A few times I have bought items from eBay that were never delivered. EBay has always stood good for the purchase. Should I go beyond the time limit, PayPal will supposedly follow up. Beyond that, there is Visa. I don't know if the bank would, never got that far. They have 'stopped payment' on a few charges that weren't really mine. Beyond that, I don't hold them accountable. Wife has used the Visa fallback on a couple of occasions where UPS mishandled glassware. It arrived broken. . . I don't know where it came from, but Visa removed the charge to her card, a debit card like mine.

My philosophy is the bank card is like my wallet. Somebody sticks their hand in my back pocket, it gets cut off. By using PayPal, I don't release my debit card number. And a single 'vendor', PayPal, to keep track of. If it ever gets serious, the account can be closed. My SS goes to a different bank and is distributed from there. As the old folks say, going around the barn to get somewhere. But it works. . .

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MrWhoopee said:
eBay will make it right if the seller fails to deliver. Just be sure to make your claim before the window closes. I waited too long on an order from China that never showed and was out of luck.
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I've only had a couple experiences with offshore businesses, but to MrWhoopee's point if there is a problem act quickly. A few years ago, I purchased a universal protractor from a Chinese company for a project. When it arrived, it looked like it had been dragged behind the boat. It was full of scratches and dings.

I messaged the company and got dozens of excuses. The first was "you can't expect it to be in perfect condition after traveling that many miles". Later excuses ranged from "you have the wrong company" to "we don't accept returns of damaged goods". It was obvious they were trying to string me along until the time to make a claim was over. After about half a dozen exchanges, I finally said that's enough I'm filing a claim. A new protractor in perfect condition arrived within a week.

The initial reason for ordering it was to disassemble it and use the scale as part of a project. As time went on the design changed and it was never used. Both protractors still sit in their boxes on the shelf. I've used one a couple times, but found it was clumsy. I'm saving both for potential future projects.

While things turned out well in the end I no longer even consider buying from offshore companies. Companies based in this country may carry the same goods, but they're answerable to our laws. Over the years I've made nearly 300 purchases from eBay. The only problems I've had were from offshore companies.
 
A tad off topic. But I would make my own nut…single tool on the lathe…easy enough. Try it, you might surprise yourself. You will have NO GUARENTEE on the finished clearance between nut and feed screw when you tap it. Which translates into backlash. You can peen the nut to remove some of that backlash but it’s not the best idea. Or maybe split the nut? The best IMHO…make the nut.
 
You members think I can single point an internal acme 5/8” -8 LH thread ? Never gave that as an option !
 
Yes, you can, especially if you get some practice on some easy non-critical stock. I nailed mine on my second try, after making the standard beginner mistake of not enough clearance on the leading edge of the tool to account for the helix angle. If you use the expensive recommended bronze, messing up hurts a bit.
 
That’s it ! I’ll give it a try , never cut internal threads so off to YouTube for info !
 
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