E-bay buying procedure
1. You have to BID for an item and finally win it.
2. Then you have to pay for the item using pay-pal (if linked to Smpath Web card, you have to have it re-charged to the equivalent amount in LKR)
The amount you pay will include postage. (some offer it free.)
3. Then, you'll be notified later by the seller when he ships the item.
4. Normally it will take 1 to 4 weeks for an item to be received.
5. The item will come by post or you will receive a letter by postal dept, that the item is held at the postal dept. head quarters.
6.If the item is at postal H/Q, you have to go there with the letter received. Then a customs officer will charge duty on item if applicable.
Note: Make sure you have an idea about customs duty. Some times it may be a large amount. e.g. for cameras it's about 80%. so, when you buy in ebay, compare the price with local and add any customs duty too, Otherwise you will loose.
7. Then you can get it.
8. If you don't receive the item or it's damaged, you can make a complaint in e-bay/paypal and resolve it with seller. Normally, the seller will refund you once you send the defective item back to him.
Hope this helps... !!!
Caution: There are bogus sellers, specially in Hongkong and China. So, before bidding for an item check what other buyers had said about the particular seller.
e.g. Once a guy sent me a 16GB USB pendrive, but it was actually 2GB. So, I made a compaint and got a refund.
So bid wisely !!!
