Buying Schleich on Ebay?

What are your experience on buying schleich on ebay?

I a bit affraid of it because the only thing I bought on ebay, got my adress wrong and I was only lucky that the mail man got it right and delivered it to me, I actually think the fault was my own, but I was very stressed and the company didn't help much.

My boyfriend buys a lot on ebay and has never had any trouble, maybe I'm just being to new to the site lol.  

I have almost always had great experience on Ebay

I bought almost every piece in my collection from eBay.

I used to be completely against buying on eBay , but now that they have the buyer protection program it is much better than it used to be. It's very safe, especially if you use PayPal. I can only remember two problems I've had as a buyer, both of which I was refunded, and that's out of a very large amount of items

The address problem I'm sure wasn't you - that was the seller. If it happens again the seller will be responsible for trying to retrieve the package or send out a replacement/refund.

Of course there are always dishonest sellers anywhere, but if you know what you're looking for and you look at the person's feedback, you will be okay. It's very hard for a seller to get away with doing something bad anyway (such as not sending the item).

Don't be afraid of buying on eBay. Selling is a different story

Non a great esperience, but still not had a problem

I bought around 1500 items on ebay i have only 3 bad experiences. One jacket was a knock off and one item dont arrived me, but the seller had more than 10000 positive feedbacks so i think it was lost on the way from a foreign country.

Only one seller was unserios

bought a few stuff on ebay and had great experience :)

Other than less than a handful of bad experiences, I've had great success with eBay.com, eBay.de and eBay.fr.

It is vital to check method of payment and shipping charges if you live outside the country of origin of the seller. Before the auction/sale, not after...  

It's also very important to know what you're bidding on or purchasing. "Knowledge is power" as they say.

All of my more recent additions (older models) came from eBay, and in every case I've had a problem (probably three or less) I was given the correct model after being sent, and allowed to keep, the wrong one.

widukind wrote:

I bought around 1500 items on ebay i have only 3 bad experiences. One jacket was a knock off and one item dont arrived me, but the seller had more than 10000 positive feedbacks so i think it was lost on the way from a foreign country.

Only one seller was unserios

a great experience!   

OK, I guess I just have to try it   

I have ordered some things on eBay and I only had two bad experience that I can remember, I did get a refund for both but one seller gave me a hard time about it   The other one was just plain incompetent   

If you're using Paypal, you have to make sure the address that you have listed is the correct one.

Animal_Figures_4U wrote:

I bought almost every piece in my collection from eBay.

I used to be completely against buying on eBay , but now that they have the buyer protection program it is much better than it used to be. It's very safe, especially if you use PayPal. I can only remember two problems I've had as a buyer, both of which I was refunded, and that's out of a very large amount of items

The address problem I'm sure wasn't you - that was the seller. If it happens again the seller will be responsible for trying to retrieve the package or send out a replacement/refund.

Of course there are always dishonest sellers anywhere, but if you know what you're looking for and you look at the person's feedback, you will be okay. It's very hard for a seller to get away with doing something bad anyway (such as not sending the item).

Don't be afraid of buying on eBay. Selling is a different story

This; however, I do urge you to check your registered address via both Ebay and PayPal. Most Ebay sellers use Ebay's shipping labels when they can as this is infinitely easier than manually filling out the shipping info. I know as an American seller with many, many international sales that international addresses do not always translate into the US postal system (I guess that's the problem). When in doubt, I always contact the buyer for clarification or check their address on Paypal. But not all sellers do this, and believe me, when trying to insert international postal addresses into the nice, neat, standardized formats, some really weird addresses appear. So do double check your address and see how it appears to sellers.

Ebay in a very safe buying environment; but to be doubly safe, always pay with PayPal. If a seller doesn't accept PayPal, I've always made it a policy to avoid that seller's listings. You can actually specifiy the types of listings you want to not see based on whether sellers accept PayPal or not, and you may want to do this, at least until you are more comfortable with Ebay. Good luck and have fun. Remember, there are very few Once in a Lifetime chances on Ebay. If you pass on an item because you're not comfortable with a seller, you have likely made the right choice, and whatever item you wanted will eventually appear again from a reputable seller.

Ebay (and PayPal too) has a very good buyer protection. If something goes wrong, you can open a case for it. I have mostly good experience on Ebay, but I've got a wrong item once and one time the item didn't arrive to me. The sellers are usually very cooperative and either give a refund or send another item.

Though once I got a Monster High doll with two same feet, I didn't get a full refund but a partial one. Though it was a China seller so probably the doll was a factory reject after all...

Always remember to check the sellers feedback!

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?   
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

Don't be afraid of buying from foreign countries. I was worried when I first contemplated doing so, also when I joined STS, but if you're dealing with the right people you are fine. I was scared I would be dumped with expensive customs fees whenever I received a package, but I've never been charged, and the postmaster said he never had to charge anyone customs, in all the years he had been working there. I don't know about other countries though, so you'd have to look up about custom fees in your country.

Shipping cost will depend on what you're receiving and how large the box is/how much it weighs. I just calculated that a 5oz box sent to New Zealand from the United States will be about $11USD. Now, a 1lb box will set you back About $15USD. So it really depends what you're buying. And other countries will be have different costs, United States international shipping costs are very expensive, and I know from buying from Yvette Germany is fairly cheap (compared to the US).

You also have to keep in mind what eBay sellers will even ship to your country. Many sellers won't ship internationally, but if you agree to paying the extra cost, most will ship to you. But also be aware that many sellers insist on using Priority Mail, which is very expensive. Going back to that 5oz box again, if I send it Priority Mail, it's $39!!  


So after my essay here, sorry if I bored you to death, my advice to you on international shipping is see if the seller will ship internationally and go from there. Remember that if the seller won't ship to you, it's not the end of the world. That item will come up again

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

orcagirl26 wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

I just shipped a figure to Australia today via USPS First Class Mail International. Cost roughly USD $16. Whether one considers that "much" or not is subjective.

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

I just shipped a figure to Australia today via USPS First Class Mail International.  Cost roughly USD $16.  Whether one considers that "much" or not is subjective.

I meant shipping a figure from Australia to New Zealand, not from the states to Australia.

orcagirl26 wrote:

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

I just shipped a figure to Australia today via USPS First Class Mail International.  Cost roughly USD $16.  Whether one considers that "much" or not is subjective.

I meant shipping a figure from Australia to New Zealand, not from the states to Australia.

My apologies. Well, at least we know it should be cheaper than $16  

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

I just shipped a figure to Australia today via USPS First Class Mail International.  Cost roughly USD $16.  Whether one considers that "much" or not is subjective.

I meant shipping a figure from Australia to New Zealand, not from the states to Australia.

My apologies.  Well, at least we know it should be cheaper than $16  

That's OK    It should be cheaper, but there are some sellers on eBay who purposely overcharge for shipping on order to make money  

orcagirl26 wrote:

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

sphyrna18 wrote:

orcagirl26 wrote:

Schleighgirl wrote:

Since I have only just turned 18 I am planning on getting a paypal account so that I can buy my collective animals (and books) on ebay. I am excited but nervous as well as I have never brought from other countries before. However this is going to be vital if I want to purchase the retired schleich as I cannot get them easily anywhere else in New Zealand. Does any body know if shipping to New Zealand is really expensive?    
Any tips/advice about ebay? Other good sites where I can find retired schleich?

I've bought from overseas sellers but I'm still a bit nervous in doing so after one problem I had. I'm not sure about the cost to ship to New Zealand, but I would think if you bought from a seller in Australia it wouldn't be that much   

I just shipped a figure to Australia today via USPS First Class Mail International.  Cost roughly USD $16.  Whether one considers that "much" or not is subjective.

I meant shipping a figure from Australia to New Zealand, not from the states to Australia.

My apologies.  Well, at least we know it should be cheaper than $16  

That's OK    It should be cheaper, but there are some sellers on eBay who purposely overcharge for shipping on order to make money  

I just brought my first figure from ebay just now!!! I've got a paypal account, but I need a mastercard or visa card to activate it so I couldn't do it myself. My dad did it for me    
I got the Okapi figure that I've wanted ever since it retired and I couldn't find it in the store. Here is the image from ebay that I brought:)

The okapi cost me $12.60 new zealand dollars which is what I would have paid for it in the store. It cost $6.31nz for shipping so total cost was $18nz thats EUR 11.99 for those who want to know.
                                                               
I also bought a gorilla this week so that makes 90 schleich!!!

oops    meant to say $19.73nz

I got the okapi today!!! All seems to be fine except the legs are slightly off balance with the hooves turned up     Its still a pretty neat figure.

Congratulations! It really is such a nice model   

Thanks Jonas