Buying from Buy

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First off I have to admit I’ve made a mistake – I ordered a product and failed to read the description and discover that the item will only work with a MAC and that I only have a PC. However I’ve been pretty impressed with the seller Buy.com as a buyer and their entire sales operation which is pretty slick.

Before ordering the item I had a browse of Buy.com’s terms and conditions, which are pretty comprehensive to say the least. I was almost put off from purchasing from them simply because of how much small print they’ve managed to concoct for eBay buyers to read. The image merely shows their general Terms and Conditions, which is supplemented by their “Learn About Us”, “Dispatch Information”, “Privacy Policy” and “Returns Policy”. However the small print aside their service is faultless.

Trading under the User ID , they are actually based in, and ship from Ireland. Delivery by courier arrived promptly within just a couple of days of the order, and that’s when I started to get annoyed. Albeit it was my own mistake in ordering the wrong product, but I was more than a little annoyed when faced with the cost of returning a product Internationally which I’d purchased from a “UK seller”. I was wrong though, upon requesting a return Buy.com issued an RMA number along with instructions on how to return the item with DPD couriers at their expense. Not only did they pick up the return carriage charge but the refund was prompt as well.

Buy.com might be based in Ireland, but they’re a pleasure to trade with, and though it pains me to say so are highly recommended. I’d much rather trade with a smaller independent seller, but Buy had the product I wanted and their service really is superb. If all the eBay Outlets are offering as faultless and comprehensive service as Buy.com, I can understand why eBay believe that big brand names will go some way towards upgrading their reputation as a potentially dodgy place to trade. It’s certainly been an eye opener and made me question whether my own service is up to the standard it should be.

Have you bought from an Outlet or a big brand retailer on eBay? If so what was your experience? Was the service as good or better than Buy.com, and are the big brand retailers performing as well as independent eBay traders?

5 Responses

  1. I’ve bought from BUY on the US site twice. Once was purchasing a “Brand New” bluetooth headset which was too cheap (I knew this beforehand which is why I made the purchase). Turns out it was refurbished instead (not surprising looking at their feedback). Worked excellent but had a fraction of the warranty claimed and no packaging.

    I purchased a charging dock for my Nintendo Wii. Extremely cheap and claimed it had multiple times the charge of normal batteries based on the mAH rating. However these batteries last a few hours or only a few days when not used. Normal batteries last a few days of use (hours per day) or months when not in use.

    I suppose I could have returned them and maybe that would have been a great experience but I just accepted the products for what they were.

    On the otherhand I’ve purchased from their online store long before they were eBay sellers and had a great experience. That was around 12 years ago though.

  2. I bought a deal of the day item from The Hut and needed to return as it was faulty.Again the service was spot on freepost return address supplied and refunded very quickly.

  3. Hello Chris,
    Glad we met your expectationnns — the team works very hard to ensure a positive customer experience. One clarification — while Buy.com maintains corporate offices for Europe in Ireland, all UK orders are fulfilled from warehouses in the UK. Similarly all returns are handled in the UK too. Thanks for shopping with us.

    Eoin Matthews
    Buy.com Europe

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