E-Bay Purchasing?

[suziehomemaker]

I've never bought yarn off of E-Bay before so I thought I'd ask for any recomendations, things to watch out for, things to avoid, etc.

I've found some absolutely beautiful yarn but I'm still hesitant. Anything you can share from past experiences would definitely be helpful!

[brendajos]

have you bought off ebay at all before? the only thing knitting related i have bought off there so far is my Boye's Interchangeables (woo hoo!) but i am pretty careful about checking over those auctions no matter what i buy and checking the feedback of the seller (including making sure all that wonderful positive feedback isn't just from their own buying...) as of yet, i have been pretty lucky and haven't lost any money on Ebay but i think it is because i only buy from well established sellers...no matter how much i want an item (and there are well established ones i won't buy from if their info is contradictory even if it appears to be an oversite...just don't wanna lose good yarn buyin' money ya know! )

as far as anything specific to yarn that i don't know and would love to hear it. I see some beautiful stuff on there too but i can't help but feel like i am missing the touch and feel experience that i get from going to my LYS...but that hand spun/painted stuff calls to me in my sleep i tell ya...lol

[benniesma]

I've bought some yarn on eBay and it was a great experience. The seller I've bought from a few times is Yarnbow. http://stores.ebay.com/Yarnbow She had some great deals, was very friendly and super quick with the shipping. And the yarn was packaged inside a ziploc bag so it wouldn't get wet if anything happened to the box.

I'd make sure the yarn was all in the same dyelot (obvious, but I forgot to look the first time!) And make sure you can't get it cheaper anywhere else. If it's the same price per skein as the store, you'll wind up paying more with shipping.

[cheesiesmom]

I've bought a ton of yarn on e-bay. It helps to know the prices at your lys. If you can get it cheaper then e-bay makes no sense, of course. But I've gotten some fairly good deals. You should determine how much you want to bid with the addition of the shipping which can be kinda costly if you're buying a lot. I particularly liked oregon*trail*yarn. That's a member name and apparently a real shop. Very prompt and nice to deal with.

I have had my heart set on something only to see it bid out from me.

I'm not really big on walking malls/shops so any on-line experience is a boon.

You should be careful to read the descriptions to make sure you're getting full skeins/unused goods. I've noticed some private sellers bury the fact that the yarn was frogged in the descriptions. Frequently if I see something I like I go to the yarn company's website and look at the info on the yarn. Usually the stores put in the basic info like weight, yardage, fiber content, but private sellers sometimes overlook that. Also, it seems that people get yarn from estate/garage sales and then turn around and sell it. I'd be kinda careful with them. The yarn might be old (rotted) or discolored with age.

I've gotten some very good deals on yarn. At least I was pleased and ultimately, I guess that is all that really counts.

There's one seller that you'll see come up all the time. I think it must be a manufacturer and they sell on bolts/cones. I haven't bought anything from them, but the yarn looks kind of interesting.

[metalsgirl]

Unless you don't mind your yarn smelling like smoke, look for "smoke free home" in the description - ask the seller if you can't find the information.

Good luck!

[aliassak]

Another great seller is threeolivemartini. She's got some amazing blends, and her eye for color is outstanding. I love her hand-dyed yarns. I'm waiting on some yarn from her now... She's quick to ship if you use paypal. Be careful though, her stuff goes almost as quick as she lists it!! Oh yeah, her prices are very reasonable.

[MaryB]

I looked on ebay for threeolivemartini. She must not have anything listed at the moment. You make it sound so wonderful----I will keep checking.
Thanks for the suggestion.

[Contiknitter Kelly]

Make sure the seller has at least a 98 percent positive feedback. use paypal or Moneyorder and insure your package so you'll be absolutely covered.
Ebay is usually a great place. I,ve only been burnt once but have had over 300 ebay transactions.
Happy bidding!!!
Kelly

[Rennagayle]

If they state that the yarn is not new, or has been obtained from an estate sale, I'd e-mail the seller and ask them to verify that it doesn't have moth damage. I recently purchased some skeins of wool yarn off eBay. They seller did say the yarn was not new. The skeins were complete, but the labels were a little worn looking. When I got it, I looked it over and it appeared fine. A few weeks later, I started to knit something with it, and discovered moth damage. I carefully checked the other skeins and found the same thing, though it wasn't really obvious just by picking up the skeins and looking at them.

I was most fortunate that the seller immediately refunded me all my money, but now I make a point of asking the seller to check them if they are not new skeins. :D

Whenever I'm shopping for yarn on eBay, I have two internet windows open. If I see something I like on eBay, I calculate the cost of the yarn (based on the maximum I'm willing to bid) plus the shipping, then divide that amount per skein, to see what I'm actually going to be paying for each skein. I'll then go to a couple of yarn websites in my other browser window, and check the cost of that yarn per skein (including shipping). I then determine if purchasing it through eBay is going to save me enough to make it worth my while.

[aliassak]

I looked on ebay for threeolivemartini. She must not have anything listed at the moment. You make it sound so wonderful----I will keep checking.
Thanks for the suggestion.

You can check her blog as well. I know she has featured yarns of the week listed there.

I just searched ebay for any items from her and they can be found here.