Paying for eBay auctions by bank transfer - Germany

I am looking to buy something on ebay which can only be paid by Überweisung Plus (bank transfer).
Is it possible to get insurance against fraud.What I mean is,if the item never arrives after paying were do I stand?
Paypal is not an option.

you could ask the seller if he/she is willing to use the ebay Treuhand service which helps make sure the transaction is safe for you. check it out here: http://pages.ebay.de/help/community/escrow.html

AFAIK, you can recall any Überweisung up to two weeks after sending it, for any reason. Your bank will charge a small fee.

I did this once on an eBay transaction when the item sent wasn't at all as described in the ad. (I then returned it.)

Very few eBay sellers in Germany accept PayPal because the Überweisung system is effective enough and doesn't charge any fees. Paying by PayPal may give you some protection in theory, but in practice it's like trying to get blood out of a stone.

If the item is an expensive one, use the Escrow (Treuhand) service as mentioned above, otherwise you do what you should always do regardless of how you pay: look at the seller's feedback rating and decide if you want to do business with them.

Millions of transactions are completed on eBay every day using bank transfers, so it's not like you're in an unusual situation.

Can I buy something on eBay.de with an American bank transfer? I always used PayPal in the States, but see that few offer that option here.

You could if the seller is willing to accept it. However the likelihood of that happening is very very slim..
As already mentioned. The German/EU Bank xfer system is well established and used as an everyday service.

As long as the seller has the cash in his bank account, I don't think he'll care where it comes from. This sounds like a very expensive option though, if I understand correctly that you want to transfer funds from your American bank account to the seller's German account.

Sounds like I should try to add my husband's German bank account onto my eBay.com account?... Or do I need to start a new account with eBay.de?

Okay, I can't add the German bank account, because it of course takes me to PayPal, which these sellers don't accept. Now what?? I'd rather not start a new eBay account. How can I pay them by Überweisung from our German account once the auction is over?

I don't understand what you are trying to do, but whatever it is is far more complicated than need be. Once the auction is over you'll be sent the seller's account details. You then just send an Überweisung as normal.

Well, I've never done an ÜberW, but I guess I will figure it out, eh? So... just go ahead and win the scheit, and worry about paying later, is that what you are saying? I guess my question is: does our German bank account need to be officially "anmelded" on eBay.de? I'm trying to figure out where I can do that now, but mein Deutsch is nicht so gut. My husband has never used eBay in his life, so he is useless. Thanks, guys!

You don't need to register anything with eBay, you just do it like a normal bank transfer, nothing special

Ok, thanks! No need to start a new eBay account, then. I'll give it a go. What's funny is that I cannot see the non-PayPal auctions from .de on .com, yet I can still snipe them, heh heh.

No need to register anything. Win the bid. The seller will send you his/her bank details. You go to your bank and send the money to that account (the machines in most banks are at least as easy as this forum) and that is all you need to do.

If you are selling then it gets bit more complicated.

Most German sellers don't use Paypal because they lose out on the charges. Remember, it is difficult to reverse a payment by Überweisung so check the sellers feedback is OK. Most German banks offer online banking now so it's only a few more clicks than a Paypal payment.