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Beginner's Guide: How to Buy on Ebay
Here it is: The First in a series
of articles about online auctions, and things you can do
to make your experience more rewarding and more profitable.
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Buyer
Beware!
Rule number one when buying from anyone on the internet that is
not a name brand retailer like Amazon.com,
Staples.com, or someone else with a reputable
business name is that you need to watch out! There are a number
of basic, simple things that you should do to protect yourself online
when bidding/buying on Ebay.
Gimme Feedback!
The first thing to do is to look at the seller’s feedback,
denoted after every Ebayer’s username by the number in brackets.
Generally speaking, the higher the better. Personally I try to avoid
sellers with a rating less than 20, depending on the item I’m
buying and the price of that item. I am more willing to take a chance
on the item if it’s less than $10-20 dollars than larger ticket
stuff over $100.
Also take a second to click on the feedback rating. Some sellers
have very high ratings, but also a large volume of negative feedback,
which is offset by the huge volume that a person is selling. For
example, a user may have a feedback rating over 5000, but have more
than 200 negative ratings, and maybe even more than 20 in the last
7 days. Pay attention to this, and the type of negative comments
other people have left, and if you’re at all concerned, don’t
bid!
Also be weary of sellers who are new to Ebay or have recently changed
their user ID. This may mean that: 1. They are inexperienced on
Ebay and Ebay etiquette or 2. They have changed their identity to
avoid being found from prior shady deals on Ebay.
Read the fine print
Read the Small Print
Make sure you are really getting what you think you are looking
at! Some items will advertise “IN BOX” “with Card”
etc.., but take a second to look. Some items may be refurbished,
or even broken! For collectibles, in the fine print it may say that
items are damaged, the box may be crushed, or there may be accessories
missing.
Also make sure you look at any tax and shipping information. Some
sellers inflate their profits (and try to lower their final auction
fees) by charging expensive shipping for small items, for example
a 4 ox cellular phone charger may cost only $1 to ship, but the
seller may charge $5. Also, some business sellers do charge tax,
so take a peek at that. Also see how much the seller charges for
insurance, if you are interested.
Know your limit!
One of the biggest newbie mistakes on Ebay is by bidding
above Market Value. (It's not uncommon
for Ebay prices on new items' go above
those on Amazon.com!) While it can be argued that if it sells on
Ebay, that IS the market value, you should try to set a price you
are willing to pay, and down overpay. One way is to look at the
price of completed auctions, and expect to pay plus/minus 10-15%
of that price, depending on the item, and how many people are interested
in that item. Also, if more items are offered for sale, that tends
to drive prices down.
Know your top price,
and avoid the temptation and the Vegas style by going above that
price! Many bidders get caught up in the bidding war, only to regret
their purchase later. These are the types of bidders that try to
weasel out of a deal, and risk negative feedback.
Time to buy?
Sometimes the best time to buy is to wait until the closing hours/minutes
of the auction before you bid, thereby avoiding being overbid by
others. But be careful, if someone has a higher maximum bid than
you, their bid will prevail over yours, and you may not have time
to re-bid before the auction closes. Bottom line: always put your
highest bid first, and make it the
highest price you are willing to bid.
Payback time!
When choosing a form of payment, pick something that is safe, cheap
and convenient. Money orders are good if you don’t mind the
wait of the mail to deliver them, and don’t like to use your
credit cards online. The post office is the cheapest source for
them.
I prefer electronic forms of Payment, either PayPal or Ebay Payments.
PayPal seems to have a better buyer’s guarantee, so I tend
to use them for most payments. It is also safer than mailing a money
order, in case it gets lost it may be difficult/time consuming to
get a refund.
Leave feedback!
After you’ve successfully completed your buy, and are happy
with the item, be nice, and leave some good feedback so you can
help the seller, and potential customers as well. If you have a
problem with the transaction, try to work things out before leaving
negative feedback, as your comments cannot be changed later!
Happy Hunting!
Comments or tips?
Please post them in our forum!
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original content copyright Simpsons Marketwatch.
This site has no affiliation with The Simpsons, Twentieth Century
Fox, or Ebay. This site does not endorse online auctions and the
information here is given for interests sake only, and is not
intended for use as an official pricing guide or buyers guide.
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