Ebay
Written: Mar 17 '01
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The Bottom Line
You must experience it for yourself.
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| Full Review |
I never thought I would be someone who enjoyed plowing through other people's cast-aways at garage sales or junk/antique stores, but I have recently been hooked! I've found some of the neatest vintage stuff and have come to realize the old adage: One woman's junk is another woman's treasure. My other great passion is the computer. If I don't police myself, I could be on this little machine for 8 hours a day.
Ebay is truly revolutionary. They have combined the two interests I love dearly. Ebay is the ultimate Online Garage Sale! I can't begin to tell you the variety of items I've gotten from this site. Some were absolute bargains, and some were just pieces I couldn't find anywhere else. Some of my greatest finds are a beautiful bed skirt for $10, train coasters for my four-year old (who totes them around like baseball cards) and a pretty snazzy pair of black loafers for $10. I can't say that I've never been disappointed, but for the most part, Ebay is a good place to be.
First, you will need a major credit card to sign up for the site. This is, in part, to weed out the folks who have multiple ID's and to make each person more honest. When I first began using Ebay, a credit card was not necessary to sign up, so you could have several accounts. They will charge your credit card monthly for any transactions, but will bill you if you indicate this on your preferences. Next, you will need to make a name for yourself. By this, I mean come up with an identity. You may use your email address, but I prefer a catchy little name. Mine is Tysmyguy. Make it easy to remember. I have a few sellers that I love and I will check their auctions frequently, so it helps that they have a memorable name, instead of Ted14987.
Now you are free to browse the various categories. Some of my favorites are the Dept.56 North Pole Series Christmas Villages and Russel Wright Dinnerware. Occasionally, I find myself in need of obscure items, such as yellow pillow shams, so instead of going thru half a million Bed Linens submissions, I simply run a search on just this item. After you get your results, you may choose to view them 3 different ways. One is all of the items, the second is to view all of the items and have a thumbnail picture appear on the left side of the screen for people who have listed their merchandise in the "Gallery," and the third is to only view items that are in the Gallery, which simply means, to view only the items with pictures on the side. It makes browsing so much easier, but you may miss some really good bargains! My suggestion is to take the middle road and view everyone including the Gallery.
If you do find an item you'd like to bid on, I would strongly suggest you check the sellers feedback. I neglected to do so one time, and after receiving my broken cordless phone, I checked the sellers feedback. Imagine my surprise to find that this person had over 20 negative feedback ratings. If only I'd checked before making my bid, I could've saved myself a great deal of heartache. If you do complete a transaction, it is very important that you leave feedback about that transaction, so that others will know what kind of seller (or buyer) this person is. I used to be afraid of retaliatory feedback, but realized that it was unfair to other honest people to simply let an incident slide.
Probably my favorite fuction on Ebay is the "My Ebay" page. Simply sign in and click on My Ebay, and at a glance you will be able to see all of the items you have bid on, are watching, are selling and recent feedback. You can even program in your favorite categories, and you can be whisked there right away. I use this page more than any other on Ebay.
This site is not just for people looking for rock-bottom deals. I have bought several items that were NWT, or new with tags, for a great deal cheaper than I would have paid in the store. Ebay truly has something for everyone, give it a look today!
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Suzanne
Location: North Carolina
Reviews written: 207
Trusted by: 236 members
About Me: Real Estate Rock Star
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