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Lots of bargains (Reply to this comment)
by stickysnail
A lot of people buy from ebay and its always fun to see what people are most interested in. www.targetwatch.com amazingly has what everyone on ebay is watching in any category.
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Dec 08 '06
8:52 pm PST
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Re: Well Done Lisa! (Reply to this comment)
by Lisa_J
Thanks for the comment! My participation there goes in spurts... but has continued. Best of luck and enjoy the day~~ Lisa :)
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Oct 04 '04
3:43 am PDT
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Well Done Lisa! (Reply to this comment)
by KElliottRocks
Very well written review! I'm just starting to get interested in Ebay myself. My sister in law is making a killing on some of her kids' clothing! Your review just got me even more excited about selling on Ebay! Thanks....and thanks for the great ratings and comments! ~Kat
Jon...that sounds like something I might do! LOL
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Oct 03 '04
9:56 pm PDT
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Re: My mistake (Reply to this comment)
by Lisa_J
=)
Hi Jon!
Take care, Lisa
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Nov 13 '02
2:58 pm PST
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My mistake (Reply to this comment)
by jonwes
Sorry about the grandiose comment below! This is a lesson in paying attention to those that come across this. When you want to write a review, click on "Write A Review On This Topic", *NOT* "Write A Comment On This Review"! ! !
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Nov 13 '02
2:49 pm PST
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You Can Truly Find Anything On The Internet! (Reply to this comment)
by jonwes
I've been an E-bayer for a couple of years now and decided that it might help others to share my experience on what many refer to as the "World's largest swap meet". E-Bay is essentially a forum for buyers and sellers to make trades on everything from household items to automobiles and everything in between. Scarcely is there a product that you can't find here. I forgot what initially led me to the site, but I'd imagine it was due to finding an item at a lower price than what it was selling for locally. This scenario accounts for the majority of the attraction that E-Bay offers to people that have never used it before.
Searching & Bidding
E-Bay is set up to be very user friendly and easy to work with. When you first log on to www.ebay.com, you're taken to the primary screen that allows you to browse certain categories or search for specific items. Kudos to E-Bay for not changing the format over the years, as people like to become familiar with an interface rather than having to learn something new all of the time. If you're performing a search for an item, you simply type it into the entry box and hit "Find it". You'll soon be looking at a new screen with all of the matches found given your criteria. This can range from none to several thousand, depending on how many sellers are offering it. The list is sorted by when the auction is ending, from now to several days down the road. Useful information is provided, such as: a short description of the item, whether or not a photo is present with the ad, current bid price, number of bids, and the amount of time remaining in either minutes, hours, or days. When you click on a specific item, you'll be given much more detailed information, including: photos, descriptions, seller information, shipping charges, etc.
The bidding process is fairly straight forward. You are clearly required to bid an amount higher than the current bid on the item, just like an auction. If no bid has been placed as of yet, you can enter your maximum bid for the auction, which will initially begin the bidding process just above the entry price for the item, but as others bid against you, the system will automatically increase your bid until the maximum you designated is reached. This is what E-Bay calls "Proxy Bidding". It gives the buyer the freedom to step away from the auction and be assured that the system will keep raising the ante until you're truly outbid.
Buyer Beware!
Everything in the review up to this point has been information that can be found easily on E-Bay directly. This is where Epinions can benefit others by sharing interesting tips. If there's just a few words of caution I can share here, I'd definitely begin with caveat empor - Buyer Beware! What I mean by this is that you should do your homework before bidding. Take a look at the seller's feedback rating by clicking on the number in parantheses next to their name. This will give you a break down of how many positive, neutral, or negative comments he/she has received. Be reasonable when viewing the information, meaning that if the seller has 1,800 total comments and 12 are negative, there's probably not too much to be worried about. On the other hand, if there is a total of 50 comments and 6 are negative, you may have something to worry about. The "ID Card" is essentially a way of establishing which sellers and buyers are reputable and which are not. The detailed comments can be read individually, but the overall score card gives you a good idea of what you're up against. I have generally avoided sellers with report cards that are not within reason, and I must say that all of my 50 or so transactions have been trouble free. There's been the occasional situation where the item hasn't shown up in a reasonable amount of time, and at that point I begin sending correspondence to the seller. If it extends out for a few days, I will quickly let them know that I want to avoid the situation going to negative feedback and having to get E-Bay involved. This seems to work every time, as most people genuinely care about their reputation on the site, particularly if you're dealing with a seller with minimal or no negative feedback, which you should be targeting to begin with. I have seen some people lose their money by bidding on a fraudulent auction and sending their money quickly. I've never been subject to this and I credit it to being a sharp buyer. If an auction seems too good to be true and the seller has very little feedback, you may want to err on the side of caution. Secondly, once you win an auction, wait to hear from the seller before you send funds. Use good judgment as the rule, because certain "Power Sellers" on E-Bay have established themselves well enough and are beyond a shadow of a doubt upstanding E-Bayers to the point that I've sent funds without correspondence. It just depends on the situation. The primary rule of thumb is to be weary of anyone that has very little feedback on their profile.
Another tip I can pass along here is to not be drawn in to the mentality that you're always getting a great deal on E-Bay. I have found several items in the last year alone that were more inexpensive to purchase either at a local store or an internet retailer. Again, do your homework and be sure that you're getting the best deal possible. DO NOT set your maximum bid price above what you'd be willing to pay for the item. Example: if a stereo receiver is currently at $167 and you know that the best price you can get it for elsewhere would be $300, then set your maximum for an amount that is $10-20 less than that taking into account shipping charges. That leads me to another good point. ALWAYS take a close look at additional charges you're going to be incurring on an auction. I've seen plenty of auctions that offer an item for a dollar or two, but they make it up in their outrageous shipping charges of $5-10. If you bid on such an item, it's like the old saying that "ignorance is no excuse for the law"; you're obligated to pay for the item - shipping and all. If not, you're subject to negative feedback and problems with E-Bay. Another scenario to watch out for is regular sellers, meaning non merchants, that want to charge sales tax on a used item. You'll see it on the auction either clearly stated in their description or in the "Payment Details" section. I happened upon this by being careless and not noticing the fact that California residents were supposed to pay an additional 8.25% on the winning bid. Upon the close of the auction, I noticed that the seller was an individual and I informed him that I was not willing to pay something that was not required by law. We debated back and forth through several e-mails until we found the compromise of meeting in the middle. I agreed to pay him half of the sales tax due to the fact that it was clearly stated in the auction. He agreed to drop the amount due, given that myself and my girlfriend at the time, who was an attorney, convinced him that merchants are the only parties eligible to charge sales tax on an auction. Had I read over the auction more carefully, the whole situation could have been avoided.
Selling
I have strictly ventured into the buying side of E-Bay and not the selling side as of yet, but here's the basics. When selling an item, one must become verified by E-Bay, which can be easily accomplished with a major credit card. After this, you should read over the fees that you'll be incurring by selling. These fees range from a standard "insertion" fee to a percentage of the winning bid. Usually, under most circumstances, the fees will not amount to more than 5-10% of the final bid. I would recommend to new E-Bayers that they establish their credibility as a buyer, which is easy to do, before easing into the seller's market. You'll find a much wider number of people bidding on your auction this way. When setting up your auction, you'll be able to give a detailed description of what you're selling, include a photo at no additional charge (more photos equals more fees), determine the ending date of the auction, and dictate payment terms (PayPal, Credit Card, Cashier's Check/Money Order, etc.). Once the auction is submitted, you hope for the best and wait it out. It can be exciting to get an item on E-Bay at a fraction of it's actual worth, while it can be great as a seller to get far more for an item than what you were initially anticipating. Auctioneering at its best!
Conclusion
Overall, I've had a great experience on E-Bay and I've found items that would have been twice as much at a local retailer than what I paid for them. This, along with the HUGE assortment of goods on the site, keeps me coming back regularly. It can be addictive, so watch out. I mean it. There's plenty of people out there that spend their afternoons and/or evenings hovering over their computers like vultures waiting for the next great deal to come their way. Be smart, be cautious, be responsible, and you'll have a great experience on E-Bay!
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Nov 13 '02
2:39 pm PST
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Wow! (Reply to this comment)
by oxfordmike
What a thorough review! I think you've covered everything that anyone new to online auctions would want and need to know.
(Hopefully, you can rewrite this as an article for a magazine ... any magazine, save for a computer mag; those have covered eBay to death!)
--Mike
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Jul 07 '02
9:34 pm PDT
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~*~ (Reply to this comment)
by Lisa_J
Thank you for the comments!
Amy - you are welcome girlie! Anytime. Susan - I will continue discussing it with you via email! =)
Seawolf - thanks for the kind words!
I hope to edit and add much more soon!
Lisa_J
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Aug 07 '01
12:49 pm PDT
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I'm an addict too! (Reply to this comment)
by elzora
I love ebay! I have almost finished off my mom's antique wedding dishes by finding them at ebay! And a great place to collect hockey, baseball, football cards!
Great job!
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Aug 06 '01
10:09 am PDT
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Gymboree hat last Easter for $45??? (Reply to this comment)
by sgentile
Unbelievable! Do you find that selling groups of items sell better than a single item? You have my head churning (My kids dress mostly in Gymboree and the like thanks to grandma)! lol. I usually sell everything at consignment for 1/2 original price (and split that with the owner)...
Nice job Lisa.
Susan :)
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Aug 05 '01
5:36 am PDT
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VH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Reply to this comment)
by ImAmes
Awesome epinion Lisa!!! Thanks for walking me through the steps on how to use Ebay- I love it!!
Keep up the great work as a writer and a friend:)
LOVE YOU
Ames
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Aug 05 '01
5:17 am PDT
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