Truth and Consequences
Written: Sep 21 '01
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The Bottom Line
Use it - enjoy it - but don't abuse it! Your pocket book will be empty forever if you do.
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| Full Review |
I love eBay. So far. I have been using the new website now for about a month, and after about 50 bids, have only won on one item. No matter what my love for eBay is, there are some problems with it.
The Truth:
eBay may look extremely confusing to use as a beginner. I'm an advanced web user (been using the internet for about 8 years now), and I even had a little trouble getting it all figured out. Paypal accounts, billpoint, proxy bidding, dutch style auctions... buy now, pay later - it was all a big maze to figure out. Here are some pointers for you. Get registered first. Then search either topics that are set up (being able to just browse a certain topic, like movies), or if you know what you want, type it in. Now beware, you might get a huge number of hits, like you do in a search engine. I have noticed that when searching for videos, DVD's, CD's, etc., search as specific as possible (ex.: The Talented Mr. Ripley DVD). Then instead of getting ALL The Talented Mr. Ripley products (VHS, Movie Posters, Books, etc.) you should only get the hits that include all your search words. It does make life a little easier.
Then notice when you do find the item that you want, that there are a million (well, not always :-) ), different choices to pick from! I suggest that you read each hit individually. For example, you might have found that DVD for $0.01, but shipping is $6.00! Then you click on another of the same DVD that is being sold by another seller, and you will see it's at $2.00 with $1.75 shipping - which is the better deal? So just make sure you keep close attention to the condition of the products, the methods of payment, and the shipping and handeling prices. An item may be priced higher than another, but it also may be brand new, and have cheaper - or sometimes even free - shipping. Try not to be in a hurry when you are searching around for an item. By not searching out all the options, you may be spending more than you thought, and not getting such a great bargain.
Another thing to help you save money, is to go onto websites that might be selling the item you are looking at. CD's, movies and books, electronics, etc. Find out what the actual brand new retail price is for the item. Sometimes people try to put copies of brand new movies, or new electronics up for only a couple dollars cheaper than you could buy them brand new from a retail or online store. Watch out that what you are getting is really a bargain or discount.
You may elect to set up a PayPal account. You will see this as one of the ways that merchant's like to be paid instead of the conventional check or money order. Read carefully the way in which you can pay for the item you are bidding on. Watch for special sign up bonuses from merchant's web listing. Sometimes you can get $5.00 just for creating a free account. I have use PayPal as a way to pay for items on eBay, and it really in easy and convenient. If you want to pay by credit card, I would highly recommend it.
When it comes to bidding, you can use an option called 'Proxy Bidding'. This is a very nice feature. If an auction starts off at $1.00, but you are willing to pay $7.00 for the item, you can set you 'max' bid at $7.00. Then if someone later comes to bid $2.00, it will automatically set you at the next highest price (for example, $2.25). One thing I found distressing before I won my first auction, is that you may be the highest, and only bidder on a product for the first 5 days the auction is up. But when it comes down to closing in 1-2 days, that is when the action really states. You will see your price on that $1.00 item quickly escalating up to your $7.00 max. You may choose to set your proxy bid at a higher number, like $10.00. But this is where it becomes addicting, because you may be paying a HIGHER price for the item than it is really worth. So be careful about overbidding in the 'heat of the moment'. The last couple minutes of the auction is when 'sneaky people' come in and try to outbid you before you can set your price higher if you are on the computer. They hope that you are away at work, and that they can beat your high bid and win the item out from under you. Be careful of this tactic, and be ready to sit at your computer for the last 10 minutes and refreshing wildly making sure you are the higest bidder if you are really bunched up about winning that auction.
Also, read sellers comments. Make sure that they have a good reputation about sticking to their word. You can click on the seller's 'numbers' next to their name. For example, when you are looking at the item description, you will see Seller: ebaysellerforlife(73). If you click on the 73, it will take you to their comment card, so you can read their reviews.
It is extremly addicting when you find all these wonderful things that you want, and some starting out at only $0.01. Just be careful not to spend more than the item is worth, or pay too much for shipping. Look at all the options before you place that bid! Happy eBaying!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jescr273
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Location: Oregon
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 1 member
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