ebay Buying Tips

Every now and then I browse ebay, but have never attempted bidding on anything. It seems people are either hot or cold regarding their ebay experiences.

That said, what would be your top two or three suggestions on ebay bidding/buying?

Thank you,
Glenn F.

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Feedback is important do your research on the seller before you bid.

I just recently bought a rebuilt magneto for my A and it arrived broken. The guy took care of the problem and i would not hesitate to buy from him again.

Make no mistake, there are sharks out there that use misleading wording to their advantage. Pay attention,do your homework on the seller,ask straight forward questions if in doubt.

As for bidding on e-bay, bid the limit you're willing to spend, and bid as late as possible.

Watch the feedback on the seller. And watch their response to a negative. You'll learn a lot from that.

Beware shipping costs. My how some get creative with them.

Hence my name on ebay "deernutz" since what I sell is usually found "Under a Buck"

Thank you, Glenn F.

I would even let the seller bid. This would do away with starting bids and reserve prices. Nobody gets to know the outcome until it is over. It sure would stop all the grumbling from the idiots who don't understand auctions.

the sniping isnt what doesnt sell items,, sometimes the buyers arent out there this week,, I have sold stuff for 3 times the amount I actually expected sometimes after it didnt sell and I relisted it after the week before not getting a single bid on it,,

the easiest way to buy at any auction,, including ebay,, is put a price in your head,, bid only that price,, sometimes by losing you actually win by not paying way to much,,

with ebay think of the most you want to pay, include the shipping in your total, and put a bid on it,, the proxy bid will only bid you up to the next highest step,, then you dont have to worry about waiting tll teh last minutes,, or losing it because you forgot,,

watch the shipping ,,some people put no shipping down and then sock you in the end with inflated shipping,,

although dont get angry when the shipping is a tad less than you ended up paying for shipping sometimes you have to figure in boxing,gas,fees,etc,, ebay is a decent way to get a deal n things,, you just have to be careful, but that goes with any thing,,, ..

all the other advice is very good too, put it all together and then you will be more informed with your venture,, good lucka nd go bid on something,, the first few are the scariest,,

ask questions on the item you are buying,, most items are described pretty good, but if you have a question ask, if the seller is legit and decent you will be answered promptly,,
pat

Wait 'til the last 3 to 5 seconds, THEN "snipe" the highest amount you are willing to pay.

The fewer items a seller has sold, the greater the numerical impact of a single negative feedback will be. When a seller has a large number of sales, however, I want to read what buyers who left negative feedback have to say---particularly if the feedback score is below about 99.7%. Most positive feedback seems uninformative because of its gushy excess, but some buyers take the time to actually say something.

I've tried putting in my highest bid at the earliest opportunity, and I've tried waiting until the closing moments of an auction to place a bid. Each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages.

If you bid all you're willing to pay early, you won't lose an item you could have gotten because you forgot to go back and bid on it (done that several times---really bitter when mine would have been the only bid), and you won't get into a competitive frenzy and bid more than you actually want to pay (BTDT, too.)

I've gotten a few items by snatching them away from a bidder who wasn't paying attention during the closing moments, and had more than a few snatched from me that way. It's more exciting to do it that way (with the above mentioned shortcomings) but I can't say I believe it's more effective over all.

This may be completely needless advice for you, but I'll mention that you shouldn't bid when you don't have your wits about you, for whatever reason. Several years ago my wife couldn't sleep one night, so she got up and shopped for a piece of jewelry for her sister's birthday. Either she was still groggy from lack of sleep, or she hadn't bothered to find the right pair of glasses in the dark bedroom. Anyway, the next morning we found that she had bid $6,000 for a necklace she meant to bid $60 for. It wasn't a disaster, but it did cost her more than $60. The real point is, no mistakes on eBay are easy to fix.

One other point just occurred to me. There is a fairly rare category which invites you to "Buy It Now---Or Make Offer." I once got some 50' 2/0 copper welding cables for an offer which I was almost embarrassed to make, from a seller who sold them regularly on eBay. It was a nothing ventured, nothing gained impulse that paid off.

All the best, Stan

A couple of points.

1. Auctions ending during civic events such as the Superbowl or Christmas tend to be easy to win as nobody bids.

2. By and large 100% positive feedback indicates a safe vendor, but when I bought a truck I discovered that the dealer had managed 26 positive feedbacks and from then on set reserves too high to sell and waited to get potential customers on the phone, at which point he closed the sale outside eBay. I went for this trick as well, even though it left me without recourse to eBay dispute resolution mechanisms. I wouldn't have been too distressed about this had I not formed my initial positive impression of the vendor and the truck as a result of the deceptive 100% positive rating.

Next time on the phone I'd ask something about how many cars they have sold on eBay and compared that to the number of feedbacks registered.

3. Ebay offers an enormous market, and thus it's a great place to find scarce things. Gearboxes for my rotary mower and a manifold for my MH 30 were no problem. Good deals are available on premium fishing reels, as well. Kitchen cabinet hardware came by the boxful for about 20% of the retail price. A bunch of door lock sets I bought recently ran 10-15% retail.

4. At the Canadian border UPS and FedEx charge ridiculous brokerage fees. I refuse to buy any product that the American vendor won't ship USPS.

5. Always be sure of the shipping/handling charges before you bid.