E-BAY TERMS, TIPS & TRICKS

Here are some quick tips/facts for E-Bay Users:

1. Membership – Sign up for membership on E-Bay. It is free and you need membership to add items to a watchlist or to bid.
2. Pay Pal – a way to securely pay for your items on E-Bay (and elsewhere). Many sellers only accept Pay Pal. Very few do not accept it. Always check payment procedures before bidding. Pay Pal also offers some buyer protection services.
3. Shipping – never, ever bid on an item without checking the shipping costs. If the price seems too low to believe, you may find the shipping fee is too high to believe
4. Research – particularly if you are buying a new item or an item that you may not be familiar with, do research and make sure that this is the item you want at the price you want. Most items on E-Bay are not returnable.
5. Feedback – every member of E-Bay has a feedback rating. Check it before bidding. Sometimes two identical items will have vastly different bid rates. Usually the higher bid is matched to the better rated seller. If it is a high dollar item, buy from a highly rated seller. Low cost items, you may decide to gamble with first time sellers or lower rated sellers.
6. Sniping/Snipe – to snipe something on E-Bay means you win it with a literal last second bid. Usually the bid is placed within the last 20 seconds of the auction’s close. I believe in sniping – I think the prices stay lower and my chances of winning increase.
7. Sniping Service – an on-line service that you subscribe to. For a fee, they will snipe the coveted item for you.
8. International Sellers – bids are generally listed in italics. Since the dollar is not so strong right now and international shipping can be costly, you can choose to limit sellers to US only using the panel on the left of your E-Bay screen.
9. International Shipping – those same international shippers can be used to your advantage. If you need to send a present overseas, look to direct ship from an international seller.
10. Type-o Listings – sellers sometimes make mistakes in their listings. Does your child need a cornet or coronet? The trumpet like instrument is often mis-spelled and overlooked by buyers. You can find some serious deals if you look for common mistake and type-o listings. Don't have time to figure out the type-o's yourself? Use fatfingers.com, they will do it for you.

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