How To Buy And Sell On Ebay


daclassicgamingmaster

It Is Your Birthday.
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
8,168
Age
36
Location
ATL
Website
krispf3.blogspot.com
Starting a few months back, I began to receive PMs from people who had questions about Ebay.com. More than one or two might I add. For this reason, I've decided to create a thread where I can give back to the community in some sense. Kind of a way to say thanks for all the questions I've gotten answered throughout my Gamepark ventures. :)

Let me start by saying that I am no "expert" in the extreme sense of the word. I do, however, have some knowledge I'd like to share with everyone, in hopes that more people will feel comfortable with the greatest website ever created :D. If you know how to use it properly, the possibilities are literally endless.

This is part one of two.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a few things which are essential to mastering Ebay. They're pretty obvious, but I'll list them anyway:
  • Using the search engine
  • Watching items
  • Fully utilizing "My Ebay"
  • Placing a bid
  • Getting the item you want: A technique called "sniping"
  • Proxy Bidding
  • Paying
  • Final thoughts
Using the search engine

The first thing is using the search engine. Once you know how to do this, you can find things that others cannot.

The ebay search engine picks up keywords. For this reason, you do not want to overly describe something. If anything, underdescribing it would work more to your benefit, as you aren't ruling anything out by accident. For example, if you search "The legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time", you would get significantly less results than if you searched "Ocarina", and simplified the search by selecting catagories such as "Video Games>Games>N64". Also make sure to search out different names that your item could fall under. An example of this would be "Dragonballz", "Dragon Ballz" or just "Dragonball". All of these turn up different results, so be aware that you could be missing a few listings.

Watching items

The next handy option to get down is the ability to "watch" your items. It's as simple as this: If you see something you like, click the option to "watch this in My Ebay". After shopping for your item, you can look at all the candidates conveniently in one location, and see the ending times as well.

Fully utilizing "My Ebay"

The next thing is utilizing "My Ebay". It is here that you can keep all watched items, won items, lost items, feedback overview, and seller information such as items sold. Other information contained here is paid for items, feedback given received, and whether that feedback was positive, neutral, or negative. The only thing to keep in mind is that this little section can do wonders when you are looking to buy/sell an item.

Placing a bid

Next comes placing a bid. To many, this is the most important part of Ebay. The thing is, many people screw this part up, which ends up blowing everything for them. The key thing to remember is, never bid more than you want to pay, especially on impulse. I can’t even count how many times I’ve bid too much in the heat of the moment. You wind up kicking yourself afterwards if you’re hasty though.
Remember that the key time to bid is when there are a few seconds left. That way, you cannot be outbid, especially by novices who haven’t mastered the refresh button ;). This can be tricky though; you need to find the maximum amount you’re willing to pay, and throw it all in at once (since you’ll be bidding the last second). If you bid too little, kiss the item goodbye. If you bid too much, you may wind up paying more than you’d like to have paid. This takes time to perfect, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you haven’t mastered bidding just yet.


Getting the item you want: A technique called "sniping"
- Thanks to iignotus for contributing this information

Whenever you see an auction for an item you want, one of the things you notice immediately is how much time that auction has left. Most auctions are listed for 7 days, though they can also be listed for 1, 3, 5, or 10 days. When you watch an item in My eBay, it will automatically tell you when there are less than 24 hours left to an auction.

The reason why keeping a good eye on the item you want is important is that it leads to a technique known as sniping. Sniping is when you place a high bid, many times your only bid on that item, very near the end of the auction. When I say very near, I don't mean 'one hour left'. I mean less than one minute left. Since the eBay website (and web pages in general) take time to load or refresh -- sometimes a long time -- waiting to place your high bid until the last minute means you have a much greater chance of locking other bidders out of placing a higher bid. There is almost never any logical reason why you'd want to place a high bid early in the auction, as doing so gives many eBayers an idea of not only what the item may sell for, but also what you're willing to bid.

The morality of sniping is a contested subject. There are people who believe that sniping is an unfair and un-sportsman-like tactic that is tantamount to selling an item for $0.99 and charging twice what the item's worth for shipping. However, sniping is completely unavoidable on eBay, due not only to eBay policy, but also human nature. Everyone will be sniped in an auction if on eBay long enough, and almost everyone will snipe at least once or twice themselves. The best way to overcome the subject is to understand it, and that means using sniping to your advantage whenever possible.

Proxy Bidding

Now to discuss proxy bidding. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s pretty simple to understand: Ebay will bid up to your maximum amount in the designated increments of the auction. For instance, if the item’s current price is 20 US dollars, the bid increment is 25 cents, and you place an automatic proxy bid in the amount of 50 US dollars, Ebay will only bid in increments of 25 cents up to your maximum bid. This works to your benefit, as you wont necessarily end up paying that 50 dollar bid you placed.

Paying

Finally, I’d like to touch down on methods for paying. Paypal, which is an Ebay company, is the safest, hands down. In the even that you get some asshole who thinks he can rip you off, you not only have the paypal crew to help settle the dispute, but your bank is also on your side. Deadbeats are aplenty on Ebay. They are UNAVOIDABLE! Thing is, I’ve never lost a penny to a scammer since I originally joined nearly 5 years ago. Save all emails and make sure to maintain contact with your seller, and you will be fine. Money orders are also accepted by the vast majority of sellers, but again, a credit card through paypal is the safest method.

Final thoughts


In closing, I’d like to give a few more tips. First and foremost, confirm that the seller you intend to deal with is reputable. Ebay created the feedback system for a reason! Remember to establish your reputation, as well as help others to establish theirs. I have over 250 feedbacks, 99.3% of which are positive (taken directly from my stat chart in My Ebay). Don’t be afraid to make mistakes at first. I remember my first 2 items I won when I first signed up. I was 13 years old at the time, and hastily bid on a simpson dartboard and an overpriced neo geo pocket color system. Needless to say I didn’t pay for either, and was quite shocked when I discovered I had strikes against me. I never backed out an auction again :).

Also, if you see the seller you have just purchased from is “no longer a registered user”, don’t panic. If you haven’t paid yet, I would advise against it. If you have, and the feedback doesn’t reflect him/her being a deadbeat, email the person! Ask why his/her account was suspended, and when the account will be reinstated. Go with your gut feeling. If you don't get a response, or the feedback starts to dip into the negatives, it's time to file a dispute with paypal.

The last tip I have to make sure to read the auction carefully. You DO NOT want to get ripped off on shipping. I have friends who saw a PSP or whatever for a Buy It Now of 10 dollars, clicked the option, and then were told they had to pay 250 US dollars on shipping from Europe. Confirm shipping prices (including the elusive “required insurance” which could cost you upwards of 10 dollars more), confirm feedback, confirm that the item is new, used, or anything otherwise that you’re looking for, and make sure that your preferred payment method is accepted. Be weary when buying from new members with little to no feedback, but also keep in mind that if you use paypal, you really cannot be ripped off. All I can stress is READ, READ, READ, and you will be fine.


Hope this is somewhat of a help to you guys. Any additional questions please don’t hesitate to drop a reply, and I’ll get back to you asap. I’ll also try to get out that guide to selling when I have more time and feel up to it.

Peace :)

- DCGM
 
Well, maybe I can add a little bit of information to the pool... expand a bit on something you touched on in "placing a bid"...

Getting that item you want!

Whenever you see an auction for an item you want, one of the things you notice immediately is how much time that auction has left. Most auctions are listed for 7 days, though they can also be listed for 1, 3, 5, or 10 days. When you watch an item in My eBay, it will automatically tell you when there are less than 24 hours left to an auction.

The reason why keeping a good eye on the item you want is important is that it leads to a technique known as sniping. Sniping is when you place a high bid, many times your only bid on that item, very near the end of the auction. When I say very near, I don't mean 'one hour left'. I mean less than one minute left. Since the eBay website (and web pages in general) take time to load or refresh -- sometimes a long time -- waiting to place your high bid until the last minute means you have a much greater chance of locking other bidders out of placing a higher bid. There is almost never any logical reason why you'd want to place a high bid early in the auction, as doing so gives many eBayers an idea of not only what the item may sell for, but also what you're willing to bid.

The morality of sniping is a contested subject. There are people who believe that sniping is an unfair and un-sportsman-like tactic that is tantamount to selling an item for $0.99 and charging twice what the item's worth for shipping. However, sniping is completely unavoidable on eBay, due not only to eBay policy, but also human nature. Everyone will be sniped in an auction if on eBay long enough, and almost everyone will snipe at least once or twice themselves. The best way to overcome the subject is to understand it, and that means using sniping to your advantage whenever possible.
 
Yeah that's some really good information. I never fully understood why people bitched about sniping. If you know how to do it, you get even better deals than if you were to play "fair", and you almost always win the item.

I do it all the time :D

Fishbong posted on Jul 4 2006 at 04:30 PM said:
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 3 2006 at 11:35 PM said:
I began to receive PMs from people who had questions about Ebay.com.
O RLY?

Why?
I've made clear that I know how to use ebay on more than one occasion, and I've also offered help through PMs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
iignotus posted on Jul 4 2006 at 10:08 PM said:
The morality of sniping is a contested subject. There are people who believe that sniping is an unfair and un-sportsman-like tactic that is tantamount to selling an item for $0.99 and charging twice what the item's worth for shipping. However, sniping is completely unavoidable on eBay, due not only to eBay policy, but also human nature. Everyone will be sniped in an auction if on eBay long enough, and almost everyone will snipe at least once or twice themselves. The best way to overcome the subject is to understand it, and that means using sniping to your advantage whenever possible.

I think everyone who uses eBay regularly will figure out that the way to get cheaper items is to snipe. And being honest, the last one minute on an item has always been pretty exciting, especially when you click the submit button and hope to god that your connection doesn't mysteriously slow so you miss the bid.

Regarding the morality of sniping, it's part of the way the site works and I think it adds some fun and excitement. Except for when someone sniped me on a Taz I wanted to buy my fella for Christmas :blink: .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sniping is a losing proposition. It just makes more money for the seller. Sniping WILL help you "win more auctions", but why on earth would that be any normal ebay buyer's goal? I don't want to win more auctions, I want to win *ONE* auction for the thing I am looking for at the lowest possible price. Place a proxy bid for the most you will pay, then walk away. Re-out-bidding someone after they have passed your bid cap is like changing your budget at the grocery store to make an impulse purchase, bad business.
 
I would like to add to this thread,
if anyone is still interested on picking up a GP32, they need to ask questions of the seller!!
Like, is it a back lit unit, front lit unit, or a non lit unit? If it is the non lit unit or the front lit unit, it needs the free launcher with it!! If they do not give you the free launcher with it, stay away unless you want to have a little headache getting that one solved!
I would advise getting only the back lit or the back lit plus. (BLU, BLU+)
 
Sparr posted on Jul 4 2006 at 09:54 PM said:
Sniping is a losing proposition. It just makes more money for the seller. Sniping WILL help you "win more auctions", but why on earth would that be any normal ebay buyer's goal? I don't want to win more auctions, I want to win *ONE* auction for the thing I am looking for at the lowest possible price. Place a proxy bid for the most you will pay, then walk away. Re-out-bidding someone after they have passed your bid cap is like changing your budget at the grocery store to make an impulse purchase, bad business.
There's a difference between bidding with a few seconds left in the auction, and bidding over the maximum you would be willing to pay in order to win. Here's an example:

5 days left: three bids. You bid X amount, and so you appear in the bid history as the high bidder. Onlookers see there's a bid on that specific item, and attempt to raise the bid in their favor. A smart ebayer would wait until a few seconds are left (I usually bid within 10 seconds of closing), then place the max bid they're willing to pay. If they end up becoming the high bidder, the auction is over before the other 2 bidders could re-bid. It's as simple as that :). By placing a proxy bid with the high amount you're willing to fork over, you are opening yourself up to being outbid right away, especially by the previous bidders who want that item.

Is that a bit more clear?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think using ebay is pretty much common sense. And there are already quite a few guides on how to use it for anybody that really needs help
 
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 4 2006 at 09:34 PM said:
5 days left: three bids. You bid X amount, and so you appear in the bid history as the high bidder. Onlookers see there's a bid on that specific item, and attempt to raise the bid in their favor. A smart ebayer would wait until a few seconds are left (I usually bid within 10 seconds of closing), then place the max bid they're willing to pay. If they end up becoming the high bidder, the auction is over before the other 2 bidders could re-bid. It's as simple as that :). By placing a proxy bid with the high amount you're willing to fork over, you are opening yourself up to being outbid right away, especially by the previous bidders who want that item.

Is that a bit more clear?

No. That only works if you and the other two bidders are going to keep outbidding each other. This is, as I said before, only going to benefit the seller. If you want cheap items, proxy bid and walk away. If you and the other bidders want to have a bidding war then feel free, but you arent helping yourself at all. The only way you can win with sniping when you wouldnt win with proxy bidding is if the OTHER bidders are also not using proxy bidding.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sparr posted on Jul 4 2006 at 11:38 PM said:
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 4 2006 at 09:34 PM said:
5 days left: three bids. You bid X amount, and so you appear in the bid history as the high bidder. Onlookers see there's a bid on that specific item, and attempt to raise the bid in their favor. A smart ebayer would wait until a few seconds are left (I usually bid within 10 seconds of closing), then place the max bid they're willing to pay. If they end up becoming the high bidder, the auction is over before the other 2 bidders could re-bid. It's as simple as that :). By placing a proxy bid with the high amount you're willing to fork over, you are opening yourself up to being outbid right away, especially by the previous bidders who want that item.

Is that a bit more clear?

No. That only works if you and the other two bidders are going to keep outbidding each other. This is, as I said before, only going to benefit the seller. If you want cheap items, proxy bid and walk away. If you and the other bidders want to have a bidding war then feel free, but you arent helping yourself at all. The only way you can win with sniping when you wouldnt win with proxy bidding is if the OTHER bidders are also not using proxy bidding.
But that's the whole point. From experience, many people do not put in high proxy bids, not even what they are willing to pay up to. The following scenario has played out many, many times for me personally, and I can't be alone:

I'm bidder iggy1000. I see an item "Mint Condition Space Transmodulator". List price is $100. Starting bid is $0.99. There is only one other bidder intested and willing to bid on the item is a user named gamemaster56. Gamemaster56 starts the bidding with a bid of $10. I bid the technical minimum outbid of $1.50 and I am automatically outbid. Knowing the high list price of this item, I bid $25 and become the highest bidder.

Gamemaster56 goes out of town for a few days, lets say, and comes back with only 2 minutes left to the auction. He sees that he has been outbid and the item is now at $10.50. Now knowing that I probably put a higher bid than the technical mimimum outbid, he puts in a bid of $50. The bidding is now up to $11 with a very nice margin in between. He thinks he's all set and has won the auction -- he's counting on the fact that I try and snipe at the end of the auction with a bid less than $50, taking a guess at the maximum amount I'm willing to pay.

However, with a mere few seconds left to the auction, I snipe a bid of $75, still 25% off list price, but yet a high bid. The bidding goes up to $50.50 and iggy1000 is the winner. Like I said, this has happened many times before to me and will continue to happen. It likely happens to everyone else as well. That's why sniping is an important thing that you should learn about and understand, because it does help in bidding.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
iignotus posted on Jul 4 2006 at 11:18 PM said:
But that's the whole point. From experience, many people do not put in high proxy bids, not even what they are willing to pay up to.

I guess it depends on what youre buying. People new to ebay might not understand how the system works, but most of the things I buy on ebay I am bidding against people who have purchased hundreds or thousands of items. They know I can snipe, I know they can snipe, we both know how the proxy system works. I proxy bid and walk away. In your example I would have just proxy bid for $75 and been done with it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Must say, I'm guilty of sniping, but only in the interest of me getting the item for the cheapest possible price :) I've no idea it was called "sniping", but I just wanted a few things, and didn't want other people to push the price up further, so I bidded with about 10 - 15 seconds left to go and got the item.

There's still a lot of people that don't use proxy-bidding, prefering to do it manually for some strange reason (maybe they don't trust it, or don't fully understand it), and its in these cases that sniping really helps out.
 
Ebay is basically 7 days of "look at the item" followed by a 30 second silent auction (when everybody actually bids the amount they are willing to pay). As long as people understand that's how it works, they won't get upset by "snipers".
 
Dzz posted on Jul 5 2006 at 10:48 AM said:
Ebay is basically 7 days of "look at the item" followed by a 30 second silent auction (when everybody actually bids the amount they are willing to pay). As long as people understand that's how it works, they won't get upset by "snipers".
I agree whole-heartedly. That's why I always laught to myself when it's a 10 or 7 day auction and there is already a bid on the item. The person who bid is usually a newbie and really stands no chance of winning now :D.

@VGballer: I'm glad you found my guide useful, but please, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't bother posting here. The number of PMs I have received indicate that it is not "common sense" at all. Some people need help. And why pay for a guide when this is pretty good thus far and free??

ps: iignotus, would you mind if I added your contributions to the guide in the first post? I'd of course write "With contributions by, yada yada yada..."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 5 2006 at 04:15 PM said:
Dzz posted on Jul 5 2006 at 10:48 AM said:
Ebay is basically 7 days of "look at the item" followed by a 30 second silent auction (when everybody actually bids the amount they are willing to pay). As long as people understand that's how it works, they won't get upset by "snipers".
I agree whole-heartedly. That's why I always laught to myself when it's a 10 or 7 day auction and there is already a bid on the item. The person who bid is usually a newbie and really stands no chance of winning now :D.
What difference does it make? Bidding is free, so they can still "snipe" if they want to stand a greater chance of winning.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 5 2006 at 11:15 AM said:
ps: iignotus, would you mind if I added your contributions to the guide in the first post? I'd of course write "With contributions by, yada yada yada..."
Of course I wouldn't mind.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
VGballer posted on Jul 5 2006 at 04:38 AM said:
I think using ebay is pretty much common sense. And there are already quite a few guides on how to use it for anybody that really needs help

Fuck you! You can see he went to a lot of effort to vividly describe the processes involved in bidding on ebay. Personally, I found it interesting, and if you don't have anything constructive to say, keep your yap shut.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
daclassicgamingmaster posted on Jul 5 2006 at 04:52 PM said:
yes they could, but bidding early in an auction is a sign of inexperience.
What sort of tight-rope reputation does anybody have that will be shattered by an early bid on an Ebay auction? If you aren't that fussed whether or not you get the item, a medium priced hopeful bid early on in the auction is a fair thing to do.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top