eBay is an online auction site where you can buy a large variety of products for less than their market value. When shopping on eBay you have two main options: you can place a bid on an item and wait to see if you have won once the auction has ended, or you can use the "Buy It Now" option to buy an item directly.. Both buying methods are pretty straightforward, but there are still some tips and techniques you should know, especially when it comes to bidding strategies. Read below to find out more.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Get familiar with eBay
Step 1. Register your account
The first thing you need to start shopping on eBay is to register your account. Without doing this, you will not be able to shop or list items. Go to ebay.it and click on the link to register in the upper left corner of the web page. You will be prompted to enter your full name and email address, after which you will need to create a username and password. After that, you will be sent a confirmation email that you will need to open in order to activate your account. You are now ready to start shopping!
Step 2. Search for an object
you can search for a specific item on eBay by typing keywords in the search bar, which appears at the top of the homepage. Otherwise, you can freely search the lists of the various categories - which include everything from fashion, to electronics products, to home knick-knacks - to see what's on sale. A list with all open auctions will appear, which you can scroll through to compare prices..
Step 3. Start small
If this is your first time buying something on eBay, it is recommended to participate in a low-priced auction, so that you can begin to understand how the site works without worrying about spending a large amount of money. Learning to bid intelligently and be successful is a skill you will need to practice if you want to become good.
Method 2 of 4: Choose Your Purchases Thoroughly
Step 1. Compare prices
When buying an item on eBay, make sure you have researched the item carefully before bidding. Look for its market value and look for similar items put up for auction, observing the price at which they are sold. In this way, you will be able to get an idea of the price trend for a specific object, so that you will be able to recognize a real offer when you see one. Take the time to research and make an informed decision before buying.
- Think how angry you would be if you rushed to buy a watch for € 50 (thinking it was a great offer) and then see the same watch on sale a week later for € 30.
- Whatever you do, don't rush to buy just because you think it might be your only opportunity to do so - with the exception of a few rare collectibles, you will be able to find most of the items for sale again on eBay.
Step 2. Check the ratings of the feedback left to the seller
One of the most important things you need to consider before transferring money via eBay is the seller feedback score. The seller's efficiency, frankness and truthfulness can have a strong impact on the positive or negative outcome of your eBay shopping experience. Each seller has feedback scores, which are received based on reviews left by customers who have purchased items from that seller previously. This type of information is available on the page where the item for sale is described, in the upper right corner.
- The fact that the seller's score is high or low should influence your decision whether or not to buy the item. if the score is low, you can still purchase the item at your own risk. Although rare, it is possible that the seller will ship you a rotot or flawed item, or that they may not ship it at all.
- You can also read each seller's reviews on each feedback page, written by previous buyers. This will help you get an idea of what to expect if you shop from this seller.
Step 3. Read the description carefully
To save time and avoid hassle, it is important to read the description of each item very, very carefully, to make sure it is exactly what you are looking for. Some images or titles could be misleading (intentionally or not) and you could be deceived and buy the wrong item. Be sure to carefully read the entire description, paying attention if any defects or problems with the object are mentioned.
- Remember that if you are not satisfied with the condition of the item when you receive it, even if the defects were clearly listed in the description, you can only blame yourself. In this case, it may not be easy to return the item and the seller will not be happy with it.
- Examples of aspects to consider include: if the item is new or used, if it is shipped in its original packaging, and if it includes accessories (battery, charger, etc …). Pay attention to too vague or confusing descriptions, as there is a greater risk that the object is not what you expect.
Step 4. Keep an eye on the shipping costs
Shipping fees are another expense that you will need to take into account in the purchases you make on eBay. It is very important to check the shipping cost before proceeding with the purchase, as many buyers are attracted by the very low cost of the item for sale which, however, are balanced by exaggeratedly high shipping costs. For this reason, you must always take shipping costs into account in the total price of the item. Shipping information should be clearly described under the item's sale price..
- If you are not satisfied with the shipping costs of the item, you should not make an offer. It is not fair to the seller that you commit to a purchase, and then later refuse to pay the shipping costs because they are too high. If you really want to compromise, write a private message to the seller before agreeing to buy the item, to see if you can find a solution.
- You must also check where the item shipped comes from and where the seller is willing to ship. This is very important if you're shopping from an international location, as some sellers don't ship outside their country. This information is available under shipping costs.
Step 5. Message the seller if you have any questions
Good communication between the buyer and the seller can transform any shopping experience from negative to positive. Most of the sellers with high scores will be available to answer any questions or queries that may come to your mind both about the item for sale, about the shipping methods and costs and about the payment method.
- In order to send a message to the seller, scroll down the article page until you find the "Questions and Answers" box, under the description of the article. You will find a link called “Ask a question”, which you can click on to send a message to the seller.
- Make sure you have all the information regarding the seller's preferred method of payment and the return policy before proceeding with the purchase. If this information is not provided on the item description page, ask the seller directly.
Step 6. Do not click on "Buy It Now" or "Make an Offer" until you are sure
What many inexperienced buyers do not understand is that by clicking on one of the two buttons, "Buy It Now" or "Make an Offer", you automatically undertake to buy the item and there is no way to go back. Once you have clicked on one of these two buttons, the seller is automatically taxed by eBay for the use of the site, so he will not be happy to know that you want to cancel the purchase.
- In some cases, the situation can be resolved if you have a legitimate reason to cancel the purchase and if you immediately send a message to the seller asking to be able to do so. You may have to refund the cost of taxes if the seller has already paid them, but at least you won't be forced to buy an item you don't want.
- If you do not have a valid reason to cancel the purchase but simply refuse to pay for the item, the seller has the right to initiate a non-payment dispute for an offer against you. As a result, a note stating that an item has not been paid will appear on your account, which will discourage future sellers and buyers from doing business with you. If you receive three of these notes, eBay will suspend your account.
Method 3 of 4: Make a Purchase
Step 1. Use the "Buy It Now" option
If an item has the "Buy It Now" option, you can skip the entire offer phase and proceed directly with the purchase. The price of an item through "Buy It Now" can vary a lot - it depends on the seller's strategy:
- Sometimes the "Buy It Now" price will be very low - this happens when a seller wants to get rid of something quickly, and so sells it at a lower than average price. You can find real bargains using the "Buy It Now" option, but these items go away quickly, so you'll have to be quick if you want them to be yours. A winning method is to set up email notifications, through which eBay will notify you of the availability of an item for immediate purchase.
- On the other hand, the "Buy It Now" price can often be higher than the price of a normal offer. This is because sellers hope that there are buyers who are in a hurry to buy an item, and they would not be willing to wait a few days before the auction is closed. So, unless you are in a hurry, it is important to do some research to find the average price an item is being sold for, before buying it using the "Buy It Now" option.
Step 2. Make an offer
If the "Buy It Now" option is not available, or you are hoping to make a bargain with an item, you can use eBay's innovative bidding system. This system is very simple, all you have to do is enter the highest amount you are willing to spend on an item. eBay will compare that figure to offers from other potential buyers and increase your bid whenever someone else offers more. They will continue to raise your bid until you reach the maximum predetermined amount.
- eBay will drive up the price of your bid enough to outstrip the bids of other potential buyers. Once you have reached the maximum you are willing to spend, and the auction is still going on, you will have to agree to abandon the auction or to raise your maximum bid.
- Once you have made an offer, there is no way to cancel it. If you win the auction, you will be obliged to purchase the item. If you refuse, there are penalties to pay to eBay and your account may even be suspended.
Step 3. Check the progress of your offer
Take note of how long the auction you are participating in will last and periodically check how it is going. Once the auction is over, you will receive an email notification from eBay that will inform you if you have won the item or not. If so, you will also find instructions on what to do next in the email.
Step 4. Make the payment
The next step is to complete the payment for the item. You can find the payment page by clicking on the "Pay Now" link, found on the "Review Purchase" page, on the confirmation email, and on the "My eBay" page, "Purchase History". The viable payment options are decided by the seller, and while many accept payments by credit card or PayPal, other sellers will require payment by check, cash, or wire transfer.
- Never send money in the mail. It could go missing or be stolen, or the seller could seize it without then sending the item to you.
- You should make the payment as soon as possible once you have won the auction, a seller has the right to open a file in the event of non-payment for an item if you do not make the payment within two days of the auction closing.
- When entering your shipping information, always double check to make sure the details are all correct. If the information is wrong and the item is sent to the wrong address, the responsibility will be yours.
Step 5. Give feedback to the seller
Once you have received the item, you can assign a score to the seller based on the experience, positive or negative. eBay encourages you to leave feedback as it fosters the bond of trust between buyers and sellers and improves the overall shopping experience. You can leave feedback by going to the "Feedback Forum" section on the eBay website and clicking on the "Leave Feedback" link, which you will find on the right side of the web page.
- While feedback is highly recommended, it's best to contact a seller directly if you have a bad experience before giving them a low rating. Most sellers will do their best to find a one-size-fits-all solution - whether it's a refund or other forms of compensation. Your negative experience could derive from an unexpected event or simple human error, so it is best to give the seller the benefit of the doubt before nipping them off on the Forum.
- When you write feedback, you can rate your experience as positive, neutral or negative, and at the same time you can also provide a more detailed review about the seller. Try to be as objective and detailed as possible and avoid any kind of personal offense or comment, as this may discourage other sellers from doing business with you.
Method 4 of 4: Mastering Bidding Strategies
Step 1. Do not use round figures in the offer
Most of the time, when someone makes an offer, they use a round figure, such as € 50 or € 300. However, your chances of winning an auction increase significantly if you use strange figures, such as € 50.03 or € 301.87. in this way you can win an auction by paying only a few cents more than the second highest bid.
For example, if you bid on a piece of furniture equal to € 150.97, you could win the auction by beating someone who had offered a round amount of € 150. You can thus win a coffee table, spending only 97 cents more
Step 2. Make offers at strategic times
eBay is busiest at certain times of the day, and at these times there are many people bidding on each auction. So, theoretically, if you can bid during the quietest hours for the site, you increase your chances of winning more auctions. eBay is most popular during weekday and early evening hours (UTC). The quietest moments are the early hours of the morning, between 1 and 2 am.
- You can take advantage of this if you are aware of it. Many auctions close early in the morning, so you can choose from a large variety of items.
- Holidays, such as Christmas, are usually quieter than weekdays, so take advantage of this opportunity to make offers while the roast is in the oven!
Step 3. Do not bid too early and too high - choose one or the other
Many new eBay users make the mistake of placing a high bid early in the auction. This move is not the best, as it makes explicit how much you want that article and makes it clear that you are a rookie. You can choose to either make a low bid as soon as the auction opens, and increase it as the competition increases, or you can make a high bid when the end of the auction is near, when it is now necessary to secure the item.
- Predictably, most sellers will be happy if you place a high bid at the beginning of the auction, since they will know that no matter what happens, they will certainly cash in that amount.
- Unfortunately for you, you may find yourself having to pay a higher amount for an item that you could have gotten for half the price if you played your cards right. Avoid bidding by looking for amounts that have been paid for similar items at auctions in the past.
Step 4. Try "bid sniping"
This technique consists in placing your bid as late as possible during the auction, usually in the last minutes or seconds before it is closed. The reasoning behind this technique is that other possible buyers will not notice or will not have the time to re-launch the offer, and you will win the auction. While this is a very popular strategy and works in many cases, it has a number of downside sides.
- First, if your last-minute bid is lower than another buyer's maximum bid on eBay, the site will automatically increase your bid to the next figure. In this case, you will not have enough time to raise with a higher bid and you will lose the auction, as well as raise the purchase price for the winner. Double loss.
- Secondly, making a last-minute offer is very risky if you really want to win an item. A last-second war with another buyer can make you raise with a bid higher than the amount you were initially willing to spend, as you panic, making you lose all possible savings. Furthermore, you run the risk that if the computer freezes, you will have to log into the site again before being able to replace an offer or other external factors may intervene that will prevent you from winning the item.
Step 5. Delegate the offer
There is a system called "proxy bidding" where you enter the highest amount you are willing to spend on an item and eBay will take care of bidding on your behalf. This is the simplest way to bid, as eBay will enter the lowest possible amount for each individual auction, increasing it incrementally (up to the maximum amount set) each time the bid is re-launched by someone else..
- This method is quite safe, since the only way you can lose the auction is if the sale price of the item exceeds the maximum amount you have established you want to aim for.
- Only eBay is aware of your maximum bid, this information is not available to sellers or other potential buyers.
Step 6. Keep an eye on your auction very carefully
You can place your bid and wait to see how the auction goes before placing your highest bid. This will give you the opportunity to see how hot the competition is and how much you can aim for to win the auction anyway. You can easily check multiple open auctions by clicking the "Add to Watched Items" link found on the item description page. You can access information relating to the auction by going to the "My eBay" page. Remember to check for updates every day.
Step 7. Don't fret if you find yourself in a war on the last offer
This happens very often on eBay, especially in the last few seconds before an auction closes. This is also part of the fun - you can be convinced that you have made the winning bid on an item, and then find out at the last minute that someone else has raised.
- You can increase your maximum bid to make another attempt to win the item, but without knowing how high the maximum bids of other possible buyers are, you cannot have a guaranteed win.
- Don't feel angry or frustrated if you lose an auction. The same items return to eBay and you may even find a cheaper offer next time.
Advice
- Pay attention and you can become an expert on eBay.
- Don't waste too much money on bidding.
