Number 245 - October 2003

EBAY - Buying and Selling Hints and Tips
by Cathy Grammar-Margolin, NOCCC - July 2003
EBay is the largest online marketplace Tons of new and used and collectable items are bought and sold every day. Last year, eBay users exchanged some $9.3 billion worth of goods. On an average day in May, 1 million sales occurred, according to a Newsweek article (June 10th - Cover story). It allows an individual access to the global marketplace without having to have a large company.    First you have to sign up and get a user id (do not use your e-mail as your user id, as they can pull it off of Ebay to spam you). Once you get used to buying on Ebay, note that you can have multiple Ebay id's. I use one only for selling and another for buying (to not upset my customers). When you bid, I recommend sniping (bidding at the last minute). If you continue to bid during a 7 day auction, you and your competition could drive the price up, while bidding at the last minute helps to keep the price lower. Think of any auction you have been to--it is only the last price at the close of the hammer that counts! To that end, there are lots of sniping programs you can buy (www.hammertap.com, www.vrane.com, www.etusa.com, etc. or just check www.download.com for any auction sniping software--there are lots!) or use a sniping service (they bid at the last minute for you for a fee such as esnipe.com).    Make certain you check the sellers feedback--too many negatives and neutrals is NOT good. Even sellers with no feedback could be a disaster--they may not know the ropes yet - beware of a seller with no feedback and a large dollar item for sale--they may be good or bad, but you do not have enough information to trust them with your hard-earned money. If you have a concern about a seller, ask them a	question a few days before the auctions end (such as cost of shipping, do they take Paypal or Ebay Payments, etc.) to see how they respond.    AuctionWatch.com has lots of tips for buyers and sellers at: www.auctionwatch.com/awdaily/ tipsandtactics/index2.html They also have a message board for many different auction sites at www.auctionwatch.com/mesg/ where you will notice that Ebay comments outnumber other comments by a 1000%. Ebay is where the market is in online auctions. Before you buy, be aware of the Terms of Sale (TOS) for that seller. They differ greatly. Some take only money order (be careful with those), some take Ebay Payments only, etc. If you pay with a credit card or Ebay Payments, it is easier to get reimbursed (chargeback) if the transaction goes wrong.    Just remember to be careful as you would normally in any transaction. If you want to be a seller, sign up soon as Ebay will be changing how they qualify you for selling. You do need a credit card and a bank account, currently. Ebay is an ever-changing marketplace, where change is constant. This summer, the Postal rate increase will change how some sellers sell on Ebay (low dollar items may be harder to find). But it is a unique marketplace. I needed a glass double boiler to make my Mom's famous hot fudge sauce, and learned they no longer make them. I turned to Ebay and found only antique and very expense ones. But I waited and found one that was clouded on the bottom (fine for my purpose, but not as good for an antique) and $20 later, I had my double boiler! You would be amazed what you can find!
Number 245 - October 2003