Buying on eBay- Easy Mistakes to Avoid

I’m pulling some of my old articles out of the vault!  This is the first part in a series I called “Buyer Blunders.”  Though I wrote these articles a little while back they are still full of great information that I think most of you will find very helpful.  Here is the first section of Buyer Blunders:

Always research the Seller. Check everything that the seller has had up for auction for the past month. This is a public record. Sometimes sellers sell the same items over and over.  You will want to see if this is the case and wait until you get the item you want at a price you want. Just click on the blue advanced search button that is at the right top of every eBay page.  Then to the far left click on the “Find Items by Seller” button. Next type in the seller’s user id and check the “include completed listings” button (for the past 30 days). Up comes a screen that shows your seller and other close matches to their id.  Click on the grey button on the far right hand side that says “View Sellers Items.”  You will see everything that that particular seller sold or had listed for the past 30 days.

As an example, during Christmas of 2001, I was bidding like crazy on a Lionel Christmas train video for my 4 year old son.  It got up to $50 and I thought, “This is crazy!  I haven’t even done my research and I am caught up in the bidding frenzy.”  I went to the seller’s history of past auctions and found that he put one of these videos up every week and that they usually sold for $9.99.  I waited a couple of weeks and was able to get it for $12.99.

Also, do your research in completed auctions.  Click on that blue advanced search button in the upper right hand corner.  When the next screen comes up type in key words and make sure you click the completed listings only button. If you do a search by what is currently up for sale, you will have no idea of the value of what you are trying to buy. Most buyers only bid in the last few seconds and these results will only show up in a completed auction search.  By doing this completed auction research, you can find out what the item you want has sold for from other sellers and you can strategize a maximum price to pay.

When you do your research—ALWAYS check the seller’s feedback ratings and read some of the comments. You do not want to buy from a seller with a lot of negative feedback. I think over 98% positive is safe. You also do not want to buy an expensive item from a seller who just signed up yesterday.  Read how long they have been a member of eBay. To access feedback you just click on the number by the seller’s user id.

Tagged as: buying on ebay, ebay advice, ebay sales, how to use ebay, tips for ebay