Looking for a great deal on an iPod? You should probably buy your iPod or iPod Touch from an online auction. Your best bet would be to use eBay! You could try craigslist but it’s just not as good as eBay for this kind of thing.

Advantages of buying an iPod/iPod Touch from eBay:

• You can buy iPod or iPod Touch at the lowest possible cost.
• You can start and complete the transactions at your home or office.
• You can get your iPod/iPod Touch within a few days!

eBay iPod buying checklist:

• Only buy from sellers with good feedback.
• If you find any negative feedback, just move on and find another seller. It’s not worth your time.
• Another good idea is to buy your iPods from a Power Seller. These sellers have done heaps of auction transactions online and they’ve been reviewed by eBay to make sure the sellers provide high quality services and products.
• The iPod or iPod Touch comes in various models and sizes. They go from 1 GB to 32GB in storage and the prices vary quite a bit. Choose the most suitable model that fits your budget and your music needs!
• Check the return policy on the iPod or iPod Touch auction. Contact the seller if you need clarification or if you’re not sure how it works.
• Finally, make sure that the shipping cost and shipping time are reasonable. Sometimes sneaky eBayers try to add large shipping charges to make a few extra dollars…

Happy bidding!

Taking photographs for eBay is actually easier than you’d think.

As long as you own a digital camera, some lighting and a computer, you have everything you need to take the perfect photographs. You don’t have to be a great photographer, and by being aware of just a few basic tips, you really can make your auctions stand out.

When it comes to taking photographs for eBay, different products will require different types of shot. For example photographing a wedding ring is a great deal different from trying to shoot a car, but don’t worry it’s really, really simple as every camera should have an automatic mode and you can use it to take easy photographs that generally look “OK”. Auto mode deals with all the metering, exposure and aperture modes so that all you need to do is to compose the perfect scene.

Taking the perfect photograph can take years of practice, so don’t stress if things don’t come out perfect the first time. After just a little bit of practice, you can have professional looking results in no time. Take a look at our tips to help you on your way.

Create a Home Studio

A home studio is nothing more than a room in your home that has good light, and is generally an easy place to photograph objects. You don’t need to invest in anything, other than time. As long as you have good place to photograph, you can take good photos.

Auto Mode Works!

It’s not a sin to use auto mode, as it is a quick an easy way to get good results straight away. Auto mode takes care of metering and aperture so you don’t have to. Turning auto mode off can lead to endless problems, and unpredictable results.

Take Lots of Photographs

Take at least five or six photographs of the object from different angles. If you’re photographing clothes, then either buy a mannequin or bribe someone to be a mannequin.

Flash on or Flash Off?

Before you start taking pictures, make sure that you have good ambient light. If you have good light, then you don’t need the flash. Try taking one photograph with the flash and one without to see which is better.

Minimize Clutter

One of the golden rules of photography is to keep it simple. Empty the scene of anything other than the subject and ensure that the background is plain, tidy and not your husband watching television.

Download and Tweak

Before you upload to eBay, make sure to check your photographs on the computer first. Download the highly popular Google Picasa application, which gives you free reign to crop, sharpen, and ensure that the photos you take really do look their best.

Most of all have fun and enjoy it. Whilst a nights worth of photographing can seem boring after a while, if you get the family involved and have fun – it will be evident in the creativity and originality in the results.

Here are some of the top tips for beginners to eBay:

eBay has been going for over a decade now and it is one of the most popular websites on the Internet. Would you believe that it has close to 200 million users? eBay is a great place for selling and buying all sorts of things, but it’s not always easy when you start out. Take a look below for our top tips for buyers, and our top tips for sellers.

Top Tips for Buyers

• Don’t bid too early! If you prematurely, it will only make things more expensive if someone else bids.
• Use an Auction Sniper.
• Buy it Now can be more expensive.
• Watch out for hidden shipping charges.
• Check peoples feedback before you bid. If they have negative feedback, don’t bid.
• Retracting bids on eBay is not easy, so only bid when you want to buy.
• Before buying a product, check how much it is worth, so you don’t end up paying more. EBay has bargains, but it’s not always cheap!
• Watch out for scams and fraudsters. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
• Get a PayPal account. It makes paying for auctions so much easier.
• Don’t get addicted! Set a budget and stick to it, the last minutes of bidding can be the most expensive ones as it’s easier to get caught up in a bidding frenzy.

Top Tips for Sellers

• Market research will help you establish whether or not selling on eBay is profitable. Look at past completed auctions for a good reference.
• Use Turbolister to help you list items on eBay. It’s so much easier than using the web interface.
• eBay auction fees are not cheap. Don’t add extra categories and extra features such as buy it now and featured status unless you’re selling something of high value.
• Sometimes adding a reserve price to your auction can cost you. If you’re not selling something expensive, try to avoid using it.
• You can get loads of free auction templates on the internet which is a great way to spruce up your listings.
• When your auctions close, send buyers an e-mail to let them know you’re alive and also how long it will be till they get their items.
• Don’t charge over the odds for shipping. Many eBayers do this and it’s the pet hate of many buyers. If you’re honest about shipping, buyers will love you for it.
• Package your items well so that they will not be damaged in the post. Get insurance to ensure that if they are damaged, you can claim it back and refund the customer.
• Always get proof of sending and proof of delivery. It makes shipping a little bit more expensive, but it will help you endlessly in the case of a dispute.
• Don’t forget to pay your eBay fees! They are normally charged monthly, and if you forget eBay will close your account until you’ve cleared the bill.

So, What is The Right Time to Sell? Good question!

When it comes to listing on eBay and actually profiting from a sale, it’s actually a great deal more complicated than you’d think. Whilst for many it may seem like a simple point and click operation, the reality is when it comes to listing items for sale on eBay, there are a number of underlying skills required to make sure you get the most out of each listing.

One of the most important things to start with is the marketing of your product. Just like in real business, which focuses on targets, you need to focus on customers. The first thing you should know before you sell is who you’re going to be selling to.

From here, you can take advantage of one of the best marketing techniques. That’s selling when the time is right. Perhaps a weekend sale is perfect for your product? Maybe a three-day listing is the one to go for?

You’ll never know unless you do some market research.

Firstly – take a look at your product and ask yourself three questions, is it a seasonal product? Is it a kid’s product and finally, what’s the competition like?

Why would you ask those questions? It’s a great way to create a quick customer profile, and from here, you can decide as to whether or not now is actually a profitable time to sell your item. eBay is a cutthroat enterprise and if you don’t know what you’re selling, someone else will come along, purchase your item for pennies, and then resell it for profit.

It happens time and time again.

Seasonal Marketing is something that happens every day, and it’s a great tool to use on eBay. The rule is simple. If there is a demand for a product, then it’ll sell. This means out of luck if you’re trying to sell snow shoes in July. But there are exceptions to the rule, and one big exception is Christmas. Christmas is one of those times where people will buy anything if it’s a bargain. But be careful, Christmas is not your golden ticket to success!

Weekday Sales

Did you know that a great deal of eBay browsing actually happens at work? You’d think that people would be too busy working, but the reality is eBay is filled with browsers that simply have too much time on their hands. A weekday listing is a great way to target adults and office workers as well as stay at home moms.

Beat the Competition

When it comes to selling, eBay is so huge, that anyone could be your competitor. As a result, the first thing you should do after establishing a marketing profile is to look at the completed auctions on eBay. Find out how much products in your category have been selling for and more importantly, if they’ve been selling at all.

At the same time, take a look at the current auctions and ask yourself the question, “Is this the right time to sell?” If there is a lot of competition out there at the minute, sometimes the best advice is to simply wait a few days or a week because eBay is a fluid market and everything changes.

eBay has over 200 million users and unfortunately, not all of them are honest. Whilst there is only a small percentage of eBay users out there that are scammers, it is likely during your time browsing eBay you may encounter at least one.

eBay bans hundreds of scammers daily, but sadly they can’t catch them all, and sadly, many people become eBay victims on a daily basis. This is bad for buyers, sellers and also eBay. Luckily however, an eBay scammer is relatively easy to spot.

When looking at any eBay seller, the first thing you should look for is a good feedback rating. Negative feedback can happen unfairly, so if someone doesn’t have 100% positive feedback, read the negative reviews to ensure you don’t judge them too harshly.

The next thing to look at is the country of origin. If the user is from Nigeria and selling Nigerian handicrafts, then maybe it’s a legitimate sale. If they’re selling the latest iPhone, then chances are it’s a hoax.

Payment method

If someone asks you to pay with any form of payment that is not officially supported by eBay such as western union, you can be sure that they are trying to take your money. Don’t expect to get anything in return. PayPal is the preferred payment method because if you have paid via PayPal, and something goes wrong you can appeal for a refund.

Whilst there are many scammers and fraudsters out there, generally as long as you check feedback and try to be careful you will not have a problem. Sometimes the problem however is with counterfeit goods. If you receive what you believe are fake goods, then you have every right to contact the authorities as well as eBay because fake goods are illegal.

eBay scam artists or fraudsters don’t only bother buyers though!

eBay scammers are a problem for many sellers who are kind hearted enough to send goods before a check clears. The golden rule here is, use PayPal to ensure the safety of both parties. PayPal isn’t cheap, but it does guarantee a certain degree of safety.

Above all, most importantly you must look out for deals which appear too good to be true. These days there are a lot of pre-release cell phones out there, and there are many people gullible enough to believe that they are genuine and that once the auction ends they will receive a pre=release.

eBay sounds like a nightmare doesn’t it? In reality though however, problems are rare thanks to the fact many users are able to police eBay for themselves. This makes sure that scammers, fraudsters and cheats are all reported quickly. If you see one on eBay, the least you can do is to report it, keeping you and other people safe.

eBay is a great site to buy almost anything. Don’t be put off by the fact it may seem like a dangerous place to shop because generally it’s not. Have fun, and above all keep vigilant, there are bargains to be had everywhere!