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How To Buy On eBay

It’s time to treat you to something new and special. You’ve worked hard for months now and someone wants to give you something nice. Say you have always wanted this rare antique set. Your average Wal-Mart likely will not carry it. What about eBay? The site has just about anything you could ever imagine.

How to buy on eBay is really simple. First off, you need to know what you are looking for. You also need to have an account on eBay. Don’t have one? It’s free and only takes a few minutes to sign up for. Once you have a new account or have logged on, search for the item you want.

I’m a big video gamer. What about the new NCAA Football 10 for XBOX 360? Enter the product description into eBay’s search engine. This could range from simple (“NCAA Football 10”) to complex (“NCAA Football 10 XBOX 360”). eBay will gather a list of items based on the keywords you entered in the search engine.

The game just came out and I want it now. Scroll down the page and browse the title of different products related to NCAA Football 10. I find a product with the heading “NCAA Football 10 2010 (Xbox 360) NEW SEALED – SHIPS NOW.”

I click on the link and discover that the product description fits exactly what I am looking for. The product is new, ships with first class mail (which means I’ll get it quickly), and the reputation of the seller is 99.9% positive (out of 6,108 sales).

Everything looks great. The current bid (or price) of the item is listed at the top. Right now the product is going for “$61.00.” The auction ends in “1h and 22 minutes.” The “History” of the item shows that 16 bids have been placed on the item. If I click on “16 bids” I can see what price the item started at and what each and every bid did to raise the price.

On certain items I can avoid the hassle and time commitment of bidding, thanks to “Buy Now.” Buy Now is only offered on select products. The description is just like what the title implies. Click on “Buy Now” and the item is yours. You’ll pay the agreed upon price including and shipping and handling charges (sometimes sellers attract buyers with free shipping if they select “Buy Now”). Once the product is paid for (most likely through Pay Pal), the seller will ship the item and it should arrive around the estimated time for the shipping method.

Bidding is more complicated. Obviously you need to land the highest bid or the product is not yours. Competition gets stiff during the final minutes of bidding – the higher the demand for the product, the stiffer the competition. Unfortunately products like Auction Sniper exist that other users will utilize and make almost impossible to outbid. Your best bet is to set the maximum bid you are willing to spend for the item minutes before the auction is over and to cross your fingers that it does not get out-bid.

If you win the item, terrific, you are now ready to check out and pay for the item. Check out the sellers preferred buying methods. Make sure you agree to their terms before you win the item. Most will prefer Pay Pal while others will select credit card or check as well. I recommend you use Pay Pal to help protect your personal information. It’s also the fastest way you can pay possible which mean the item will only arrive sooner into your loving arms.