10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
Chuck Eglinton - ChuckEgg.com
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Powerpoint slides 2010 Mensa AG.
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10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
Chuck Eglinton - ChuckEgg.com
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Mensa member
Self-employed PC programmer since 1983
Self-employed web developer since 1997
Specialize in “Dynamic” websites (database
driven).
eBay Power Seller since 1998
eBay Trained “Education Specialist”
Ebay Certified “Trading Assistant”
“10 Quick Steps” available at Audible.com
BidRobot.com has been mentioned in “eBay
for Dummies,” “Internet Auctions for
Dummies” and in Readers Digest.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Create accounts at eBay and Paypal
1. At eBay.com, click the “Register” link
2. Complete and submit the form
3. Eventually you’ll need to provide a credit card
number to pay eBay insertion fees & commissions.
1. At PayPal.com, click the “Sign-Up” link
2. Complete and submit the form
3. Eventually you’ll need to provide a credit card
number and /or bank information so you can fund
your PayPal account and transfer balances to your
bank account.
PayPal.com is owned by eBay.com and is currently the only
way to accept payments from winning bidders.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks
(part 1)
Asterisk (*) for a wildcard search
Example: 196* Mustang
displays all 1960’s Mustangs
Quotation Marks to display an exact phrase with
words in the exact order shown.
Example: “Nightmare Before Christmas" will display
only auction titles that contain that exact movie title
Commas and Parenthesis to display auctions that
contain any of the search words
Example: “(ibanez, takamine)” will display a list of
auction titles that contain any of those words. Use
a comma to delimit search syntax if you’re looking
for several similar items or several different brands
in a single search.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks
(part 2)
Minus Sign (-) to remove specific words from
search results.
Example: “mustang wheels –hot” will show results
containing ‘real’ mustang automobile wheels
exclude any of the auction titles that also have the
word “hot.”
Plus Sign (+) to prevent some search engines
from including synonyms for the word in
search results.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internet
at eBay.com
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7.
You’ll need a (free) eBay account
Click “Advanced Search” link
Type Keywords, Model, Item Description
Check “[X] completed listings”
Click the [Search] button
Refine Search using links in the left column
Only GREEN prices had winning bidders,
disregard other colors.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internet
at Amazon.com
Go To www.Amazon.com …
1.
2.
3.
4.
Type
Click
Look
Click
Keywords, model, Item Description
“Go” button
for links: “Buy New, ?? New, ?? Used”
the “?? Used” link to see range of used prices
BTW, It’s easy to sell at Amazon after setting up a
seller account. Just click the “Sell Yours Here”
button.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Check Recent Sale Prices on the Internet
at Google Shopping
Go to: http://shopping.Google.com
1. Type Keywords, model, Item Description
2. Click “Search” button
3. Use the options in the left column to filter your
search.
4. Use the drop down and select “Sort by: Price - Low
to High”
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Go hunting for deals at eBay
Misspellings - 80,000 items have Disney correctly
spelled in the listing, but dozens of listings have
the misspelling “diseny” in their title
Search with and without hyphens, punctuation
and special characters - For example search
for both “t shirt” and “t-shirt”
Search both titles and descriptions - click the
“Include Title and description” checkbox
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Go hunting for deals at eBay (cont.)
Auctions that end on Holidays - Fewer bidders to
compete against.
Auctions closing on non-peak days and non peak
times - Fewer bidders to compete against.
Poor item descriptions - Some bidders ignore
poorly worded titles and descriptions.
Miscategorized Items - will be found by fewer
bidders.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Buyer Beware
• Read the item description carefully
• Be aware of the condition of the item
• Be aware of guarantees and return policies
• Be aware of the item location
• Be aware of sales tax
• Beware excess shipping and handling
• Ask the seller questions
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Look out for “shady” sellers
• Be aware of the seller’s RECENT feedback rating
(click the number in parenthesis near sellers
eBay id)
• Do NOT be afraid of foreign sellers if they have
a very good recent feedback score.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Understand eBay’s bidding rules
• Understand eBay’s “Bid increment” rules.
• Understand eBay’s “Proxy Bidding”
mechanism
• Understand how to win “Reserve Price”
auctions.
• Understand how to win “Dutch Auctions”
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Time your bids to increase your odds
of winning. Be a SNIPER!
• eBay auctions have a specific “hard” ending
time.
• To “blindside” your competition, become a
“sniper.”
• Last minute bidders, or “snipers,” have a
philosophy similar to people who submit sealed
bids at a traditional auction. They have one
true maximum amount they are willing to pay
and they are willing to walk away if they don’t
win the item with their best bid. Last-minute
bidders have no desire to waste their energy
engaging in an ongoing emotional bidding war
with other bidders.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 What to do when the auction ends
If you lost…
• Look for your next chance.
become available again.
Most items quickly
What if your deal goes bad?
• First contact the buyer through eBay.
• Resolve the issue through eBay’s Buyer
Protection program
• Leave negative feedback.
What to do if you won…
• Pay the seller promptly.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Build the eBay community by leaving
feedback
• Wait a few days until after the auction item has been
received and has been inspected - Post your feedback
only after you’re sure that everyone is completely
satisfied with the transaction.
• Click the “My eBay” link, then review the “Summary”
column for feedback reminders.
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
 Create accounts at eBay and Paypal
 Learn Basic Search Tool Tricks
 Check Recent Sale Prices on the
Internet
 Go hunting for deals at eBay
 Buyer Beware
 Look out for shady sellers
 Understand eBay’s bidding rules
 Time your bids to increase your odds
of winning. Be a SNIPER!
 What to do when the auction ends
 Build the eBay community by leaving
feedback
10 Easy Steps to Buying at eBay
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