I must admit i do like to buy a good bargain when i spot one and Yahoo auctions are certainly a good place to start. I have been using Yahoo auctions for sometime now both buying and selling. The best thing about Yahoo auctions is that they are totally free whether you are buying or selling. It is free to register too. Most other auction sites i have tried want to charge you a fee for selling which can get quite expensive and sometimes they even want to charge just to register.
The first thing you need to do is register yourself on Yahoo's auction site. It is all fairly easy to fill in and all auction users are required to register with a credit card. This ensures that participants are old enough to use Yahoo! Auctions and that they are serious about bidding and selling. Credit card verification is completely secure. Your account is password-protected, and they never release your information or charge your credit card without your explicit permission.Their is also an Escrow service available. The escrow service holds your payment until you receive the item. Once you've received and inspected your item, the escrow service sends your payment to the seller. You do have to check the seller accepts this type of payment though.
Although i registered with a credit card i have never actually paid for anything with it, that is the beauty of this site too. You can see how the seller wants to be paid and the majority are happy with postal orders, cheques etc..which i feel it keeps things simpler and i can track my biddings and payments easier.
For the most part, buyers and sellers on Yahoo! Auctions are honest and trustworthy. The rating system they have also helps to provide a record of good and bad transactions for every user. Each time you complete an auction transaction you can rate the other person. Before you place a bid, check the seller's rating first. This is the best way to protect yourself against fraud. You can see ratings and comments for every user. If a user is new to Yahoo! Auctions, you will see "new" in place of a rating.
Yahoo does have a zero tolerance policy for fraud.
When you make a bid for an item at auction they email you to confirm that you have bid and then email you again to notify you if you have won or been outbid. Shortly after that you then recieve an email from the seller telling you how they prefer to be paid and where to send your payment. The same format works if you are selling. you are notified of any bids via email and then notified who the winner of your auction is and given their email details so you can contact them about receiving payment.
one key thing to remeber is that when you are thinking of bidding on an item take into account how much the postal charge will be on top, especially if the seller has not given a postal price and whether you feel this item will get to you in one piece. Some auctions even require that you only bid if you are able to collect the item due to their fragility.
Dont be put off by anything i have written. Auctions online can be great fun and a great way to shop, so get baragin hunting.