I've been using ebay for about 18 months now, which I guess makes me almost an old timer. Ebay makes both buying and selling easy, fun, exciting and addictive. Ebay is the biggest of the on-line auction sites and compared to the rest, Ebay wins hands down. Ebay attracts more buyers and sellers than any other site which means that the range of products on offer is unbeatable, although the large number of available bidders can escalate prices. This is great news for sellers but not always such good news for bidders.
The ebay site is very easy to use and navigate with a host of built-in tutorials for those that are new comers. Searching is available to anyone but if you wish to bid or sell then you must register with the site.
I first started out by buying. A simple search yielded all kinds of goods, often in the USA that I simply would not be able to purchase from a shop in this country without paying a grossly inflated price. I started out buying small, inexpensive items and was amazed at just how easy the process was - if buying from the US, most sellers except payment through a secure payment service run by a third party mediator (e.g. Bidpay or Paypal). Alternatively many sellers will accept payment as cash and the appropriate currency can be bought at your local bank. However, if sending payment as cash, it is essential that you send it by some form of registered mail that requires a signature on receipt and enables compensation to be claimed if the money goes missing before it is delivered.
One great feature about ebay is that both bidders and sellers are encouraged to leave feedback about each other following a transaction. By buying from sellers with a decent feedback rating you can be assured that you are dealing with someone that can be trusted.
Once you start using ebay on a regular basis, you will realise that there is an art to bidding - look for auctions ending at times of the day when people might be at work and hence might not have the opportunity to make a last minute bid. Also, if you don't want to be outbid, avoid bidding too early in an auction. It's often a good idea to be aware of when the auction for an item you are interested in is due to end - you will need to watch it carefully and be ready to make a last minute bid if required. This is where the adrenelin kicks in.
Once you've got the hang of buying on Ebay, you might also want to consider selling. It's a great way of getting rid of unwanted items that litter your home. I recently managed to cover the cost of a weekend away by having a clear-out. Again, this is very easy but to attract the most bidders you need to have some way of making a digital image of your item. This could be done by scanning the item but best results are obtained using a digital camera. I've got a very basic Fuji camera that use for this - you don't have to be a photographer to use it (there's a review of it on another section of ciao if anyone is interested). Once you have an image, setting up your auction is easy as ebay guides you through the process. Ebay charges you a small fee to list an item as being available and will then charge commission at a very reasonable rate if your auction is successful. I have my account set up so that ebay automatically charges my credit card for this on a monthly basis but there are other payment methods available if you are unwilling to leave your card details with them. Unfortunately, ebay relies on the good nature of the people using it to ensure its success. There will always be a small minority of people that let the side down.
One of the drawbacks of selling items on ebay is the number of winning bidders that refuse to send payment at the end of an auction. This causes a lot of hassle and expense - ebay will refund the commission they charge you for an item if the high bidder does not pay but they will not refund the cost of listing the item in the first instance.
More details
Content Update
Very often
Security & Privacy Statement
Excellent
Search Facility
Excellent
Bid Tracking Function
Excellent
Ability to Customise
Good
Customer Service Support
Good
Client Number / Order Number
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
very helpful
