*UPDATE 7/10/2001* Here is some proof that you can make money - I put on Ebay the free Genie Pay & Go sim card (I got it for free from the Genie shop). After just a few days it is already up past the £7 mark! Take a look:
Thats it for this very short update (I'm going to try and blag me some playstation games/merchandise)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- * I have split this op into two sections: being a Buyer & Being a Seller* Note: this is very long, sorry!!
I first found Ebay.co.uk a few months ago, and thought, "hello, whats this all about?"
Of course I thought that you would not actually receive what you pay for or when you did it would be poor quality etc. So when I first nervously placed a bid on an autographed photo of someone or other (autograph
collecting is my hobby!) I put only a very small bid on it. " It wont be so bad when I dont receive it" I thought. As you can see I did'nt have much faith in Ebay at that time!
So when my item actually arrived, you can imagine my surprise and relief. I placed another bid on an item after that to try it again, and guess what! I received that as well!!
As you can probably imagine, that was me hooked after only two successes. I have now gone in for several auctions and been more than happy with the results.
Today I won (is that right?) an auction for an Ericsson "Chatboard". It is an official Ericsson one, costs around £30 in the shops, I got it for £4.30 including £1.10 postage - so a £30 item for £3.20. Not bad, yeah?
*Being a buyer*
Before I go into an auction, I always check the sellers feedback. If they have so much as one negative note, I NEVER enter their auctions for obvious reasons. Even if it is only because of how long delivery took, it is not worth the risk of losing money. I reccommend all people do this.
Also, if buying Autographs, you should always, if unsure of its authenticity, email the seller and request a scan, and ask people in newsgroups etc for their opinion on the item.
I personally have never had any problem with anything bought on Ebay and have found all sellers to be helpful and extremely friendly.
Ebay emails you if you are outbid on an item, thus giving you the chance to place a higher bid if you want, without having to check the site every day.
You can also when you place your bid, set it to go up each time someone else places a bid, up to a specified amount so that you have more chance of winning without having to do anything.
There is one excellent feature on Ebay that I do not believe QXL has, you can select items that you want to "watch" - what this does is emails you one day before the particular auction closes so that you can place a bid if you wish.
The search feature is excellent, you can search for an actual thing, or by seller or by location of seller.
There are charity auctions and at the moment a "Police Auction" - things that have been seized by the police or handed in as lost etc. You will get a real bargain!!
Payment - this is chosen by the seller, but usually it is either, by cheque, postal order or cash. Also, some sellers accept Paypal a credit card sort of service. It does, really vary from seller to seller but is mostly as above.
Registration is what you would expect from any site really, name, address, phone number, email etc.
*Being a seller* Selling on Ebay is, on the whole a simple affair. as follows :
* Decide what you want to sell and how much you would want for it (within reason!) and if you want to set a reserve price(the minimum you would accept for it)
*Go to Ebay.co.uk and click "sell" in the bar at the top of the screen
*Choose the category of your item(s) e.g. Electronics, collectibles etc
*Choose the exact category on the folowing page
*Enter all the details of what you are selling (a description, price, picture etc) Select what postage/payment you will accept and where you will post to.
*see below for prices*
*Click continue and review your item page and then confirm it on the following page.
Thats it you have put an item on Ebay!
*PRICES*
Ebay charges a "listing fee" of between 15p and £2 depending on the opening bid and then a "final sale price fee" of between 1.25% to 5% of the final selling price depending, obviously, on how much it goes for in the end. If your item does not sell the first time, but does a second time, then Ebay does not charge a second listing fee.
You either pay these fees by credit card, the details of which you register with Ebay, or by cheque.
*Addition 31 July 2001*
I thought I should add a brief line on the mony making opportunities on Ebay. You can actually make a fortune selling things you pick up for next to nothing from markets and the like, considering that there is a demand. You should read pue182's OP entitled "Make Money on Ebay" (http://www.uk.ciao.com/opinion_view.php?OpinionId=5124979) To find out A LOT MORE on this subject.
I hope this has been of help, please let me know if anymore can be added.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Nice detailed op. I do not find ebaby as cheap though as people say.
MadeinScotland 01.02.2002 10:14
Hi there Ford, I am trying to sell something on ebay, (I have already sold one thing) but this time in order to register it they are asking me for my credit card details, and they wont accept Switch (I dont have a credit card!) How do I skip this and pay them by cheque? -kl
hiali 12.10.2001 19:33
Brill OP! Must have taken you ages! THANKS V MUCH, I think I might start ebaying!
Advantages: free, a whole huge vast and fascinating range of goods on offer, ability to sell items yourself, feedback system builds your rep as buyer/seller, well designed site, account info available Disadvantages: crooks can operate but not regularly and eBay insurance can cover some of costs lost
judithritchie 06.03.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of ebay.co.uk
Jul 29th, 2001
(Oct 7th, 2001)
very helpful by (95%):
helpful by (5%):
