About me:I have many interests including computers, reading and music
Member since:02.10.2001
Reviews:22
Members who trust:1
Review rated by 10 Ciao members on average: helpful
This review received a counterstatement by a party concernedRead Comment
One of my friends was raving about how much he sold on Ebay - while clearing out his flat preparing to move house last year ... and I thought yeh right! How can anyone make any serious money selling their junk over the internet!!!
HOW WRONG WAS I???
I recently started a belated 'spring-clean' in my own house as I am expecting the birth of my first child in the next few weeks, and needed to clear a room for a nursery. So my husband and I started clearing out 'out stuff' from the attic and worked down throughout the house..... Isn't it amazing how much you can collect over the years that you never use!
Unlike
my husband who loves to throw things out if they are not used - I am a bit of a hoarder and don't like seeing things go to waste. I was a little reluctant to throw out several of the things that were beginning to clutter up my home and decided to try to sell them on Ebay instead ... to my surprise I sold nearly everything within the first 7 days of my 'experiment'. Each day I checked I was stunned to find that people were willing to pay good money for my old stuff...
Some of the items I have sold include: A box of assorted computer cables A SLR camera (no longer required since I went Digital) A Metal Detector (unused Gift) A Pair of Curtains 2 Nokia Phones 2 Old PCs Numerous Cuddly Toys A Clock A Briefcase Several Keyboards Computer Speakers Old CDS and a box of many other junky things!
To date I have earned £435!!! Most of which could have ended up in the bin!
I have also bought many things on Ebay recently too... A spare Digital Camera A Fax machine Torches Paints/Brushes A MP3 Player Rare Videos Books Games for My PC and Piggins for my favourite collection!!
Ebay is so simple to use - each time you buy or sell an item you receive feedback from the buyer/seller - each 'positive feedback' rating gains you a point - the higher your rating the more 'trust-worthy' the Ebayer you become. I have been trading on Ebay for a few months now and have a credible rating of 41 now.
There is a sense of 'community' among fellow Ebayers - and a good flow of communication when items are bought/sold.
The only negative aspect is learning to trust people to send the goods ... it can be difficult to send someone you don't know a cheque for goods you have not received!! However, once you get over that it is a great fun, efficient way to trade new and used goods online.
With it's easy search facility and categories - all i can say is .... Hurray for Ebay! Worth checking out for nearly anything you can imagine!
UPDATE!!!!
Since writing this opinion - 3 months ago - I have used eBay many many times and now have a personal rating of over 100 points. The layout on the site is VERY easy to navigate around.
Several Ciao members asked for more information on how eBay accounts work.... the basics...
You set up an account with your personal details and are then free to buy and sell as you wish. For the first hanful of transactions you have a 'blindfold' icon next to your eBay ID - this lets other traders know you are a newbie eBayer. When you have achieved some positive feedback to a reasonable level your 'blindfold' icon is removed. So generally speaking the higher your rating the more experienced trader you are.
With every sale and purchase the seller and the buyer have a chance to check each other's feedback to get an idea of the type of person you are trading with. If you like the type of comments other traders have left you can form an opinion and bid accordingly. Each auction can last from 3 days to 10 days and bids are placed by eBayers right up until the last second. It is common to see the price of and item rise rapidly in the last few minutes as people try to bag a bargain.
The is also the facility to 'ask a question' via e-mail to any seller about an item in on auction - for example .. "will your DVD player play multi regions or not?" to help you evaluate products BEFORE placing a bid.
I still think this is one of the BEST auction sites around ... go on have a look... www.ebay.co.uk
by (20%):
by (80%):
07.10.2002 14:27
Nicely enthusiastic, but you could have detailed the processes for buying, selling, bidding, and paying eBay.
07.10.2002 14:17
does it cost to buy and sell?
07.10.2002 14:00
I agree wholeheartedly with your enthusiasm for this site - I love it! I thought that you could have given more info about how the site works though.