Back after quite a few years! I am now 22 and work for the NHS. I enjoy playing guitar and love to w...
Back after quite a few years! I am now 22 and work for the NHS. I enjoy playing guitar and love to watch and play football.
Member since:29.01.2001
Reviews:64
Members who trust:11
eBay.com is a fantastic website for buying, or selling anything you want via auction. I have only been on the site for a few months but I've seen an incredible amount of goods i didn't even know existed, and often find myself spending a lot more than I should!
REGISTRATION
This is quite similar to the registration for any other website. It asks for personal details such as name, address and email address etc and then asks you to agree to the terms of the website. Then you just have to confirm your email by clicking a link that is sent to your email address. It is quick and simple, however later payment details are required which can be a little more tedious to complete.
BUYING
First of
all you have to search for the item. This is quite simple as you just type in the name of the item and all the possible matches are listed, just like a normal website search. Then you just the 'place bid' link and enter your MAXIMUM bid. For example if someone has bid £1 for an item and you set your max bid at £3 and nobody else bids then you will pay £1.10. But if someone bids £2 and your max bid is higher then your current bid will change to £2.10 to beat other bids until they exceed your maximum bid. It is quite a simple procedure but difficult to explain!
Once you have successfully outbid everybody and the auction time is over then it is time for you to pay and for the seller to ship the item. The seller will have stated acceptable methods of payment from cheques, cash, postal orders or, the most popular method, credit card via paypal.
Once the seller has received payment, they will ship the item straight to you, but you may be required to cover the postal costs.
A negative aspect is that there are going to be some unreliable sellers who receive payments and do not ship the item. However you can give this person "negative feedback" in order to warn other potential buyers of this person. It has never happened to me so I cannot comment on whether money can be refunded somehow to you.
*TIP* Always view the seller's feedback records and if they have 100% feedback from a large number of people then feel confident about buying from this user.
The bid tracking function is very clear, indicating in green items you are the highest bidder for, and in red items you are not the highest bidder for.
SELLING
To sell an item you go through a number of registering processes giving details of what the item is that you are selling and how much money you want for it. You can add photographs of the items and detailed information in order to increase your chance of a sale.
You can choose coloured texts and logos in order to make your item more eye catching than most, at a higher cost. The minimum cost of listing an item is around 60p and you can place a reserve on the item to ensure you get a fair amount for the product you are selling.
Selling on ebay can be a very good way of earning some money for your unwanted items. One person's junk is another person's treasure after all!
NAVIGATION
The navigation of the website is quite clear and simple. On every page there is a search box for you to type in items you wish to search for, but there is also a huge list of topical headings in which you can find your item via this.
All of the buttons are bright and well indicated so the site really is quite easy to navigate through. The main buttons such as 'home' are always indicated at the top of each page.
SUMMARYPositives
Clear navigation buttons.
Wide range of products to buy.
Any item can be sold (I've even seen promotional contaception being sold surprisingly with no bidders for it!)
Low listing costs for items you are selling.
Quick and easy registration.
Website speed is quite fast
Negatives
Credit card necessary so over 18s only. (I'm 16 but use my dad's account)
The occasional unreliable seller.
A lot of bidders tend to wait until the last few seconds of an items auction time so they win for sure. So KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN at all times as you have never definately won your item!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Selling items you dont want to a mass audience, buying items you want for cheaper Disadvantages: Fraud, customer service, cheats, bid pushers, site layout, ease of use
2000andone 06.07.2004 (06.07.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of ebay.co.uk
Dec 29th, 2003
very helpful by (86%):
helpful by (14%):
