hi friends, am new around here and i think i need your support, advice, encouragement and most espec...
hi friends, am new around here and i think i need your support, advice, encouragement and most especially your TRUST. am just here man being disturbed my little sisters aaah ohhhh that hurts hhahahahhaha its me aby
Member since:19.05.2005
Reviews:8
Members who trust:2
I have been an Ebayer for about six months.
I had heard a lot about this site but had always been a little bit wary. The thought of sending money to a stranger without first having the goods seemed a bit risky to me, so initially I didn't bother to find out any more about the site. Then a good friend of mine told me that he regularly used Ebay, I figured it must be worth a look, and now I'm hooked!
Basically Ebay is an auction site, in fact probably the biggest and best known of them all. The idea is that someone with something to sell lists it on Ebay and anyone who wants to buy the item then makes a bid for it. If there is more than one person interested an auction takes place and the item is ultimately sold to the highest bidder.
So how does it all work then?
REGISTERING
This is really easy, all you do is give your name, address, e-mail address (don't use hotmail, it doesn't seem to like it) and set up your own password, no problem. Ebay then send you a mail, to the address that you have specified, containing a link on which you click to complete your registration. You enter the code that Ebay have sent in the mail and there you are - ready to begin your profitable relationship with Ebay.
BROWSING
The items for sale are listed by category. There are 16 main categories, which are as follows: Antiques and Art, Automotive, Books/Film/Music,
Coins/Stamps, Collectables, Computers and Gaming, Consumer Electronics, Dolls and Doll Houses, Jewellery and Watches, Photo/Electronics, Pottery and Glass, Sports, Stamps, Tickets and Travel, Toys/Bean Bag/Plush, Everything Else. These are further sub divided into a huge number of sub categories far too numerous to mention here, but suffice it to say that there is a place for everything you can think of!
You can browse randomly or via one of the searchengin es, which give you access either by region, theme or by item name.
Believe me you can sell almost anything on Ebay. There is a list within the rules to say what cannot be sold which includes body parts, drugs, explosives etc., but that's all pretty obvious stuff anyway. Back to the things that will sell - I sold a used ticket stub from a concert by David Bowie from the 70's for £6. I didn't pay that much for it and I saw Bowie with it!!! I have also seen someone sell an ordinary can of Coca Cola described exactly and honestly for about £13! Anyway you get the idea.
THE EBAYERS THEMSELVES
Once you see something that interests you, you are going to want to know if you can trust the person selling the item, before you agree to part with hard earned cash. Ebay have thought of that one! Whenever a member takes part in a deal they have the opportunity to post a comment about the person with whom they have been dealing. These comments are graded into 'positive', 'neutral' or 'negative'. All members have a number in brackets after their user name, which represents the number of comments made. All you do is click on the number and you can read the comments, that way you know what experiences other people have had with the member concerned. There is also a coloured star next to the member's name, which just represents the number of ratings received.
BUYING
Once you find something that you would like to bid for you have the opportunity to mail the seller with any questions. Once you're happy that you want to bid for the item you then place a bid for anything over the minimum amount requested. You can also chose to set up 'proxy bidding', which will keep increasing your bid, up to a pre determined maximum amount set by you, each time someone else out bids you.
You also receive an e-mail message if someone out bids you on an item where you have placed a bid.
When th e auction is finished, assuming you are the winning bidder, you and the seller contact one another with names and addresses to complete the deal.
SELLING
This is more my forte! To sell on Ebay you first go to the selling page and choose the category under which you want to advertise your item for auction. You then have to type in the title of your item, a description, a minimum price if you want to set one (I always do), a reserve price below which you will not sell (I don't bother with this one), whereabouts in the country you are and how you wish to be paid. It is also sensible to include information as to who is going to pay the postage for the item - buyer? seller? fixed amount? actual amount? You can also add a picture of your item and this really helps with the selling as the buyer can see what they are getting.
EBAY SHOPS
You cna also display your goods in an Ebay shop. This is basically a list of all your auctions broken down into categories. This is especially useful if you're a trade seller, rather than a private, clearing your junk, sort of seller!
FINISHING THE DEAL
When the auction is over and someone has 'won', the buyer and seller then exchange e-mails with their respective addresses. It seems to be an Ebay convention that the buyer sends the cheque to the seller and the seller only releases the goods when the cheque has been received.
IF THERE'S NO REPLY....
OK so what happens if you're auction finishes but, when you try to contact the highest bidder, you get no reply? Ahah Ebay have thought of that one too! There is a facility to send a reminder to the buyer through the Ebay system. If that gets no response there is then a facility to register a non paying bidder alert. Finally if that gets no response you can claim back the cost of the auction plus any commision that Ebay have taken and you are then free to relist your item.
THE COSTS < br> The buyer pays only the cost of the item plus any amount which might have been added for postage and packing. The seller, however, has to pay a small amount for the initial advertising (only 15p if the minimum price of your item is less than £5) and a percentage of the final selling price. This is calculated on a sliding scale depending on how much you finally sell your item for. You will be expected to pay your costs to Ebay on a monthly basis either by cheque or credit card.
MY EBAY
This is the part of the site that holds your own information. You can update your personal information here, check the current status of your auctions, whether as a buyer or a seller, including completed ones and you can leave feedback for other Ebayers.
You can also add the Ebayers whose auctions you like to look at regularly to your 'favourites' page. This means that you can find their auction list with just one mouse click.
SEARCH FACILITY
There is a comprehensive search engine linked to Ebay which you can use to search for items by name, keyword or category. You can also search for a specific Ebayer and look at what they are selling or what they are bidding on and/or have bought.
IN CONCLUSION
I have tried to give a broad overview of Ebay without making the opinion too long winded, but the site is huge with many facilities to aid both seller and buyer whilst protecting both from fraud. Ebay do have a specific policy on fraud, although luckily I have never had to use this facility so can't comment on it here. It is fully explained on the site though.
As I said at the beginning of this opinion, I have made a lot of money on Ebay selling stuff from the house that I don't want anymore, and also from buying in junk shops and reselling stuff.
My main sales at the moment come from novelty watches such as Spiderman, Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, WWF, etc. The names Auburnsue on Eba y if you fancy a look to investigate how the whole thing works.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Jun 23rd, 2005
very helpful by (100%):
