~ REGISTERING AND STARTING ~ You must be over 18 to register
You are free to browse without registering but registering does take a couple of minutes so if you see something you wish to bid on you are best to have already registered and signed in. To register for e-bay you need to give them your name, address, e-mail address, date of birth and telephone number. This all adds to the security of the website. You also must choose a user ID and password. Then it is just a case of navigating through out the website.
~ START SHOPPING ~ The home screen has 31 links down the left hand size which categorises the site. These help you access the relevant part of the website. These categories
are: 1. Antiques 2. Art 3. Baby 4. Books, comics and Magazines 5. Business, office and industrial 6. Cars, parts and vehicles 7. Clothes, shoes and Accessories 8. Coins 9. Collectables 10. Computing 11. Consumer Electronics 12. Crafts 13. Dolls and Bears 14. D.V.D, Film and TV 15. Health and Beauty 16. Home and Garden 17. Jewellery and Watches 18. Mobile and Home Phones 19. Music 20. Musical Instruments 21. Photography 22. Pottery, Porcelain and Glass 23. Sporting goods 24. Sports Memorabilia 25. Stamps 26. Tickets and Travel 27. Toys and Games 28. Video games 29. Wholesale and job lots 30. Everything else 31. All categories
Each of these categories break down into further sub-categories which allows you to pinpoint further to what you want to look at. For example the Baby category can be brought down to clothing, then the gender, then what type or brand.
Buying on eBay is very easy. Once you have searched through items, you click on to the item which you would like to bid on and scroll to the bottom. There is a small box which tells you the current bid and asks you to put a bid in. You must enter your maximum bid which is the most you are willing to pay for the item. You are then put to another screen which asks you to confirm your bid and to make you aware that you are entering into a legally binding contract . If you are sure that the bid is correct then press the confirm button and your bid is entered.
However, there might be the case of which a seller has put a reserve on the item. To be given the item the current bid must be over the reserved amount and you must be the highest bidder.
It is also worth bearing in mind that you have postage and packaging to pay as well, so do a quick tally in your head to see if the item will be such a bargain.
~ MY EBAY ~
My eBay is a feature on the site that you get once you have registered. This feature allows you to keep track of all items that you are watching, bidding on, selling and sold. It is important to note that this page is secure.
This page also allows you to send and receive messages to other members. Although a copy of each message sent and received goes to your e-mail as well. It also allows you to customise your eBay so that it is easier for you to use
~ PAYPAL ~
Paypal is a great way of paying. It takes money from your credit/debit card and puts it into Paypal which is a secure site on the net. It allows you to pay and receive payment in any currency and instantly. I know a lot of people are worried about paying for items on the internet but this site has had so many people try to hack into it and no-one has managed. This was rated as one of the most secure sites on the whole wide web.
~ COMMUNITY ~
Every member has a community rating which goes up every time you receive feedback from either being a buyer or a seller. Every time you sell something, the buyer will or should leave feedback which everyone can read. There are three scales of feedback, which are: Positive, neutral, and Negative. As a buyer you can also receive feedback.
If there are any problems with the transaction from either base (buyer or seller) eBay encourage you to sort it out between yourselves before you leave negative feedback. However feedback cannot be taken back although you can reply to it.
I think the community aspect is great as it allows you to see other people opinion on a buyer or a seller so its really easy to see if a person is fraudulent or a non-payer. It does allow you to buy and sell in confidence.
~ REFUNDS ~
Every seller has different policies on refunds. Some will accept others will not. Most of the 'businesses' do allow refunds but you are usually required to pay for the postage and packing both ways.
~RECEIVING ITEMS ~
Most sellers will post out your item when your payment clears, with paypal this is instantly. Usually the information page regarding your item will tell you how your item is being delivered (1st or 2nd) post or for some larger items you need to make your own arrangements to pick them up.
~ OVERSEAS SHOPPING ~
EBay has a website in every major continent and country. The great thing about this is that you can compare items abroad and including the P+P you can see if you can get a bargain abroad. For example I just bought my man roll top timberlands which cost about £120 here but I got them from America and it cost around £56 in total. Great savings. Also paypal makes it easier to buy abroad as most sellers prefer this payment as it uses multiple currency.
~ CONCLUSION ~
This site is worth a look. There are bargains to be had and its not that hard to navigate around the site. One man I know, got a computer two weeks ago, never having used one before, and now he's an eBay whiz. Although there are the dangers of fraud, eBay and paypal to have systems and regulations in place to try and minimise this.
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 16th, 2006
very helpful by (82%):
helpful by (18%):
