Starting out as an eBayer  

          When I first joined the eBay community I was very

intimidated and overwhelmed by the whole Idea of

buying something I wanted from an auction site. I

didn't know all the protocols of being a bidder and I

wasn't sure what to look for as far as using Search and setting

up a form of payment , Pay Pal is a must if you

plan to be an active buyer or seller and most sellers require you

to have Pay Pal to buy from them. I have had

no problems with Pay Pal and you should sign up for it and use

Bank Accounts and Credit Cards / Debit Cards

for alternate forms of payments both in buying and selling. The

 fees are minimal and it gives you proof of

payments both made and received that eBay will honor in any

financial disputes.

           I will use Examples in this Guide such as Stamps and

Baseball Cards because I am more familiar

with them because they are what I buy and sometimes sell

here on eBay and elsewhere but these are just

examples and can apply to anything up for auction. The best

way to get a handle on the eBay Experience is

to first use the "Buy it Now" offerings so that you get

accustomed to procedure and once you get

comfortable with how everything works and get a general

idea of bidding by just watching a few auctions in

their final seconds with multiple bidders you can give it a

shot .

 

 My intent is to make you a more productive winning bidder

and a profitable seller from what I have learned

over my trials and tribulations as an eBayer because getting a

great bargain or making a big profit is what its all

about. I also want to convey that buying and selling on any

auction site is not my main source of income , I do

this as more of a hobby and buying items that will increase in

value in a few years to sell for profit in my

retirement to supplement my budget in my golden years.

I was a Trucker for over 10 years I went all over

the country and tracking my eBay purchases on

a laptop at the numerous WiFi Hot Spots at

Truck Stops along my routes. I want to stress that I was not a

PowerSeller then but am now, I did achieve that level but had to

decline it because I had to get back on the road once I was well

enough after suffering a mild stroke in October '07,

 I was Home for several months recovering so I started

selling on eBay to pass the time and was

making a healthy profit and having some fun making friends

with my customers and gleaning great praise

through their Feedbacks building a good reputation as a seller.

I have returned as a wiser and more experienced 

eBayer with the know-how to bid and buy with confidence.

 

   "A picture is worth a thousand words" but read the words !

  When a seller posts a picture of what is up for bid , it is the

most important thing to scrutinize. Look very

closely at that photo , if it is a camera shot , the quality of the

picture may be poor , out of focus , too far from

the object , bad lighting or from a bad angle. This can be

because the seller cant take a descent picture or is

purposely trying to hide details or flaws in what is being

offered. If the quality of this object is important to

you , contact the seller and see if more pictures are available to

look at and if in the description of the item was

not that informative , ask for a better one such as condition ,

age , flaws , color , wear and tear , missing pieces

or parts etc. There is nothing wrong for being insistent about

what is shown or not shown in the picture and if

the seller is not trying to pass off something of poor quality ,

he/she will be glad to give you a more clear

description of the item. If they refuse to be helpful do not buy.

If it looks too good to be true it probably is. It is

very important to read all descriptions not just the title. There

may be some details hidden in the fine print along

with some disclaimers about the item that may not catch your

eye until the seller points it out to you after you

complain about what was just received in the mail. Sellers are

trying to sell what they have and the more pictures

they post the better chance the item will sell . Clear close up

pictures from different angles that show the item off

are the best way to make a great presentation of what is being

offered. It is also important to make sure what the

picture shows is what you will get , sometimes a seller will have

several of the same type of item for sale but will

use a "stock photo" for every item. I had the pleasure of buying

an Item , a stamp of excellent quality and high

catalog value , from what I thought was a picture of a clean

crisp well centered highly prized stamp , once I won

the bid , at near my bidding limit amount , I paid for the item

and thought to take another look at that sellers

inventory for any other good deals , well lo an behold there was

the exact same stamp with the exact same

description being sold in his eBay store. I took a close look at

the picture and it was the exact same picture of

what I had just paid for , I contacted the seller and asked if he

 had accidentally re posted the same stamp for

auction that I just bought. No he writes back ,"Oh , I have a

bunch of these stamps for sale but I use the same

picture for all of them , it saves me time". Of course he used the

best stamp in his inventory in color , centering ,

clean perforations etc. for the up close scanned picture but it

wasn't the stamp I bid for , what I got in the mail

was not the stamp pictured , it was ok but not as good as what I

thought I had purchased with slightly less value

and was not such a great bargain as I was led to believe... I got

took. So , look at the picture , look for

statements such as , "what you see is what you get" , and "stock

photos not used" , this will be a big advantage

for you and for the seller to make clear what is being offered.  

 

 Tricks Bad Sellers use " Oh what a tangled web they weave ! "

 

    The above "Bait and Switch" of using a Stock Photo is but

one trick a seller may use to lure you in . Before

they set the hook , here are some dirty tricks that I have seen

right here at eBay. I was looking at some photos of

some baseball cards in a "Lot Sale" of hundreds of cards

spread out in a big pile and in that pile I saw a very

nice "Rare" Baseball Card that I have hunted high and low for

and there it was among a big pile of lessor

quality cards , I thought I had found a diamond in the rough , a

real find ! I bid on that lot and was hoping that

no other Baseball Card collectors had noticed what I spied in

that massive mound of average cards. It was a

Trick that some dirty dealers use to get a high bid. The "Rare"

card appeared in every lot that seller was selling ,

somewhere in the pile of cards of several different lots that card

was pictured at a place where if you knew what

to look for you would find it. Fools Gold ! The same with stamp

lots or coin lots where there is a big stack of

items being pictured , the shady seller will put their prized item

in the mix just to catch that big fish and reel him

in ! Contact the seller and let them know what you think you

see being offered in the picture and ask if that item

is truly part of the lot. I have been told "the picture is of what is

similar to what you will get" or " that item is a

reprint of the real card but since I didn't showcase that card I

don't have to make a disclaimer" So , if you think

you see something shiny in that pile , it was probably put there

on purpose , either the seller knows what he is

selling or what he is showing is not what is being offered. Do

not think that the seller was careless and made a

mistake putting that item in the group picture , it most

certainly is a ploy to snag a unsuspecting bidder into

thinking they are getting over on the seller. Honesty is the best

policy and should be used in buying and selling .

Look out for statements like , lot not gone through , un- picked

lot , didn't get around to inventorying this huge

lot .... Not True ! It has been picked clean of anything valuable

and what is left is too much trouble to try to sell

individually so all the scraps are heaped together for a "Lot

Sale". You have been warned. You may find a lot

sale of a large quantity of items you actually want and in that

case , go for it. Just know that in areas such as

collector cards , stamps , coins and many other like items where

condition and quality are of importance , you

will probably be disappointed in the lot sale format because

mostly the cheapest representations of these items

are sold in large lots. Key words to watch out for is "Perfect"

"Gem" "Flawless" "Magnificent" "One of a

kind" "Finest" ... well you should know all the superlatives

used by Used Car Salesmen to sell you his lemon.

Check it out , get the facts and keep asking questions. If the

seller is on the up and up , they will not complain

about being bugged by you. The biggest problem I have come

across is the additional fees that some sellers try

to slip past you before you commit to bid. Read their Shipping

and Handling charges , if not posted , contact

the seller Before you bid. If the S/H cost is given , and it seems a

bit too high , Tell the seller. If you are

buying/bidding on several items from the same seller , make

sure they give you a Combined S/H rate , if each

item costs $3.00 to ship to you and you win 10 different items

from that seller , do the math , do not pay $30.00

for one shipment , get a discount. There are reasonable rates

and there are money making tricks to get all they

can out of you with every sale so keep on your toes and find out

your options before you start bidding. When I

was a seller , I was never bothered by potential customers

asking me questions and I was more than happy to

adjust S/H charges for anyone who would complain that I was

charging too much , sometimes folks pay before I

can send a combined invoice and pay too much for the

numerous items they won from me. I was always able to

return a refund for those who paid too much and any seller

worth their salt should do the same. Remember , if

you do not ask you may be charged too much , if you do not

complain you could lose out and pay more than is

required , when it comes to your hard earned money and

winning a bid at less than what you were willing to

pay , it doesn't make sense paying too much extra for

shipping/handling/packaging/labor when you keep quiet and

pay through the nose unnecessarily , if you don't complain , the

seller sure wont !

 

    To Snipe or Not to Snipe , Huh?

 

  What is Snipe ? It is just as it implies , a sniper at 1000 yards

hiding in the bushes waiting to squeeze the trigger

and bag his prize. At eBay it is a form of bidding that blind

sides all the other bidders on an item when at the

very last seconds a high bid comes out of nowhere snatching

your intended win out of your reach with no time

left to put in a counter bid. Your watching the auction ending ,

everyone else who were bidding against you

dropped out of the race and you are ready to click that "pay

now" button in the winners circle when all of a

sudden 5 seconds before you are crowned  as victor , a bid slams

in just a few cents higher than your maximum

bid. Oh the pain , the heartbreak , your stunned as that big red

X is placed over your final bid. You have been

Sniped ! There is nothing you can do but think , if I had only

bid a few cents more I could have won , well don't

bet on it , a Snipe bid may be $1 , $10 , $100's over your

maximum bid but the sniper is betting that what the

high bid showing for that item is pretty close to the maximum

that was bid . The sniper is betting he will win

without paying too much and just clear the next highest bid for

what he is aiming at. Its a gutsy move but it

happens all the time and most win with most of their cash to

spare.  

 

   Who Is That Masked Man ?

 

  Be informed , read their feedbacks , get to know the seller , ask

 questions !   Just as important as getting a great

 deal on a bid is knowing who you are dealing with . You may

make a great buy but if you pay and you don't get

what you paid for , well , your not a happy camper. So get to

know the seller , read their feedbacks , read his

home page and "ME" page , see if there is any additional

information on the auction page , most sellers will put

a pretty complete bio about themselves to be seen so that you

can begin to trust them . If this seller has several

negative feedbacks , read it , see if the seller responded to them ,

 maybe shipping is very slow , the item was not

as described , charged too much for shipping , never received

the item at all . Get to know the seller , you may

make a friend or you will know who to avoid. Either way , it

isn't that much trouble for a little peace of mind.  

 

 What will sell before they bid.

 

   If you are going to sell , SELL ! , you want to make whatever

you are selling desirable to others.

I know that tools like "Turbo Listing" can save a lot of time but there is a big drawback to using it on multiple items

 

you are selling , yes you can post a lot of items all at once but they all end at the same time too. If someone is

 

bidding on several of your items they cant watch them all near the end of auction so they cant put in a higher bid if

 

someone else outbids them at the last minute , its best to let each one of your items end a few minutes between

 

each other so that the bidder can follow each one to the end and bid it higher if needed , you will make more profit

 

this way.

 Have a real good close up picture of that item in the picture gallery , the

more pictures the better . Potential bidders look for

good pictures of the item , that is the first thing that catches

their eye. If you can afford it , offer free shipping or

big discounts for multiple purchases , just slip most of the

shipping costs into the low start price for their bids.

When I see the words "Free Shipping" I look at that item. This

alone will draw enough bidders to defray the

shipping costs once they start fighting over your item. If your

item is listed in a Catalog , Show the Value or

listed price in the main Title ! This is to get your item noticed

and once people start looking at your offering ,

you need to have a very good description of it for them to read ,

in bold big letters , write a few lines telling them

why your item is special and that they need to have it. Do not go

 wild with fancy colored backgrounds or

trimmings , no flashing logos and the like , make your item the

centerpiece , make it clear and simple , but make

it important to the bidder to own it. People love guarantees of

quality and being able to get their hard earned

money back if not satisfied with your item ( less S/H charges )

and that you will promptly ship once the item is

paid for . You are there for your customers , you are open to

questions anytime , anything to please ! Whatever

you are selling , it will sell eventually. You do not need to Show

 Case your item unless what you are selling is

High Value and should sell well on its own merits for a good

profit. Skimp as much as you can on the selling

format but Do go in for a picture gallery to help sell your item

quickly. The more people that see your offering

the more bidding for it. Next to a good clear picture , the

description of your item is very important , you may

need to work up a good presentation as if there were no

pictures of the item , explaining everything there is to

know about your item. Do not convey how special the item is to

 you , tell them how special this item will be to

them . If you love it too much they may decide to let you keep it.

Do not embellish too much about the item ,

just the facts , just let them know you will answer any questions

about it when asked , once someone emails you

about that item , they want it and are trying to reach out to you

 to convince them they should buy. If they show

interest enough to ask questions , you got a sale as long as they

hear/see what they expect , an honest open seller

that is there for Them.

I hope that these words have been helpful , Please contact me for any unanswered questions and Happy eBaying ! Please Vote Below !!