If you want IT, the chances are good that someone has IT to sell on Ebay! But how do you find IT, how do you win IT, and how much should you pay to get IT?

IN SEARCH OF...
FIRSTLY, go to the Ebay Helps and read all the topics about how to SEARCH. There is wonderful information there and terrific guidelines designed to get you on your way quickly and quite successfully. There are tips on which Ebay features to use to begin your search, how to locate items by category and/or description whether the auctions are current or closed, how to retain a search of frequent interest, even how to post a Want-Ad for something you desire but can't locate at the moment. THIS guide isn't designed to be in an analysis or consolidation of that information. Why reinvent the wheel when it already rolls very well? This guide IS instead designed to help you consider the inevitability of error when the human element is entered into the mix. It would be an easy Ebay world if everyone posting an auction listing put their item in the exact category where we are looking, used the exact words for the description that we have in mind, and NEVER ever misspelled a word. But, believe me, it's not gonna happen!

Well, at least not much of the time. Sure, the chances are good that someone with a Barbie to sell is going note that it is a Barbie in the description and put it in the category of Dolls & Bears. But not always. And not always is a doll listed as a Barbie really a Barbie, and you might end up finding a vintage one under the category of Collectibles>Other.

It's the "not always" circumstances that we want to consider here. Unless we are prepared to spend hour upon hour searching (which can be a lot of fun and very informative, but if eight years of search hours were frequent flier miles, I'd be going around the world for the tenth time by now), it helps a great deal if we implement a few tricks to either speed up the process or uncover "hidden" listings. Because isn't it all about finding the exact thing we want and getting it for a price that we can boast about?

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX
This is probably the most important thing that I can share with you. No matter how firmly convinced you are that an item should be listed a certain way or positioned in a certain category, there is someone else equally convinced otherwise. In order for you to find the most listings for any particular item, you have to try to think in the abstract. Could a teapot be listed as a vase if it were missing its lid? Is the scroll Japanese, Chinese, or Asian, and on parchment, rice paper or reed? Your favorite ornament might be a Hallmark, but to someone else it could just be Snoopy on a sled. Jeans might be called Denim. Is the plate a dish, or stoneware, or china, or very simply a plate? A coat could be a jacket, a jacket could be a duster, a duster could be a robe, a robe could be a house coat...and that brings us back to "coat," la la la. And is that 10 pound quartz crystal cluster going to be listed in Collectibles>Rocks and Minerals, or under Decorative Household as a door stop?

Once you've looked up a few of these alternatives, you may begin to recognize some commonalities, key words that are frequently used and accurately describe the items for which you are looking. These are the ones to use in the Search option to see the greatest number of listings in all categories. If this stretching exercise seems a little too difficult for you, your alternatives are to settle for fewer choices, spend a whole lot of time searching categories until you pretty much don't care anymore, or check your email every day in the hopes that your "Favorite Search" has finally come up with something. Hum...

Try to think like a seller. Open up to the possibilities that a seller may not know exactly what they have and are describing it the best way they can, and you just may find a whole lot more options available to you. And don't assume that the "obvious", definitive descriptive word that should be in the title will actually be spelled out...which also brings us to our next category...

WAS THAT "I" BEFORE "E", OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND?
Spelling errors are common. Even with a spelling checker built into the listing software, not every seller will make use of it, nor will it always catch every word. Here's a good example: Cottage Collectibles is the series name of a line of plush teddy bears that was manufactured by the Ganz Company. They are no longer being made and are quite popular. Each bear was named, which was represented on the hang tag attached to the bear's wrist. There are problems involved with finding a particular bear. Sometimes the hang tags are lost, and therefore the seller may not know the bear's name (or you might just THINK you know it), so adding that to the search could be futile. Sometimes the seller inadvertently misspells the name: Kathy could end up Kathie (the way they spell their daughter's name); Jai Jai could end up Jar Jar (because the "i" and the "r" are easy to confuse when you're typing quickly). "Cottage" may lose a "t", and "Collect." might be abbreviated. And the most common spelling error winner is..."collecTABLES." I can't tell you how many wonderful bears I have found there sadly neglected because the spelling was incorrect, and I often let the sellers know that if they correct their headings they may have a more successful auction. (I may have to write a Guide for sellers too entitled "How To Think Like A Buyer.")

The lesson here is to consider ANY alternate spellings to important words that might describe the item for which you are looking. Do a search using those alternate spellings. If nothing comes up, you've wasted a couple minutes. If something does, you may get a really good deal on an overlooked item, simply because it wasn't spelled correctly. And then, oh lucky you.

TRIM A LITTLE AROUND THE EARS, PLEASE
And while your doing those alternate searches, you may also find repetitive key words that DON'T take you in the direction you want to go. By omitting these words in the Advanced Search option, you can fine tune your search to eliminate words that detour you from your desired destination.

Let's say you want a new input device for your computer. Most people would call it a mouse, but suppose you want a trackball. And suppose the trackball you want is a Trackman by Logitech. If you just search "Logitech" you will find thousands of listings of all kinds. Okay, so you narrow the search by just looking under input devices. Still hundreds. So you search under "Logitech Trackman Trackball" and bingo, you find a few listings. Unfortunately, it seems they are pretty rare and also pretty pricey. And you noticed that one heading used the word "mouse" along with "trackball", and one said something about a marble. This gives you a clue that there may be other listings for the same item that don't refer to a trackball, may not even refer to Trackman, and that some people might still even think of it as a mouse. What to do? Go to the Advanced Search that allows you to omit any insignificant words to your Logitech search. Type in all the items that are irrelevant: Webcam, tablet, pen, joystick, headset (I thought that was an output device?); ETC. Everything you wrote down on your list (You did keep a list, right?). Then see what comes up. And be prepared to be surprised. You might even add this to your Favorite Search list and ask that you be emailed each time a new listing appears. Do another search, same omitted words, different spelling of "Logiteck." Anything come up?

Try a couple of different searches, using certain key words to find what you want and certain key words to lose what you don't. You're now on the road to locating your special IT for a special price.

HOW MUCH IS THAT DOGGIE IN THE WINDOW WORTH?
As with all things, what an item might cost may not indicate its value, and vice versa. And in the realm of collectibles, an item is only worth what someone else is willing to pay, regardless of what the value guides indicate. A lot also depends on supply and demand. If you are looking for something fairly obscure so that very few are available, how much a seller is asking and how much a buyer will be paying will depend on how many other people are looking for the same item.

The Advanced Search function allows you to search completed auctions within the recent past. Looking up the closing cost for the item will give you a good idea of how many other people might be looking for the same thing, and what price they are paying. You my even find a current buy-it-now item that falls within that price range and then can avoid the traffic of an auction altogether. Having a few parameters to go by when planning your bidding is more than helpful...it's crucial to winning.

I HAVE $35, DO I HEAR $36?
Again, go to the Ebay HELPS to get some really good information on placing your bids and watching your auctions. It seems to be the general consensus that when placing your bid you enter the figure that is the largest amount you would be willing to pay. Well maybe, and maybe not. You may decide you would only want to pay a certain amount, and when you get outbid by $1 you suddenly realize you are willing to pay a little more.

The other thing to consider is WHEN to bid. If no one has bid on an item, I will generally place my bid when I find the auction. Sometimes I will even place two bids, one a little higher than the other, to give the impression, and usually an accurate one, that I am very serious about this auction. Sometimes it discourages other bidders, sometimes not.

If there are already bids present, I will usually wait, watch the activity, see if there are other auctions of the same item available, and take some time to decide about whether I want to place a bid, and when.

GOING, GOING, GONE
Okay, so now you've been outbid. Do you bid again right away, or do you wait until the auction is almost over? Here opinions differ. I prefer to wait, in most cases. I check the other bidders on the auction. Are they new to Ebay? Those that are may be more inclined to make several small bids to become the highest bidder, and if you engage them you could end up in a bidding war. Good for the seller, bad for you. Or you could be up against some heavy hitters, high feedback, usually get what they want. You can view their most recent auction wins by clicking on their feedback and checking out the transactions still available for viewing. Check the bid history of the auction. Did they bid several times, or jump in at the end? Did they pay more than you likely would have? It's good to know the strategies of those who are your temporary adversaries. My strategy with them: Sniping, putting in a bid seconds before closing. Lots of people do it, and if they do it well they frequently win. I've done it to others, and others have done it to me. It's the nature of any auction; at the very last second you could be outbid. The dangers: Someone's system goes off-line or crashes; The kitchen catches on fire and the choice, although difficult, goes toward heading for the extinguisher instead of the computer; You run out of gas on the way back from Walmart; Or, having failed to write the closing time on the back of your hand or attaching a note to your shirt button, you just plain forget. I don't recommend it for the faint of heart. It can cause major anxiety, let me tell you. So approach with caution and a well practiced game plan if you chose this route. Otherwise I find that crossed fingers, while no guarantee to winning, does make you feel a little better if you've placed your highest bid early.

So there you have it, my fellow Ebayers, hopefully a little bit of wisdom from a long time Ebayer to help you streamline your own Ebay experience. Good luck, have fun, and happy trails on your hunt for the perfect IT!