WHAT EVERY NEW EBAYER BUYER NEEDS TO KNOW... but is not user friendly enough to find out YET.

This is a guide for new people just starting out on ebay. It is easy to get lost and there are so many links it is sometimes hard to find your way around.  So here are a few tips to help you along the eBay path.

I. MAKING PURCHASES - BIDDING: THE 3 WAYS

THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO MAKE PURCHASES ON EBAY. THE MOST POPULAR WAY TO PURCHASE IS BY BIDDING ON POSTED ONLINE AUCTIONS.  eBAY ALSO OFFERS A BUY NOW OPTION OR YOU CAN SHOP THE THOUSANDS OF EBAY STORES.

1) ONLINE AUCTIONS: 

THIS IS WHERE THE PRIZE GOES TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. YOU ARE PROBABLY MOST FAMILIAR WITH THIS TYPE OF AUCTION WHICH CAN BE LISTED FOR 3, 5, 7, AND 10 DAYS. THERE IS MUCH MORE COMPETITION, BUT ITEMS MAY BE VERY REASONABLY PRICED OR A ONE TIME OFFER!

2)  BUY NOW OPTION:

THESE ARE ALSO ONLINE AUTIONS THAT ALLOW YOU TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE PURCHASE WITHOUT WAITING FOR THE BIDDING TO END.  THE FIRST CUSTOMER TO BID ON THE "BUY IT NOW" ASKING PRICE PURCHASES THE ITEM. 

3)  STORE PURCHASES:

MANY SELLERS HAVE EBAY STORES WHICH CUSTOMERS CAN SHOP IN 24 HOURS A DAY. THE ITEMS LISTED IN STORES CAN ALSO BE PURCHASED IMMEDIATELY BY MEETING THE PRICE REQUESTED.  SOME STORE SELLERS OFFER ANOTHER OPTION CALLED "MAKE AN OFFER."  SYMBOLS ON THE STORE PAGES SHOW IF THIS OPTION IS AVAILABLE. THERE WILL BE A SMALL TAG THAT SAYS "BEST OFFER" LOCATED NEAR THE PRICE POSTED.  CUSTOMERS MAKE SELLERS AN OFFER ON THEIR LISTING AND IF BOTH AGREE TO THE PRICE THE SALE CAN BE COMPLETED.  eBAY TAKES 12% COMMISSION (OR MORE) ON THESE STORE PURCHASES SO PRICES MAY BE HIGHER THAN AUCTIONS.

TAKE A LOOK AT OUR EBAY STORE

WHO AND WHAT ARE POWERSELLERS?  

FIGURING OUT WHO YOU CAN TRUST TO PURCHASES FROM IS TRICKY ON EBAY.  MANY NEW SELLERS HAVE SPRUNG UP THIS LAST YEAR OR TWO WITH THE CONSTANT TV PROMOTIONS PROMISING SELLERS CAN GET RICH QUICK!  THERE ARE ALWAYS EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE BUT BASICALLY SELLING ON EBAY IS A CONSTANT, STEADY COMMITMENT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER BUSINESS YOU COULD RUN.  SELLERS HAVE COME AND GONE LIKE WILDFIRE SOME WITH A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY!  BEWARE!! CHECK FEEDBACK SCORES, READ COMMENTS LEFT BY OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD TRANSACTIONS WITHTHE SELLER. EVEN THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS WILL SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR AS TO WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON!  BE VERY CAREFUL PURCHASING ITEMS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES.  WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE MAKE PURCHASES JUST TO GET OUR EMAIL OR WORSE PAYPAL ACCOUNT USER NAME, EBAY INFORMATION, ETC.  ESPECIALLY CHINA AND ROMANIA. 

FOR SELLERS: IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACK FOREIGN PACKAGES AND EVEN WHEN THE POST OFFICE SENDS INSURED PACKAGES IT TAKES MONTHS AND MONTHS TO BE REIMBURSHED FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES IF AT ALL. ITALY HAS A TERRIBLE POSTAL SYSTEM WHICH ALMOST ALWAYS RESULT IN NON DELIVERIES.

POWERSELLERS ARE EBAY'S MOST TRUST SELLERS!  THEY HAVE EARNED A REPUTATION AS RELIABLE BUSINESSES OR INDIVIDUALS WHO SELL, SHIP AND PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT IS 98% ACCURATE OVER AT LEAST A 3 MONTH PERIOD.  THEY ALSO MUST SELL AT LEAST $1000 WORTH OF MERCHADISE PER MONTH TO MAINTAIN THEIR POWERSELLER STATUS.  EBAY INVITES THESE EXCLUSIVE SELLERS INTO THEIR POWERSELLER CLUB AND IT CAN NOT BE OBTAINED ANY OTHER WAY.  A SELLER MUST PROVIDE THE UTMOST CARE TO CUSTOMERS TO MAINTAIN THEIR STATUS. 

II.  PAYING FOR WINNING BIDS

BE SURE TO FIND OUT THE PAYMENT METHODS A SELLER ACCEPTS PRIOR TO PLACING YOUR BID.  YOU ARE NOT MAKING A PURCHASE FROM EBAY.  YOU ARE MAKING PURCHASES FROM INDIVIDUALS OR BUSINESSES WHO ALL HAVE DIFFERENT PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS AND STORE POLICIES. 

ONCE YOU HAVE WON A BID OR MADE A BUY NOW PURCHASE YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INVOICE FROM eBAY OR THE SELLER.  SOMETIMES EBAY SEND THEM AUTOMATICALLY UPON A WIN.  IF YOU ARE BIDDING ON SEVERAL ITEMS FROM THE SAME SELLER YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SHIPPING DISCOUNT.  THERE IS AN -ASK SELLER A QUESTION- LINK ON THE WINNING BID PAGE OF THE ITEM YOU WON.  NOT ALL SELLERS OFFER SHIPPING DISCOUNTS BUT YOU SHOULD ASK NICELY AND SEE IF THEY DO.  IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE AN INVOICE OR HEAR FROM THE SELLER IMMEDIATELY BE PATIENT THEY MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE AT MIDNIGHT WHEN YOU ARE WRITING.   

ONCE YOU RECEIVE AN INVOICE IT WILL INCLUDE THE SELLERS PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS AND THEIR ADDRESS TO MAIL A PAYMENT.

SEE ITEM # VI BELOW TO PAY ON YOUR OWN.

1)  PAYING BY PAYPAL:  FREE FOR BUYERS, BUT COST SELLERS A PERCENTAGE

PAYPAL IS A SECURE PAYMENT SYSTEM OWNED BY EBAY THAT MAKES ONLINE PAYMENTS FOR YOU FOR YOUR PURCHASES WITHOUT DISCLOSING YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO SELLERS.  THEY DO SO BY ACCEPTING A PERCENTAGE OF THE SALE PRICE TO MOVE MONEY FROM YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO THE SELLERS PAYPAL ACCOUNT.  YOU CAN DEPOSIT OR WITHDRAW MONEY FROM YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT DIRECTLY FROM YOUR BANK ACCOUNT.  YOU MUST REGISTER FOR A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO USE THIS PAYMENT SYSTEM.

TO SIGN UP FOR PAYPAL:

HERE IS THE LINK TO READ MORE OR REGISTER FOR SECURE PAYMENT BY PAYPAL:

https://www.paypal.com/us/mrb/pal=F4QR6467NSH72

2) PAYING BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDERS:

SELLERS MAY ACCEPT ADDITIONAL PAYMENT METHODS SUCH AS PERSONAL CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS.  NATURALLY IT TAKES LONGER FOR PAYMENT TO ARRIVE, BE DEPOSITED, AND CLEAR THE BANK, SO DELIVERY OF YOUR PURCHASES MAY TAKE A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.

When you write or email a seller, especially if you are mailing a payment by snail mail, PLEASE include your eBay user name! Why? eBay does not provide sellers with your real name until payment has been posted to your account (unless you purchase one of EBAY'S upgraded sales systems.)  If you mail in payment with your only real name, WHICH MOST PEOPLE DO, sellers have no way to match it to your eBay User ID Name unless you tell them. If they are waiting for several payments it will take a long time to match your payment to your winning bid. 

So many customers mail us checks with just the auction number on it!! Please do not provide the auction number!!!  We personally have sometimes 80-100 sales on ebay and to hunt through those tiny numbers takes forever!!!  Auction numbers are sometimes similiar and could cause a mix up. If you want your payment credited quickly and your order mailed promptly provide your seller with your eBay ID Name with your payment. Please do not include your eBay password as one customer did!!!  Please!

We get a vast number of envelopes with only a check, nothing else! nothing!  It takes a long time to match your check/money order with nothing to go on.  At any given time we have as many as 50 customers and often way over 100 open invoices. It takes a long time to search through 100 customer purchases to find your unpaid invoice especially by searching through auction numbers or trying to guess and match your real name to your eBay ID.  Provide your ebay ID name with payment, please.  If you make your payment by check or money order, you may have to wait for payment to clear the bank before sellers ship your winning bid. Banks can take up to 10 days to clear a check.

Here's a great hint: If you prefer to use money orders, try purchasing them from the US Post Office.  They usually clear much faster.

3)  OTHER PAYMENT METHODS: 

There are other online payment methods available such as BidPay that are not as popular as Paypal. They are similar to the one mentioned above. You can search this out online and find one you feel comfortable working with. You may consider them seriously if you are thinking of selling on ebay. eBay will soon be eliminating checks and money ordes and is cohercing individuals to sign up with ProPay.  They accept credit cards for online purchases with high monthly fees and percentages to the seller.

III. ORDER NOT RECEIVED

Notify your seller if your order did not arrive after a reasonable amount of time or if there is an issue with your order.  CHECK YOUR EMAIL TO SEE IF A SELLER CONTACTED YOU REGARDING YOUR ORDER. Sellers have no way of knowing if your package has arrived, unless you insure or purchase delivery confirmation. Therefore, check the seller's mailing policies regarding insurance or delivery confirmation. Contact the seller before assuming they have kept your money and did not mail anything. Sellers would not stay in business long if they did such things.  A seller can always provide you with proof of mailing. For an additional .75 you can purchase delivery confirmation and track your package on USPS.gov.

Insurance of $1.65 will insure your purchase up to $50. In the event of an error however, you must make your claim with the post office not the seller. The seller is required to provide the delivery confirmation receipt to the post office and both parties must cooperate to have the item traced. It is the same with insurance, the Post Office, not the seller, must reimburse the customer.

WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?

Many times entire postal bags full of mail are thrown on the wrong truck and end up going to the opposite end of the country. It has happened many times.  Daily, I assure you!  Try to remember Postal Wokers are governement employees! Some of them are even human.

One customer's package took the scenic 17 day journey to get to New Jersey!  Not too many weeks ago, a large truck went through town with the bucket raised and tore down all the electrical wires in the center of our small town. The post office was out of commission for 2 days!!! ...and many of us had no internet or phone service. Yes. We live in a small town. This is life folks, not memorex! 

IV.  ORDER RECEIVED BUT I HATE IT!

If you are unhappy with your purchase, inform the seller. Nicely and before youl eave negative feedback.  Many times sellers will refund your money or allow you to exchange the item for something else.  FIRST AND FOREMOST, read the ad before you purchase.  Don't assume anything.  If you are not sure about an item, ask the seller a question before you bid. Not all sellers are alike. Just because one seller included the original box with your purchase doesn't mean everyone else will too. Don't just look at the picture. Read the ad! If there is anything you are not sure of ask questions before you bid. 

Once again, read the ad. We get tons of questions which are already answered in listing we posted.

PACKING ITEMS FOR SHIPMENT

NOT ALL SELLERS ARE EQUAL OR GOOD PACKERS. WE ALWAYS ASK SELLERS TO WRAP ITEMS WITH EXTRA CARE AND EXTRA PACKING SUPPLIES, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO PAY EXTRA FOR WRINKLED NEWSPAPER! THE POST OFFICE THROWS BOXES AROUND WITH COMPLETE DISREGARD.  IT DOES NOT HELP TO WRITE FRAGILE ON THE PACKAGE!!! (you are funny!)

There is nothing worse than receiving an item broken.  Sellers say, "Well, we packed it nice, but the post office broke it."  It is a seller's reasonable service to pack items securely. It is a buyers reasonable service to purchase insurance, unless it is included in the shipping price.

VIII.  I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

According to the contract you signed with ebay by registering, you enter into a contract to complete the purchase when you make a bid. Some sellers will accepts returns, but they are few and most will not even under the threat of negative feedback.   

Even paypal expects the customer to pay for return postage costs if you do return items. Even if you file a complaint with the mediation companies, they will not make a seller pay for return postage. 

Additionally, if an item is not received, paypal protection may be available to you if you have a credit card on file, but Paypal may only award you the price you paid for the the item, not shipping fees! If you ask for a refund and the seller agrees, and your payment was made through Paypal, they may keep a percentage of the sale price for moving the money around. If you don't really want an item, or you are not sure, do not bid! It is better to keep your money. 

V.  NO ANSWER TO MY EMAIL

Do not assume your email went through on eBay and that Paypal works correctly all the time! email at least twice!! Check your Paypal account and email often, especially if you have more than one email.  Sometimes there is already a message in ebay account or email.

Sometimes ebay or paypal maintenance interfers with communication. ebay sends your email to the, "Ask seller a question" section of ebay and sometimes they send them directly to the sellers email.  It can be confusing.  You may think a seller or buyer is not responding and they haven't received your message yet.  Many times customers have written a second time to say," Didn't you get my email?" Just to find them both at the same time! Also, sellers may not be on the computer 24 hours a day like some of you if they have orders to fill.

ebay does have a systems announcement page that you can look at in the ebay community section. They list events and maintenance issues going on within ebay. 

HERE IS THE LINK:  System Announcements  (For instance, today they are having check out issues.  Invoices are not totaling correctly and they are working on the system right now.)

Additionally, eBay has a general announcements page to update you about issues:

HERE IS THE LINK TO ANNOUNCEMENT: General eBay Announcements

VI:  I HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN INVOICE

As a buyer you are responsible for payment, even if the seller does not email you an invoice to pay.

Winning bidders can go directly to the page of the item won and click the "pay now" button to checkout. This will provide you with an invoice, even if you are mailing in a check or money order.  You will be provided with the seller's mailing address on the checkout page which you can print and send to the seller to help identify your order. Once again, include your ebay user name. 

Also, you may reach the invoice by going to your summary page. On the left hand column at the top there is a link entitled, "WON." You can find your winning bids and print out an invoice to accompany your payment. If you can not pay for your purchase within the seller time limits, let the seller know.  Most sellers are willing to work with you if you communicate honestly. 

We all know there are issues with Paypal, eBay and sometimes your computer. Everyone is dealing with jobs, and family issues, etc.  Lack of communication is the number reason for negative feedback.  ebay also has the option of allowing seller and buyer to back out of a purchase if both agree.  Ask your sellers permission to help you initiate this option if you make a purchase by accident.

VII. THE #1 CUSTOMER COMPLAINT- WHY IS SHIPPING SO MUCH?

Some sellers use the unscrupulous method of selling their products for .99 and then charge $19.95 shipping fees or some ridiculous shipping fee. They do this for two reasons. One reason is because they get your attention. "Wow! A thingamabob for only .99!" The second reason is cost. They avoid paying eBay fees to list and they pay very little eBay selling fees after the sale has been made. 

At one time, when eBay first started, they claimed they were looking into this manner of "deceptive" selling. Apparently, they decided they could not beat them so eBay actually encourages sellers to list their products at a starting bid of .99 cents. eBay even seems to encourage this sales tactic by offering a listing fee of only .15 to list an item from .01 to .99. Naturally the seller must make a profit somehow, so they list the shipping and handling fees as $19.95.  It causes a great deal of trama for buyers and they feel cheated. You can read some of the feedback responses to that!

eBay charges for listing the items for sale and takes another cut when the item is purchased and takes another cut when a customer uses paypal to pay for their purchase.  Seller must recoup their advertising fees so it gets tacked onto the shipping and handling fees. If you tack it on the price, ebay will take a larger cut. So wala! That is why shipping and handling charges are so high on eBay. Sellers have to add ebay's commission fees to the shipping prices!

BEWARE OF EXCESSIVE HANDLING FEES:

Additionally, a product priced too low on price and shipping fees often comes with very high handling fees, especially to other countries. Honest sellers charge a reasonable fee for shipping. If the shipping prices are not posted check with seller before bidding and BEWARE!  Shipping fees and handling fees may also include the cost of mailing materials, drop ship fees, etc.

There are may be handling fees included with a listing to offset ebay fees, paypal fees to accept your payment by electronic money, shipping supplies, gas to post office, maybe even salary for employees preparing the mailings and last of all postage. So, make sure you understand what shipping and handling fees are being charged before you purchase. If the price is not listed, email a seller before you bid. Ask them, "What are your shipping and handling fees?" If the item is not clearing stated and you do not clear hear from a seller, do not bid, especially from sellers in foreign countries. 

VIII.  MY ORDER ARRIVED, NOW WHAT?

Buyers should leave feedback for the seller as well!

Many new ebayers buyers do not realize that they have the option of leaving feedback for a seller so they simply don't leave anything for months at a time.

Feedback is the lifeblood of ebay, so to speak. It is wonderful when all those numbers add up after your name and people say nice things about you. Feedback is considered your reputation in the ebay community.

You will find the link to leave feedback on your "my ebay" summary page.  It will be listed in the left hand column, entitled, "FEEDBACK."  You may also go to the "ITEMS WON" link.  You will find the link in the action column (on the right hand side of the title) You may have to open the menu by clicking on the arrow and finding the link entitled, "Leave Feedback."  If you can't figure it out, ask your seller. They are willing to help you. 

AUTOMATED FEEDBACK

High volume sellers may have their feedback systems set on an automatic system within ebay. This means your feedback will be returned as soon as you leave feedback for the seller.  ebay offers this option when you purchase additional software upgrades from them such as Selling Manager Professional which are meant to streamline businesses.

Note on Negative Feedback:

Negative feedback should be reserved as a last resort after all other means of communication have been exhausted.  eBay has exploded with new people lately and many people find it sport to leave negative feedback for the pettiest reasons!  This will only cause you to limit the number of sellers you may purchase from. Positive communication is absolute key to a good ebay experience. If there are legitimate issues contact the seller or eBay mediation team or paypal dispute. Leave proper and just feedback. Most of all be kind and think of the other guy (gal)!

ANSWER CENTER

As ebay continues to grow so to the issues that need to be addresses.  When we firts wrote this guide there was nothing on ebay to direct newcomers.  They finally published an answer page. It leaves much to be desired but it may answer a few questions we have not addressed here. Here is the link:

ANSWER CENTER

Happy eBaying!

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