Hello everyone! This is a guide to help you find that certain book you are looking for here on eBay. eBay currently has way over 528,000 books in auctions and fixed price format. eBay Stores has over 6,615,000 books in them. That is a lot of books to go through to find the right one and sometimes we need all the tips and hints we can find.


One of the great things about buying books on eBay is that there are so many options on how to find the book you are looking for. Each way is great but some ways are easier than others.

1) Search for book name and author (but this may limit your search. Not all sellers include author in there item title or the title may be to long to fit fully in header).

2) Search buy book name. Now this may bring up a lot of other items. When doing your search you will notice on your left you can see Matching Categories. Locate the Books selection and you will see all the books with this title. If there are still a lot of options left, you should see under the "Books" category that there are sub categories such as Fiction Books, Antiquarian & Collectible, Children’s Books, etc. This helps you limit your search greatly.

3) Search by ISBN. If you know your books ISBN this is a great way to search. Simply type it in the search area like you would a book title. ISBN is usually located on the UPC area of a book. This is a great way to search to replace a book you already have to make sure you get the same copy.


4) Advanced Search. This is located next to the search button. You can cut down your searching greatly by many ways. With this you can enter things such as key words, price range, if you are looking for someone who only takes Paypal, etc.

Also when doing your search, remember there is an "See additional Buy It Now items from eBay Store sellers". This is located towards the bottom of the page. This will show you any items that are located in a seller’s store. If you are searching through buy it nows, store items will be located at the end of the auction/fixed price items.


Now the next important thing is to make sure it is what you are looking for. Ebay provides a great option for sellers that help the buyers a lot also. Located at the top of the description area is a boxed in section. Located in this box the sellers can provide information such as: Author, Publisher, ISBN, Format (hardcover, soft cover, or mixed lot), Special Attributes (signed or first edition), Category (romance, western, horror, etc), and Condition (new, used, other).

Looking at the facts can make your shopping go quicker and easier. If you see the book is a hardcover and you are looking for a paperback, this will save you time (you won't have to read the sellers description this way). Remember to always check out the facts if you are looking for a certain type of book.


If you find a couple you would like to compare, you can "watch this item". Once you are done picking out the ones you want to compare, go back to your My Ebay page and look under "Items I'm Watching". Check the boxes you wish to view then click on the compare button at the bottom of that section. This will take you to a page that you can compare things such as: Time Left, Bids, Seller (This also includes what percent feedback they have), Price, Shipping, Ships From, Payment Methods, and PayPal Buyer Protection. This is a great feature that can help you compare a bunch of items at once and may help you save some time.


Also when buying a book please remember to check out "Shipping, payment details and return policy". Here you will find how the person ships the item. If you need this item quickly and the only shipping service is media mail, this item may not be for you. Media mail can take up to 6 days or longer to reach you.

Remember if you have any questions about the item, sellers are usually more than willing to help you. Some questions you may want to ask if not answered in description: "Book is used, how used? Any rips, tears, stains, or pages missing?", "What are your shipping methods?", "Is this soft cover or hardcover?", etc.

Also a reminder for people that are buying text books. If you know the book is suppost to come with a cd, make sure you read the description to make sure it does come with the cd. If you see no mention of the cd, please remember to ask the seller about it.


With the newly added Reviews and Guides area on eBay, gives you the opportunity to do two things.

1. You can check out the item before you buy it. See what others have to say about it and look more deeply into that item.

2. After you buy it and use the item, you have the chance to tell others about it. The more you describe it the more you can help others with there decision on if they should purchase it or not.


Thank you for reading this guide and I hope I helped you out when finding that perfect book here on eBay!