I love getting a great deal on anything, don't you??? I love weekend garage sales, flea markets, closeouts, and more, but found that I could do much better (and save gas) by simply buying through online auctions having things shipped right to the door - all you have to do is stay on your toes and you won't get scammed.

Getting a deal on of eBay auctions is an art. Buying from auctions can be a costly mistake or a very economical option depending on your knowledge and tactics. You will buy wisely after learning from my experiences below...

1. Is the Seller Trustworthy?

eBay auctions have seller ratings in the form of feedback. Read these and their associated reviews. If the seller has a great rating from buying and a poor one from selling, you probably don't want to buy from them. Look at both praises and complaints as they may or may not apply to what you are bidding on. Some of the complaints may not be valid, just a random person being mean. They are usually easy to spot if you read the comments because there are only one or two of them out of hundreds of positives. If you see more than 2 out of 100 (98%) negative feedbacks then you know it's definitely an unreliable seller.

2. Read the Description Throughly

It is very easy to read what you want to see in an eBay auction rather than what is actually written there. Read both what is in the Ebay description and what is NOT in the description. Often your mind will want to fill in details with your interpretation instead of what the seller is actually saying. You need to re-read the description until you find out if what you are searching for really matches what the seller is selling.

* Used or New?

Is the item you are buying used or new? If it doesn't say new, you are most likely buying something that is used.

* Real or Fake

Is the item you are interested in "real" gold, sterling silver or pearls? For example, a description saying: "gold necklace for sale" does NOT say 14 kt gold or 18kt gold. That most likely means a gold COLORED necklace which may or may not have actual gold metal. This also applies to pearls as many call plastic fake pearls simply "pearls".

If the seller is selling beads, those beads could be plastic, glass, stone, scrap metal, crystal, chips, wood, clay, gemstone or some other material.

* Item Details

Does the EBay description really say how much you are getting, how long the item is, and quality of the item? Selling by the pound can be a great deal - or a horrible deal.

* Beware of Hidden Costs

Look at shipping and handling costs. I've seen many penny auctions that have $13 or more shipping. Some auctions even have handling fees.

* How Fast Will it Ship?

I've been seeing a fair amount of auctions that note that the product will ship in approx 30 business days! If you are buying for a particular holiday, be sure that you will get the item in time.

3. Is it a Bargain For You?

Many times an eBay auction will say that the items are "worth $XXX". In many cases, that price is inflated. Often you can find similar items much cheaper than "$XXX" at normal stores. (However, the auction price may still be cheaper than you can by elsewhere - it really helps to know how much you usually pay for items!) If you are only interested in some of the items in an auction, adjust your bid to reflect how much you are willing to pay for just those items unless you plan to sell the rest as that is how much you would pay for it elsewhere.Sometimes that works well because you can boost your feedback score by re-selling the items you don't want or need so you benefit in 2 ways.

4. Auction Fever

Compare prices on the net at the same time to avoid overpaying. Know that usually you can get the item later elsewhere. Wise buyers know to walk away when the price is higher than the item is worth to them. A good example of this was when the original PlayStation first came out just before Christmas. They sold for $299.99. The day they were released I got my hands on 3 of them for a total of $900, and sold 2 of them for $800 EACH here on eBay just because everyone wanted one and kept bidding them way over what they were worth!

5. Questions?

Anytime you are unsure about any details like: what is included, what isn't included, shipping costs, etc ASK THE SELLER BEFORE YOU BID! There is nothing worse than having to buy something you thought you wanted only to find out it's totally different because you just assumed something in the auction. It is always better to NOT win an auction you wanted than to win an auction you DIDN'T want but still have to pay for. You can always find another one later to bid on and win, but no seller will let you out of an auction just because you didn't read the fine print.

If the following guide is helpful please vote "YES" at the bottom of the page. It will help others see this also!