( 
)In these tough economic times everyone is looking for an edge to find deals on eBay and even sellers are looking for ways to source products on the cheap. Below I've listed some of the techniques and tips I have learned over the past 10 years that help me save time and money on eBay.
Research, research, research - One of the biggest keys to finding deals is to know what the item is worth and what your maximum bid price is. Make sure prior to bidding to do your research. I usually determine the retail value and I also look at how much similar items have sold for in completed auctions.Auctions Ending at Odd Times - I look for items that close at off hours. One thing to keep in mind are all US time zones, with this in mind I like auctions that close at 2 am - 6am (est). Less eye balls equals less competition.
Out of Season Products - Just like shopping retail and buying close-outs I try to buy things on eBay during off season for products. (Example: I search during the winter for golf supplies and summertime for skis and ice skates).
Never Bid Until the End - I never ever ever bid right away. Even if I won't be online during the time it ends I never ever bid early. Try not to bid early as you could get into a bidding war with other buyers which will only raise the final price. Instead try and wait as long as possible and as close to the auction ending time as possible to bid. If the item is something that I have to have I use eBay's Bid Assistant or I pay a fee to use a sniping program.
Use Approved 3rd party search tools - eBay has many wonderful 3rd party search tools that are approved by eBay. Verify that they are approved by eBay by going to the eBay Solutions Directory . One of these approved sites I've had great success with is a site called GetItNext dot com or click here for the Solutions Directory Listing for the site. I've been using their find a deal search and bulk deals search tabs to find some significant savings. Another thing I like is the count down timer they have on all listings pages.Buy Quantity and Save - depending on items you need, you can stock up for the future or keep what you need and
re-sell the rest on eBay. Instead of using advanced search techniques I utilize a search tab on getitnext dot com called Bulk Deals that performs searches for large lots, bulk items and multiples. I've even had success sourcing products and reselling.
Poor titles and listing errors - I scan for items that are mis categorized, misspelled and also ones that have grainy photos and or misinformation. I also perform searches on auctions closing in the next 4 hours without any bids by using the Find a Deal search mentioned above. If you cannot tell from the title odds are
others can't either and probably don't even view the item. I have
found a lot of great bargains this way. The key here is doing more research, if an auction looks too good to be true ask questions. If photos are poor or grainy make sure to ask for a better one or ask questions to verify the item indeed is what you expect it to be.
Always Check Feedback - As long as a seller has a
reasonable reputation and takes Paypal you can be pretty sure that you
won't be scammed. But make sure you review the most recent feedback of a seller just to make sure it hasn't taken a nose dive recently, this is a sign the account has been hacked.
Buy It Now Deals - Some sellers don't know their products and sometimes price too low with a Buy It Now. Look for recently listed items to find deals as they are posted and jump on them before others find them.
Try submitting a Best Offer (
when sellers offer this option ) during these tough times you will be surprised at what some
sellers are actually willing to sell an item for.
I'm always looking for additional tips let me know what they are and I'll update this post so they can be shared with others.
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