Sometimes Mystery Auctions are like a dish of Cabbage 'n' Noodles--- smells bad, looks bad..... but the taste? Well, ya never know until ya try it!

I buy and sell mystery auctions here on eBay like CrAzY!!!! There's good ones, and then there's the bad ones of course. I bet you are wondering how in the world you can tell the good from the bad, right? Well, it's hard...... that's true. But, here are some real simple pointers I  would LOVE to share that can help you..... Read on!

• First things first.... LOOK at the seller's feedback score! That is first and foremost in the importance scale! If they have had, or have, excessive feedback issues with people complaing about not receiving an item, items not as described, shipping is over-inflated, etc... there's a red flag. Sometimes you do get a couple bad apples (I should know!) that leave negative feedbacks that are un-deserved, so use your detective skills a bit and see what the complaint was buy looking at the item that the feedback was left for. Sometimes people do received poor feedback that is not justified-- it happens-- but for the most part people have deserved their feedbacks and it will show. So, as a general rule of thumb, if the feedback score for less than 1000 transactions is 99.0 or less, you might want to spend your money somewhere else. Over 1000 transactions, stay with sellers who have a 99.5 or above.
  

• How well is the Mystery Auction described? Are hints given, pictures shown, or any other details about the item described so that you have some sort of an idea what you are getting? Some sellers do sell GREAT mystery auctions... I have a whole list of genuine 100% A+ Mystery Auction sellers (contact me if you want to know who they are) and some of these people actually give out some REALLY great items (*I'm one of them*) so you CAN get really good mystery auction deals. BUT, (there's always a "but" isn't there, lol) there are some sellers who are "less than ethical" too. For example: just recently a member of an eBay group I belong to wrote a message about a mystery auction she bid on and won. When she received the item it was a used Mannaquin head! Another person paid $2.00 in a mystery auction (not much money but it's the pricipal of the matter!) and received a used magazine from 1999. There ARE bad mystery auctions. So, try to get as much information about the items as you can before buying or bidding.
  

• USUALLY, and not always, if something looks too good to be true, it usually is. So, if you are really stoked about a mystery auction ask the seller some questions.... it can never hurt, and it will save you less frustrations in the end if you at least try before you buy.

• Does the shipping charge seem over inflated? As a shipper myself, I can tell when someone is way overcharging for shipping and this does happed. TRUST ME! I once bought a jewelry mystery auction where I paid $9.99 for what was described as "jewelry item worth over $99.00!" So, thinking I was getting a GREAT deal (hey, if I did not like it I could always re-sell it, right?) Well... low and behold. The shipping charges were not listed and I paid no attention to that when I bought the item. I get my invoice and they charged me $19.99 to ship out a piece of jewelry! Well, I waited for it to arrive in the mail. 10 days later... it did arrive. FIRST CLASS MAIL in a small white envelope with ONE $0.37 stamp on it! I was charged $19.99! Guess what was in the envelope? You betcha, nothing even CLOSE to a $99.00 value-- it was a plastic pin! So, look at the shipping charges before you buy ANYTHING-- seriously! There are people on eBay who do that as a way to make money and circumvent sellers fees which is prohibited.... so watch out!

• What types of other items does the seller have? If they have other merchandise besides mystery auctions, then you can see what kinds of items they sell. Sometimes sellers just need to get rid of excess inventory and use Mystery Auctions as a way to do that and make it fun at that same time. If they seem to sell nice things that you like, then it wouldn't hurt to try.

• How long has the seller been selling on eBay? If they are BRAND NEW or have less than 25 feedback you may want to be a little leary. Sometimes people that have suspended accounts, or have been banned by eBay, get new accounts anyhow and start selling again. So just be careful.
  

• Last but not least: The important thing to remember when buying ANY mystery auction is that you are well aware that it's a mystery so you cannot be too upset if you don't get something you like or were hoping for. There are TRULY ALOT of GREAT mystery auctions out there, so please don't let me scare you off in any way.... BUT, just take some of my tips and head them before you bid or buy. They are helpful and can hopefully save you on frustrations that can be avoided if you take the time to do a little homework first.