What can I find on eBay?  The answer… Everything, and anything -- new, used, antique, vintage or fresh from the high end store or factory -- and for rock bottom prices!!  If you are new to eBay and have just trudged through the full list of items ending now, you are probably left with the feeling that there is nothing you want on eBay.

According to eBay, approximately 65% of bidders find their purchases from Ebay using the Search Function from the home page.  The search function uses keyword match technology to instantaneously search through web content to find matching terms.  It then turns up match results that save you time and money too.  So, although wading through ads personally can be fun, often we need to save time.  So, lets try a little search engine "Power Shopping" on eBay. 

1.  Click on the "Buy" Button (upper left of screen).  Now you see the search screen.

2.  What is your favorite category of items to shop for -Jewelry, Clothing, Collectables, Memorabilia?  Click on the inverted triangle in the window that currently shows "All Categories" and select your general category.  For this trial search we will use "Collectibles."  Highlight "Collectibles" and that term should appear in the window.

3.  Now let's enter our item specifics in the main search window.  What do you know about the item you want?  Generally you know the maker and the name of the item.  In this case, we will use a Little Precious Moments collectible figurine called “Naomi and Ruth“ 

4.  Type "Little Precious Moments Naomi and Ruth" in the Search Box.  Note that search results will come up on the less specific term "Ruth and Naomi" too, however, the less specific you are, the more your search will contain unrelated ads that you have to go through to find exactly what you are looking for.  Therefore it follows that, being as specific as you can, assures you get only the results you want and can pick exactly what you are looking for from the search results.

5.  Always click the little box below the search box labeled "Search Title and Description" to put a check mark in that box.  This assures the search will look at not only titles, but the total ad content to find the item you are searching for giving you more results. 

6.  Now click "Find" and wait for your items to come up.

7.  Scroll through your results --and you are ready to shop for exactly the item you want.  You can even look for the price you are willing to pay.  Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page for items available in Ebay Stores that offer "Buy It Now" in which you can purchase the item right now instead of waiting for an auction to end.  

8.  If you would like a "Little Precious Moments" figurine but aren't sure exactly which one you want, use a more general term in your search of "Little Precious Moments."  The less specific, the more items in this category will appear (and items not relevant too).  In this way you can choose items from the wider category you specified. 

9.  OK now you know what you want and how to find it generally.  Let's move on to finding the real bargains in searches for misspelled items.   Finding misspelled items is a bargain hunting sport on eBay.   Since 65% of eBay buyers find items by searching, if a seller spells an item name incorrectly, it will not come up in a regular search.  As a result, these items usually get little attention and few bids --leaving them open for the clever bargain hunter. 

10.  Just for fun, let's try a few misspellings searches: Try jewelery, or beaney.  If you want to buy something specific on eBay and get it at the least possible price, think of how the word could be commonly misspelled and type that misspelling into the search box.  You will often be surprised at the number of items show up.  For instance the following are possible misspellings for Ralph Lauren that came up in a recent search: 

Ralph+Laurem, Ralph+Laureb, Ralpj+Lauren, Ralpg+Lauren, Ralph+Lsuren, Rslph+Lauren, Ralph+Lairen, Ralph+Layren, Ralph+Laurrn, Ralph+Laurwn, Ralph+Liuren,Rilph+Lauren,Ralph+Lawren,Ralph+Lauree,Ralph+Laurrn,Ralph+Lauuen,Ralph+Laaren,Ralph+LLuren,Ralph++auren,RalphhLauren,Ralpp+Lauren, Rallh+Lauren,Raaph+Lauren,RRlph+Lauren,Ralph+Laurenn,Ralph+Laureen,Ralph+Laurren,Ralph+Lauuren,Ralph+Laauren,Ralph+LLauren,Ralphh+Lauren, Ralpph+Lauren,Rallph+Lauren,Raalph+Lauren,RRalph+Lauren,Ralph+Laurne,Ralph+Lauern,Ralph+Laruen,Ralph+Luaren,Ralph+aLuren,RalphL+auren,Ralp+hLauren, Ralhp+Lauren,Raplh+Lauren,Rlaph+Lauren,aRlph+Lauren,Ralph+Laure,Ralph+Laurn,Ralph+Lauen,Ralph+Laren,Ralph+Luren,Ralph+auren,RalphLauren,Ralp+Lauren, Ralh+Lauren,Raph+Lauren,Rlph+Lauren,alph+Lauren

11.  No imagination for how a word may be misspelled?  There are free websites to help you in imagining what misspellings are for the items you are interested in.  Try googling for free misspelling search tools.

12.  Finally, in power searching for clothing two essential pieces of information that should appear in your searches are brand name and size (i.e. Ralph Lauren 10).  To this you can narrow the search by adding skirt, blouse, pants slacks, blazer, or jacket.

I hope this guide enhances your Ebay experience and results in many happy bargains in the future.  Please scroll down and leave a vote if you have found it helpful to you -- I surely will appreciate it!  If you can drop by my auctions or store and visit the best bargains on Ebay!

Please scroll below and leave a helpfulness vote?  I surely would appreciate it!  I sincerely thank you in advance for your time!

Want to know more?  Visit my guides for great, easy to follow instructions on many different aspects of buying selling and safety on eBay.  Please drop by my auctions (Pepper120851) for uncommon bargains daily.  Take a peek at my store "The Write Place" where there is always a SALE going on everyday because YOU name the price you pay for everything you find there!  I also offer the best combined shipping on eBay -- only $1.00 for each additional item.  Check out my return policy and feedback -- you CAN bid with confidence.

Thanks for stopping by!  Pepper120851 The Write Place