It can be easy to get caught up in bidding wars and auction frenzy and pay far more than you should for a given item, especially when you are a newbie and are trying to figure out how the system works. Please don't be a victim and read on.

There are two ways you can avoid being a victim of buyers remorse:

• Researching completed auctions to find the average closing prices of the item you want
• Looking for BUY IT NOW deals

RESEARCH

In order to bid responsibly it is important to find an average price that you are willing to spend for the item.

• First you type in the item you are searching for in the search field. This will bring up the items available.
• On the left side of the search results is Matching Catagories, Related Guides, and Search Options. The search options allow you to narrow your results with the following.
• Location, you can narrow your search to USA only, Worldwide, etc. or search close to your zip code.
• Show only gives you the following choices
• Paypal items
• Buy it now items
• Free shipping
• Get it fast
• Completed listings
• Gift Items
• Items in lots
• Including Store Inventory
• Ending times
• Priced searching
• You want to choose the Completed Listings and click the Show Items button. Take notes of what you find on this screen.
• Winning Bid
• No doubt you may find a wide range of prices for the same item
• Shipping charge
• Check out what the seller is charging to ship your item. Some shipping is way overpriced and adds to your cost!
• Was the winning bid
• BUY IT NOW
• Some sellers will offer this an item at a slightly higher price then the auctions start, which you can purchase without having to go through the bidding process.
• AUCTION FORMAT
• with this option you go through the bidding process till the predetermined end date. The opening bid normally starts out low, but some may escalate higher then the same item posted for buy it now.
• You might take note of the time of day the auction ended
• You will find better deals on auctions that end in the middle of the night

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of what a good price for the item you desire is, you are ready to search the current auctions, with your price in mind, including your shipping or insurance costs. You also want to be sure to check your sellers feedback and make sure they are reliable.

Below I will provide an example of a buying experience so you can see how you might benefit from searching and  BUY IT NOW.

I did a search for a collectible, a "Willow Tree Nativity 6 Piece Set". The search returned 40 items. I then did the search for completed items, so I would know what to expect as a good price. I found that in a 30 day period the winning bids ranged from $32.00 to $59.99. The shipping prices were all over the board, from $8.50 to $20.95. Now that I had an idea of the cost, I was ready to bid. I bid on an auction that started at $20.00. The shipping was $12.50. There were 5 days to go. On the last day, several people started bidding and the auction was soon up to $40.00. Instead of getting excited and joining the bidding war, I did a search and found more sets newly listed. One of the sets was a BUY IT NOW for $32.00, and the shipping was only $8.10! What was even better, it was a reliable seller with 100% positive feedback. I quickly snapped up this item. Not only did I get the item for a much lower cost, I also saved over $4.00 on shipping! The bidders on the other auction had the same tools as I to search, but most don't know how to utilize them and bid smart.  It is so to easy to get caught up in the auction frenzy, DON'T LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU!