1 – Before bidding, check the seller’s feedback carefully-read between the negatives! Look at seller’s positive feedback as well as negative/neutral since these can often hold comments that you would want to take into consideration before bidding on a seller’s items. I once dealt with a seller I had won an item from that was notorious for not shipping when he said and for leaving sarcastic remarks about his buyers even if they paid promptly. Other buyers had mentioned the slowness of the shipping in their POSITIVE or NEUTRAL feedback, so I didn’t initially catch it. This is often a clue that this is a seller you may not want to buy from. Regardless of the large number of sales and the percentage of good to bad feedback…read between the negatives. 2 – Look at the seller’s shipping/handling/insurance costs! I have dealt with some sellers that try to avoid paying eBay fees by padding the shipping, handling and insurance costs on an item. This is against eBay’s policies and it isn’t a fair way to sell an item. I actually passed over an item I wanted because the seller was charging in excess of $100.00 and more for shipping/handling/insurance fees! 3 – Read the item description/terms through CAREFULLY and COMPLETELY! Many misunderstandings are based on not reading the seller’s complete listing. If you have a question, use the eBay tool “Ask Seller a Question” on the item-listing page. Quite often, you can avoid any misunderstandings about what you THINK you are bidding on and what the item actually is. 4 – Pay Promptly! If you are bidding on an item, remember…you are obligated to go through with the purchase if you win. If you pay well within the time frame the seller has listed for that item/auction, you will be a popular buyer! Hopefully these hints will give you a little help. Most sellers and buyers on eBay are great to deal with, but hopefully this will give you a little warning on avoiding those that aren’t so nice! 5 – If you have a problem, CONTACT your seller first!! If there are any problems with the item such as you did not receive it, it was not was described, etc. be sure to give your seller a chance to correct it. More often than not, they are more than willing to keep your business. If your seller does not respond, eBay has a tool for reporting your problems…use it, but only AFTER you have attempted to work with the seller through emails and phone calls, if necessary. 6 – DO NOT get into an email battle with a seller!! Contact eBay if a seller becomes abusive or threatening and be sure to document any emails sent or received. You will be asked by eBay to provide the headers for these emails. This is meant to be a friendly environment but sometimes sellers (and buyers) abuse it. You do have recourse with eBay. And remember not to participate in name-calling or threats! You neutralize the point you are trying to make if you resort to this. 7 – Feedback left for you by sellers should be left after your purchase, not after you leave feedback for them! If you purchase from a seller that does not leave feedback for you concerning how promptly you have responded after the end of the auction or how quickly you have paid (in other words, based on your actions after the auction end) but waits to see what feedback you leave after receiving your item, you may want to think twice about doing business with them again. It is becoming a practice for a lot of sellers to wait to see what you say about their service/item before leaving you feedback. If you are dissatisfied and have tried to work it out with the seller, but found it necessary to leave negative feedback, be prepared for retaliation in the feedback you receive from them. This is NOT the way feedback is supposed to work, but unfortunately it is becoming more common. It can be frustrating to respond and pay for your item well within the time frame stated by the seller, then have negative feedback left for you not based on your actions and payment, but because you had a legitimate complaint the seller would not respond to or correct, and so you left negative feedback for them. 8 – Use the tools eBay has made available to you. If you do receive unwarranted, negative feedback you may respond by using the “Reply to feedback received” link in your Member Profile area. You may select the item you wish to respond to and state your side of the problem for other buyers to see. Remember to avoid calling names and making threats…that ISN’T what this is for and it will surely reflect poorly on the point you may be trying to make for others to see.